Living amidst differences resulting from migrating and working around the world has been a mainstay in my life. My global movements have spanned three continents and crossed archipelagos, allowing me to spend time in countries where the foreign culture was quite different from my bi-cultural upbringing.
I began in the Philippines, my birthplace, before making my way with my family towards Papua New Guinea. Five years after arriving in Port Moresby, we migrated once more to the United States in 1979 in search of better life opportunities. Contrary to the accusations of one CUSO-VSO health advisor, living in other countries as a child does infuse in one inter-cultural skills and gives the child the ability to navigate across cultural divides.
In my adult years, I began hopping on planes again to visit places as remote as Sarangkot Village (Nepal), popular tourist spots such as Seoul (Korea) and Heidelberg (Germany), and the home of a former colleague in the lesser-known Dutch communities of Doetinchem and Gaanderen. I later found work in Japan as an English teacher, and where I also immersed myself in learning the mystical cultural traditions of ikebana, aikido, and the tea ceremony. I even learned to speak the local language. I stayed for three years and became involved in civic work. For ten months during my final year in Japan, I volunteered for the House in Emergency of Love and Peace (HELP) shelter, which took in sex-trafficked women (many of whom came from Thailand and the Philippines) and assisted Japanese women with battling domestic abuse. And then, in my 30s I studied for a degree in Australia.
None of these experiences, however, prepared me for the cultural gulfs that have characterized my professional and personal relationships with Zambians because in spite of testimonies to the contrary, inequality is culturally accepted here.
Race, Gender, and Other Travails
I accepted the assignment to serve as a Town Planning Advisor in Chipata, Zambia in 2011. This placement was a shift from the Sinazongwe District in the southern province only two weeks before embarking on my volunteering adventure. Eager to put my urban planning skills to purpose in a developing country context, I eagerly accepted the new placement.
Of course, during the preparation training for living and working overseas, I was told that there is discrimination against the Chinese, triggered by the perceived or real low pay of Zambian casual workers with respect to the minimum wage. The Chinese were also targeted for criticism because they failed to hire Zambians in upper-management jobs. Because I have experienced discrimination in many places, this warning did not cause me to fear Zambia.
During the in-country induction training offered by VSO Zambia upon arriving in Lusaka, the volunteers learned about the status of women in Zambia. The woman invited to speak about this subject explained that Zambian women are hyper-sexualized and are regarded as homemakers, responsible for keeping the home and for producing offspring, rather than as decision makers. Abuse of women is commonplace in Zambia, with the abuser rarely prosecuted or held responsible. When found guilty, the charge against the abuser is often watered down. Moreover, women’s salaries are not equal to that of men, indicating that women’s contribution to the economy and to society is delegated to a lower status.
I further discovered soon after arriving in the country how much Zambians revere kwacha, the country currency, a valuation that I suspect distorts inter-personal relationships driven by the desire for it. It did not occur to me that the human principles I took for granted in other cultural contexts, such as respecting one’s personal space, not stealing, and communicating honestly might not be held in high regard here because of the reverence for kwacha.
The Impact of Race and Gender on Other Travails
Since the start of my placement in February, I have been subjected to theft, in which money was stolen from my motel room and from my wallet, which I keep in the drawer of my desk in the office where I work every day. My phone has been lifted from my waist band and later returned to me in expectation of a reward. When I first arrived in Chipata, a supermarket clerk surreptitiously stole money from me by ducking my tendered notes beneath the register whilst claiming innocently that I had not issued her money to pay for my items. Acquaintances also seemed to know the activities of my bank account, causing me to believe that the bankers share my account information with complete strangers.
It occurred to me that the human principles of not stealing and respecting one's space and private information might be downplayed in my case because I look different - I look Chinese to the Zambians and am a foreign woman. One day, I put this suspicion to the test. I sat on a tractor sitting on the shoulder of Lundazi Road near Chipata Motel to see how the owner would react. Sure enough, the owner crossed the road to reprimand me: “in your country, do you sit on other peoples’ property without the owner’s permission?”
My sitting on his tractor triggered the same belligerence that arises in me when my personal space is violated. I can guess from his reaction that protecting one’s personal space is a cultural view equally valued by Zambians, but might in fact be undermined when violating the personal space of someone different (i.e. looks different, is different, or not Zambian) to further imply that difference can be the grease that also exacerbates distortions in interpersonal relationships besides kwacha.
Other violations of personal space have affected my sense of security in Zambia. One evening at the Commonwealth in Lusaka during our in-country induction training, I stepped into the bar to relax with a glass of wine and to write in my journal. A man asked me to buy him and his friends a beer. When I refused, another man standing behind me viciously clobbered my head with his fist. In Chipata, my motel room was broken into four times in one month while I was deep in sleep, and male guests at Chipata Motel have aggressively groped my breasts, all behaviors that make me feel vulnerable and unsafe.
VSO’s Contribution to Inequality
The VSO Zambia program office has not been particularly supportive of equal treatment of volunteers, either. Many of the benefits of volunteering, specifically housing and the terms of health insurance were not clearly communicated to me. I was even told by the VSO program office that they do not distribute anti-malarials to volunteers, after being told on my assessment day that they do. Volunteers are not placed in housing of similar conditions, although the VSO Federation maintains explicit standards about water and electricity. And, I was not given the full subsidy of ZMK 550,000 paid to all volunteers to purchase household incidentals. The unequal treatment of volunteers is surprising in consideration of the VSO Federation’s commitment to inclusiveness and equity.
Lessons Learned
Traveling the world or living in developing countries may not be adequate preparation for volunteering in Zambia. The cultural views regarding women, race, and human principles affecting personal interactions permeate work and social life in Zambia, and can color the way one feels about the people, the country, and ultimately the volunteer experience. Cultural differences might even be insurmountable if respect is not a central element of inter-personal relationships with the volunteer.
One should not take for granted, either, that volunteering is held in high regard, as agreements drawn up between VSO Zambia and placement hosts are not always honored.
I have been asked why I have not abandoned my placement. I chose to stay for three reasons. The most important is that I have no choice. After being unemployed for a demoralizing two years, I am not prepared to throw myself into the job market so soon. Furthermore, I aim to qualify for the test inducting experienced planners into the American Institute of Certified Planners, and investing one more year in an urban planning job would do that for me.
The third reason is due to pure stubbornness. Because I had committed to one year, I wanted to see it through. Likewise, because my placement host had requested me, I sincerely felt that they should fulfill the volunteer contract. They agreed to it, after all. In light of these reasons, I cope with managing the moral dilemmas associated with differences in cultural views.
Other VSO volunteers have chosen to terminate their contract, which implies that interpersonal problems can affect anyone.
In retrospect, I would have asked earlier in the volunteer selection process whether the system of accountability in place in VSO Zambia is actually functional. If not, I might have made different choices.
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