MOZAMBIQUE
From the overgrown ruins of Portuguese forts and trading posts that dot the coastline and follow the mighty Zambezi, to elusive hints of the ancient and mysterious Mwenu Mutapa kingdom, Mozambique is a truly fascinating blend of cultures. Arab dhows and dugout canoes still ply its translucent and tropical waters with their coral-fringed coastline, often much to the disgust of those who cruise here in their sleek yachts and powerful speed boats. One of the lasting legacies from the Portuguese and Arab traders, and colonists who came here, are the colourful settlements found along the coast. Maputo, Inhambane, Beira Quelimane and Pemba. All display a chaotic mixture of architectural styles. As you wander through their streets you will see everything from the Manueline (a slightly over ornate Portuguese style of architecture popular during the reign of King Emanuel I), to gaudy 1930s inspired Art Deco and 1960s concrete and steel shoe box apartment blocks.

Even though hundreds have tried, so far, nobody has managed to find the legendary mines of King Solomon, which are said to contain hoards of gold. At this moment in time the people af Mozambique would probably be happy to have one hundredth of what they were rumoured to contain, since it is still one of the poorest countries in the world. Though tourists are slowly starting to discover the stunning diversity of its coastal, mountain and forest scenery, they are not coming in large enough numbers to make an impact on Mozambique’s unemployment. As in most developing countries, many of the younger generations have moved out of the rural areas in search of a better or easier life in the urban towns and major cities, with devastating results. Years of neglect, due to the fight for independence and the civil war, left most towns and cities without the infrastructure to support the influx, and so have become the victims of indiscriminate and uncontrolled ‘housing’ developments. Most of these being sited on land considered unsuitable for any form of development, whilst the once productive farmland in most rural areas is returning to scrub and forest sparsely dotted with traditional villages based on subsistence agriculture.

Mozambique borders on South Africa and Swaziland to the south, Zimbabwe to the west and Zambia and Malawi in the northwest. The Ruvuma River forms the remote boundary with Tanzania. The Indian Ocean’s Mozambique Channel separates it from the island of Madagascar to the east, and it has a coastline which is over 2500km (1554 miles) long. In the south of the country is the extensive and well timbered savannah of the Mozambique Plain, with altitudes which rarely exceed 200m (656ft). Whereas, the Mozambican Plateau dominates the central and northern regions, with its rugged highlands, deeply cut river valleys, and peaks such as Binga and Gorongosa in Manica, Chiperone in Zambézia, Namúli in Nampula and Mema in Niassa. A large percentage of this land has the potential to be more productive than it is, but there is a resistance amongst the rural population to change from the slash and burn techniques of subsistence farming that where used by previous generations. Many people take the view, ‘why do more work than is needed to feed your family and yourself, as long as there is food for today we will worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes’. It’s not difficult to understand this sort of thinking, when in several of the African dialects spoken here, there is no word for ‘future’.

The major factors that influence Mozambique’s climate are a warm Indian Ocean current moving south from the equator, and the altitude of the Mozambican Plateau. Temperatures along the coast, in the lower-lying areas of the plain and in the Zambezi valley increase the further north you travel. Almost all of Mozambique experiences some rain during the months from November to April, and August is usually the driest month in most areas. Of all the provinces, Niassa and Cabo Delgado are the wettest, and the driest part of the country is around Pafúri in Gaza Province, were the average annual rainfall seldom reaches 300mm (12in). Of all the weather conditions that Mozambique is likely to experience, the tropical cyclone is one of the most powerful and potentially destructive. Fortunately, because it falls just outside the region between 80S and 150S, where the Indian Ocean Temperature is above 270C (810F), the Mozambique Channel only experiences cyclones every few years but they rarely get farther south than Beira.

The government is attempting to restore some of the tourist attractions, in an attempt to recapture at least a small part of what cities like Beira experienced in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Athough they where neglected during the years of upheaval, the Gorongosa National Park, Maputo Elephant Reserve, Bazaruto National Park and Niassa Reserve are being reinhabited, and tropical paradises like Magaruque, Benguerra and Bazaruto now offer seclusion, luxurious accommodation and excellent diving, fishing, bird-watching etc, all with the enchanting sights and soothing sounds of Africa. This has made little or no impact on Mozambique’s unemployment problems, simple because over 75% of the population have no proper job. It is not unusual for young people in their teens and twenties to still be trying to complete there schooling to Grade 12, in order to improve their employment prospects. Those who aren’t at school spend the day wandering the city streets, ‘passing the hours’ window shopping for luxuries seen on television that they can’t afford, or stealing them from those that do have them. Most of the then being sold to buy cigarettes, drink or drugs to relieve the boredom.

Much of the work available is part-time casual labour, done on a cash-in-hand basis. Those who do have full-time employment tend to either work for the government, foreign companies or NGOs (Non-government Development or Aid Organisations), and even there they can find there is still a limit to how high up the career ladder they can climb because of their limited education. The after effects of the fight for independence and the civil war are still being felt, not just in farming but in every aspect of Mozambican life, including education. Add to that the fact that before independence, Mozambique suffered a worst form of apartheid than was ever practised in South Africa, and nobody really knew about it. Put together it is not difficult to see why Mozambique is still one of the poorest countries in the world, and desperately in need of help at many levels.