Disparities

I red an article in one of the last weekly Guardian (I think the
original article appeared at the washington post) describing the
opening of the second Sushi bar in Monrovia. The flow of aid workers
into Liberia since the end of the war has produced many locals or
supermarkets where expats and wealthy Liberians can spend in a few
hours the month salary of a Liberian..
While I was reading it, I couldn't avoid thinking how similar the
situation is in Malawi. We don't have sushi bars in Blantyre (yet) but
we do have restaurants where a meal can cost 3000 MK, which is
certainly a months salary for many people that is lucky enough to have
a job here. At shoprite you can find any variety of food imported from
South Africa at european prices. People can check their emails in
their flashy laptops using the wireless connexion. The car park is
full of beautiful 4x4 showing off the stickers of their NGOs while
outside the falling apart minibuses queue and street kids ask for
spare change.
A few week ends ago we spent a week end in a lodge in Zomba, spending
around 50$ for bed and breakfast. And when you go out of the lodge you
find people (many times children) carrying wood down the mountain to
make a living. Sometimes I freak out about the disparities, and I
wonder if we do any good coming here and trying to live like we do at
home, spending loads of money under the nose of poor people. but while
I write this I am thinking in when will I come back to shoprite to but
chocolate, or an ice cream, or ...