Edward Snowden writes encouraging letter to a 10-yr-old African girl to embrace being different

In the hand-written letter, Snowden shared his exile experience and urged her never to “stop defending the right to be different”.

‘Your differences are not weaknesses, they strengths,’ he wrote. (Source: Amnesty International/ Twitter)

Fighting any disease gets more difficult if social stigma is attached to it. But small steps taken by eminent people may often aid these fights. Recently, American pop-star Lady Gaga opened up about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), pouring her heart out in an open letter that assured other patients suffering from the mental illness that it is possible to cure with support.

Now, Edward Snowden has written an letter to a 10-year-old African girl living with Albinism, encouraging her to embrace the condition. In the letter he wrote, “It is shameful that people are being persecuted for being different. Your differences are not weaknesses, they are strengths. No child should fear that her liberty to participate and live as she desires is subject to the superstition and prejudice of others.”

The whistleblower wrote the inspiring letter as part of a day of action by the Amnesty International, an initiative to fight against human rights violations through “power of words”. The campaign was launched to mark Human Rights Day on December 10.

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According to a report by the Amnesty International, attacks on people with Albinism have been on the rise since November 2014. A report by the International Business Times stated, “Malawi Police data showed there were 69 reported cases of crimes against people with albinism, including 18 killings and five abductions.” The report also added shocking crime details of removing internal organs from deceased albinos from graves.

Malawi, a small African country, has nearly 10,000 people with the skin condition, and little Annie Alfred is one of them. In the country often albinos are targeted for their body parts as locals believe their organs possess some magical powers to cure diseases and even bring good luck and prosperity.

Read @Snowden‘s powerful solidarity letter to Annie, hunted for her body parts in Malawi for having albinism: https://t.co/uGF03T82XC #W4R16 pic.twitter.com/KGMOqL9XHU

— AmnestyInternational (@AmnestyOnline) December 10, 2016

In the hand-written letter, Snowden urged a young African girl suffering from Albinism to never “stop defending the right to be different”.

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