Open Writing

After a helter-skelter ride Mzuzu came into view. Disembarking we quickly boarded a link bus to take us down to Nhkata Bay on the shores of Lake Malawi. Booking into Big Blue backpackers hostel we were given a chalet mounted on wooden supports on the edge of the Lake.

The hostel was one of many that had opened in recent years following the end of the Banda era. Very little accommodation was to be found in the early 70s. Most people had to make do with tents and a few government resthouses in those days. There was a sizeable market in the area where a variety of fruits and vegetables could be found. Since the arrival of TV video rentals had also become available.

During our stay the local people were invited into Big Blue to attend a party organised by the Scottish-born manager and his girlfriend. We were treated to traditional Malawian songs and dances. Amongst those attending was a thirty something American and his dog. His residential status in Malawi he owed to the fact that he had brought a quantity of US Dollars into the country and started up a business in the Bay area. His dog had also changed his residential status from America to Malawi. Both appeared to savour their new abode.

Walking round the market I identified a number of traders in second-hand clothing. My enquiries revealed that the sellers acquired them for a price. I was unable to discover the specific identity of the supplier but it did lead me to exercise some reservations about the effect of the trade on the domestic manufacturing scene in textile goods. I subsequently learned that Oxfam and the World Development Movement were also asking serious questions.