Renowned poet Robert Chiwamba has called on fellow artists in the country not to sit back but continue the good work of utilising their talent to fight different causes including the killings of people with albinism.
Chiwamba famed for poems such as Udzafa Imfa Yowawa and the latest Flames Siyizamva, hailed poets yesterday for working together using their poems to spread messages in the campaign against albino killings of people with albinism.
Through an online hub for poets, sapitwapoetry.com, Chiwamba and other poets joined in the fight against the killings in by putting on the ground an initiative which started running from July 1 to 31.
Chiwamba said that having developed a website for poetry downloads under Sapitwa Poetry, they thought of taking up a leading role in the fight against the killings.
Among others, through the platform they organised poets, who recorded 35 poems, 15 English and 20 Chichewa poems which they have been posting on the website and people have been downloading.
“We just want to thank media houses for also giving us a platform to broadcast the material. As part of the campaign we also sourced brief quotes from renowned people and we have been posting on social media,” said Chiwamba.
“As poets we were touched with the killings and abductions and felt we should also take up a leading role in the campaign. Our voice has been heard and although the campaign runs up to July 31, we will continue spreading the message,” said the poet.
Chiwamba added:
“People with albinism are humans like us and have a right to life and we need to respect them and not subject them to abductions and killings and this needs to stop forthwith.”
Chiwamba said as artists, they need to stick together in different causes adding that artists are powerful in their own right and that they have helped bring about change.
He said the name Sapitwa was suggested by Wokoma-atani Malunga symbolising how big and deep poetry on the site will be having taken into consideration that Sapiwa is a peak found on Malawi’s biggest mountain –Mulanje.
While poets have been running a campaign, musicians recently also marched against the killings during the World Music Day celebration.
Some musicians have also released songs against the killing of people with albinism.
Visual artist Ellis Tayamika Singano last month also exhibited a painting The Lost Heads during the official opening of the Jacaranda Cultural Centre and La Maison de la France in Blantyre.
Since November 2014, at least 18 people have been killed and at least five have been abducted and remain missing.
Another case also happened recently in the Northern region where a woman with albinism had her hand chopped off by unknown people.
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