Out ranting and shopping

Walk along Victoria Avenue in Blantyre and you’re bound to be accosted by children who one minute maybe playfully chasing each other and the next stretching their hands  to prospective benefactors.

Meanwhile, a 4x4 screeches to a halt and splashes some rain water on the kids who scamper to safety. A well-fed human rights activist alights and slowly walks into a supermarket. Almost an hour later, he emerges from the shop with his arms straining under the weight of the heavy shopping bags. Mind you, that’s what passes for exercise in his life.

He expertly sidesteps the outstretched begging arms and scowls at their owners. The kids wisely withdraw to try their luck on more sympathetic people.  

Only a few hours earlier this activist may have been on the pulpit provided by CNN, BBC and such like, tossing flaming condemnation at Madonna’s intended adoption of a Malawian girl. He would rather this girl grew first into prowling the streets begging for alms before graduating into selling her mother’s milk thereby exposing herself to HIV-AIDS.

What hypocrites. So too are organizations like Save the Children (UK) who in December 2004 pulled out of Malawi which is ranked very high on the poverty scale.  Since they still operate in 40 countries, one assumes they pulled out of Malawi because it’s better off than those countries. Right?

What’s sadder still is that claims are made that many Malawians are against adoption. Which Malawians when the majority of them would mind having their own children adopted.

If only there were more Madonnas.