In Southeast Africa lies a vast, elongated lake stretching from north to south, named Lake Malawi, with an area exceeding thirty thousand square kilometers.
To the west of Lake Malawi, there is a landlocked nation named after this lake, known as Malawi.
In the 16th century, a branch of the Bantu people, the Chewa, established many small kingdoms in the area around Lake Malawi, with the largest one being called Malawi.
However, these kingdoms were very weak and had little influence.
By the 19th century, the British, who occupied the coastal areas of East Africa, began extensive expansion into the African interior, eventually reaching the present-day coastal areas of Lake Malawi.
In addition, the British brought something else—tobacco.
After the discovery of smoking among the indigenous peoples of the Americas by Europeans following the opening of new routes, they learned to smoke and cultivate tobacco from Native American tribes. This plant, which brought pleasure when puffing smoke, was quickly brought back to Europe.
Initially, smoking was exclusive to the nobility.
As time passed, especially after several large-scale epidemics in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, people discovered that tobacco had considerable antiseptic properties. As a result, enthusiasm for tobacco grew.
To obtain more high-quality tobacco, Europeans brought this plant to various locations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
However, tobacco has strict requirements for its growing environment, needing warmth, abundant sunlight, good irrigation and drainage conditions, and a significant day-night temperature difference, which are not easy to find.
Coincidentally, Malawi had such a "gifted" environment.
In the late 19th century, the British brought tobacco to Malawi, starting large-scale cultivation, gradually replacing the original economic crops such as coffee, and becoming the most important agricultural product in Malawi.
Due to the enormous economic value of tobacco and the promotion by colonizers, almost all of Malawi's land was used to grow tobacco.
Even the founding father of modern Malawi, Hastings Banda, also known as the "father of Malawi," was the owner of the largest tobacco plantation in Malawi at the time.
During the colonial period, tobacco was a means for colonizers to acquire wealth.
After independence, Malawi chose tobacco as its livelihood. However, the "soft gold" of tobacco also brought disasters to Malawi.
1. Environmental destruction: Large areas of forests in Malawi were cut down for tobacco cultivation, not only for clearing farmland but also for building sheds and smoking equipment to dry tobacco leaves. Every year, an average of three hectares of forest is consumed for every hectare of tobacco cultivation.
2. Tobacco hazards: Just like smoking is harmful to health, tobacco cultivation also poses risks. Tobacco farmers who have long-term contact with tobacco leaves can absorb nicotine through their skin when the leaves are wet with rainwater, dew, or their own sweat. In Malawi, more than a quarter of tobacco farmers suffer from "green tobacco sickness," characterized by symptoms such as difficulty breathing, nausea, and vomiting.
3. Child labor issues: Due to the youthful population and high birth rates in Malawi, and the lack of young adult labor, many families send their children to work. In Malawi, young tobacco farmers are not uncommon, giving up the opportunity to study in school and toil in tobacco fields for up to fourteen hours a day, with minimal compensation.
4. Disparity between rich and poor: Malawi supplies about one-tenth of the world's tobacco annually. However, despite the high quality of tobacco, Malawi still finds itself in a disadvantaged position in the international tobacco trade. Most tobacco farmers earn only around £140 a year, while the majority of tobacco profits flow to Western tobacco companies and large landowners in Malawi, rather than ordinary tobacco farmers. Malawi's GDP per capita is less than $700 per year, and the country's GDP is less than $13 billion in total. In comparison, the annual revenue of the American tobacco giant Philip Morris exceeds $30 billion.
This situation has left Malawians feeling hopeless because they cannot break free from their dependence on tobacco.
However, Malawians have also realized that growing tobacco is not a long-term solution.
To change this situation, they have begun to encourage ordinary people to engage in other industries and to attempt to cultivate other cash crops.
Although this will take time and effort, as long as Malawians are determined, they will eventually be able to break free from their dependence on tobacco and change their destiny.
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