December 9, 2003
lessons from malawi
The first day here in Tanzania has been really good. To someone suffering through the first onslaught of winter in DC, it's perfect weather for December (clear skies, warm sun and a good breeze). But they do need rain. The maize crops may be in trouble if it doesn't rain soon. And that means hungry people.
This is my third time here at Mweka, and the first time I've had a good, clear view of Mt. Kilimanjaro with no clouds on it. It was AMAZING - the moutain just takes up the whole sky! I got some good pictures of it this morning, but I won't be able to download them until I get back this weekend.
Even better than that was seeing the top of Kili in the moonlight the other night. Wow - that's something that won't get preserved on film - you just can't capture it. Normally I love to look at the stars in the African sky when I'm here, but a full moon drowns out some of the spectacle.
I had dinner and a few beers (ah, Castle!) with some other conference participants last night and I learned a few things about Malawi, Namibia and children. We were discussing population growth and conservation and someone asked whether any countries were under populated. Now, that's not something you hear very often, given our concern with huma population growth and overconsumption. But I learned that the president of Namibia had recently made a public appeal to the men of his country to stop drinking beer and go home to sleep with their wives and make babies! He thinks that the country is underpopulated and wants to encourage people to breed. It's very true that African men are fond of their beer - just surprising that they have to be told to have sex.
In Malawi, there's something called fisi culture. Fisi means hyena in kiswahili. When a couple has been married for a few years and has no children, they think that it must be the man's fault. So sometimes, a fisi will be hired to have sex with the woman in hopes of producing a child. And the husband, with full knowledge that the child may not be biologically his, will raise the child as his own. VERY different from most cultures, where the woman is usually blamed for being sterile. However, the system may be spreading HIV/AIDS. If a fisi is having sex with many partners, then the chances of spreading HIV/AIDS is pretty high. And how likely is it that women would want to have sex with some strange man? The fisi system also introduces girls to sex when they reach puberty. In some countries, women are beginning to refuse the fisi system, because they don't want to sleep with an old, drunk man (typical in some village systems) and don't want to expose themselves to diseases. Africa is growing and developing, but women are still treated horribly in many cases.
That's about it for now. The symposium starts tomorrow and I'll give my presentation in the afternoon. My colleagues from Cameroon are, of course, delayed, so the reason that I got here is somewhat moot. I'm hoping that they'll arrive by tomorrow afternoon, so keep your fingers crossed for them.
Posted by natalie at December 9, 2003 6:44 AM | TrackBackSpecks,
I drank your Goats Do Roam last night. Thought that was fitting as you are in Africa. It was a great beverage to complement the 6 inches of snow outside.