Visiting nine African countries over a month, we were pulled over by the police three times. The first was a bribe shakedown in a Namibian rental. The other two stops were “police family fundraising” speed-traps with local drivers. We only got out of one of these without a ticket or bribe. Driving back to Lilongwe from Lake Malawi we were stopped in a small village for being a few km/hr over their unposted limit. Our driver stepped out and after a lot of hand-waiving and chuckleheads belly-slapping each other, our driver returned with a smile and we drove away, waving goodbye to the now unsmiling and nervous-looking police. “They did not want to write a ticket for the honorable minister,” our driver said as we sped away. It seems he told them Shobana was the “Honorable Minister” (of Interior Development) and we were in a hurry to get to a meeting back in Lilongwe. He told them she’d be happy to pay the ticket, just please go talk to her. That was a big hell no from these guys. Of course, we didn’t know any of this sitting in the car a couple of smiling dodos. Hey, small victories right?
So, Malawi was certainly a departure from the past few stops. Ranking among the poorest countries in Africa, you actually feel that difference on arrival: no working ATMs in the airport, multiple “UN Food Programme” trucks in airport parking. As soon as you hit the main 2-lane road outside of the airport, you start seeing roadside food hawkers standing on the edge of the road waiving down cars. The noteworthy part was WHAT they were selling…. flame-grilled mice on skewers. I’m serious, I thought my eyes were mistaken at first, then I thought maybe that was a random one-off oddity, but after multiple hawkers right next to the cars I realized yep, I saw that right.
While Malawi may not have significant tourism infrastructure, the place still manages to feel very friendly & welcoming. We came across some old tourism board advertisements with the slogan: “The Warm Heart of Africa.” That sounds about right.
If I left with any particularly strong impression, it’s that of a place that’s been chronically exploited and victimized by colonizers. Presently, that would be Chinese construction loans that bring very little to local populations and leave behind trashy looking substandard buildings & roads. The worst part is that Malawi isn’t even the poorest country in Africa and they aren’t even among the most indebted to China.
One of the more interesting bookings of the trip, we stayed at a guest house in the diplomatic district that catered primarily to NGOs.
Homestyle food every night served at a scheduled time.
Malawi, like many other countries in Africa, has seen significant exploitation from Chinese government contracts that provide very little to the local population.
The Chinese promise something like, say, road and government building construction in exchange for mining rights or other resources. They bring in their own labor, construct facilities for Chinese use, and hightail it out of there after they’ve stripmined whatever they’re after, leaving behind “new” roads ruined by heavy equipment and substandard construction.
Wildlife photography in Malawi compliments of the Chinese
This is called irony.
Shobana looking on in awe at a Chinese construction masterpiece at the Malawi parliament.
This is supposed to be a water feature representing the geography of Malawi. There’s no water and it’s falling apart after only a few years.
The usual hero worship of a founding figure.
Lake Malawi
