Malawi – Raving amongst the refugees

November 4

Hello everyone!

There are an estimated 7.6 billion people living on Earth at the moment. Most people are happy – or safe – where they live. Others, however, are not welcome in their own country. Fearing persecution and death for a variety of reasons, they are forced to flee to faraway lands, often with their bodies and hearts as their only possession. These are the refugees of our world.

Refugees at Dzaleka camp (picture from
Tumaini Facebook website)

  

According to UNHCR statistics, there are 65.6 million refugees across the globe. That is equivalent to the population of the United Kingdom. Malawi hosts some of them, which itself is interesting as there is no war-struck country on its border (though many refugees have recently come from Mozambique, their civil war ended in 1992 – 25 years ago). I know that many refugees find themselves in countries far away from conflict – note the influx into Europe since the start of the Syrian Civil War – but for some reason, possibly the poverty which affects so much of the native population, I didn’t expect refugees to find themselves in Malawi. Particularly 30,000.

Dancers performing at Tumaini Festival

Refugees are from countries as far away as the DRC, Somalia and Burundi. It shows the lengths people are willing to travel in order to secure their safety and push for a better life.

The camp has had global funding

Two camps cater for the refugees in Malawi. The larger one, Dzaleka, is about 50 km north of Lilongwe. Originally built for 9,000 inhabitants, its current population is more than treble this. Many head towards South Africa but others are stuck. Malawi is poor enough as it is; tending to the needs of refugees requires external support.

One way of raising money is by holding an annual festival called Tumaini, designed to celebrate the diversity of the refugees in the camp and people from the wider region. It’s also a useful way of attracting visitors and much-needed donations, which links to the meaning of the Swahili word: hope.

There is a wide variety of performances across the two stages and other open spaces. We arrived quite late so missed many acts, but what we saw was eclectic and had a positive vibe.

A Japanese band performing on the main stage

I particularly enjoyed watching the dancing groups contort themselves and leap into positions I could only dream of doing. They were incredibly popular, with the crush of the crowd reminiscent of large European musical festivals, all desperate to get a glimpse.

A local dance troupe strutting their stuff

I found it interesting just walking around the camp, seeing what it consisted of. Bakeries, bars, schools and basketball courts have been built. Whether this adds a sliver of normality to the lives of those who live here, I don’t know.

The camp bakery

Some of the main buildings in Dzaleka

I’m not sure how the people who live in Dzaleka every day felt about this event. It could be construed as an opportunity to raise money and demonstrate their talents; conversely, it struck me as a possible invasion of their privacy and a tokenistic gesture, appearing for a few hours and high-fiving children who I never got to know and will most likely never see again.

A panorama of Tumaini Festival

Many of the children seemed thrilled at the attention and enjoyed interacting with the many muzungu visitors. The boy below was an incredible dancer.

A little boy busting a move

What I’m sure is appreciated is the money raised, which will hopefully be distributed throughout this and the more southern Luwani camp. Combating malaria, water shortages and diminishing food packets is the basic requirement.

Selling their artistic products raises some money (picture from 
Tumaini Facebook website)

The vast majority of people who read this have been born into and lived through relative peace and safety. We’re lucky. Some of the atrocities a lot of these people have lived through must be harrowing and torturous, both physically and mentally. I cannot imagine how I would react in their shoes. I’ve moved around the world of my own volition; the people who live here move for survival.

Whilst in Malawi, I certainly feel the urge to help and definitely need to do something over the next few years to give opportunities to people like those residing in Dzaleka so that they have a better chance of a better life. To give them ‘tumaini’.

Performers at Tumaini Festival (picture from 
Tumaini Facebook website)

The Sun setting on Tumaini

Love you all

Matt