Cell, Sell, Cell: survival or imprisonment?
During
the latter half of the 20th century, the Central African nation, now
known as Malawi, was offered “favorable” terms by the Western powers to
develop their country along capitalist, free-market lines. Like many other
developing nations in the Southern Hemisphere which were tempted by this access
to funds, the former Life President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda borrowed heavily
from the World Bank and the IMF. Now the small land-locked country has a debt of
2.4 billion US$ and they are forced to comply with the wishes of these financial
institutions so that they may borrow more funds to generate enough income to
merely service their debt.
In
post-colonial Malawi, the directive influence of the world's 
financial
institutions and the communal political clout of multinational corporations
manifests itself in the loss of fertile agricultural land for the mostly
rural-based population. Both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
consider their motives as "assistance" to developing countries such as
Malawi. However, as statistics clearly outline, the amount of service payments
on the debts combined with the beneficial market environments and foreign-owned
companies’ exported profits, produce an end result in which Malawi is
subsidizing (or "assisting") the Western world.
With
the rigid conditions of the IMF's Structural Adjustment Program in place, Malawi
is forced to reduce government spending, open up to foreign investment, reduce
tariffs and embrace multinationals. Accompanied effects often include: funding
cuts to health and education sectors, major devaluation and fluctuation in the
local currency, the Kwacha, and the shift from subsistence food production at
the village level to commercial cash crop production of tobacco, tea, and sugar
for export. 
These
shifts have had a significant impact on the nature of day to day life for the
citizens of Malawi, pushing them into the market economy whether they like it or
not and pitting them against even greater obstacles than before.
One
of the most obvious signs of this foreign "assistance" has been in the
exponential growth of the informal economy. A
huge percentage of Malawians are now engaged in sales of retail goods on the
streets. Everything imaginable can be bought on the street. In a struggle to
survive, many of these street vendors are young children. Each day, the vendors
heave their wares to the "reserved" spot, unpack and arrange their
place stones and pyramids of items, and sit, waiting, hoping that someone
passing by may just stop and heckle for a few Kwacha. They sell Coca-Cola and
“Life” cigarettes, firewood and sweets. Many construct stalls from poles and
cardboard, “retail cells” in which to shelter from the elements. Through the
rain and sun, the mud and 
the
dust, these patient pilgrims wait for sales. As the sun drops quickly, they
carefully repack their weathered containers and head home. Tomorrow will be the
same, and the next day, and the day after. Trapped in this cycle of dependence,
with little hope for liberating opportunities, the Malawians of the informal
economy seem imprisoned.
Largely uncounted in statistical data, these vendors usually remain invisible in the indicators typically used to measure success. However, even the World Bank acknowledges that the majority of Malawians live on less than $1.00US per day.
The photo series below looks at the informal economy and the street vendors who endure the market-driven push to "Cell, Sell Cell".
