Murdered for their eyes: people with albinism living in terror in Madagascar

The Guardian Africa · Sep 29, 2026

The country is struggling to address a rise in attacks, with a record 13 people – mostly children – killed this year for body parts, which some believe can bring good fortune Not long after midnight in late May this year, three men barged through the door of the small room where Nicole Soalala lived with her family on the outskirts of Toliara, a coastal city in the south of Madagascar. Her husband got up to ask what they wanted, but they attacked him with a piece of wood and an axe. Soalala, 32, grabbed her youngest child, Landricia – an 18-month-old girl with albinism – and hoisted her on to