They say “words create and words destroy.” What was just a name then, has turned into a reality that has manifested itself by being the first place that people think of when the death calls one of us. We destroyed a long-held fear of death by creating acceptance that death is a hopeless situation that is a part of us.
As you drive along the M-1 road from Blantyre, upon entering Lilongwe city, the first thing one will see are old shops that have been there long enough to pay off their initial loans. To the left you will see the Police mobile force that will make you wonder if they are just there counting the number of cars going in and out of the city. By the idle police, there’s a right turn at the traffic lights with a string of seemingly innocent furniture and joinery workshops. Don’t be fooled though, you have no idea how many coffins leave this street in a given time in all shapes and sizes; that’s why this road was called The Coffin Road.
From the ages of 15 to 21, I stayed in the area south of this road called Mchesi. We laughed at jokes being made next door and heard every insult directed at those subjected to domestic violence, we would hear their cries, that’s how closely built the houses were…rather..are. My childhood was about playing soccer at sunset on dusty roads in the neighborhood, sitting on the road sides, making fun of each other and laughing hard till our stomachs hurt so much that I almost missed out on noticing the coffin workshops business boom that was happening at the back street.
In Malawi, it’s never considered okay for children to see coffins and wreaths. We grew up having to run away whenever anything to do with a funeral was in-sight. Now, we had coffins right in our faces, thanks to the innovative entrepreneurs who seized the opportunity from the alarming rise of death rates in our hospitals. Also thanks to the Lilongwe City Council that allowed these guys to cover the sides on this road and not under every tree in our neighborhoods. Last but not least, allow me to acknowledge the impact of HIV/AIDS and lack access of health services.
Like mockery to the health system, the Coffin Road is just 2 kilometers away from the Kamuzu Central Hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in Malawi. The growing number of coffins made justifies the fact that sooner or later, someone is going to come running from the hospital to ask for housing for the dead, even if it means using the last of their savings. God knows what contribution this has had on deforestation but one thing I know is, we have prepared ourselves that the dying are among us and as loved ones, there is always little one can do for them so we drive them down the dreaded road to make one final purchase for them in tears, which in a twisted way, is good business for someone else.
So maybe when we stop thinking with our bank accounts and think with our hearts, when oxygen machines aren’t unplugged from the less privileged and when access to health becomes a common ground, then maybe someone’s hopeless situation won’t be another’s profit source. As we work towards all these thens and maybes, hopefully we’ll forget the name and reasons some have had to use The Coffin Road.