Malawi fuel crisis: drivers live at petrol stations for days

Malawi is facing a national emergency as fuel shortages force drivers to wait for days at petrol stations. The crisis is caused by the country's lack of hard currency, which has made it difficult to import enough fuel. In Zomba, the old capital, 40-year-old Sido Sombeja has lived in his minibus for eight days and nights. He is waiting for a fuel tanker that may never arrive. "This petrol station is my home now," he said, eating a cold fried snack called mandazi – the only food he has. The Meru petrol station has become a makeshift village for stranded drivers. Strangers form uneasy alliances, guarding each other's vehicles during bathroom breaks and blocking queue-jumpers. Men sleep under trucks, wash with bottled water on the kerbside, and gather around charcoal braziers at night.