Narozeni jinak (2026)

This book by Czech cultural anthropologist Kateřina Mildnerová and Mozambican photojournalist Antonio Cossa offers a factual, literary and visual account of the everyday lives and inner worlds of people with albinism in Africa. In some parts of Africa, their physiological difference is associated with curses, stigma and violence, while elsewhere it is understood as a sign of exceptionality and sacredness. The book reveals the fascinating contrast between two radically different cultural worlds and invites reflection on how social ideas of normality and difference shape the value placed on human life. Much of the publication is based on long-term field research in Zambia, where people with albinism live in constant fear. Deeply rooted myths and superstitions strip them of their humanity, treating them as spirits who cannot die. They become targets of abduction, sexual violence, brutal attacks and ritual murder. The book gives a voice to silenced victims and survivors and captures their everyday lives in the shadow of violence and injustice. A completely different picture emerges from West African Benin, where people with albinism are socially respected and worshipped within the traditional vodun religion as incarnations of the creator deity. The book includes documentary photographs and artistic portraits from Zambia and Benin, which, together with the literary stories, convey a powerful message: difference is not a measure of the value of human life, and everyone deserves to live with dignity.