Celebrating Malawi Independence

Celebrating Malawi Independence
July 6, 2009

I started the day trying to kill a HUGE spider but missed him and he now resides inside the baseboard to emerge later, perhaps at night when I’m sleeping. I shall try not to think about it. Or of the jumping spider I killed on my bedspread. As I write this, another large bug walks the wall beside me. The lizards don’t bother me but the creepy, crawlies do. Oh well ….

Today is Malawi Independence Day, celebrating its independence from Great Britain in 1964 although the country did not have multi-party elections until 1994. The thirty years under Banda was independence from Great Britain but didn’t represent the freedom of thought and expression that Malawians now have.

The schools, of course, are closed, so we figured that everything in town would also be closed. Not so. Everything was open except the banks, post office, and other government offices. Most of the shops are run by Indians, and since many Malawians work for the government, it’s a good day to shop. Ann and I walked around town, enjoying the ambience. Each year about this time, when I know the time is growing short, I walk through Zomba Town, trying to soak up all the images, sounds, and smells to last me for a year. I love being downtown when the call to prayer blares forth from the beautiful, turn-of-the-century green mosque that sits squarely in the center of town. Just as in earlier days, when the mosques were surrounded by shops and vendors, this one is bordered by shops and the large mostly open-air market, where you wind among rows of vendors offering everything from parts to fix your car to live chickens and butchered goats to wondrous seasonal vegetables.

All the festivities going on at Muluzi Stadium in Blantyre were on television. Each town and village sent people to dance and sing traditional dances with each member of Parliament participating with his/her district. The performances were in front of President Mutarika’s reviewing stand. Very colorful and educational. Towns and villages were encouraged to put up lights (like Christmas lights). Tonight coming home, colored lights were strung across the one main intersection of town.

Annie Fletcher, the owner of Annie’s Lodge, invited all the students and advisors to her house for a late lunch. She has recently moved into her new home at Seven-Mile on the Blantyre road. Three cars shuttled us to her house (two brought us back, so we were really jammed in). We met Annie’s large extended family that live with her. Dinner was a large Malawian “spread” with a large table loaded with many traditional dishes. We filled our plates and found places to sit throughout the many large rooms and porch. A music system was set up and soon the colored lights were flashing and people were dancing and talking and mingling. Todd and Beth played with Annie’s grandchildren, chasing each other, playing tag, and generally having a good time with the kids.

Annie told Liz, Ann, and I about a large group of women that she had organized prior to the election – a group which was likely responsible for the election of the first woman vice-president in their history. She envisions the group continuing to grow and becoming influential in empowering women to take leadership roles in business and community affairs, instead of waiting like Malawian women for the man to lead and the woman to follow. We left with plans to work with her further because the three of us are extremely involved in gender issues and matters of equality.