Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 73

url='/Videos/3622.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3622.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'Mada scooping nsima Well to give you a quick update about the case of Sourire, the immigration official decided to reopen her case. She swore up and down that it had nothing to do with the pressure that had been brought to bear by us and others, claiming rather that she had been apprised of “new information.” But there was no new information—except the information in Sourire’s file which the official had neglected to read before interviewing her. But as my boss explained to me, a large part of being a lawyer is knowing how to remain deferential even after you prove someone wrong. On Saturday I came into the office to do some work online (we only get internet after hours and on weekends!), and then I walked into town with one of ... read more

url='/Videos/3582.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3582.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'Food stalls at Dzaleka Well I confronted my first real challenge here in a (near-)attorney capacity. Today a group of fifteen students who have been approved for a program to study abroad in a Western country had their interviews with the country’s immigration official to determine whether they would gain refugee status there. No student approved by the program has ever been rejected by the country’s immigration before, but to our great surprise a student from Rwanda I’ll call Sourire—whose refugee status has been recognized both by Malawi and UNHCR—was turned down. I went with a colleague to meet with the immigration official to try and determine what happened and whether she might appeal. The official was a nightmare. She couldn’t discuss individual cases, she initially said, ... read more

Tues 29 May Headed north along lakeshore and then inland up a 15km horrendous rough and steep road climbing 1500m to Livingstonia - site of the Scottish Mission founded by the Scotsman Dr Robert Laws. Stayed overnight at the ‘Mushroom Farm Lodge’ - a small backpacker lodge with 1500m vertical views. Local lads guided us to a waterfall with a cave behind where people reputedly hid to avoid paying taxes. Not being too keen on heights I chickened out and left Tamsin to the locals - personally I would rather have paid the taxes than have hidden there Wed 30 May Wandered around Livingstonia - looked like a cross between a ‘model village’, an army base, a council estate, and a posh public school. All neatly laid out with a huge church, a hospital, a ... read more

Mon 28 May Emerged from our dingy Travelodge and gave the battery another wallop and Jonathan appeared to guide us to a local mechanic who charged £2 for parts (new connectors) and a £2 tip for his time. But for the rest of the trip I was never 100% confident about the go-anywhere reliability of the 4x4, especially as the back door kept jamming, the exotic gauges (altimeter, compass, angle we were tipped at, etc) all had very wild readings, and a few other niggles. And we were to travel miles from anywhere on some very poor roads. Spent the morning shopping for Tamsin’s ‘teacher aids’ - door locks, lamps, clocks,etc. Then farewell to Jonathan and Cecilia who headed off to catch the evening ferry, and we headed the other way for an hour down ... read more

Sat 26 May Off to catch the evening boat (the Ilala - it’s the only one) to the Malawi mainland at Nkhata Bay. The ferry journey was 'an experience'. We actually had a nice cabin. But loading from Likoma where there is no jetty was like a war time evacuation. Lots of overloaded small boats carrying goods and people in the dark out to the ferry where we clambered up a ladder. And the arrival was a stampede to get goods to market - and trying to check tickets as people got off seemed a bit late in the day. Sun 27 May Reached mainland at Nkhata Bay and much to everyone's amazement the hire car I had booked in Lilongwe (a big Mitsubishi 4wd ) was there. Minimal formalities and I paid cash as ... read more