Fra Lusaka Lufthavn: Afrika lavet i kobber - Zambias hovedeksportvare - Zambia vist med grønt

From Lusaka Airport: Africa made in copper - Zambia's principal export - with Zambia indicated in green

Zambia, den tidligere britiske koloni Nordrhodesia (indtil 1964), er et af verdens allerfattigste lande. Landet har et areal, der er cirka atten gange Danmarks areal, men en befolkning, der kun er dobbelt så stor, godt 10 mio. (folketælling 2000) . FN-skøn 2003: 10,8 mill.

Over 80 procent lever under fattigdomsgrænsen. Hvert 5. zambianske barn oplever ikke sin 5 års fødselsdag, og antallet af forældreløse børn er stærkt stigende.Gennemsnitslevealderen er rystende lav: BBC : 33,4 år (artikel fra 2004) - US Department of State: 32,7 år (hjemmeside 2006).

Zambia, the former British colony of Northern Rhodesia (until 1964), is one of the poorest countries in the world. The area of Zambia is about eighteen times Denmark's area but the population is only double that of Denmark, i.e. ten million (census 2000) - UN estimate 2003: 10.8 mil.

Over 80 per cent live below the poverty line. Every fifth Zambian child does not live to see its 5th birthday and the number of orphans is increasing rapidly. Life expectancy is alarmingly low:: BBC : 33.4 years (article from 2004) - US Department of State: 32.7 years (homepage 2006)

Zambia deler grænse med følgende 8 lande: Angola mod vest, Den demokratiske Rep. Congo (Kinshasa) og Tanzania i nord, Malawi mod øst, og mod syd Mozambique og dernæst Zimbabwe, der næsten møder en lang tyng finger af Namibia, ikke langt fra Victoria Falls, med blot en lille flig af Botwana imellem.

Hvis man tegner en lige linje fra hovedstaden Lusaka østover til Chipata nær Malawi og derefter en lodret linje op fra det første M i Mozambique, så ligger Petauke (hvor jeg boede) lige i skæringspunktet.

Zambia shares her borders with the following eight countries: Angola to the west, the Democratic Rep. of Congo (Kinshasa) and Tanzania in the north, Malawi to the east, and in the south Mozambique and then Zimbabwe, almost joining with a long finger of Namibia not far from the Victoria Falls with just a small corner of Botswana between them.

If you draw a straight line towards the east from the capital of Lusaka to Chipata - and a vertical line going up from the initial M in Mozambique, you will find Petauke (where I lived) in their intersecting point.

The climate is tropical with three seasons: the rainy season from Oct./Nov. to Apr./May, a cool season in May-August, and a hot season from September into the rainy season.

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Ifølge færdselsreglerne skal man køre i venstre side af vejen i Zambia, men nogle steder er man nødt til at køre, hvor man nu kan, dvs uden om alle hullerne og her endda uden for vejen, på vej til Chipata, provinshovedstaden i Eastern Province. Vejen er siden blevet renoveret. Desværre er asfalt dyrt, så det lag, man lægger, er tyndt og holder ikke længe.

According to the Zambian traffic code you are supposed to drive on the left of the road, but sometimes you must drive on what's left of the road. Going by Great East Road towards Chipata, the capital of Eastern Province, you might sometimes even prefer to drive beside the road! The road has been rehabilitated since then. Unfortunately asphalt is expensive so the layer applied is quite thin and does not last long.

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Et enormt baobab-træ ved Great East Road på vejen mellem Lusaka og Petauke - med funktion som valgplakat. Nogle mennesker påstår, at baobab-træet er verdens grimmeste træ. Det er bestemt ikke sandt, men en stor del af året ser det ud, som om det er gået ud, fordi det står uden løv.

A huge baobab tree on Great East Road on the way from Lusaka to Petauke - being exploited as election poster. Some people claim that the baobab is the ugliest tree on Earth. That is definitely not true, but a great part of the year it looks as if it is dead because it bears no leaves.

Kariba-søen - skabt af den enorme Kariba-dæmning - mellem Zambia og Zimbabwe, set fra Siavonga -
Lake Kariba - created by the huge Kariba Dam - between Zambia and Zimbabwe, viewed from Siavonga