24 Nov 2015

Despite living with albinism, a condition viewed dimly by many people, 35-year-old Thuso Thite, also known as DJ White in music circles, has an encouraging story to tell.

DJ White said in an interview with BOPA that the attitude people have towards people with albinism should be based on their personalities and abilities and not their condition. 

“It takes a lot of courage for an albino to stand before crowds of people knowing that some of them are all too eager to contextualize every mistake you make,” he said before revealing that he is the first of six siblings and that his younger brother also has the condition although both their parents have a normal skin colour

“I realised at a very young age that I was different from other children because they always excluded me in our daily interactions,” he said, adding that occasionally his mates would be reluctant to play with him, wipe taps after he had used them, and even call him “disgusting names.”

He said the entertainment industry has made him what he is today and that after finishing his form five he assisted in the family business which included a night club and deejaying activity; hence the brand ‘DJ White.’

Dj White said being stigmatized has made him strong enough to face the cruel entertainment world and those who ridicule him squarely because he could speak his own mind and could also express himself head-on.

He recalled sadly how as a young student his class mates would not want him to fetch the bucket containing their daily food ration, which attitudes would harden the way he grew up to view the world around him. 

“Ba ne ba re mmala wame o tlaa sala mo kgamelong o b abo ba tshwana le nna,” meaning that the other students were afraid they could catch his condition through the marks he could leave on the bucket.

 There were also moments of booing by other children, plenty of it, the DJ pointed out, saying at times he would retaliate either by fighting or shouting at them as well.

 However, such taunts never demoralised him; rather they strengthened him more, with his parents also being very defensive and protective of their child. 

He said the support from his family motivated him to excel in his ambitions although some things were made more difficult by the fact that people did not  understand his condition.

“Making friends was difficult, let alone dating,” he said, adding that he nevertheless had positive people around him that encouraged him go on with life as normal as possible. He has a fiance and a daughter.“I am glad my daughter does not experience any booing from her mates like her father did,” said DJ White, adding that, in any case, these days, most people are more understanding than in the past. Ends