Blogs from Lilongwe, Central, Malawi, Africa - page 9

Well, it’s morning, and I highly doubt that happened. Someone from a’mai’s organization was sent to find Isaac, but we don’t think he made it, as things have started up again. As Dave put it via text, “We don’t know if he made it because it got rough downtown again.” A colleague came into my office about 30 minutes ago saying we had to get out of here. She hadn’t talked to the boss yet, but her brother called to say that the police were shooting at people walking to their shops downtown, which has caused a lot of anger, so protesters are heading toward City Center (where government buildings are). Our office is in a residential neighborhood next to City Center. He says it’s getting bad out there. Dave and the others are heading out ... read more

Yesterday, 20 July 2011, President Bingu wa Mutharika was due to speak. In advance of this address regarding the nation’s problems, civil society (NGOs and other organizations) prepared to hold peaceful demonstrations. Rumors quickly spread that the demonstrations would be broken up by police, who would arrest protesters and use tear gas to disperse crowds. Tuesday, my boss came into my office to tell me not to come into work the next day. He expected chaos, and heard that the police would use live bullets. Even he planned to stay in his house all day. I arrived home to learn that the President had sanctioned the demonstrations, which pleasantly surprised everyone. Civil society leaders met with police commissioners that evening to discuss protest march routes and procedures. Everything was set for a day of peaceful demonstrations. ... read more

When your family doesn’t have consistent electricity (or any at all), let alone computers, what’s a kid to do? Have you seen the photos from Victorian England, where children run alongside a metal wheel or tire while carrying a stick, and use the stick to keep the wheel moving? I see the same game every time we venture out of Lilongwe. The kids seem as happy in the villages as they do in the Victorian pictures. Then yesterday, I was walking home from work and saw a group of young boys, maybe 8-10 years old, dragging something behind each them with string as they ran down the street. Turns out they had constructed cars and trucks from liter-sized rectangular juice boxes! It was the coolest thing. They had cut out pieces on top so they could ... read more

This title is more appropriate than you might realize, as our boss often behaves like Michael Scott. This is another topic that will have to be predominantly detailed through email instead of this blog. I have yet to decide if I’m going to make this public, and since the Center for Legal Assistance (CELA) deals with various government offices, best to restrict what I post. My colleagues are all very nice. There are 2 accountants, one projects manager, a projects assistant, 3 paralegals, and an office assistant (the one I mentioned earlier regarding the food). Most of them are in their early to mid twenties, except for the projects manager. I’m not sure how old Robert is. CELA’s mission is “to contribute to the improvement of the justice delivery systems, protection of human rights and upholding ... read more

Emma is Mindy and Megan’s internship supervisor. She’s amazing! She knows everyone, and more importantly, they know her. She is a force for human rights and one of the toughest, yet most compassionate people I have ever met. All four of us are staying at her one floor, 4-bedroom house, so even though Dave and I work elsewhere, we’re all getting to know each other really well. That’s just what happens when you’re living on top of one another in an area where the sun sets around 5:30pm and in the absence of street lamps, you’re not advised to wander the streets alone at night. Then there are the blackouts – every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 5:30-8, the city loses electricity. They can be expected Saturday evenings as well. Not too long ago, they began ... read more