At the end of my second week in Maputo, I’m amazed at how different Mozambique feels in comparison to Sierra Leone! Swanky malls and hotels, clean wide streets, high rise buildings and Wal-Mart style supermarkets….it all feels so elaborate. I have yet to venture beyond the capital (and perhaps the set-up changes drastically), but the first impressions were unmistakable. Below are some photos:

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Some of you may be surprised that Africa could appear this ‘developed’. Even a part of me had internalized rural Sierra Leone as a reference point and had low expectations prior to the move. But Maputo gave me a reality check in confronting my own biases and predispositions and learning that there exist many shades of Africa…

It is intriguing that countries in this continent are plagued with similar deep-rooted structural problems (of corruption, aid-dependence, and resource mismanagement) but are still so different from each other. Consider these facts….Africa’s largest economy is Nigeria with a GDP of $397 billion, while South Africa, once the biggest player on the continent, has a GDP of $366 billion. Sierra Leone, on the other hand, has a GDP of $3.8 billion!! Mozambique, a larger country in terms of geography and population, has a $12.3 billion economy, which still seems quite miniscule when compared to the continent’s big-wigs.

This is all to say Africa is often treated like a single entity in common parlance, but is far from one. It is hugely varied in terms of stages of development, culture and institutions. Unfortunately, the tendency to generalize the continent as being ‘poor’ and ‘under-developed’ (as reinforced by the media) not only encourages dangerous and misinformed ideas but also undermines the remarkable progress that some young African countries have managed barely decades after decolonization. Specifically in the field that I work in, this thinking translates to a notion that there exist ‘pan-African’ solutions for policy issues and an assumption that if a program works in Sierra Leone, it can obviously work in the neighbouring Liberia.

Another related topic that troubled me was that I, like most others, sub-consciously continue to associate economic growth with ‘development’. The better infrastructure, housing and public facilities in Maputo immediately pushed me to make an association of Mozambique as being more ‘developed’. But there certainly lies more to this term as Nobel-prize winning economist Amartya Sen points out. He conceptualizes development as an ‘expansion of capabilities’ whereby the focus on is on the freedom that a person actually has to do something or be someone – things that he or she may value doing or being.  To simplify, merely presence of more economic resources or money is not enough. People need to have the related capabilities and functioning to gain actual utility from it. So the rush to blindly push countries towards a neo-liberal economic growth framework to ‘develop’ can have damaging consequences! This is exacerbated by the fact that we (unrealistically) expect all countries to adhere to a westernized, post-industrial societal standard and try to frame policies achieving the same without evaluating local contexts.

Perhaps the first step to accepting these different shades is to confront our own cognitive bubbles. The next time we make all-encompassing statements about a continent’s development or culture….it might be worth pausing and thinking!

Packing up my room in Freetown 4 weeks ago, I felt a strange mix of emotions. I was ecstatic to move home for good after my one-year stint in Sierra Leone. After all, it meant getting back to a life of comforts (most importantly hot water!), but also meant leaving behind people and a fast-paced life of everyday excitement and challenges!

Looking back, I came in as a bumbling but slightly naïve 22-year-old, straight out of grad school, ready to take on the world. I now leave as an emboldened, pragmatic 23-year-old, who still wants to take on the world but with patience, sustained efforts and a hunger to learn more.

While reflecting, there were some takeaways that I thought might be interesting to share. Perhaps you went through similar things and can part advice or share experiences! Here it goes (in no particular order and certainly not exhaustive)….

• The burnout culture and mental health

In the field of international development, work hours and conditions can ironically contradict the noble intentions of the sector (this topic to be explored further in upcoming blog post!). Over an extended period, a lifestyle that revolved purely around work, deadlines and targets took a rough toll on me. For a brief period, I was perpetually stressed, physically exhausted and emotionally wobbly. Family, friends, an understanding boss and teammate all helped me through this phase. But it made me think a lot about why we put ourselves through this….

As millennials, we are socialized into believing that the capitalist society rewards the ‘best’. In this rather meaningless pursuit, we tend to overlook the red flags that our body sends and exacerbate the situation further through self-induced stressors! By subjecting ourselves to social, technological and economic pressures, we threaten not just to overwhelm ourselves but also our coping mechanisms. It’s time to start recognizing these stressors and talk about its impact on our everyday mental health openly, without judging others as ‘lazy’ or ‘unmotivated’!

• Dealing with ethical dilemmas and the ‘isms’

Nothing spells ethical dilemmas better than field work. As a young, economically and socially privileged outsider in a largely underprivileged society, I was faced with dilemmas on an everyday basis like:

• What should I do when a Sierra Leonean woman tells me that she underwent FGM (Female Genital Mutilation or FGM is a ritual that involves cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia) and defends the practice saying it’s her culture and foreigners don’t have the right to question it?
• How to convince a 10-year old girl who thinks that darker skin is ugly and fair skin is what makes a woman truly attractive?
• Or a man who tells me I shouldn’t hike because I won’t have the energy as a woman?
• How should I respond when someone comments about India’s cultural conservatism?

Initially, I was mortified at some comments and would passionately attempt to engage in a dialogue with everyone on the ‘isms’ (like racism, feminism etc.). However, I soon started to wonder if it was fair for me to impose my value propositions on someone who didn’t feel the same way, especially given the sensitive history of the region where white-supremacy and exploitation reigned. Are my largely western notions of social rights, gender roles, freedom and individual liberty truly universal when these countries continue to experience economic and social colonization on an everyday basis?

I didn’t seem to find any definitive answers and these thoughts only gave rise to more questions! But I realized that maybe I don’t need answers, and the first step to dealing with ‘isms’ is for us to question our worldview and engage with competing arguments with openness, empathy and critical thinking. At a time when bigotry, intolerance and fanaticism are plaguing the world, it seems more important than ever to get back to the basics and learn to question!

This may be the end of my stint in West Africa, but the experiences and exposure will last a lifetime. Until then, I am excited for where my next job takes me and hope to continue blogging on more policy issues!

Finally, here are some pictures from the beautiful country of Sierra Leone! 🙂

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At a fancy Lebanese restaurant in Freetown, we all helped ourselves to a delicious spread of food. The conversation at the table drifted towards relationships, and the owner at one point joked to my boss saying “We should get you a Lebanese wife eh….you try ‘em out once. You don’t like them, you return, no problem”. As the large table, mostly filled with male expats uncomfortably laughed, I kept a poker face. The owner looked at me and said, ‘Come on, you should laugh more, it’s only a joke’.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. During a challenging hike once, a local Sierra Leonean guide ‘joked’ to me saying ‘You did this hike, that’s good, but don’t try the higher mountain. You’re a woman, you can’t do it’.  Similarly, when I was once returning in an auto, the driver insisted I take the seat between my 2 male colleagues so they can ‘protect’ me. From what, I never understood. The wind?

Anyhow, the point is that, fieldwork in Sierra Leone (which also happens to be my first full-time job) brought out a whole new challenge that I was grossly underprepared for. Being surrounded by liberal friends who are willing to engage on gender is one thing, but trying to convince people for whom patriarchy is a way of life is another. As I came back from the Lebanese restaurant that night, I mulled over for a long time if I should have confronted him in front of everyone. That definitely seemed like the right thing to do and I cursed myself for not being more vocal. But I was also supremely confident that I could not have changed his way of thinking one bit and maybe left the others uncomfortable. That being said, I should have spoken up no matter what.

This also made me dwell over my identity and dig deeper into why these things happen. I was reminded of the concept of ‘intersectionality’, which I first came across a few years ago. Simply put, intersectionality asserts that people are often disadvantaged by multiple sources of identify (their race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion etc) that dynamically interact with each other to create and perpetuate oppression. In this context, my identity was driven by my age, nationality and gender and helped explain a lot of my experiences as a young foreign woman.

From interacting with government officials who wouldn’t take me too seriously or working with local enumerators who preferred to turn to men for instructions or just being blatantly cut off by others while talking, it started to make sense. What I also realized was that a lot of these things were just labelled as ‘cultural’. For instance, cutting someone off in Sierra Leone is a common way of communication. But the fact that this happens to women WAY more than men is also evident. So, can culture be an acceptable excuse to mask sexism? Most certainly not. But what if it is not your own culture? Do you then respect it or disrupt their belief systems at the risk of angering the hosts and appearing morally superior? Where do we draw the lines between respecting somebody else’s culture on their land and giving up your own individual beliefs and liberties? While fieldwork gives me more to mull over, I’ve realized I’m in no mood to learn how to take pathetic jokes. Neither should you.

 

 

 

“Poor man goes to heaven and rich man goes to hell”, preached the passionate pastor at the Sunday mass. Sitting in the Jesus Evangelistic Mission Chapel, I noticed how the minimalist church received rich donations from attendees ranging from 6-month-old babies to 70-year olds. People who looked like they did not have the means to buy their next meal were coughing up Le 10,000 (little over $1) at every round of collection. Having lived in West Africa for a few months now, it is difficult to overlook the extent of influence that religion has on the society here. From posters to playlists, the Abrahamic gods get featured everywhere. In regions where traditional religions survived the colonial wave, voodoo, black magic and other forms of belief guide the way.

For a country with almost 70% of the population below the poverty line, it seemed rather intriguing that people turned to religion for hope and better life, rather than the government. It got me wondering if there is a correlation between religiosity and poverty.

The Telegraph recently mapped out the world’s most and least religious countries in the world. I did a side by side comparison of the GDP and the corruption perception index for the 10 most religious countries:

Country	*GDP (in $)	**Corruption Index (rank)
Ethiopa	80 billion	107
Malawi	6 billion	122
Niger	8 billion	112
Sri Lanka	87 billion	91
Yemen	18 billion	175
Burundi	3 billion	157
Djibouti	2 billion	122
Mauritiana	5 billion	143
Somalia	7 billion	180
Afghanistan	20 billion	177

Comparing that with the list of 10 least religious countries:

Country	*GDP (in $)	**Corruption Index (rank)
China	12 trillion	77
Japan	4 trillion	20
Estonia	25 billion	21
Sweden	538 billion	6
Norway	399 billion	3
Czech Republic	216 billion	42
Hongkong	341 billion	13
Netherlands	826 billion	8
Israel	351 billion	32
UK	3 trillion	8

*Based on World Bank Data

**Sourced from Corruptive Perception Index, 2017 (Transparency International)

The overarching trend seems to be that poorer countries with corrupt institutions are also characterized by greater religiosity. On the other hand, the 10 least religious countries have larger GDPs and are characterized by relatively lower levels of corruption.  What could link together these moving pieces? One potential explanation could be that there are lack of adequate safety nets and opportunities in low GDP countries. Hence, people have no real scope for upward mobility and rely on religion for comfort. Doom and gloom predictions about the trials and tribulations that humanity will face may help some people attribute a higher purpose to their suffering, explaining it as “part of God’s ultimate plan.”

Furthermore, these local religious institutions may also provide for people’s basic needs through free childcare programs, food pantries, and clothing drives, contributing to a greater sense of faith.

However, these top-level observations cannot be taken at face value. There are undoubtedly more complex mechanisms at play linking faith, state behavior and economic growth. That said, it is interesting to note these patterns for what it is worth.

These observations pose some deeper, yet fascinating questions: Is faith relevant only as long as material possessions are missing? Does government have the capacity and ability to ‘play god’ for all practical purposes of assuring human safety and well-being?

Who has the answers………god knows!