An 8-year-old boy named Abushe lives in Jinka, in southern Ethiopia. He was marginalized from his village because he has a special condition; he has incredibly blue eyes.

But this quality is not seen well by many in Africa, just as albinos are rejected.

Abushe has had to live from a very young age with contempt from most of the people around him, he is continually bullied by other children and does not receive the same opportunities as other boys his age.

But Abushe is not cursed nor does he have evil inside his body, but rather he suffers from Waardenburg syndrome, it is a genetic disorder that causes Abushe to have eyes of a very special bluish tone, since they are very bright.

This syndrome only affects 1 in 300,000 people, however, it also means having certain degrees of deafness and the rejection of many people who do not understand this condition.

Abushe lives with his grandmother in a cabin made of adobe and wood, it is a modest home after the house burned down and they lost everything. Now they have the basics and what little money they have is used so that Abushe can attend school.

When he was born, his parents believed that he was blind, however, they never sought treatment or any kind of diagnosis due to his very precarious financial condition. They knew they would never be able to pay for Abushe’s medical bills.

His family has never considered him to be “cursed” or with defects, on the contrary, they consider that those eyes and his condition in general are a “gift from God”, since very few people are blessed with such a gift.

Abushe’s only luxury item is a red soccer ball. It’s all he had left of that fire. Abushe loves football and tries to watch a game whenever possible, he admires Lionel Messi.

“Messi is the same as me. He is not like the others!”

It seems that when you play soccer you can imagine that being different from everyone is not a problem, but rather a special characteristic. He is always seen smiling, with that look and a big smile he is capable of captivating anyone.

As has happened with some people who, after meeting him, are shocked on the spot. For example, the photographer Eric Lafforgue or the traveler Mike Eloff.

The latter tells on his website the exact moment he met Abushe and the impression he had of his eyes from the first moment he saw them so close to him.

He had the opportunity to talk a little with Abushe and for him to tell him some things about his life, especially how much other children or people bother him for having this special condition.

This type of rejection should not exist, all human beings deserve respect regardless of their condition, especially if it is a child with a genetic condition. Hopefully rejection doesn’t haunt him all his life, every day he struggles to face the pain he suffers from discrimination.

Nature, genetics, experiences and memories that you can take from traveling around the world are wonderful. Hopefully Abushe’s fate is better than what he has to live now.

Share this story if you found it interesting, we must remind the world that discrimination should not exist.