Turmoil and Healing in Maputo

I was out of town, doing site visits in the north of Mozambique, early last week when we first heard news that the prices of public transport in Maputo had risen, quickly setting off a wave of civil unrest in the capital. Within hours, Maputo quickly changed from the vibrant and peaceful city it usually is to one of confusion and chaos.

Despite pockets of economic growth in Maputo, Mozambique continues to be one of the poorest countries in the world, with nearly half the population living on less than a dollar a day. Salaries of civil servants remain unbearably low (e.g. A nurse at a health center makes approximately $80/month). The price of a ride on a “chapa”, the local type of mini-bus that constitutes the form of available form of public transportation for the vast majority of Mozambicans, is only 5 metacaix (approximately $0.20 US) each way, yet, given the level of poverty of many people, and the distances that many people have to travel from home to workplace, transportation is a major cost for many citizens. A recent study of union workers in Maputo estimated that workers spent approximately 35% of their monthly income on transporation.

So an increase in fares by 50% is a significant hit to people. Within hours, roadblocks were set up all over the city. Police responded with force and the people fought back. Many people were injured, a few even killed, in the process. My Portuguese tutor, Malate, was stuck in a road block for more than 12 hours and his car was damaged in the unrest.

Things have calmed down this week, the government is working with the transportation sector to identify a solution. They have set this weekend as a deadline.

Please keep Mozambique in your thoughts and prayers. The daily struggle of Mozambicans continues. People are speaking out in the way that they know how to. The government is trying to respond but there are no easy solutions.

As an American, we are protected from this, being kept safe within the confines of our community yet on some level, also feeling quite separated from teh lives and struggles of people here.

Please have hope for Mozambique and the struggles of this country.