Earth-movers

I woke up this morning to the sound of a large truck pacing forward then backwards with a loud beeping. Today was marked for civilian demonstrations throughout the major cities of Mzuzu, Blantyre and Lilongwe. Demonstrations supposedly organized by a Minister against the government regarding fuel shortages, tobacco and issues of governance. DFID recently pulled out of Malawi. The village was abuzz with excitement; people had been talking about it for days and radio voices echoed throughout the day. We were issued a no-travel notice from the office from the 19th-21st.

This was no ordinary truck. After I got ready, I walked out to the sandy path leading to the EPA for a beekeeping meeting. In the distance there was a crowd gathered in front of the EPA (strange because there is never anyone there). As I got closer the giant yellow Caterpillar earth-mover came into view. It was plowing a large square area in front of the EPA, shifting dirt to the outer rims, flattening a space. I spotted Mr. Singini – the secondary school night watchman – in the crowd and greeted him.

It seems the machine was sent by the government to clear land for temporary housing. The housing will be for the road builders, expected to begin work shortly. I guess all the gravel workers, other workers, and machines need a place to stay for the duration of the construction. Though it is a short road, Mwazisi is very remote and shuttling workers back and forth is not feasible. That somewhat solves that mystery. It’s strange how these developments kind of just show up. I don’t think anyone knew, perhaps I just didn’t know.

It seems you wake up one morning and there’s a giant earth-mover in your back yard. Just fell out of the sky. While a series of large construction machines may seem normal to most, it is certainly not normal here. To put it in perspective: seeing these machines in Mwazisi is like seeing a herd of elephants roaming about Post Office Square.

Despite the suddenness, I’m excited, as is the community. All these giant machines appearing, new people passing through. Though it is still isolated, the village is developing and changing in many ways: construction of the EPA, initiation of the Kulera Project, installation of electricity, commencement of the tarmac road, and soon the arrival of a second Peace Corps volunteer. The village is moving forward or at least poised to move forward, in many positive directions. Confirmation of my belief that development is best on a small-local scale, provided the presence of large infrastructure projects to support and encourage growth.

The kids are on holiday and crowds mounted the dunes piled up by the yellow giant. Everyone sat and stared, transfixed, as if in a trance, watching the giant move forward-backward- forward-backward. I sat in a trance too; it was calming in its repetition and in a way majestic. It was like a yellow elephant moving dirt about. It had a meditative rhythm that made it hypnotic. And like a child, you wondered what will it do next? Ah! Forward again.

These new developments are a pleasant distraction from the current tobacco problems, which continue to worsen. This is one of the few large-scale demonstrations I have ever heard of Malawi. We’ll have to wait and see how successful its actual execution is, but if it is then I think things will change even more in Malawi.
I remember the second-years when I arrived in country: “welcome to the most politically stable, safe, and boring country in Africa. Nothing ever happens here,” they said, “it’s nice but life can get very boring and monotonous.”

Well, life just got interesting.