To the blind man’s eye

Sunday morning, I’m done with washing my clothes, I went to church at 7am, because that’s what people do here. My mon and dad will be so proud of me. I sat my the choir by mistake so I had to get up and sing. I realized I don’t know any of the prayers in English, but it was still easier to follow than last week as it wasn’t in Tumbuka and it was a catholic church not an African one. Thanks to my parents for sending me to a catholic school went I was a kid, so I at least knew what to do and how to receive the communion without looking too too stupid.

Religion is definitely one of the most important things in Africa. It seems to hold a lot of falling pieces together; it seems to give them hope and light in a really though place on earth. I’m not sure where I stand on this ground, but I know that having faith in whatever is a way to ease the pain and suffering of one’s. When the think they’ve been abandoned and left behind, they still have the faith that God is with them and in them, that he will save them. Part of me thinks that religion can be a really powerful and dangerous way to take control over people, sometimes leading to war and abuse. I’m not sure that each and every preacher who exists is necessary a good voice to lead people who, in most cases, blindly believe. I was in the bus the other day coming from Lilongwe and there was a preacher yelling stuff about how sickness will be cured by God, that God will save us and deliver us. He was in a twisted way taking about HIV and AIDS. He was saying that if you believe in Christ, you will not suffer, that he will protect you from it, that he will save you if you have it. I still believe that protection should come from using condoms, and I think it’s misleading to use religion to such a tangible and huge problem. I believe in spirituality and in karma, but I fear the church and the interpretation it has made to explain things. Anyway, religion can’t be that bad when it brings people together like it does here in Malawi. It gives them a reason to dress up and get together to pray for things to get better. From where I come from, we pray to get a better life as well, but I realized this morning that we have good lives, we have everything we need and so much more, what can we really wish for. What can we dream of, when a big part of this world we all share is praying for health, water and a good harvest so they can have food to survive. I’m questioning how can things be so different. It makes me sad and reflective. I don’t think I can comeback to Canada without considering my life and the way we act in a different light. We hear about people’s misery and reality, but it won’t touch you until you actually live in it and see what it means to be poor, to be sick and to fight for survival. And somehow there is so much to be learn about their internal strength to go through this with a smile, pride and courage.  

I had a long chat yesterday with my friend Abell, the pastor, about beliefs, religion, relationship, culture, differences and life. He is 30 years old, has a beautiful wife and two kids. He was asking me questions about Canada, about snow, washing machine, oven, electricity, comfort. He was also interested to understand our views of parenthood and marriage, my views on relationships as well as religion. In a way I was feeling super connected to him and at the same time, so far. I think he understands and respect my differences, but can’t completely understand what I’m describing. He is well educated and open minded for a Malawien. We are good friends I think; we go running every other morning and go swim in the lake every now and then; he is also helping me learning Tumbuka. Contrary to many people, he sees me as someone just like him, not as a muzungu and he is super kind and fun. It’s good to be able to talk with someone even if there are many things I can’t tell him.

This morning I woke up to my roommate, the hen, chatting with her new born chicks. We are now 12 of us in my room: myself, the hen and the 10 chicks. I’m not counting the unwanted visitors like the scorpions, the spiders, the crickets, the termites, the ants and the frog (I kind of like the frog though as it eats the others!). Then I got dress and on my way to the latrine realized that the rain over the night destroyed it. It makes me doubt the stability of my own room as it’s made in the same way! I also learnt that my “Mama” was badly sick. Then I went to fetch water for my bucket shower.

In my next post, I’ll tell you about the findings of my research project so far. I’ll describe my work in the field with Malawians, its complexity and challenges.

Have a great Sunday

Ge