Tuesday, October 4, 2011

After the rain

I was invited last week by an Italian NGO called Cooperazione Internazional to assist one of their workshop in Lilongwe. It was about risk assessment and management of river flooding in Malawi. The causes, the impact and the mitigation methods were being discussed with a lot of different and important Malawian people from forestry, water, education, wildlife and more. It was really interesting to observe the reflections and discussions that came out of it. I was glad to be part of it, to be in the middle of it; I was intrigued about what refrains the changes and I wanted to understand the background from their perspective. How is the use of charcoal and wood important for cooking and wood also important for construction. How does the cycle of electricity shortage (mostly due to an accumulation of sediments and silt in the Shire River because of deforestation – electricity here in Malawi is hydroelectricity, but the Shire River becomes more and more silty every year due to runoffs it breaks the turbines and affects the flow) affect people’s behaviour and desire to use electricity for cooking instead of charcoal. How is selling and using firewood and charcoal a livelihood for many villagers and changing this part of the equation will take a long time. Breaking the cycle that currently prevents good, affordable, well distributed and reliable (hydro)electricity to more areas and more people is a complex challenge and is just one part of the problem that accentuates the floods in Malawi. Forestry industry and needs is part of the deforestation problem that leads to flooding, but so is over population that leads to change in land use, increasing the number of housing and cropland to provide food for this increasing population. And to make it even more complex, deforestation is only one piece of the puzzle. For things to change and for prevention method to be effective, there needs to be an increase in education and knowledge regarding the issues, a better harmonization of the policies and a more open minded communication between the different parties playing a role. But chances are that things will get worse before they get better, this is part of how change works…unfortunately.

The use of charcoal and firewood to cook combined with the dust and sand in the air leads to health problems like pneumonia, lungs cancers, burns and many more. The health system here is not so efficient and not so good and is often over capacity. But things are about to get worse, real worse. The British government has  removed all aid money and help system from Malawi a few months ago due to major miss alignment between the President of Malawi and an English Diplomat who was living here. The money that was given by the British government was mostly going to buying medicines (legal drugs) for the hospitals and health centers. which means that the government of Malawi now needs to buy the medicines itself, and they need to buy them with for-ex money. Malawi has been facing a lot of problems with the lack of foreign exchange over the last few years: the lack of diesel and petrol being the most known impact and became one of the main reason for the tension and protests that occurred a couple months ago. The President recently decided to momentarily fix the problem to buy time and peace. He took the money (for-ex) that was approved and needed to buy medicines to buy some diesel and petrol…but now the fuel is almost gone and there are no medicines available in most health centers. This means that a lot of people in needs of malaria treatment, pneumonia, cancer and HIV/AIDS treatment will be condemned if nothing is being done. I’m not an expert in this, so this is an oversimplification of the problem and of the situation.

Since I arrived in Malawi, I had many discussions with white Zimbabweans and Zambians who are now living in Malawi or doing business here. Most of them are saying the same alarming thing: this is all the trouble started in their original country, this is how things became really messy and revolt began. The same kind of problems that  Malawi is facing right now have happened in Mozambique, Zambia, then Zimbabwe before and these same problems were the flag, the tip of the iceberg that was coming their way. Through the years of revolt, frustrations and government changes in these countries, many lost their land, their family, their businesses and their dignity. It is pretty intense to hear about those stories, to think that Malawi could be going through many dark and tough years soon. When the balance of things changes, it is hard to fix it and bring it back on track, especially when there is no resources available. So to all of you who are asking me about the situation in Malawi at the moment, I say: I think this is the calm before the storm! I might be wrong, and I’ll be extremely glad to be, but at this point, I have a hard time believing that things will get better in the next few years. Let’s see and hope that it’s not too late to bring Malawi back to equilibrium.

I came here to realize that we, people who grew up in a rich and develop country, live a comfortable, safe and stable life in our own bubble. I came here to help the water and sanitation system, I thought tis was one of the biggest issue and problems Malawians were facing. I thought things here were complicated and difficult, but I would never have thought that they would be this complex. Where do we start, where do we put your energy and how do we focus on one part of the system when there are so many parts that we don’t understand or think about that create distortion and malfunction. I’m shocked, I’m troubled, I’m part of the problem and now too aware to just leave it as it is. Having stayed in Canada, even with my eyes wide open, I would never have felt how I feel now, I’d only see and hear what is being told. I realized that there is a major difference between being an informed, devoted but distant observer and getting your feet in the mud to experience a slight part of other people’s reality. I’m not even close to say I understand this reality and its problems, but I'm saying that I am questioning and slowly discovering the complexity that lies behind it. To fully understand the depth of the situation I’m into would take me way more than year, but this year gives me a perspective that I would never have gotten having only being a tourist passing through here. To be part of the change starts by changing ourselves and the way we think or view things. I know now that I will forever be changed, troubled and thankful for such an amazing experience, but I also know I will forever be looking for ways to get more, to do more, to give more.

Ahhh endearing Africa!

Have a good one my dearest friends

Ge

1 comment:

J said...

oh really great post Ge! I haven't been in this mindframe for a while, thanks for the thoughts. :)