Now that I’ve been here for about a month, I just wanted to write an entry to try and portray how I feel about Mozambique which is an emotion I find hard to describe. Sometimes I just get this feeling in my chest and tear up in awe of this experience. This country is still recovering from 26 years of war. First, the Portuguese left in 1975 after about 10 years of war. I remember my shuttle driver in Philadelphia talking about growing up in Africa (not in Moz) and watching on the news as the Portuguese left, smashing toilets, destroying buildings and planting land mines without regard on their way. They are still trying to find all the landmines—there was a news story last week on one exploding in near Maputo (the capital). And since the Portuguese made up the majority of educated teachers and medical people in the country, Mozambicans were left with a major shortage of teachers and doctors which they are still trying to recover today.
Once the Portuguese were gone, a Civil war continued between the two predominant political parties that still exist today. Over the next 16 years war continued, with schools, hospitals and road systems destroyed in its wake. A peace agreement was signed in the mid-1990s, finally ending the years of destruction.
Now with this history in mind, it really makes me think. Just tonight as we were watching the news, my host mom brought it up a little. She was talking about when the war was going on she would get off work at 5 p.m. and head straight home with her one grandchild she was raising tied to her back (the common way they carry their babies here) and dragging the other by the hand with her bundle of food on her head (also very common here J ). By 6 p.m. the whole family would be inside with all the windows and doors shut and zero noise and no lights. Not the TV, radio, nothing until about 10 p.m. She was talking about hiding out in one room of the house with two of her children plus two grandchildren and being completely silent, listening to people running outside and the gunfire going on. My host “nephew” (who is more like a brother since he’s 21) was included in this. If I had been born here I would have grown up in this environment until I was 5. Everyone that I’m going to be working with (majority, anyways) grew up in a time of war. My language teacher right now is 29…He was 10 or 11 before war in his country stopped. I can’t even imagine that, and I cannot help but be grateful for the luck I had to be born in the country that I was born in.
On top of everything there is now a war against HIV/AIDS that they have to fight in order to develop. The newest data that just came out this month is that the prevalence rate of HIV here is 11.5% of the population. In the U.S. its around 2-3%. It is something that needs to get under control through education and behavior change, and is another thing that I’m here to try and help with.
The U.S. has had over 200 years to develop; Mozambique has had less than 20. It’s actually impressive that they have the infrastructure they do. And it’s a humbling experience to be here and trying to help them develop further. It’s nice to have moments like this and realize that I did make the right decision in coming here. The hard times of my experience will come I know, but for now I’m amazed that I was given this opportunity.
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