Commodity Culture

With Zambia’s British colonial history in mind, on my first trip to a grocery store in Lusaka I wasn’t surprised to find some of my favorite treats I enjoyed in my old study abroad days in London. There were all varieties of Cadbury chocolate and best of all, DIGESTIVES! (If you haven’t had the intense experience of tasting a digestive, have no fear, they are not a laxative like the name suggests, but a crispy cookie covered in chocolate---um, yum!!) I’ve been enjoying a drink called Apple Max, apple juice mixed with a white soda, which reminds me of Apple Schorle that I couldn’t get enough of when I was in Germany in high school. And then there is the restaurant scene. Lusaka has plenty of Subway locations. I’ve seen signs for KFC, and they have countless Nando’s, a British chicken chain, even in the northern parts of the country. Finally, Mountain Dew just made it to this landlocked African country, and let me tell you, expats are going wild! When we stopped at a store with a PCUSA mission co-worker, the store was completely out of Mountain Dew because of the initial demand. Most Pepsi and Coca-cola products are available as well.

Pineapple Fanta!

Most of these commodities have made me feel nostalgic for other episodes in my life, even made me feel like home. It all made sense when I was told that Zambia’s economy is almost completely dependent on imports. Turns out all that chocolate and carbonation has a sour aftertaste. As all these goodies flow into Zambia’s borders, a cycle of consumption occurs in which Zambians don’t have the means to create or produce themselves. I might be happy about nibbling my digestive, but this broader economic and cultural reality of dependence on imports highlights an injustice in Zambia that the Western world needs to muster a response.

At Zambia’s independence, White-dominated African countries like Zimbabwe and South Africa, in addition to Colonial powers trying to hold on to their business interests, made life difficult for Zambia economically because Zambia allowed refuge status for African freedom fighters. When Zambia liberalized its economy in the nineties, allowing more privatization, especially in the prominent mining industry in the Copperbelt, loads of direct foreign investment flooded into the country and continues to this day. India and China are two prominent investors, but American interest and power worldwide should be noted even here. Today, Zambia’s economy is booming. Big businesses grow. Foreign direct investment grows.  There is just one problem. One major, important fact….

67% of Zambians live in poverty.

Let me say that again.

SIXTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF REAL LIFE ZAMBIANS THAT I INTERACT WITH AND SEE WALKING AROUND ME LIVE A DAILY REALITY OF POVERTY.

Poverty in Zambia is defined as living on less than a dollar a day. So that 67% doesn’t even include those that might live on two dollars a day, even five or ten dollars a day.

Could you live like this?

Can you live in a world where others live like this?

I get disillusioned with capitalism as I learn more and more about those that fall through the cracks of “The System” in which we all belong; “The System,” that is not fair, and in which pulling oneself up by one’s own bootstraps is not a choice for so many people.

Practically no Zambians can afford to take out a loan. Zambian banks on average offer loans at a rate of 26-28% (source: Caritas Zambia).  Foreign countries, in contrast, get huge tax breaks and have the option to open banks for their own citizens within Zambia’s borders. For example, Bank of China in Zambia offers loans with an interest rate of 1-2% in Lusaka, but for Chinese citizens only (Caritas). Now wonder Chinese economic interest in thriving here.

How can people get themselves out of poverty while working on such an unfair playing field?

All of these topics and statistics come from my time at FENZA (FAith and ENcounter ZAmbia), a Catholic mission in Lusaka who organizes programs for mission workers and others to learn the languages and culture of Zambia. Last week and this week, I’ve attended two speakers, concentrating on cultural issues, in the morning sessions, and then in the afternoon we study Nyanja, the language predominant in Lusaka province and taught solely in Zambian schools through grade four. One speaker, whose topic was politics, sticks out. He concluded his session saying, “The rest of the world needs Zambians more than Zambians need the rest of the world.” To me, this spoke to the untapped potential of the Zambian people. Colonial exploitation which has now fed into capitalist exploitation, compounded upon the fact that Zambians’ have a communal worldview built upon obedience to elders, family, clans, and ethnic groups, all create a culture that doesn’t know what innovation and change it can make, and quite frankly doesn’t have the means to even try.

Let’s make sure the charity and investment the Western world puts into places like Zambia are resources that get into the hands of everyday people and can be multiplied. Simply importing our businesses here isn’t working. How can we invest in people worldwide with full knowledge that the betterment of people somewhere, betters all of us everywhere?