What do You Have for Me?

The Malawian Police. What a nuisance. Last week our friend Greg was almost arrested and his car impounded because the Police Officer at a roadblock said that he didn't have insurance to drive in Malawi. Greg has insurance from South Africa that covers him in all of southern Africa. The Police Officer just couldn't read well enough to comprehend the writing on the policy.

This past Monday Courtney and I were driving to get some cheap wicker furniture near the lake. We knew we'd have to pass 3 roadblocks to get where we were going. We have learned to expect almost anything. We passed the first without being stopped. At the second, two nice looking female officers stopped us and greeted us. They didn't ask for my license, they didn't want to check insurance. They simply said "What have you brought for us? We're hungry." Courtney was eating a bag of Sour Cream & Onion Lays chips and they wanted that bag. Trying to smooth my way out of even having them check my paperwork, I held the bag up so that they could each take a hand full. Instead of taking a hand full, one of them snatched the bag and said we could be on our way. I quickly drove off before they could change their mind while Courtney's eyes got about as big as dinner plates as she asked, "What just happened????" I said, "We just got our chips stolen by the Police!" We continued to talk about just how crazy it is to get robbed by the Police. It's a normal thing here. A guy from Zimbabwe told us that "There is no problem with the Police that a cold bottle of Coke won't solve."

The law is not important, it's what the Police want. Man, sometimes this place makes no sense at all.