With its ideal climate and gorgeous scenery, one might think of Maua as being a kind of paradise, but there is a dark side to Maua too. Not only is there extreme poverty, but people seem to have a total disregard for the environment (and in such a lovely setting!) Many people just throw their papers, food, and bottles on the ground wherever they happen to be. Multiply one person’s habit of throwing stuff on the ground by the hundreds of people working, living, or passing through Maua, and you have a really trashy looking village. Add the noise and activity of scores of motorcycles, cars, and matatus, and sometimes Maua is just not a pleasant place to be. Those are the times I really appreciate being at the hospital compound; it’s almost like an oasis with all the trees, fewer people, security guards that smile and wave at you, and the chapel front and center as you walk in. It’s not spotless, but neither is it trashy. At other times in Maua, like today, a Sunday, the noise and traffic are less and there are smiling people walking around in their Sunday best, saying hello, shaking hands, and inviting you to their church. It’s the ideal time for a walk and also for Roger taking pictures.
Miraa, or ghat, is a very serious problem in Maua. Miraa is a tree that grows in the hills throughout the area. The bark from the new shoots is washed, stripped of its new leaves and chewed to get an amphetamine-like effect. If chewed long enough, it can give a feeling of alertness, contentment, and ease of conversation, effects that can last up to 24 hours. Miraa can be addictive and can lead to aggressive behavior, nightmares and hallucinations. Miraa is also easy to grow and as prices of coffee and other agricultural crops have decreased, farmers have switched to miraa, a crop that gives higher and more or less guaranteed returns. Miraa is illegal in the US, Canada, and many European countries where it is considered a controlled substance. However, it is legal in Kenya, in the UK, and in Somalia where it is ingrained in their culture. Because miraa loses its potency in 48 hours, there is a rush to get it to a private airport in Nairobi where it will be flown to Somalia, and the UK.
In Maua and smaller towns around here, there is an urgency to package the miraa twigs in bundles, wrap them in banana leaves to preserve their freshness, load them into vans and trucks to speed them on their way to Nairobi. Drivers admit to driving the 110 miles to Nairobi at speeds of up to 120 mph. Reports are that they get a bonus for rapid delivery. The miraa trade generates other money into the economy as well. Women who gather and sell the special banana leaves, and women who sew the sacks for the bundles of miraa also earn a little extra income.
The advantage of more money in the economy is more than offset by the negative effects on society – more drunkenness, more prostitutes (and AIDS) and more fights with knives. The hospital averages about ten difficult patients who have been injured in ponga (machete like knives) fights, due to miraa. Sadly, the local farmers and villagers only get a token amount for their role in the miraa business. It’s the middlemen and the moneyed Somali traders who are reaping the greatest profit from this drug trade.
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