I Live Here: My Story

I traveled to Malawi in January of 2005. It was my first time in Sub-Saharan Africa, a place which felt like an obscure Narnia. I found myself in Kachere Juvenile Prison, located in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. I was there with my co-writer, James MacKinnon, to collect material for the Malawi chapter of I Live Here, a four-volume anthology about vanishing communities around the world. James and I stood in the center of the prison watching these boys search for shade. It was quiet in there. Oddly so. The sun, like an open sore, seeped into our pores, robbing us of energy. There was a sharp smell of shit, made pungent by the heat.

Back then, there were roughly ninety boys in Kachere. They appeared to be waiting for something. I'm not sure what. Upon release many have no place to go; they are orphans, their parents having died from AIDS-related illnesses. Many of them here are on remand for months at a time. Many are in the prison for stealing Nokia cell phones or corn, their crime related to their savage hunger due to poverty. Their daily routine is simple. They are let out of their cell at 6:00 a.m., eat once a day and are locked back in their cell at 4:00 p.m. There is one bucket in each crowded cell for the boys to relieve themselves. I guess that is why cholera can be an issue here. There are no beds or books. Sometimes there is no soap and I can see sores and rashes on their skin. Sometimes there is not enough food. The government is poor and does not have funding to operate in spite of good intentions.

I know that there are large and well-funded organizations that work in Lilongwe, yet no one has stepped in to change these conditions. Why? Why are some groups of people left to be discarded like human remains?

I never imagined that I would ever be doing something like this.

After James and I returned from Malawi, we felt a deep need to do more for the Kachere boys. They made James and I humble and oddly optimistic. In spite of what they had been through, the majority of boys wrote beautifully, with heartbreaking depth and strength about their lives in prison. We decided to start a program. It's a simple program, centered around creative writing and art. We hire local teachers and use a curriculum, designed to have the boys express what they need and hope for. From there, I Live Here will do its best to address basic human rights and needs not being met in the prison. Additionally, we will work with paralegals to ensure that their legal rights are being served. At the end of the year, we'll publish a small book with the work from Kachere, with proceeds going back into the program next year.

It's taken us a few years to design I Live Here, and since we were last there, conditions have deteriorated. Two boys recently died in this prison. The population has swelled and fighting has become commonplace.

We are having our first fundraiser tonight, Aug 22, in Santa Monica. It's the very first fundraiser for ILH. Tickets are $25 - $50 at the door.

I can't help but have butterflies in my stomach, worrying that no one will come. I think it's because I've worked on ILH for nine years. If people come to the event, they will be able to see that it takes a small amount of money to make some pretty amazing changes. For instance, for $300 you can supply soap to all the boys in prison for one year, preventing rashes.

I leave for Malawi a few days after the event to set up the program and staff it. All I know for certain is that I am ready to begin.

Thank you Malawi.

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Comments

[Iowans4puctuation]

I wouldn't say anything if I hadn't enjoyed your article so much, but you have a serious grammatical error, and since this is part of a larger project, I thought I'd say something.

They made James and I [sic] humble. Me, please. This is the kind of thing that drives editors and readers crazy.

[JustinAddison]

This reminds me of a film I saw in college of the Kung "Bushmen." It showed healthy and peaceful people living a simple life. Even at the time I saw the film their way of life was disappearing. Many of the people ended up similar to what you observed. Birth rates plummeted and violence erupted among themselves.

Vanishing communities should be close to all of our hearts. We all lose something when any group of aboriginal people dies out. Your work is admirable and important.

[LMPE]

Angola Prison (in Louisiana) can't be much better than that.

[waynedale]

Good Luck. Be safe.

[Intelligentia]

I am a bit cynical when I read some stories like this. I am quited familiar with the human rights mumbo jumbo. nothing personal against the author but it get quite old. "[S]avage hunger"? Why could it not just be "hunger." Will you use the word "savage" to qualify "hunger" if you were describing the Roma hunger in Europe? I am of African descent and I'm not impressed. You preach of human rights but won't ratify any meaningful international human rights instruments with reservations, understandings and declarations, stripping the treaties of their essences. Thank you for saving Africans from "savage hunger," but you will do well going into your "inner cities" in your own backyard, to save the inhabitants there from "Ghetto" hunger! I will have my friend in Malawi check into your orgainzation. It's a samll country! Good luck!

[rubydynamite]

If that's what 'a bit cynical' looks like, I shudder to think what 'very cycnical' would look like.

[Freenation]

your unselfish effort is truly commendable, keep up with the good work...

[henrywolff]

ugh. terrible. good for you for trying to do something. keep it up.

[Michael Bialas - Huffpost Blogger]

That's really an incredible act of kindness on your part, Mia. It must have been a truly rewarding experience, but at the same time very heartbreaking. Best of luck to you and your project and I'm sure you'll keep everyone updated on your progress.

[PCL07]

Thank you for the article. I would suggest working with other organizations such as Pastors for Peace http://www.ifconews.org//) and/or Office of the Americas http://www.officeoftheamericas.org//). And another great place is the NLG http://www.nlg.org//).

I like how you added the info about the paralegals. It seems we are no longer a world of people, but a world of laws. All the legal help you can get is necessary to continue the struggle.

Great work!!!

[Joan E. Dowlin - Huffpost Blogger]

Mia, thank you for your article. I have admired your acting work on the "L Word." It's comforitng to know you are committed to such an important cause. Good luck with your fund raiser. I will do what I can to raise awareness of this issue.

[billwetzel]

Hey Mia, great article! I am sure you don't remember me but I met you at the U of Arizona in 2003 when you did a presentation on the refugees from the war in Chechnya. I was writing for the AZ Daily Wildcat and asked you a bunch of questions afterward, lol. Good to see you're still out there doing some good things in this world. Keep up the good work!