A bit on Mozambique…
It occurred to me while staring at my hotel ceiling last night that most people reading this probably don’t know very much about Mozambique, and that I might write things that I (now) take for granted (such as the whole speaking Portuguese thing; I didn’t know until recently that Portuguese is the first language in Mozambique). So, before I continue with my little story, allow me to provide a very rough outline to the country’s history.
Besides the indigenous African culture that was already in Mozambique, the coast of the country were Muslim and Arab trading centers. These traders mixed with the indigenous, forming the Swahili culture (which is still present in the north today). In the 1500’s, the Portuguese (amongst them Vasco de Gama, a name I remember from history class) settled here. In the early 20th century, the British started to eye Mozambique for their own conquests, so the Portuguese tightened their colonial control.
However, a revolution against the Portuguese was starting, and a group called Frelimo (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique), led by Eduardo Mondlane was started in 1962. (Mondlane, I learned from the Revolution Museum, was a graduate of Northwestern U.) He was swiftly killed by a letter bomb, and Frelimo was taken over by Samora Machel. On June 25th, 1975, Frelimo won, and Samora Machel became the first president of Mozambique. The Portuguese fled, wrecking havoc on the country’s infrastructure (burning buildings, pouring concrete down water wells), and Mozambique turned into a Communist State, backed by Soviet bloc countries. It was deemed a failrly successful story (this is what inspired Bob Dylan’s song Mozambique.)
Concerned with Samora Machel’s support to liberation in Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia (currently Zimbabwe), the governments of these two countries created an armed rebel movement in Mozambique called Renamo (Mozambican National Resistance). Civil war broke out; Samora Machel was killed in a plane crash. His successor worked on peace talks and enacted a new constitution in 1990. The civil was ended in 1992, and the first democratic election (with Renamo now a strong political entity instead of just a reber force) was held in 1994. Frelimo won, but with Renamo gaining just under 50% of the votes.
According to a girl I met who works for the UN World Food Program, Mozambique is classified as the 7th poorest country in the world. Development is low, but the country seems to be plagued more by natural disasters (the country is just now coming out of a drought; you may also recall the floods of 2000, which became famous after a woman gave birth in a tree).
The currency is the Metical (plural meticais), and they just released the New Metical on July 1st, so it’s been interesting seeing this change occur. Basically, they are dropping three zeros from the end of the currency. $US1 used to be worth about 25 – 27,000 meticais. Now, it’s about 25 – 27 (depending on the exchange rate). So, when I used to take money out of the ATM, I would be taking out usually about 3 million meticais at a time!
The language, as I mentioned, is Portuguese, although every area has its own local language as well, of which I understand none. The Portuguese is a little different here than in Brazil, though mostly in pronounciation, which I’ve now tuned in to. A few words are different; I discovered I was asking “Where is the lifeguard?” every time I wanted to use the bathroom. Apart from a confused Thai gentleman, I’ve not had many problems, and knowing some Portuguese has gotten me further than you can imagine here in Mozambique.
I have found the people here to be amazingly friendly and helpful. The women are (according to what I’m told) more liberated in Mozambique than in other African countries. They wear beautiful colored fabrics (called capulanas), which they wrap around as skirts, wrap around their head, and use to carry their babies. There are lots of kids running around everywhere; finding an older person is a harder trick. When I see someone very old (wrinkley), I gain this amazing respect for them; they are definitely a minority here.
I don’t know what else to say. Hopefully this will help a bit…
Tags: Mozambique, Mozambique, Travel, Tag Index
Tania