The last day of my vacation has arrived :( Did not have much planned for the day. Breakfast at a nearby cafe, reading about Mozambique's history, packing, lunch at Club Naval, relaxing at the poolside by the house, packing, grocery shopping for the evening.
My friend's maid prepared a local dish for us :) There will be people over to enjoy the local food and to have good time. And good time it was. Food was delicious and the company good.
My flights went all quite well. The one from Johannesburg to Lisbon was the longest - 10h 10m :) Luckily I got two seats all to myself so once I folded my legs tightly I was even able to lay down :D It would have been so convenient to stick my legs out of the window though as folding them started to hurt my knees after few hours.
Stayed with Helen and Duarte in Lisbon. They came to pick me up from the airport and prepared dinner and everything. It was like going home :) Thank you both for such warm welcome!
Next day I still had 2 flights, first to Helsinki and second to Tallinn from there. There was a bit of a hassle to go through the check-in and security in Lisbon airport as the lines were super long, but I made it to my flight quite nicely nevertheless. On the plane to Tallinn there were 2 familiar faces on board :) One came from a conference from Tokyo and the other from a training in Budapest. Oh it is so incredibly nice to be at home!
When I started my trip and got advice about sanitary conditions then everybody was telling me how I should clean the food I eat and what sort of pills I need to take with in case I have stomach problems. And I did not have even a little bit of digestion problems :) So far so good at least. I got some mosquito bites, but so far no fever or any malfunction as far as I can feel. I'll probably run a blood test just to make sure once I'm off the malaria pills. I'm quite happy that my health was ok during the whole trip as medical assistance would not have been too accessible there.
This trip has been a real eye opener. And I didn't think I needed any more of that, thought that I've seen what there is to see, but not even close. That is precisely why I wanted to travel to Africa so bad, I had a feeling that there is no other way to understand all the troubles going on in here than to come and witness it on the spot - to talk to the locals and to ask all the questions and to see the bits and pieces with my own eyes. Just reading the words in articles isn't enough to grasp the reality, to see the bigger picture.
Photos are slowly getting uploaded as well - check the links on the right.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Overview of Mozambique
Below you find a chronological overview of Mozambique's past based on information found in Lonely Planet guidebook:
Bantu-speaking people arrived 3000 years ago from Niger Delta in West Africa during one of the greatest population migrations on the African continent. Kingdoms were formed, most organized of them was Karangu or Shona who by the 11th century AD were grouped into a loose confederation with it's centre at Great Zimbabwe (present day Zimbabwe). Other Karanga kingdoms - most notably Manica, along the current Mozambique-Zimbabwe border - continued to thrive as late as the 19th century. In northern Mozambique, Maravi peoples controlled the ivory trade, in far north near Lago Niassa were various Yao chiefdom's.
From around the 8th century AD, sailors from Arabia began to arrive along the East African coast. Most important trading post along Mozambican coast was at Sofala, which by the 15th century was the main link connecting Kilwa with the old Shona kingdoms and the inland gold fields.
Europeans were attracted to Mozambique due to the tales of legendary gold fields ruled over by Monomotapa kingdom. In 1498 Vasco da Gama landed at Ilha de Mocambique en route to India, within a decade the Portuguese had established themselves on the island and gained control of numerous other Swahili-Arab trading posts. Over the next 200 years the Portuguese busily set up trading enclaves and forts along the coast, making Ilha de Mocambique the capital of what they called Portuguese East Africa. By the mid-16th century, ivory had replaced gold as the main trading commodity and by the late 18th century, slaves had been added to the list, with close to one million Africans sold into slavery through Mozambique's ports.
The first major journey inland was made around 1511, by the 1530s the Portuguese had occupied settlements which had been established earlier by Arab traders in the Zambezi River Valley at Tete and Sena. Portuguese attempted to strengthen their control in the area twice: first in the 17th century by setting up 'praros' or enormous agricultural estates and then in the late 19th century with the establishment of charter companies. Both attempts were failures in a bigger scale and did little to consolidate Portuguese control.
In 1891 a British-Portuguese treaty was signed, which set the boundaries of Portuguese East Africa and formalized Portuguese control in the area. 1899 new labour law as paned which divided the Mozambican population into non indigenous with full Portuguese citizenship rights, and indigenous who were subject to the provisions of colonial law and forced to work and pay a poll tax. For an African to acquire non indigenous status, it was necessary to demonstrate Portuguese 'culture' and a level of education.
In the late 19th century Portuguese transferred the capital to Lourenco Marques (as Maputo was then known) due to the strengthening ties with South Africa and this location was also becoming a major port in the region. In the late 1920's Antonio Salazar came to power in Portugal. To maximize the benefits that Portugal could realize from its colonies, he sealed them off from non-Portuguese investment, terminated the bases of the various concession companies in the north, abolished the remaining 'praros' or agricultural estates and consolidated Portuguese control over Mozambique. Overall conditions for Mozambicans worsened considerably.
Discontent with the situation grew and a nationalist consciousness gradually developed. In June 1960, at Mueda in northern Mozambique, an official meeting was held by villagers protesting peacefully about taxes. Portuguese troops opened fire on the crowd, killing large numbers of demonstrators. From this point onwards, the Mozambican liberation movement began to grow.
In 1962 Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) was formed in Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), first president of the organization was Eduardo Chivambu Mondlane. On 25th of September 1964, Mondlane proclaimed the beginning of the armed struggle for national independence which Frelimo initiated by attacking Portuguese base at Chai, in Cabo Delgado province. Mondlane was assassinated in 1969, he was succeeded by Samora Moises Machel. He sought to extend its area of operations to the south. Struggles within Portugal's colonial empire and increasing international criticism sapped the government's resources for resistance. The final blow for Portugal came in 1974 with the overthrow of the Salazar regime. In 1974 at a ceremony in Lusaka (Zambia), the Portuguese government agreed to had over power to Frelimo and a transitional government was established.
On 25 June 1975, the independent People's Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed with the wartime commander Samora Machel as president and Joaquim Chissano, a founding member of Frelimo's intellectual elite, as prime minister. The Portuguese pulled out virtually overnight, leaving the country in a state of chaos with few skilled professionals and virtually no infrastructure. Frelimo established ties with the USSR and East Germany, private land ownership was replaced with state farms and peasant cooperatives. Schools, banks and insurance companies were nationalized. Education assumed a high priority. Frelimo's socialist programme proved unrealistic and by 1983 the country was almost bankrupt.
Mozambique National Resistance or Renamo arrived - this ragtag group had been established in the mid-1970's by Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as part of its destabilization policy. It was kept alive in later years with backing from the South African military and certain sectors in the West. Renamo, which had been created by external forces rather than by internal political motives, had no ideology of its own beyond the wholesale destruction of social and communications infrastructure within Mozambique and destabilization of the government.
It has been pointed out that the war which went on to ravage the country for the next 17 years was thus not a 'civil' was, but one between Mozambique's Frelimo government and Renamo's external bakers. Recruitment to Renamo was sometimes voluntary but frequently by force. Roads, bridges, railways, schools and clinics were destroyed. Villages were rounded up and anyone with skills - teachers, medical workers etc. - was shot. Atrocities were committed on a massive and horrific scale.
The drought and famine of 1983 crippled the country. Faced with this dire situation and the reality of a failed socialist experiment, Frelimo opened Mozambique to the West in return for Western aid. In 1984 South Africa and Mozambique signed the Nkomati Accord, under which South Africa undertook to withdraw its support of Renamo, and Mozambique agreed to open the country to South African investment. While Mozambique abides by the agreement, South Africa exploited the situation to the full and Renamo activity did not diminish.
Samora Machel died in a plane crash in 1986 under questionable circumstances, and his place was taken by a more moderate Joaquim Chissano. The war between the Frelimo government and the Renamo rebels continued, but by the late 1980s political change was sweeping through the region. The collapse of the USSR altered the political balance, and the new president of South Africa, FW de Klerk, made it more difficult for right-wing factions to supply Renamo.
By the early 1990s, Frelimo had disavowed its Marxist ideology, announcing that Mozambique would switch to a market economy, with privatization of state enterprises and multiparty elections. After protracted negotiations in Rome, a ceasefire was arranged, followed by a formal peace agreement in October 1992 and a successful UN-monitored disarmament and demobilisation campaign. With a long-running banking and corruption scandal dominating the headlines, Frelimo is now working to polish its public image, while Renamo is still striving to prove itself as a viable political party.
AIDS infection rates are highest in the south and centre of the country where they exceed 20% in some areas. About 80% of Mozambicans are involved at least part time in subsistence agriculture - growing cassava, maize or cashew trees, mangoes or having tea plantations. Along the coast, fishing is a major source of livelihood. Mozambique's main social security system and welfare net is the community and extended family. If one family member is lucky enough to have a good job, it is expected that their good fortune will filter down to even distant relatives.
There are 16 main ethnic groups or tribes, the largest is the Makna, comprising about 25% of the total population. Life expectancy is about 40 years. About 35% of Mozambicans are Christians, about 25% to 30% are Muslims, and the reminder are adherents of traditional religions.
Bantu-speaking people arrived 3000 years ago from Niger Delta in West Africa during one of the greatest population migrations on the African continent. Kingdoms were formed, most organized of them was Karangu or Shona who by the 11th century AD were grouped into a loose confederation with it's centre at Great Zimbabwe (present day Zimbabwe). Other Karanga kingdoms - most notably Manica, along the current Mozambique-Zimbabwe border - continued to thrive as late as the 19th century. In northern Mozambique, Maravi peoples controlled the ivory trade, in far north near Lago Niassa were various Yao chiefdom's.
From around the 8th century AD, sailors from Arabia began to arrive along the East African coast. Most important trading post along Mozambican coast was at Sofala, which by the 15th century was the main link connecting Kilwa with the old Shona kingdoms and the inland gold fields.
Europeans were attracted to Mozambique due to the tales of legendary gold fields ruled over by Monomotapa kingdom. In 1498 Vasco da Gama landed at Ilha de Mocambique en route to India, within a decade the Portuguese had established themselves on the island and gained control of numerous other Swahili-Arab trading posts. Over the next 200 years the Portuguese busily set up trading enclaves and forts along the coast, making Ilha de Mocambique the capital of what they called Portuguese East Africa. By the mid-16th century, ivory had replaced gold as the main trading commodity and by the late 18th century, slaves had been added to the list, with close to one million Africans sold into slavery through Mozambique's ports.
The first major journey inland was made around 1511, by the 1530s the Portuguese had occupied settlements which had been established earlier by Arab traders in the Zambezi River Valley at Tete and Sena. Portuguese attempted to strengthen their control in the area twice: first in the 17th century by setting up 'praros' or enormous agricultural estates and then in the late 19th century with the establishment of charter companies. Both attempts were failures in a bigger scale and did little to consolidate Portuguese control.
In 1891 a British-Portuguese treaty was signed, which set the boundaries of Portuguese East Africa and formalized Portuguese control in the area. 1899 new labour law as paned which divided the Mozambican population into non indigenous with full Portuguese citizenship rights, and indigenous who were subject to the provisions of colonial law and forced to work and pay a poll tax. For an African to acquire non indigenous status, it was necessary to demonstrate Portuguese 'culture' and a level of education.
In the late 19th century Portuguese transferred the capital to Lourenco Marques (as Maputo was then known) due to the strengthening ties with South Africa and this location was also becoming a major port in the region. In the late 1920's Antonio Salazar came to power in Portugal. To maximize the benefits that Portugal could realize from its colonies, he sealed them off from non-Portuguese investment, terminated the bases of the various concession companies in the north, abolished the remaining 'praros' or agricultural estates and consolidated Portuguese control over Mozambique. Overall conditions for Mozambicans worsened considerably.
Discontent with the situation grew and a nationalist consciousness gradually developed. In June 1960, at Mueda in northern Mozambique, an official meeting was held by villagers protesting peacefully about taxes. Portuguese troops opened fire on the crowd, killing large numbers of demonstrators. From this point onwards, the Mozambican liberation movement began to grow.
In 1962 Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) was formed in Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), first president of the organization was Eduardo Chivambu Mondlane. On 25th of September 1964, Mondlane proclaimed the beginning of the armed struggle for national independence which Frelimo initiated by attacking Portuguese base at Chai, in Cabo Delgado province. Mondlane was assassinated in 1969, he was succeeded by Samora Moises Machel. He sought to extend its area of operations to the south. Struggles within Portugal's colonial empire and increasing international criticism sapped the government's resources for resistance. The final blow for Portugal came in 1974 with the overthrow of the Salazar regime. In 1974 at a ceremony in Lusaka (Zambia), the Portuguese government agreed to had over power to Frelimo and a transitional government was established.
On 25 June 1975, the independent People's Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed with the wartime commander Samora Machel as president and Joaquim Chissano, a founding member of Frelimo's intellectual elite, as prime minister. The Portuguese pulled out virtually overnight, leaving the country in a state of chaos with few skilled professionals and virtually no infrastructure. Frelimo established ties with the USSR and East Germany, private land ownership was replaced with state farms and peasant cooperatives. Schools, banks and insurance companies were nationalized. Education assumed a high priority. Frelimo's socialist programme proved unrealistic and by 1983 the country was almost bankrupt.
Mozambique National Resistance or Renamo arrived - this ragtag group had been established in the mid-1970's by Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as part of its destabilization policy. It was kept alive in later years with backing from the South African military and certain sectors in the West. Renamo, which had been created by external forces rather than by internal political motives, had no ideology of its own beyond the wholesale destruction of social and communications infrastructure within Mozambique and destabilization of the government.
It has been pointed out that the war which went on to ravage the country for the next 17 years was thus not a 'civil' was, but one between Mozambique's Frelimo government and Renamo's external bakers. Recruitment to Renamo was sometimes voluntary but frequently by force. Roads, bridges, railways, schools and clinics were destroyed. Villages were rounded up and anyone with skills - teachers, medical workers etc. - was shot. Atrocities were committed on a massive and horrific scale.
The drought and famine of 1983 crippled the country. Faced with this dire situation and the reality of a failed socialist experiment, Frelimo opened Mozambique to the West in return for Western aid. In 1984 South Africa and Mozambique signed the Nkomati Accord, under which South Africa undertook to withdraw its support of Renamo, and Mozambique agreed to open the country to South African investment. While Mozambique abides by the agreement, South Africa exploited the situation to the full and Renamo activity did not diminish.
Samora Machel died in a plane crash in 1986 under questionable circumstances, and his place was taken by a more moderate Joaquim Chissano. The war between the Frelimo government and the Renamo rebels continued, but by the late 1980s political change was sweeping through the region. The collapse of the USSR altered the political balance, and the new president of South Africa, FW de Klerk, made it more difficult for right-wing factions to supply Renamo.
By the early 1990s, Frelimo had disavowed its Marxist ideology, announcing that Mozambique would switch to a market economy, with privatization of state enterprises and multiparty elections. After protracted negotiations in Rome, a ceasefire was arranged, followed by a formal peace agreement in October 1992 and a successful UN-monitored disarmament and demobilisation campaign. With a long-running banking and corruption scandal dominating the headlines, Frelimo is now working to polish its public image, while Renamo is still striving to prove itself as a viable political party.
AIDS infection rates are highest in the south and centre of the country where they exceed 20% in some areas. About 80% of Mozambicans are involved at least part time in subsistence agriculture - growing cassava, maize or cashew trees, mangoes or having tea plantations. Along the coast, fishing is a major source of livelihood. Mozambique's main social security system and welfare net is the community and extended family. If one family member is lucky enough to have a good job, it is expected that their good fortune will filter down to even distant relatives.
There are 16 main ethnic groups or tribes, the largest is the Makna, comprising about 25% of the total population. Life expectancy is about 40 years. About 35% of Mozambicans are Christians, about 25% to 30% are Muslims, and the reminder are adherents of traditional religions.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Exploring Maputo - 29.sept
Day to look around in the city. Strolled to down town from the apartment on foot. First goal was to go to the central market, to collect some cashews and spices and local fabric. Passed by the train station, visited National Art Museum and walked through botanical gardens.
While walking around there were lots of people on the streets, but saw maybe only 10 to 15 white people during the whole day! There are barely any tourists here. Another thing is the attention one gets here :( From the 3 different countries I've visited in Africa, Mozambique is by far the one where I feel most insecure. People are constantly calling you, addressing you, staring at you. You are getting lots of attention and it makes one feel spotted - not a nice feeling. The fact that police is scary and intimidating doesn't help either as one does not feel comfortable addressing them.
In the evening went to a local cinema here. Well actually it was more like a culture house showing a movie through a projector. Movie of the day was called 'Mugabe and the White African'. Was telling about the land reform in Zimbabwe, of how white farmers are made to leave their farms. One white farmer sued Mugabe for it and that is what the documentary talks about.
The movie was quite shocking. Just can't believe all the repression and violence and injustice! People are fighting for their lives and there is no one to help. Police is corrupt and feared for their injustice, government is the one ordering the beatings and deportations, foreign aid is helpless, other countries shrug their shoulders and people keep dying. It is just so horrible. And for what? What is the purpose? Those people have done nothing wrong. There is no humanity left at all, none.
This trip has been a real eye opener. And I didn't think I needed any more of that, thought that I've seen what there is to see, but not even close. That is precisely why I wanted to travel to Africa so bad, I had a feeling that there is no other way to understand all the troubles going on in here than to come and witness it on the spot - to talk to the locals and to ask all the questions and to see the bits and pieces with my own eyes. Just reading the words in articles isn't enough to grasp the reality, to see the bigger picture.
While walking around there were lots of people on the streets, but saw maybe only 10 to 15 white people during the whole day! There are barely any tourists here. Another thing is the attention one gets here :( From the 3 different countries I've visited in Africa, Mozambique is by far the one where I feel most insecure. People are constantly calling you, addressing you, staring at you. You are getting lots of attention and it makes one feel spotted - not a nice feeling. The fact that police is scary and intimidating doesn't help either as one does not feel comfortable addressing them.
In the evening went to a local cinema here. Well actually it was more like a culture house showing a movie through a projector. Movie of the day was called 'Mugabe and the White African'. Was telling about the land reform in Zimbabwe, of how white farmers are made to leave their farms. One white farmer sued Mugabe for it and that is what the documentary talks about.
The movie was quite shocking. Just can't believe all the repression and violence and injustice! People are fighting for their lives and there is no one to help. Police is corrupt and feared for their injustice, government is the one ordering the beatings and deportations, foreign aid is helpless, other countries shrug their shoulders and people keep dying. It is just so horrible. And for what? What is the purpose? Those people have done nothing wrong. There is no humanity left at all, none.
This trip has been a real eye opener. And I didn't think I needed any more of that, thought that I've seen what there is to see, but not even close. That is precisely why I wanted to travel to Africa so bad, I had a feeling that there is no other way to understand all the troubles going on in here than to come and witness it on the spot - to talk to the locals and to ask all the questions and to see the bits and pieces with my own eyes. Just reading the words in articles isn't enough to grasp the reality, to see the bigger picture.
Leaving Inhaca - 28.sept
The wind has come down, hut seems to be standing nicely still and no fear of taking off this time around. August and September are the windiest months in Mozambique, wind comes along just before the rainy season. Slow morning at the camp, it was raining a bit while I had breakfast but the sun came out later on. Laid in the sun and red my book the whole morning. Picked the book up from my friend's bookshelf - Sofi Oksanen's 'Purge' (Puhastus).
Pickup was arranged for me at 2, boat leaving at 3. Again had to take the smaller boats to the ferry due to the tide, this time the small boat was fully packed, was sure that it will sink before reaching the ferry as waterline was so close to the edge of the boat.
Ferry left exactly at 3 :) what a rare case in Mozambique - something actually happens in time :). Ferry was half empty and I was the only white person on it :) Grab a taxi, went by my friends work place to pick her up and to home we headed. Evening plans were already made - going to eat at a nice restaurant by the sea with a friend of a friend (all the people I meet here in Maputo are my friends friends naturally).
On our way to the restaurant police stopped our car :(, apparently the driver had crossed a continuous line in the middle of the road and now had to pay a heavy fine for it. Police is truly intimidating here. If I would need help here on the streets, then police would the last one I'd turn to. They are truly unjust and scary with their demands and guns.
Dinner was wonderful. Haven't eaten that much sea food ever in my life as I do here. And it is all so delicious!
Pickup was arranged for me at 2, boat leaving at 3. Again had to take the smaller boats to the ferry due to the tide, this time the small boat was fully packed, was sure that it will sink before reaching the ferry as waterline was so close to the edge of the boat.
Ferry left exactly at 3 :) what a rare case in Mozambique - something actually happens in time :). Ferry was half empty and I was the only white person on it :) Grab a taxi, went by my friends work place to pick her up and to home we headed. Evening plans were already made - going to eat at a nice restaurant by the sea with a friend of a friend (all the people I meet here in Maputo are my friends friends naturally).
On our way to the restaurant police stopped our car :(, apparently the driver had crossed a continuous line in the middle of the road and now had to pay a heavy fine for it. Police is truly intimidating here. If I would need help here on the streets, then police would the last one I'd turn to. They are truly unjust and scary with their demands and guns.
Dinner was wonderful. Haven't eaten that much sea food ever in my life as I do here. And it is all so delicious!
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