Travel
Travels in Malawi
The
Warm Heart of Africa
With
thanks to EMH and GJH
Farah
Ghuznavi
Africa has
long held a fascination for me. It started before the onset
of adulthood, when we start to view the world differently (i.e.,
in terms of poverty, violence, crime etc). Then, we often learn
to fear what is different. To a child's mind, the very distance,
and the images of isolated wilderness and exotic animals --
so different from our own populous region -- added to the idea
of Africa as an exciting and faraway place. And embarrassed
though I am to admit it, no doubt a regular diet of Tarzan films
on Sunday afternoon BTV also played their part in contributing
to this perception!
That
fascination has rarely been translated into action, though.
With the exception of a work-trip to Uganda some years ago,
my only experience of Africa (and that too, of Arab Africa)
has been a truly wonderful visit to Egypt a few years ago. So,
when the opportunity recently came, to visit friends in Malawi,
in Southern Africa, it seemed foolish to turn it down. I did
not know much about Malawi, although I had heard about the famous
Lake Malawi (the third largest lake in Africa, covering around
a fifth of the country's land area). But my friends assured
me it was a beautiful place, and that the people were friendly,
which seemed a good start!
I must admit
to having had some concerns about the general attitude Malawians
might have towards Indians (and therefore, by implication, towards
me). In much of Africa, Indians (a generic term used to describe
anyone from the Indian subcontinent) play an important role
in trade and commerce. Sometimes their relative prosperity,
along with their (commonly-held) racial attitudes, that view
black Africans as inferior (perhaps reflecting our internalisation
of colonial attitudes), make Indians unpopular.
In this
regard, I once had an encounter at Nairobi airport that was
rather instructive. Although I was actually in transit to Uganda,
and travelling with a Ghanaian friend, one of the airport officials
in Nairobi went out of his way to give me a hard time, aggressively
questioning me about my plans and demanding proof to support
my claims of work-related travel. I was taken aback by his unpleasantness,
although I knew already that Indians were particularly resented
in Kenya (for the reasons mentioned earlier). That I had not
misinterpreted the encounter in any way was made obvious when
my Ghanaian friend unhappily apologised to me afterwards. "I
am so ashamed that he behaved that way with you," she said,
"I guess racism is everywhere, huh?" Although this
did not put me off travel in Africa, it did mean that I was
watching out for such sensitivities in Malawi.
During a
stay at one of the lodges on the shores of Lake Malawi, I was
to be reassured in this regard. The manager there asked where
I was from, and upon hearing, said I was the first Bangladeshi
he had ever met. When one of my friends commented that I looked
like an Indian, he looked at me carefully, before responding
slowly, that yes, I did. But he also added that I looked different
somehow. Pressed on the latter point, he smiled to himself,
as if with some secret meaning, and said, "You can tell
an Indian immediately. You don't look quite like them…"
(adding, laughingly) "They are good business people, you
know. They can sell you an empty bottle of water and make you
think it is something special!" So -- I thought to myself
-- at least I don't look like an exploitative or "chatur"
(chapabaj) South Asian…And while my Kenyan experience
ensured that I also kept an eye out for any strange reactions
to me on the streets during my stay in Malawi, I saw none, beyond
a general interest. Or an occasional desire to sell me something.
And that was no greater or less than the interest shown in my
European friends. In fact, I have to say that Malawi is one
of the few places where I did not see Asians being treated any
differently (better OR worse) from white, or for that matter,
black people. It was a refreshing change!
In recent
years, I have met many Africans in the course of my work, and
while it is dangerous to generalise, I have often found them
more easygoing than Asians. This is particularly true of the
non-Arab parts of Africa, where people are often very relaxed,
having fewer inhibitions in general, and fewer social inhibitions
in particular. The latter point in itself can sometimes cause
friction with Asians, who tend to be more conservative, and
also disapprove of more permissive societies. The Malawians
were very interesting to me in this regard, because the people
I encountered were not as uninhibited as other Africans I have
met, and not at all aggressive in their approach to you (either
as sellers or as would-be "friends"). What was striking
in the midst of obvious poverty was the general friendliness
of most people; they smiled, or called out "Hello".
They waved as you drove past. I should add that even when people
said "Hello", it was rarely followed up by intrusive
questions, or an attempt to get something from you (as is often
the case elsewhere). Apart from the occasional beggar only in
one place, on the outskirts of Lilongwe, did children ask us
for money. That reminded me of the ubiquitous "Bondhu,
baksheesh", that is heard all too often at home. But even
then (to my relief), they were happy enough to wave and say
"Bye-bye" when we smilingly refused.
Getting
a sense of the people there was perhaps one of the most interesting
aspects of the visit. The poverty in Malawi cannot be missed.
You see many people wearing clothing which is old and tattered.
One man wore a shirt that was literally falling to pieces on
his back. There is no lack of 'pot-bellied' children, whose
bodies show the clear signs of malnourishment. And the concerns
that wealthier people have are clear in the multiplicity of
electric fences and guard-dogs (Rotweilers and Alsatians, usually
muzzled to indicate ferocity, are the canines of choice). Despite
that, most ordinary people you meet are striking in their politeness,
and often take pains to say "thank you", "welcome"
and "sorry", when the situation allows for such an
exchange. Malawi Airlines, the national carrier, advertises
itself as "Africa's Friendly Airline". I noted this
with some degree of cynicism on my way there, since airlines
are notorious for making wild claims about being your home away
from home, without usually having much basis for such claims.
And while Malawi Airlines was friendly enough, I must say that
the friendliness of the Malawian people I came across lent weight
to the claim that the country is "The Warm Heart of Africa".
My entry
into Malawi (in the context of a lifetime of difficult immigration
queues, by virtue of having my particular green passport) was
one of the easiest I have ever experienced. Despite not having
a visa (procedures in this regard were unclear when I was planning
the travel), I was simply asked what I did, and requested to
provide some United Nations ID as proof of employment there.
Upon doing so, I was granted entry with no charge (despite making
it very clear that I was not there on official business). This
was in striking contrast to a subsequent trip to Cambodia, where
I was on official travel, and had the necessary supporting documents
to prove this. In that case, I was made to wait for around an
hour, after being taken out of the immigration queue, and made
to stand rather visibly on the side (apparently because they
thought I might be Afghan which, apart from being a first for
me, is not in itself a criminal offence, as far as I'm aware!)…
In fact, the airport in Lilongwe reminded me of how the old
Dhaka airport used to be. It was very small and open-sided,
so that you could look out at the many beautiful flowering trees,
with their scarlet, yellow and purple blooms. Indeed, we had
not even reached the terminal building before we encountered
our first Malawian fauna--a gigantic monitor lizard, over three
feet long (rather like a miniature dinosaur) crossing the tarmac
in front of our airport bus.
Malawi
has one of the highest population densities in Africa, but coming
from Bangladesh, I couldn't really take this seriously. The
drive from the airport into Lilongwe was characterised by lush
undergrowth and many trees on either side of the road. Every
now and then, you passed small concentrations of ten or twenty
people, but in between there were many periods where you didn't
see anyone. In Lilongwe itself, the population is more evident,
but even then, the town is scattered, without a clear centre.
You drive from concentration to concentration (shopping malls,
or office blocks), with long stretches of road in between. At
some crossings you see people selling a variety of items, which
range from children's wooden toys to avocados and other fruit,
to live kittens staring at you bemusedly, while they are being
held up by the seller. People mostly walk to places (there are
no baby-taxis or rickshaws), though there are tempo-sized vans,
which ferry around people for longer distances. Many can be
seen munching on roasted corncobs or sticks of sugar cane, much
like home.
(To
be continued)
Copyright
(R) thedailystar.net 2004
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