Mozambique History

I've been in Mozambique for a month now. I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by. This last month I've been settling into my new place and learning a lot about Mozambique and its people. I've also had a chance to read some interesting books about Mozambique and its history. It's very hard to imagine that only 15 years ago this country was in the middle of a civil war. I met a women who owns a restaurant near the house of a co-worker named Lina Magaia. Although I didn't know it at the time, it turns out that Lina Magaia is a writer and political activist who joined the FRELIMO movement in the 1970s. She has published a number of books, including one which I have read called Dumba Nengue, Run For Your Life: Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique. The book is a very graphic account of the experiences of peasants during the civil war and the attrocities committed by RENAMO, which was an organization formed outside of Mozambique supported by a number of countries including South Africa and Zimbabwe. The organization was basically formed to destabilize the newly formed government of Mozambique, which was very left-leaning, and wreak havoc within the country, which it did with brutality. I didn't know that much about the history of Mozambique when I came here but after reading that book and others, it is really remarkable how far Mozambique has come over the past 10 years. After reading Magaia's book, I though to myself, What happened to all of those people that committed such horrible acts? There has never been any kind of truth commission or international investigation into the attrocities committed during the civil war and RENAMO is now a legitimate political party in Mozambique. I think it would be very difficult to move forward when there has never been any kind of retribution or official acknowledgement but it is a testament to the resiliency of the people of Mozambique that they appear to have moved past this era in history and look towards the future.

I had an interesting conversation with some friends last week on the state of Mozambique and Africa in general. There are many things that are very frustrating here, like the corruption, endless bureacracy, and ineffectiveness of many NGOs. Sometimes it is hard to understand why things take so long to get done and even though there has been so much money and energy poured into the development of Africa, things still have a long way to go. It is disheartening sometimes when you see all of the people on the street begging for money, or when you need two hands to count the number of people you have to step over or walk around on the sidewalk on your way to work. On the other hand, after reading books like the one by Lina Magaia, it makes you realize how far things have come, especially in Mozambique. It's difficult to know whether you should criticize Africa for its lack of progress or praise it for it's resiliency and perseverance. I suppose it's better to find some sort of middle ground, approach things from a realistic perspective, knowing that there are still many problems that exist but realizing that it is not fair to use the same stick to measure the progress in Africa as you would for any other country or region.