21/10
Drive back from Mzuzu was intense. On top of
having all six of us in the car, we had to fit in a months worth of groceries,
general household needs and petrol. There were things on the roof, at the back
of the SUV as well as on our laps. The journey altogether took about 7-8 hours,
as with the blazing sun and uphill roads our car had to have “ coolant breaks”
in every hour or so.
Luckily I had some leftover veggie pizza slices in my bag, so I didn’t go
hungry. Pizza makes me happy.
As we were driving closer to the park, the winds got colder and the scent of
burnt vegetation stronger. Bushfire, just a hundred meters from the road. Sun
had gone down, making the weak flames stand out even more.
Another fire, just a couple of kilometers ahead. And then another… I haven’t
really touched the topic of bushfires, as it is sad and very distressing. These
fires, started almost always by poachers, are a good distraction technique for
the hunters. Whilst all the people are focused on putting out the fires, the
poachers can hunt in peace. Prey animals will walk away from the flames, right
in the area where the poachers are already waiting. This makes the kill easier
and less noticeable.
Malawi is a very poor country. Education is not available for everyone,
mortality rate is high and jobs are hard to find, as tourism is not blossoming
like in many other African countries. Poachers hunt antelope, zebra and other
prey animals to put the food on their table. They poach rhino for their horn
and elephant for their tusks as this is the only way to get by and feed their
families.
Do I approve of this? Hell no. But can I offer them an alternative? No, not
really…
Sometimes I feel like I live in a bubble. And I think many others do, too. Of
course it’s nice to be plant based, but to be fair, almost every second café in
Melbourne has a separate vegan menu, just to cater for people like myself. I
never have to worry about extreme heat, dry soil, no water, bushfires, wildlife
trampling my crops, because I get my veggies, legumes and grains from the
supermarket. These people have no shops anywhere nearby, they live in little
huts, with no electricity, no vehicle and they often have one water source for
the whole village, carrying heavy buckets back and forth multiple times a day. And
they still manage to smile…
Because things got fairly deep just then, I will end this post on a positive
note. I saw a HONEY BADGER! Driving back from Mzuzu, just 3 meters from the
car, there they were, two honey badgers, just minding their own business. The
sighting was brief and I did not have my camera ready, so no picture for me (or
for you, in that matter), but I am glad I got to witness it. For those of you,
who don’t know much about African wildlife, honey badgers are a rare sight and
it was the first ever sighting even for our main researcher. Lucky us!
Also, shout out to you, Krizan! I know you are reading this and honey badger is
one of your favorite animals. Yayayay!
Hahahaha yayyyyy shoutttt oittt forrr kriiizzziiii....ayyyyooooo
ReplyDeleteI loved this blog really great perspective on the feeling of living in a bubble and how we are allowed to make privileged choices, i felt very similar. You conveyed that feeling exceptionally well.