Every Day Is Special: Malawi

Showing posts with label Malawi. Show all posts

March 3 - Martyrs Day in Malawi

Posted on March 3, 2018

The people of Malawi, in Africa, were ruled over for decades by Britain. The Brits called the land the British Central Africa Protectorate but soon renamed it Nyasaland. And then, willy-nilly, with no thought to what the African peoples themselves thought, the British government smushed together Nyasaland with Northern and Southern Rhodesia (regions that are now the independent nations of Zambia and Zimbabwe). The new, lumped-together political unit was the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, but it was often called the Central African Federation.

People in all the various regions of the CAF resented the smushing and the lumping together. And, by the way, they resented colonial rule, anyway! The motivation to become their own rulers was sky high -

- And then the British government pounced on the "dissidents," the rebels, the Malawians who wanted to be free. In 1959 the British declared a state of emergency, and 51 Malawians were killed, many more were wounded, and more than a thousand were arrested.

It is these people - the dead and the survivors - who are honored today.

Unfortunately, Malawi struggles with huge problems. Most people live in the countryside, and there is little economic activity other than small-scale farming. Healthcare is less available there than in most nations, and health problems are huge.

Hopefully the nation will be able to diversify, build tourism and industry, and make improvements.

Here are some Malawian scenes that show how much tourists are missing by not visiting Malawi!

Lake Malawi is spectacular:

Mount Mulanje and other natural spots offer a lot of wonderful scenery:

And, of course, the animals:

Also on this date:

Princess Day

Liberation Day in Bulgaria

Unity Day in Sudan

National Anthem Day

Japanese Doll Festival

Physicist Brian Cox's birthday

The Iditarod Begins

Vasaloppet in Sweden

Statehood Day for Florida

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January 15 – John Chilembwe Day in Malawi

Posted on January 15, 2016

John Chilembwe may or may not have been born in June of 1871. (Some sources give other months or years.) He probably was born in an African land that was later called Nyasaland, and later still Malawi. His name may have been Nkologo (some sources give other names) – but we definitely was baptized and renamed John.

We do know that Chilembwe became a house servant of a radical missionary named Joseph Booth—“radical” because Booth wanted independence for Nyasaland, “radical” because he wanted people of all races to be treated as equals by the law—and we know that Chilembwe left Africa with Booth to go to the United States. There Chilembwe attended college and seminary school, and there he became acquainted with the ideas of Americans such as John Brown, Booker T. Washington, and Frederick Douglas.

Chilembwe became ordained as a Baptist minister in Virginia in 1899.

Then he returned to Africa—to Nyasaland. He worked to resist colonialism; he worked to fight against bad treatment of Africans working on European-owned plantations; he protested the colonial government's failure to better the lives of African people.

Soon after World War I began, in January of 1915, John Chilembwe organized an uprising against British rule and against the European estates that dominated Nyasaland. However, the uprising failed, and Chilembwe was tracked down and killed.

Eventually...like half a century later!...Nyasaland did gain independence from Britain, and the new country changed its name to Malawi. Ever since then John Chilembwe, dead for nearly fifty years, was celebrated as a hero. His likeness appeared on the nation's money, and January 15 became John Chilembwe Day.

(By the way, I have no idea why January 15! Historians' best guess is that Chilembwe was born in June, and we know for sure that he died in February. The uprising he led was in January, but it began on the 23rd, not the 15th.)

This map shows that Malawi has no contact with any ocean,
but it does stretch out along the lovely Lake Malawi.

Also on this date:

Hat Day

Wikipedia's birthday

Anniversary of the first solar-heated house in the U.S.

Anniversary of haberdasher history being made (?)

Anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth I

Fiesta del Nino Perdido in Peru

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February holidays
February birthdays
Historical anniversaries in February

June 14 – Malawi Freedom Day

Posted on June 14, 2015

Today the Malawian people celebrate the anniversary of the 1993 end of a corrupt totalitarian regime that had ruled their nation for almost 30 years.

So...what does “corrupt totalitarian regime” mean?

“Corrupt” means that, instead of the people in power following the rule of law, and governing for the betterment of the entire nation, they did things through bribery and other dishonest methods, and governed for their own gain.

“Totalitarian” means that the government had total control over society; people had few or no freedoms.

And a “regime” is another word for a government, but it is almost always used for a government that is rigid and repressive.

Sounds bad, right? Since 1993, the government has been a lot better, with democratic elections—but Malawi is still a very poor country. It is considered one of the least-developed nations in the world.

Here are a few of the nicer things about Malawi:

About a third of the small nation is taken up by Lake Malawi. This lake is about 360 miles long and 52 miles wide. (Can you guess why it's called “the calendar lake”?)

Lake Malawi is a great place to snorkel or dive. The water is clear, and there are thousands of species of colorful cichlids.

At Liwonde National Park, you can see elephants, hippos, crocodiles, loads of birds, antelope, and maybe even rhinos, lions, leopards, or jackals. One person reported seeing 266 different bird species in just two days and nights. I'm not talking about 266 individual birds – I'm talking about 266 different kinds of birds (and entire flocks of some species!).

Mulanje Mountain has little huts at the end of each hiking route; hikers who join the Mountain Club can use the cooking facilities stored in the hut and burn the cedar wood in the huts' fireplaces.

Likoma Island is in Lake Malawi. It is very close to the shore of another nation – Mozambique – and it is surrounded by Mozambique territorial waters – but it is still a part of the nation of Malawi.

The land is pretty much unspoiled, even though a lot of people live there and one of the largest churches in Africa can be found there. There are no paved roads, few motor vehicles and telephones. It's supposed to be very peaceful!