Being Different

With our limping internet connection speed reminiscent of the early days of dial-up, and the inaccessibility of English language radio, we are sadly behind in our knowledge of global affairs. But even in rural Malawi, the maelstrom of the Ferguson protests have reached us. The core of this issue, as I understand it, is racism. As a white American in relatively homogenous upstate New York, I’d never really seen racism because it didn’t affect me. But after living in southern Africa, I know what it’s like to be different, and to be judged for how you look. I’ve been called racial slurs (the word, in case you’re wondering, is booga), charged a higher price for products, been unable to find hair or beauty products for my ethnicity, and been followed and harassed. (To be fair, on the other end, I’ve also been treated with more respect, friendliness and regard because of my skin color.) But I have chosen this life, and can just as easily escape it and move back to anonymity. So I don’t pretend to understand and experience racism as a black person in the U.S. does. This issue, the age-old “us vs. them” mentality which drives racism, is also present here in Malawi. Although there is relative religious tolerance overall, harmful thoughts and opinions remain. Another similar issue is the stigmatization of people living with HIV. And this, dear reader, is how I link the news stories you are bombarded with through facebook, the newspaper, and newscasts to my own experiences here. Malawi has a Muslim minority, consisting of 20% of the population (Dehnert, 2007). Our village’s location on the lakeshore and proximity to Salima means that it is more diverse, with a more even distribution between Muslims and Christians, or the Yao tribe (predominantly Muslim) and Chewa tribe.

The Catholic Church

As I write this, the joyous voices of the choir singing in ChiChewa and a keyboard melodize from the simple Catholic Church next door. Several times a day, the imam’s call to prayer resonates in Arabic from the loudspeaker at the mosque. Covertly, people in the village still gossip about witchcraft and rely on traditional medicine when Western medicine fails. These three belief systems, Christianity, Islam and to a lesser extent, animism, converge in this village of 4,000 people, but not without conflict. A couple of months ago, we were invited to an Apostolic church gathering held on the beach. The day included a sermon, a Bible trivia game, a feast of a lunch, swimming and volleyball, and was attended by Apostolic church members from Salima and the village. The following weekend, the Catholic church had members visiting from Lilongwe, and sang hymns late into the night. Both of these events passed without ill-will or gossip.

The Mosque

But when the Muslims of the village converged for an all-night rally, the Christians voiced their disapproval. As we were walking home the evening of the rally, we passed an acquaintance sitting at the grinding mill, staring at the crowd of Muslims sitting under a tent at the market. We asked about the event with curiosity, which released a diatribe from the man. He complained that the religious leaders were speaking in Arabic, so that others could not understand what was being said. Therefore, they must be saying hateful things about the Christians, such as calling them dogs or other insults. We heard this remark repeated by other Christians in the village as well. However, the loudspeaker used at the event carried to our house, and from 5pm until we fell asleep at 9pm, the majority was in ChiChewa with only prayers recited in Arabic. This man then proclaimed that he didn’t like Muslims. I reacted with surprise to this remark, as this man is on the board of a community organization that is comprised mostly of Muslims. However, this man was far from the only dissenter. Others complained that the imam put on a recording then fell asleep, and in the morning announced that he had divulged the will

Malawian Kwatcha

of Allah, and that those in attendance should donate money to him and his mosque. The village is comprised mostly of subsistence farmers and fishermen, so any donation is difficult. However, the pastor at the Apostolic event also announced that church members should donate 10% of their income to the church, which is little different. Elsewhere in Malawi, religious strife has manifested after religious organization Gideon’s International distributed Bibles in Islamic schools in southern Malawi in 2010. Arising just one month after a Florida pastor threatened to burn the Koran, fanatics in southern Malawi torched the free Bibles that were circulated (Reuters Africa, 5 October 2010). Religious difference is also exacerbated by tribalism. Nationwide, 20% of Malawians are estimated to be Muslim, and are often from the Yao tribe, while Christians are mostly Chewa people. The Yao traded ivory, grains and slaves in exchange for clothing and guns by Arab traders, who first arrived in the late 1700s. The Yao captured slaves from neighboring tribes, and this partnership with the Arabs ensured their prosperity. The Arab traders also proselytized Islam, adopted by the Yao people. The Yao later resisted colonialism the strongest, rejecting the Christianity brought by European missionaries (Dehnert, 2007). Another stigmatized minority in Malawi is people living with HIV/AIDS. 1 December marked World AIDS Day, so I collaborated with the clinic’s drama group to put on an event including dramas, song and dance, a debate, and games to educate the village about HIV prevention, misconceptions about transmission, and stigma.

In one drama acted out by the group, a scene reminiscent of the Ryan White saga of the 80s, the young actors sit together in a make-believe classroom. The teacher is disturbed from his lesson by the students moving around, putting distance between themselves and one boy. This boy is HIV-positive, and the other students fear contact with him. The teacher educates the students about HIV transmission, and forces them to shake his hand to illustrate that simple contact cannot spread the virus. One girl grudgingly shakes his hand, then frantically wipes her hand off on her skirt. Another classmate tries to shake the boy’s hand through the protection of his tee shirt. The audience laughs, but they are educated about transmission, thus reducing stigma towards those living with HIV/AIDS in the community. In Malawi, over 10% of adults are HIV-positive, and 48,000 people died from the complication of AIDS last year (UNAIDS, 2013). The local clinic has a catchment area of 18,000 people living in 8 surrounding villages. In this catchment area, around 10 new people start the HIV treatment of antiretroviral therapy each month. Antiretroviral therapy requires near-perfect adherence, and a lack of food, the sickness it invokes, depression, and stigma are all obstacles

A drama character is devastated to learn his positive HIV status

to adherence. Last week, three people died in the village over a course of three consecutive days: an old woman in her 80s, an old man, and a middle-aged woman. Two of these people were Muslim, and were buried in the Muslim cemetery which we pass by often on our way to and from the guesthouse and office. There were burials here one day after another, leaving two new graves side by side, demarcated by fresh, white sand and two small tree cuttings placed at the head and foot to mark graves in the absence of expensive cement. People don’t talk about the cause of death; this is a Western phenomenon where medicine is able to answer these questions for us. But a few days ago, I met an AIDS activist who wanted to arrange a meeting for people living with HIV in the catchment area, to explain the importance of adhering to antiretroviral therapy. His motivation was the recent rash of deaths, two of which were to individuals with AIDS who did not follow their treatment. HIV, as we know, is a virus that does not discriminate based on religion, race or any other arbitrary characteristic.

So to quote Old Crow Medicine Show, “Surely all people are made for each other / Join in together when the days turn to dust / So let the prison walls crumble, let the borders all tumble / there is place for us all here and ain’t it enough?”

Dehnert, K. (2007). Christian-Muslim relations in Malawi, Africa 1860s-2007. Retrieved from http://www.muslimpopulation.com/pdf/malawi_Christian_Muslim%20relation.pdf Banda, M. (2010, 5 October).

Reuters Africa. Malawi Muslims burn Bibles in protest. Retrieved from http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE6940HY20101005

UNAIDS (2013). HIV and AIDS estimates (2013). Retrieved from http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/malawi