Giant Snails and Fast Ants

As we passed over the uneven dirt road that led to the Dzaleka Refugee Camp I tried to subdue any preconceived notions of how the camp might look.  I wanted to go in without judgment or assumption but my rowdy imagination wouldn’t allow it as it drew pictures of permanent and transient housing structures surrounded by a definitive border and people waiting around for the hours to pass.  When my knees bumped hard against those of my colleague in the back of the JRS four-wheel drive vehicle, I was startled out of my daydream and back into reality.  In fact, there was no perimeter around the camp and to an inexperienced eye one would not know where camp ends and the local villages of Katubza and Besera begin.  Brick and cement buildings with corrugated metal roofs spread out across the land and no temporary structures exist. 

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is located near to the JRS offices and to the primary and secondary school buildings.  In 2002 JRS became an implementing partner (IP) in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp alongside the Red Cross, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Malawi.  The four IPs coordinate services under direction from the UNHCR and collaborate together to help refugees realize their inherent rights and gain resettlement.  In an ideal world this is always the case but nothing or no one is perfect. The white and blue UNHCR flag flies high above the small rectangular yard that is surrounded by a barbed wire fence.  Indeed people are waiting around busying themselves with small talk of family and the day’s happenings.

My first week in camp brought about many new experiences for me, including being introduced to two of my future school-aged clients, tasting Nsima, a corn meal and staple of the Malawian diet and planting acacia trees alongside 2,500 school children.  Most importantly, I had the opportunity to meet the newly selected community counselors, made up of all refugee volunteers.  I will learn from their rich experiences and in return try to impart as much of my clinical knowledge and training to them to make the work sustainable beyond my departure. 

In only a few short days I have listened to bits and pieces of people’s stories describing the burdens they carry and the pain they feel in their hearts.  It helps me to bring to life all of the research and reporting I have done about international genocide and war.  The true destruction of war tears apart the social fabric and in its wake leaves death and emotional wounds that are all too real in the lives of the Dzaleka refugees.  Despite the intensity and the difficulty the therapeutic work will continue to bring, I find myself eagerly awaiting the real work to start. 

The JRS team has been supportive. They seem to be torn in all directions with work to be done but the mission is clear and the energy positive.  I hesitate to form a complete idea or opinion about the happenings in camp as I have yet to complete my second week in country but I am hopeful that I can contribute to the already strong and able team who continue to do good work.  I am also hoping that the refugees will allow me to work alongside them, listen to their stories and support them through their pain toward a place full of hope and faith.  Time will tell. 

There does not seem to be an appropriate transition from that emotionally loaded topic so I will just dive right into a much lighter subject.  The black house ants here in Malawi are faster than those in North America.  They look the same in size and color and in all intent and purpose they are the same but these ones are so damn fast. I am not kidding.  You can't try to smoosh them under your finger without planning a stealth attack and striking with calculated accuracy. No plotting and they will get away.  That and the snails here live inside much more ornate shells as compared to their North American counterparts and they are about 10 times larger. Ball up your fist and imagine that is the size of a snail here, a manly fist at that.  Now stick out your pinky finger and imagine that is the size of the turds they leave behind.  Not only can you slip on the bodies of these babies but you have to be on high alert not to slip on the poop they leave behind in their sluggy tracks.  Exciting stuff!  So much to see here in Malawi and I’m just getting started.

Over the weekend I accepted an invitation to Lake Malawi for a nights stay on the shores of Salema.  It would have been hard to pass up my first look and first dip in the worlds 9th largest lake that was described by some of the first explorers as a lake that is as far-reaching as the sea.  The locals now know it fondly as the lake of stars for its brilliant reflections of the sparkling stars above.  A hike, a nice view, a meal by the shore, a stare down with an owl, a skip with some monkeys, a float in the fresh water, some long conversations and some new friends.

And now, in closing I would like to start a little segment to my blog that I will call Dome’s Favorites (DFs).  It will be my favorite thing or part about the day.  Large or small, seemingly meaningless or outrageously significant, Dome’s Favorites will document it all.  So…Today’s DF is the random hug I received from an innocent kid that was simply curious what my skin felt like to the touch. It reminds me just how wonderfully naïve children can be and how they lack inhibition and the ability to hold back their impulses. Refreshing!

Lots of love to all of you and I dare you all to give hugs without reserve or inhibition. 

L