For years Travel and Leisure
published “mystery” pictures, inviting magazine subscribers and well-seasoned
travelers to identify the location of the photos. I always liked looking at the shots, even if I didn't have a clue where they were taken. Invariably they represented some exotic place in the world, which we had yet to visit. When I took this picture the other day, I
thought it would be fun to ask if anyone could identify, not the location of
the shot, but its subject.
First the clues. This photo was taken when we took Maxwell
Mbera, a young man in the Zingwangwa Branch, to Blantyre’s office of Malawi’s Department
of Immigration. The photo was taken of a
canopied area in a small parking area about 50 yards from the office. If you
look carefully, you will spot on the ground scraps of sliced paper and a car
battery that is being used to generate juice to power a printer. The
product we purchased had a “red” background, not quite what one would expect of
a similar product in the United States, but at a purchase price of 800 kwacha
or $1.80 it was definitely a bargain. The cottage
industry that had grown up around the Department of Immigration was just what
we were looking for. It shows how
enterprising Malawians can be, when given an opportunity. How many copies we needed may be debatable,
but in any event, we got four.
By now most of you, certainly all
of my grandchildren (over the age of five), will have guessed the right
answer. The little shop generated passport size photos
for those applying for passports and visas.
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