Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Malawi

Malawi is a small landlocked densely populated southern/central African country with more than its fair share of unemployment corruption and HIV positive infections.

“Discovered” by the original English African explorer/missionary David Livingstone who originally named Lake Malawi as Lake Nyasa in September 1859.Clearly an inspiration to other English predominantly Anglican missionaries they literally trail-blazed through the country, and indeed still do today. Missionaries are eligible for unlimited stay visas into Malawi.

Whilst English colonialism brought an end to the slave trade and intertribal fighting in what had been named Nyasaland, land rights were stolen with increasing regularity as well as increasingly high taxation levied. Independence was finally gained in 1964 under the leadership of Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Banda was ruthless in his quelling of opposition office and ran a virtual dictatorship for almost 30 years; even Lonely Planet’s Malawi guide fell victim to the heavy censorship.

Banda’s successor Bakili Muluzi was assisted by the IMF to bring about economic reforms and political prisons were quickly closed, however food prices and unemployment soared, and complaints of corruption and mismanagement abounded. Forced to step down after serving mandatory 2 terms as president, he chose Bingu wa Mutharika as his successor. The country suffered huge famines in 2005 without much be reported on it.

Lonely Planet describe Malawians as “some of the friendliest people in Africa who will go out of the way to help others". My experiences with both Vincent from Cobue and Lester on Likoma would seem to bear this out.

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