Too little - too much - and Injustice

Malawi is, as is the case with most Southern African countries suffering from food deficit.  Drought and erratic rains resulted in crop failures last harvest season.  This current rainy season has been erratic and partly untimely.  Therefore it looks like another harvest below average will add to the food shortage in the country.

The picture is complex, since parts of the country have had significantly less rains than needed, and the rains that came in the south came at a time that was too late for the main maize harvest.  In the central region the picture is mixed, with some areas expecting normal harvests, while other areas will experience low yields.

Compounded with this is the repeated floods that have been in the north.  During the last week the north has seen serious flooding in which lives have been lost.

The story of Masasa Township close to Mzuzu is about untimely rains, but also of injustice.  As can seen from the newspaper article below, 8 people died... most of them children due to the flash flood that was the result of heavy downpour Thursday night.

The elders of village, pictured above, lament that their disaster is just as much man-made as caused by the nature.  "Most of the people were forced to settle in these risky places.  And the result are these deaths" says Thula, one of the elders.  She continues:" We were relocated from Katoto Area 4 without compensation to pave way for the rich to build their mansions."

This is but one example that natural disasters are unjust.  Natural forces hit equally hard in the different communities, but the poor and marginalized communities are much more vulnerable due to injustices brought upon them.  There is great need for serious advocacy work on many levels to secure basic survival and rights for the poor of this country.  Addressing natural disasters is not limited to a charity approach, but needs to be complemented with a human rights approach!