Black Man White Skin (Hombre Negro, Piel Blanca)

I’m a black man.

My skin is white.

And I really like this.

It is the difference that is beautiful.

I'm a white man.

My blood is black.

And I adore this.

It is the difference that is beautiful.

YOU MAY FIND THE CONTENT OF THIS DOCUMENTARY DISTURBING

SALIF KEITA CONCERT PIRINEOS SUR FESTIVAL

Life will be beautiful.

Life will be beautiful.

Each person will find happiness in honor.

Life will be beautiful.

SPORTS CITY REAL MADRID MADRID, SPAIN

-Come on! -Yeah!

Hell, man!

Together, together!

Well done!

-How are you? -Good, good.

Life is like a song that goes through the body.

We all feel it and dance it in a different way,

because we are different.

Difference is good,

but sometimes those discrepancies become a problem,

even a drama.

Fighting for equality from absolute inequality.

Being born a poor, black woman...

in Africa.

An insurmountable handicap.

An imposed disadvantage.

It seems there can’t be another obstacle...

But yes,

there is.

When nature wants you to be albino...

Then,

you are lost.

Albinism is a genetic condition.

All of us have many genes in our cells.

We believe we have over 25,000 genes

and not all of them work well.

In fact, most of us suffer mutations,

we all have some variations in some of our genes

that explain why we are so different from one another.

That is why there are people with black eyes

and others with blue eyes.

Some people are tall and others are short.

All of us have different mutations in our genes that help

our body adapt to changing environments.

In the case of Albinism these mutations simply impact

on pigmentation production,

in such a way that this pigmentation no longer occurs,

and this is why, an albino person, a person with Albinism, lacks

pigment and, therefore, will have fair skin, red eyes

and white hair. It’s easily recognizable.

But, it is as much a mutant as the rest of the people

who can have alterations

and modifications in other genes.

Of the 25,000 genes that we have in our cells, only 18 are

the ones that, when not properly working,

are associated to albinism.

Luckily, there are people who watch for the welfare of albinos.

Real Heroes. Flesh and blood heroes, capable to reach hidden places

like the sides of the Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

One of these people is Doctor Pedro Jaén and his excellent team.

Capable of travelling over 6,300 kilometers

that separate Madrid from Moshi, a population in the north of Tanzania.

Pedro and his team have been travelling to this jungle place

to operate hundreds of patients for days

and sometimes without taking a break, and all of this in an unselfish manner.

We are in the Regional Dermatology Training Center.

The hospital...

where we are going to perform surgery today.

In Africa, harassment led to the albinos’ isolation,

giving raise to endogamy.

The number of albinos multiplied in such a way that they exceeded, by 15 times,

the proportion of albinos in the rest of the world.

This team of Spanish doctors is the last hope

to save the lives of many patients.

Tens of Albinos and other patients arrive from every corner of the country.

Walking hundreds of kilometers with a single objective:

being treated by Pedro and his team.

The first day of our stay,

normally in the morning, we see all the patients...

PEDRO JAÉN DERMATOLOGIST

...chosen by local doctors in order to...

decide which of them we are going to operate.

Normally...

we see almost one hundred patients and between them we select

which of them are going to be operated.

In each patient we find a story of courage,

hardship, fight and dignity.

My name is Tatu Mirachi Juma.

TATU MIRACHI JUMA FARMER

I’ve come here to receive a cancer treatment.

I feel that being an albino is difficult,

but since God created me in this way, I’m thankful to Him.

Some people take...

around three days to come here.

This is thanks to our volunteer network that...

facilitates access to them when we are here.

The difficult cases, the ones that require complex surgery are

the ones expecting our arrival. Around twice a year.

Some of them will not be operated

because of the advanced stage of their tumors.

For others, life gives them a new opportunity.

Early in the morning Luis Ríos and Lorea start with the selection of patients.

There is not time to waste.

They seek to protect the greatest possible number of people.

A selection that differentiates to be or not to be,

hope or despair.

Life... and death.

Once we have decided what tumors are the most severe ones,

we organize the days of surgery,

We start the surgery... always prioritizing

the most aggressive cases to be operated for sure.

I don't know why.

-It must be a squamous-cell carcinoma. -Because she's albino.

-Do you want another? -No.

When everything is prepared, they start the surgery.

Ernest Kimaya’s body is full of tumors.

We are going to operate this albino patient.

He has...

LOREA BAGAZGOITIA DERMATOLOGIST

...over 6 tumors that seem to be epidermoid carcinomas.

Surgery will consist in removing them and closing the wounds.

Then, Doctor Cuevas will analyze them to confirm

we fully removed them.

That is what we usually do with all the patients.

Kimaya is the representative of albinos in the Parliament.

His life is important for the rights of albinos in Tanzania.

They go bare chested, they get much sun,

they burn many times and develop a lot of skin cancers

that limit their life expectancy.

They have a life expectancy of around 20 to 30 years.

This Spanish team is not only going to operate,

they also have the mission to teach

the doctors from Eastern African countries,

to establish a strong healthcare base over time.

This is also a challenge for...

dermatologists, because here there are albino patients

and patients with xeroderma pigmentosum.

Many of them have tumors you can’t find in Spain.

They are left untreated, they don’t operate it,

surgeries are very much delayed so,

a tumor that in Spain would be removed with a...

little edge or in a hardly developed stage, here it is much bigger.

They are very complicated patients

and represent a challenge for the dermatologist too.

-It hurts. -Does it hurt?

I have participated in the last 6 years in the workshops that we organize

here in RDTC in Moshi

and the experience is very rewarding.

Bit by bit, things are getting better

and, at least now,

some local doctors can perform surgery

and control some tumors on their own.

Patients can be treated in Africa

without waiting for anyone from outside to come help them.

We feel very satisfy

but we always feel that something is missing,

that more things can be done.

-...the left clavicle. -Pass me the tweezers.

-The left one. -Yes.

They’re very thankful patients.

SOCORRO ANSORENA NURSE

More than 6,300 kilometers to the north of Tanzania, in Spain,

we find another heroin.

Her name is Carmen.

She represents many values,

among them: The generosity and the capacity to give love.

Cristina came to us in a very unexpected way.

At first, a friend of us that lived in Mozambique asked us to handle a permit.

CARMEN MORMENEO FOSTER MOTHER

After doing all the arrangements

we offered to pick her up and take her to the hospital.

For a number of reasons,

we realized that there was nobody in Spain to take care of her.

On that day, I stayed with her at the hospital

and this day began one of the most...

beautiful stories of my life.

I stayed with Cristina, I didn’t know Cristina,

I didn’t love her...

I mean I felt all the affection you can have

for a girl that comes to your country, Spain, to die...

but to die in a more dignified way.

At least, suffering less than

she had suffered in her country until that moment.

See. From the very first moment, Cristina astonished us.

Because she came here not knowing how to speak Spanish

but she had an incredible capacity to assimilate

a world completely different to hers.

She faced...

LUIS ABAD FOSTER FATHER

...everything with...

an incredible serenity.

Even a tremendous pain

and it seemed as she had lived here all her life.

She won't be leaving for that reason...

It's incredible. I can't...