{"id":328,"date":"2005-01-20T00:00:05","date_gmt":"2005-01-20T07:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/?p=328"},"modified":"2011-12-09T04:35:59","modified_gmt":"2011-12-09T11:35:59","slug":"africas-stolen-revolution-the-story-of-mocambique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/africas-stolen-revolution-the-story-of-mocambique\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa’s Stolen Revolution: The Story of Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Ruckus<\/em> [Vol. 8, Iss. 3, January 2005] and the Washington Spark<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique is one of those countries that few Americans will ever hear about, and even less will ever get to visit. From our privileged view atop our victorious post-Cold War balcony – built with the tropical hardwood, and carried upon the broken backs, of our brothers and sisters in the Southern lands – we should steal an occasional glance downwards at that continent so easily overlooked: Africa.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

As dreams of Revolution become whispers, and whispers transform slowly into words, and over the coming two decades these words, perhaps, start boiling over into actions, we would do well to reflect on the story of Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stolen revolution. A revolution that ultimately failed, but not before catalyzing and inspiring the end of white minority rule throughout much of Africa. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Legacy of Samora Machel<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Just over 18 years ago, a Russian-made Tupolev 134 aircraft slammed into the Lebomba mountains in South Africa, near the border with Swaziland and Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique. Among the passengers killed were the Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambiquan president Samora Machel, along with most of his entourage. The cause of the accident, which occurred under highly suspicious circumstances at a time of great tension between Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique and Apartheid South Africa, was never resolved. Not surprisingly, Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambiquans and black South Africans alike pointed the finger of blame squarely at South Africa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s white Apartheid government.<\/span><\/p>\n

Affectionately known and remembered as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153President Samora\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, Machel had spearheaded a bloody 10-year revolutionary struggle that eventually led to independence fro<\/span>m the Portugese in June 1975. “Of all the things we have done, the most important – the one that history will record as the principal contribution of our generation – is that we understood how to turn the armed
\nstruggle into a Revolution; that we realized that it was essential to create a new mentality to build a new society” said Machel.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The new Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambiquan flag donned, amongst a book and a tiller, the icon of an AK-47 rifle \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the only flag in the world to do so. The <\/span>\"mozambique_flag_large\"<\/span><\/span><\/span>symbol would prove to be as appropriate for Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future as it was for its past. Under Machel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s party, FRELIMO (Front for the Liberation of Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique), the country became a springboard for tireless armed resistance against the racist white minority regimes in neighboring Rhodesia and South Africa. Even today, the mere mention of Machel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name almost anywhere in Africa will be greeted with respect and awe. The Rhodesian and South African governments responded with a brutal campaign designed to undermine the very soul of Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambiquan livelihood through a front called the Mocambiquan National Resistance (RENAMO). Although most textbooks describe the ensuing onslaught as a civil war, it should be pointed out unequivocally that RENAMO was erected, trained and supplied wholly by foreign agents. Atrocities continued with little pause until FRELIMO jettisoned its Marxist ideology in the early 90s.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique Today <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique is one of the poorest countries on the planet. Life expectancy at birth stands at an abysmal 38.5 years. In the capital Maputo, massive abandoned cement skyscrapers pepper the skyline, too rickety to inhabit and too expensive to demolish. Beggars, prostitutes and desperate vendors attempt to carve out a meager existence on streets whose names once inspired a feeling of optimism and hope: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mao Tse Tung Avenue\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Karl Marx Street\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Friedrich Engels Drive\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Almost 80% of Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 19<\/span> million or so citizens live with less than two dollars a day to spend. Demarcated areas strewn with landmines are a common sight along Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only \u00e2\u20ac\u201cand barely drivable- national road, as are their one-legged and legless victims. <\/span><\/p>\n

When asked why their country is faring poorly, Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambiquans almost unanimously invoke government corruption as the primary cause. Even in villages as far as 1000 miles north of Maputo, stories relating the spending sprees of government ministers and their immediate family-members abound. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our government doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about us. Corruption is everywhere. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a top-down problem.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Silvinhio, a 26-year old unemployed man living in the coastal village of Vilanculos. His bitterness and anger resonate throughout the country and, indeed, much of the continent. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique Tomorrow<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

As Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique slowly tries to recover from a history of war, and grapples with floods, famine and corruption, it is hard to see how people keep hope. One UN development expert told me: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This country is finished. Things won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t change. Not in fifty, even one hundred years.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Even for journalists intimately familiar with an unfair world, the human capacity to cope, and smile, in the face of overbearing odds never ceases to amaze. But on a planet forever shrinking, there will come a day when it is people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s capacity to forgive, not cope, to which we will find ourselves appealing.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Ruckus [Vol. 8, Iss. 3, January 2005] and the Washington Spark Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique is one of those countries that few Americans will ever hear about, and even less will ever get to visit. From our privileged view atop our victorious post-Cold War balcony – built with the tropical hardwood, and carried upon the broken backs, … Continue reading Africa’s Stolen Revolution: The Story of Mo\u00c3\u00a7ambique<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journalism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":465,"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions\/465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realfuture.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}