Malawi's poor brace for tough Ramadan

 Malawi Muslims have gone full throttle with preparations for the holy fasting month of Ramadan, with food stockpiling dominating the arrangements.  

This year, they will have to cough a little more money than in previous years because of the global food price rises, leaving the low-income and underprivileged watching not buying. 

"It's an annual tradition to gather food-stuffs in readiness for the fasting month here," Jassim Zacharia Nsosa, a Muslim social worker, told IslamOnline.net in Blantyre. 

"But this year, it seems a substantial population of poor Muslims will brace themselves for tough times as a result of rising costs of food." 

Although Malawi has sufficient food reserves, media frenzy on the prospects of global food price hikes prompted a sharp increase in the cost of maize, the main staple food, among others. 

The speculation on the hikes has ultimately led to hoarding of food items on the local market. On the other hand, other food items such as cassava, potatoes and rice – while available in abundance - are becoming unaffordable for the average Malawian. 

"The main problem is that poor people are likely to starve when food is available. Food traders are capitalizing on their vulnerability," says Nsosa. "It actually makes little sense to victimize the starving poor at the alter of maximizing profits." 

Nothing New

A brief survey conducted in some parts of southern Malawi suggests a majority of poor Muslims will have tough times unless there is intervention by Muslim bodies. 

"We can not rule out suffering due to the lack of food, but we have become used to it," said Abiti Sumani, an old woman, at her homestead on the outskirts of Zomba. 

"Ramadan or no Ramadan food problems have always been with us." 

She said she will have to make do with maize husks she has been getting as payment for winnowing errands at a local maize meal. 

"This is life as we have always lived it. We can not claim to need luxurious food to enable us to fast if we involuntarily fast almost all year round due to lack of food. 

"This time we ought to be proud that we go hungry alongside those who can afford to buy the food – but for Allah's pleasure." 

Poverty levels are high in Malawi, with a majority of its 12 million population living below the poverty line, consuming less than a dollar per day. 

According to state figures, Muslims constitute 12 percent of the entire population, though the Muslim umbrella body puts the figure at 36 percent.Helping Muslim charities are on alert, determined to mitigate potential problems as a result of the food costs rising. 

"We normally compliment one another in these efforts – only that we go different ways to avoid duplication of activities," says Sheikh Hatim Ibrahim, Chairman of the Al-Barakah Charity Trust. 

"Our main focus will be on those who can not afford to feed themselves and their families."Munazzamat Al-Dawa Al-Islamia (Malawi Mission) hopes to cater for over 500 institutions – including mosques, orphanages, madrasahs, hospitals, prisons and secondary schools - during Ramadan. 

"We are trying to gather as much food as possible to ensure that we cater for a majority of vulnerable poor people around the country," says AbdulRahman Abdallah. "We will cater for suhur and iftar." 

He said that his organization has so far made considerable progress in gathering food stuffs to distribute among the poor in the country. 

"We are determined to see the plight of a majority poor reduced to the lowest levels. This is one of our objectives. 

"We feel more obliged to commit ourselves to the cause of ending the suffering of the poor, particularly in the month of Ramadan." 

The organization is sponsoring agricultural irrigation schemes in selected parts of southern Malawi as a way of empowering communities to be food secure. 

"The project has just started but we trust it will start yielding results soon. By next Ramadan we trust they will be independent."--IOL