Freedom vs. Law & Order

Based on my limited experience, many people, from all over, and especially from the US, think that the US is the “freest” country in the world. In certain ways this may be true, but I certainly feel “freer” here.

Although different examples come to mind, for simplicity’s sake, I will use traffic regulation: It is not unheard of that American police officers, only “warn” certain individuals, and “cite” others for the same offense. However, I have yet to hear of anybody offering a bribe to an officer for driving offenses. As a contrast, from what I hear (thankfully not experienced), this is a “standard” way of life here. I have been told that it generally costs 50 pin (50,000 Kwacha, at the current exchange rate, a little over $10) to get out of a citation. Keep in mind that 50 pin is quite a bit of money for most of the population, especially if one person were to receive 50 pin from several people on a daily basis. The key is that the same amount of money is worth a lot more to one party than it does to another.

In a similar way, traffic light and speeding cameras are quite common in the States, although different States have different laws in that respect. Here, these cameras don’t exist. Therefore, it is not unusual for people to run red lights, and much less to stop for stop signs.

As a result, yes, I am “freer” here, because I feel that I can do anything I want to, and if I have trouble I can either pay my way out of it, or see if I know people who know people. The obvious concern, however, is that this same “freedom” can lead to plenty of accidents and cause hardship not only for the person causing the accident, but (mainly) for the victims and their loved ones.

Also, the freedom that I experience here, the majority of locals cannot enjoy. Not many people can pay 50 pin on a regular basis in order to be able to drive the way they want to. As a result, it is not only not right to be “free”, but it’s also not “fair”.

In order for “fairness” to exist, a big effort has to be made to support the desired behavior through proper systems, and then, more importantly, the system has to be properly enforced, in a way that no one individual can bypass it.

In conclusion, do I feel “freer” here, than anywhere else I have lived? Yes. Is that a good thing? No! That is because laws and regulations are needed and should be applied to everyone equally in order for a society to flourish. For example, I strongly believe that in the US anyone with a good idea can start a business and become tremendously successful. One significant reason for that is the existence of plenty of laws and regulations with respect to fairness; Businesses are controlled in different ways: from their size (antitrust) to “basic rights” of employees (anti discrimination policies or minimum wage for example). Further, corruption of the system is a minor concern (at least at the lower level that I see on a day to day basis).

The main purpose of this post is to emphasize what we already know. Too much of anything is not good, including too much freedom. The key in life remains moderation in everything!

I noticed that I haven’t shared any pictures lately, so here are a few. Please note that they are unrelated to the post above. Enjoy!

Entrance to my favorite Chinese Restaurant in Lusaka - It's inside a warehouse, literally

PowerDeepening Lusaka - Color Theme: Black & White

Pretty - the "guard" dog - As one of my coworkers would say: "How i'm going to do without her?"

My first farm experience - it was quite educational!

The field

The water hose

The product

The packaged product - waiting to be sowed up

After a hard day's work... steak dinner...

... for everyone!

Safety of Zambia

Update on us:

We officially pushed our departure date forward by about three weeks. Initially, we were supposed to be here in Lusaka until December 1, but then British Airways cancelled our flight. Even though I used to work for an airline, I am getting worried about our return trip. I have a feeling that they are going to find some sort of excuse to give us trouble and charge us for something. They already charged us $190 because the return date that THEY selected for us did not work for us.

Topic of the week:

On Tuesday I published a post sharing my views about the current Aid system. However, influential loved ones have asked me to remove that post. Although I am a strong believer in consultation and sharing of opinions, I decided to replace that post to make certain people happy. So here is the replacement:

While doing research about life in Lusaka, before my arrival, I read about certain guidelines related to safety. Some of them advised not to be out when it’s dark. Others advised not to be flashy. I also made sure that I have at least a hundred pin (100,000 Kwacha, which is now a little over $20) on me in the beginning, so I am “prepared” in case I were to be mugged. The theory goes that if you give them what they are looking for, they’ll be happy and leave you alone. If, on the other hand, you don’t have money, they may think that you are hiding money, and hurt you (or worse) in an effort to collect that money. I was also advised to keep some money at home, so in case of a burglary we could keep the robbers happy. In the London airport, I even took off my watch and a ring in an effort not to stand out upon arrival.

Hopefully, I am not jinxing myself with this post, but to date, I have yet to hear about any significant crimes not to mention falling victim to any. I stopped carrying significant amounts of money with me, and I stopped keeping money at the house within days of arrival. Thinking back on what I did in the London airport is now a perfect example of prejudgment, and falling into the fear trap.

I must say that I feel extremely comfortable here with respect to safety, maybe even too comfortable. I feel perfectly fine being out at night, even though it was a big adjustment in the beginning, given the almost non-existent lighting. I also feel perfectly comfortable walking (almost) anywhere during the day. The only time I was somewhat uncomfortable, and would have been very uncomfortable if I were on my own, was the day we took a field trip to see street children in the inner city. However, even that was very safe and comfortable comparing to similar areas in the US. Other than that, I feel pretty secure pretty much anywhere, including compounds where most of the locals live.

Also, with respect to a lot of diseases, the story is similar. Azadeh and I spent around $500 getting various vaccines, and to date we take malaria medication for peace of mind. Do I feel more at risk of Hepatitis here than in the States? No. Do I feel at risk of getting malaria? No. Am I taking medication for it? Yes, but only because it is very inexpensive here- roughly $2 per pill to be taken once a week, compared to $40 (!!!!) per pill in the US. I am still at risk of malaria, even though I am taking medication, but the theory is that if I were to get it, it will likely be milder than normal.

I am trying to think why many publications want to inflict fear. Is it because that sells? Is it so they rid themselves of responsibilities if something were to happen? Do they not want us to travel?

Of course I did not know what to expect before arriving, so I fell prey to a lot of the negativity, and made some decisions based on that. Disclaimer: Common sense applies here as much as it does anywhere else! :)

I hope that all loved ones are more comfortable with this post, and I hope that, at the same time, this post was interesting to you, the readers.