Albino land players, who have few pigments such as skin and hair since they were born, ran at the Tokyo Paralympics with the thoughts of many albino people who are suffering from discrimination and at risk.
Monica Munga (22), the representative of Zambia in southern Africa, is an albino with little pigment on her skin and hair from the time she was born, and because she has little pigment on her retina, her eyesight is weak and she can only see nearby objects.
In Africa, many people believe in the superstition that albino has a special power, and some parts of the body are bought and sold at high prices for use in magic, and prejudice and discrimination are also persistent.
Munga started athletics in earnest at the age of 12, but said he was afraid to go out of the house after a friend of the same albino was killed by someone.
Even so, I decided to participate in the Paralympics for the first time by devoting myself to practice so that many people would know about the harsh conditions of albino through my success on land.
In the women's 400-meter visually impaired class held on the night of the 10th day of the tournament, Munga smiled at the camera when her name was announced before the qualifying race.
In the race, it was a development that was separated from other players from the beginning, but showed a strong run to the end and finished in 5th place out of 6 people, and set a personal best of nearly 3 seconds with a time of 1 minute 5 seconds 79 seconds. ..
"Many people don't have the right knowledge about albino. We are the same people, just with different skin tones," said Munga, aiming to realize a world where albino people can live with peace of mind. I want to continue running and raising my voice.