Birds, batteries and beliefs.

There are some large birds in Malawi and in the Wet Season, not surprisingly, even more of them - a brigade in fact clumping across my roof in recent weeks.

The echo of not so little feet has become something of a constant and has been, it seems, the source of our DSTV or cable problems. We have had erratic service since returning which Laurence, the technician blamed on storms, rain, overcast skies etc., despite my suggesting that he get up on the roof to have a look because I had heard the sound of something falling one day.

After four visits and assurances that no, we had a signal, when clearly we still had a problem, he finally went up on to the roof this morning to discover that my noisy visitors had not only been tap-dancing on the roof but had been balancing on the cable dish and had loosened it. Finally, a problem solved, at least for the moment.

The inverter has also been collapsing, again, still but it seems, said the nice young man of Indian ancestry, that batteries are once more available and we can replace what we have and hopefully have something approximating consistency with our back-up power. The constant surges and power cuts play havoc not just with battery life but with electrical equipment - just another burden for Malawians to bear.

There is more diesel and petrol available but when I went shopping on Saturday the streets were pretty empty. Perhaps people don't trust supplies and are being cautious or maybe the recent riots in the market area has frightened them away. Needless to say the supermarket shelves are not as well stocked as they once were but not as bare as they might be.

We have decided to purchase a freezer so we can ensure supplies of necessaries like flour, milk, butter and the like. For the locals it is not so easy but then it never was. It seems to be the way of it in Africa.

I was talking to a man from Sierra Leone the other day and he repeated a remark I have heard and read before from Africans - that for some reason Africans don't have a sense of community consciousness or responsibility as we do in the West. He works in the United States and has done for more than twenty years but he was also at a loss to explain why within African culture the emphasis is on benefiting Self and not benefiting Society.

In other words, look after yourself and the rest can look after themselves. I saw similar things in India although Hinduism does teach that caring for others is important and you get spiritual brownie points for doing so. My experience was that such 'caring' was limited to family and members of the same caste community and those outside of the caste were, in the main, pretty much ignored. It seems to be a similar thing here where divisions are tribal as opposed to a religious caste system but the end result is the same.

He did not think that poverty was the cause but no doubt poverty exacerbates a cultural attitude of Self first and last. It explains why those in power in Africa endlessly fill their own pockets and those of family and followers, with scant regard for the plight of the people.

I did say that if you read Western history you would find similar attitudes in centuries past. 'We are backward then,' he replied. And perhaps that is the answer. Those cultures which do not have a concern for the society and community as a whole are simply less developed. It's a politically incorrect statement but one which may be true all the same.

For whatever reason, the Western world, which is in essence the modern world, has developed a community consciousness where, despite exceptions, most people recognise the importance of working for the community and the society as a whole - of recognising the needs and rights of others.

When you look at the developed nations which offer the best quality of life to their citizens it is those which have the greatest sense of community responsibility. The Scandinavians stand out because they have put more effort than anyone into caring for the needs of the citizens as a whole and the United States stands out to the opposite degree because it is the developed nation which has put most effort into the rights and needs of the individual.

The societies which focus on the needs of everyone are those which are the most harmonious and which offer the most to their average citizens. While those which focus on the needs of the individual are the least harmonious and offer the least to their average citizens.

The US is a classic example of this and is mentioned as an example because it is the richest of the developed nations and should therefore offer its people the best, not the worst. It has the poorest welfare safety net of any developed nation and despite being the richest, it has the largest numbers of poor and working poor of any modern nation. It also has the most crime and the highest numbers in prison. And it has the highest rates of semi-literacy in the developed world. Even worse, it is the one developed nation where millions are bankrupted through medical costs. A society which prizes 'the individual' above all supports a lucky few and cripples the rest.

It is interesting to look at societies which have a more highly developed community consciousness and those which do not. In truth, the former is more natural to us because the ability to survive is enhanced when we work together and studies show that human beings are healthier when they are connected to others - when they help others - when they are a part of a community.

The African attitude is simply the most extreme result of a Self before Society attitude. But given that this is where everyone was in the past, there is every indication that progress will in time be made here and more enlightened attitudes will prevail. The power of the people rests in the ability of the people to work together as a whole. The most successful societies are the most cohesive.

I know there is a commonly held view that the West is more individualistic, which it is, and therefore has less of a sense of family and society than other cultures, including Africa, but this is simply not true. What has been confused with the 'sense of society,' in places like Africa and India which I know, is the power which family, caste, tribe and religion hold over people. And yes, this limits their ability to function as individuals in ways which we take for granted in the West, but it doesn't mean they have a greater concern for society - in fact it is just the opposite.

And perhaps it is the opposite for this very reason. The less freedom one has to act as an individual then the less responsibility one has and the greater the need to take power where one can - which is what it is about - by serving one's own ends, feathering one's own nest, and bettering one's own self, regardless of the needs of others.

It is the irony that in the societies which have allowed people to develop and assert their individuality there is a greater sense of responsibility and accountability to the society at large. I remember thinking about this when I lived in India and observed the power that the father wielded over the family. His rule was law!

It seemed to me that in this situation, which was of course the situation in all societies, including what we now call Western, until recent centuries, that the emotional and psychological development of the family members was limited. In other words it is the same as a society which is run by a dictator- no matter how benevolent that dictator might be - the people are prevented from maturing as individuals and becoming responsible and accountable as individuals. This also breeds a level of emotional immaturity and a fear in fact of taking responsibility.

So in an Indian (or African or any patriarchal) family there was one individual amongst say, thirty, and responsibility, accountability and power rested with him. While in a Western family of thirty there were thirty individuals, give or take, where accountability, responsibility and power were shared. The latter seems to allow greater maturity, greater flexibility and greater power both to the family and the society as a whole.

I know some might argue that colonisation has had an impact in Africa and of course it has. But it also needs to be remembered that the Africans were themselves actively colonising (invading, occupying and enslaving) long before the Europeans arrived. And anyway, at some point you have to put a 'bad childhood' behind you, forgive your 'parents' and move on.

The case for confidence in Africa's ability to move on is not strong. There are few successful African states and those which were once successful, like South Africa, are in serious decline. If South Africa does not end up following Zimbabwe down the perilous path to ruin in years to come it will be more through good fortune than good management.

Already the signs are there. A week spent in Cape Town recently revealed those signs. Power cuts are increasing dramatically; crime is increasing substantially (and it was bad enough to begin with) - the hotel in which we stayed now has a large safe into which you must put your laptop when you leave the room! The latest crime craze is blowing up ATM's and the latest insanity is the ANC government talking about privatizing mining! The former is an inconvenience but the latter would lead to the destruction of the South African economy.

But the African attitude is hard at work in South Africa, just as it is across the continent. The ANC is looking to serve its own ends and the ends of those in power and the needs of the society as a whole are ignored.

Perhaps, as so often happens in life, a nation has to reach the bottom before it can pull itself back up. Much of Africa languishes but Africans are no less intelligent or capable than anyone else - they just have to start thinking about the needs of the society as a whole if they are to have a good future.

It is what we believe, the beliefs that we inherit and hold, which will create the world in which we live. There are certain beliefs in Africa which must be discarded if the people are to take their rightful place as part of a functioning, enlightened, cohesive world.