Challenges of Independence

She weaves mats from the river grasses, Cutting them down as history passes.She weaves them slowly with fingers worn; History is the thread of a nation born.I look at the mats, their beauty, their grace, History is now and this is its face.She cannot read and she cannot write, But her grass mats capture a people’s plight.Her cloths are worn, her eyes are wise; Biko, Goniwe, Hani arise!Her life is a history, a hardship a song, Mandela brings freedom, the struggle was long.

[Saturday in Africa, 1996 p.49]

Challenges of Independence

“One of the syndromes that have ruined parts of Africa has been civil war. Indeed, since around half of the economic costs of civil war are borne by neighbours, the damage has been even more pervasive than might appear. Civil war breaks outwhere rebellion is feasible, with the motivation typically being some cocktail of grievance and greed. Many African states are too small and poor to provide effective security and so rebellion is easy. Indeed, government armies are themselves part of the security problem due to the high risk of coups..”[Paul Collier, “Rethinking Assistance for Africa. Economic Affairs, Volume 26, Issue 4, Page 2-4, Dec 2006]

South Africa & MozambiqueSouth Africa & Mozambique

Enemies in theCold War,‘Married’ inIndependence

Mozambique (above)and South Africa(left) – shared borders, shared histories

Enemies in the Cold War

- South Africa: Western Capitalist, ‘Democratic’

- FRELIMO: Socialist, ally Soviet Block- 1970s backing opposite sides Rhodesian war

Mozambique independent following fall Western-Backed Portuguese regime 1975:- supported Africans overthrowing Smith regime (Rhodesia)- stimulated Black Consciousness resistance SA

- supported ANC in exile

Enemies in the Cold War

RENAMO (Resistëncia Nacional Moçambicana) formed by white Rhodesian officers:

- backed by Ian Smith, South African Gov’t- purpose to destabilize Mozambique, retain control southern Africa for ‘White’ regimes- Nkomati Accord 1984: failed

-RENAMO fought against FRELIMO government until 1992

Enemies in the Cold War

Graca Machel, Samora Machel, PW Botha Pik Botha

Enemies in the Cold War

1980s:

-Full scale civil war Mozambique, RENAMO against Government (FRELIMO)

-By mid 1980s, full scale ‘State of Emergency’ in South Africa: resistance from townships, UDF and COSATU generating radical opposition

- growth international economic sanctions, disinvestment

Enemies in the Cold War

1986: - South Africa ungovernable- President of Mozambique (Samora Machel) killed in mysterious plane crash on South African side Mozambique border

-South Africa accused of sabotage

Enemies in the Cold War

1990-1994:

-1990 ANC and SAPC unbanned

- Nelson Mandela released from Prison (see below)

- State of Emergency lifted

- 1992 White South Africa voted to dismantle Apartheid

- 1992 Peace Accord signed between FRELIMO and RENAMO

Enemies in the Cold War

1994:

- democratic elections in both countries

- ANC victorious SA [62.6%] (NP 20.4%, IFP 10.5)

-FRELIMO in Mozamique [53%] (RENAMO [33%])

- ‘victories’ decisive but each faced ‘opposition’ of over 30% from former ‘enemies’ with whom relations had been violent

Domestic Healing

Post-1994:

- governments faced with ‘working with the enemy’

- population faced with ‘living with the enemy’

- issues of reparations, restitution

- forgive?

- forget?

- how?

ANC Unbanned February 1990ANC Unbanned February 1990

On 5 February Time Magazine asked, "Mandela: Free At Last?" An illustration was used because, by law, no photos of Mandela were allowed during his time in jail - the world no longer knew what he looked like.Image: Time. http://www.southafrica.info/pls/cms/show_gallery_sa_info?p_gid=4783&p_site_id=38

Mandela’s Release, Feb. 11, 1990

Mandela was released from Victor Verster prison on 11 February 1990 after 27 years in jail. Image: Cape Times. Source: http://www.southafrica.info/pls/cms/show_gallery_sa_info?p_gid=4783&p_site_id=38

Celebrating Mandela’s Freedom

Hillbrough, Johannesburg [Nelson Mandela and the rise of the ANC. (London: Bloomsbury) 187]

Orlando Stadium, Soweto [Nelson Mandela and the rise of the ANC. (London: Bloomsbury) 184].

Youth and the Future

ANC supporters outside Victor Verster prison waiting to greet Nelson Mandela[ Nelson Mandela and the rise of the ANC. (London: Bloomsbury) 189.]

Mandela’s Promises

“The factors which necessitated the armed struggle still exist today. We have no option but to continue.”

Called for:- freeing all, not only some, political prisoners

- end to white monopoly political power

- fundamental restructuring political, economic systems

- addressing inequalities of apartheid,

- full democracy

1990--1994:

Negotiations continued with the government, leading towards democratic elections:

Key pillars of Apartheid removed:

- Land Acts of 1913 and 1936

- Group Areas Act of 1950

- Population Registration Act of 1950

What was once unthinkable…

Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, Robben Island, taken secretly by a fellow prisoner and smuggled off the island. http://www.go2africa.com/newsletter/2006/09/robben-island.asp

Below: Nelson Mandela & Walter Sisulu, together again. Jurgen Schadeberg.Nelson Mandela and the rise of the ANC. (London: Bloomsbury) 187.

1990--1994:

Transition Period:- Violent conflict increased between ANC , Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)

- IFP, led by Mangosuthu Butilezi, Zulu group, established 1950s as a ‘cultural’ organization

- party received generous military, logistical, financial support from former apartheid regime.

Inkatha Freedom Party

Revolution of Goodwill“The IFP has committed itself to becoming the champion of a revolution of goodwill, which spreads throughout the building blocks of our society promoting individual and collective dedication to our families, work places and communities.

The revolution is about building and reconstructing a new country. It is about creating a constant liaison between the government and its communities. And calls for sacrifices, social discipline and hard work."

Dr. Mangosuthu Butilezi, President of the IFP[see http://www.ifp.org.za]

1990--1994: political violence

-Inter-group conflict daily in townships, on commuter trains

- more than 15,000 people died

- death toll was more than twice the entire death toll recorded since 1950

1990--1994: political violence

1993 Chris Hani assassinated [Read Govan Mbeki’s tribute: http://www.peoplesvideo.org/hani1.htm]

Conflict not ended with elections:

- 26 June 1996: Municipal elections in KwaZulu-Natal Inkatha won 35% (mainly regional councils)

- ANC's took 32% (mainly towns)

- turnout was only 44% --testifying both to fear and disillusionment

Chris HaniChris Hani

Former Secretary-General of the South African Communist Party and Umkonto we Sizwe, assassinated April 10, 1993http://www.flickr.com/photos/97892906@N00/188717747/

1994-19951994-1995

May 10, 1994: - elections- Nelson Mandela ‘terrorist’, now President- Government of National Unity (GNU)- ministers ANC, IFP, NP

1 Nov 1995: Local Government Elections ANC victory [67%] - 40% local seats filled by proportional representation- 30% by whites-only towns- 30% by black townships.

First Democratic Election, 1994

Queue of Voters (Argus, Cape Town) 1994

Patricia Schonstein Pinnock. Saturday in Africa: living history through poetry.(Cape Town: Africa Sun Press, 1996) 24.

1995-961995-96

1995:- established Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

-based on the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No. 34

1995 Establishment of TRC

Led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) began its proceedings :

"... a commission is a necessary exercise to enable South Africans to come to terms with their past on a morally accepted basis and to advance the cause of reconciliation.”

[Mr Dullah Omar, former Minister of Justice]

Truth and ReconciliationTruth and Reconciliation

“Because of this nation's unbelievable history, it is absolutely vital for us to try to come to grips with what happened --to try to deal with the past rather than be trapped by it. As individuals and as a nation, we need accountability, transformation, healing. We need full disclosure, and truth against the lies of the past. The evils of apartheid affected us all. Most White South Africans participated in it, at least indirectly, simply by benefiting from its inequities. So all of us, White and Black, need to express our sorrow, regret, and forgiveness. ”

[Alex Boraine, vice-chair under Bishop Desmond Tutu

Truth and ReconciliationTruth and Reconciliation

TRC conducted intensive investigations (1995-8) of murders, massacres committed under apartheid - 80% of applicants for disclosure, amnesty were Black citizens- Few white state security personnel applied

TRC Report, Nov.1998

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 6 (IPS) -It is still unclear whether prosecutions will follow the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) which was handed to President Nelson Mandela last week. By Gumisai Mutume

“High on the list of those found guilty of gross human rights violations are former apartheid-era president P.W. Botha, ruling African National Congress's Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and the controversial right wing leader Eugene Terreblanche. …

TRC Report, Nov.1998

… They all did not apply for amnesty and under the provisions of the TRC. Those who did not seek amnesty and are guilty of gross human rights violations will face legal action.

It is, however, politically inconceivable for the mavericks of South African politics to face the law.”

(Report released 21 March 2003)

1999-20001999-2000

In second democratic elections, ANC took 66.35% national vote:

-Thabo Mbeki became the new President

-In acceptance speech acknowledged

- “millions of our people expect that we will move faster in pursuit of the goal of a better life for all. …

1999-20001999-2000

- Many of the problems we face require the greatest possible unity among ourselves as South Africans so that we use our massed strength for the benefit of the country as a whole. - And yet all of us are aware that our country continues to be divided along racial and other lines. - The new Presidency will have to focus on all these matters, in the interests of the country as a whole. ”

Thabo MbekiThabo Mbeki

"I was born into the struggle," he says. He was born in Idutywa, Transkei, in June 1942. From 1989, headed ANC dept. of International Affairs; Elected new president ANC 1997.

[see hisbiography: http://www.anc.org.za/ancindex.html]

Challenges of the 21Challenges of the 21stst Century Century

Equity?:

http://www.healthlink.org.za/generic/27

Challenges of the 21Challenges of the 21stst Century Century

Poverty:

http://www.healthlink.org.za/generic/28

Challenges of the 21Challenges of the 21stst Century Century

Hope?

Edzimkulu, the Edmonton Ndawana partnership for aids orphans and aids sufferers.

(A local group’s efforts: http://www.edzimkulu.org/)

MozambiqueMozambique

Mozambique: past is presentMozambique: past is present

Mozambique—the Past is Present:- questions of how to reintegrate soldiers, including children, into society after the wars?

-Truth and Reconciliation? - or something else? (audio clip)

Mozambique & Civil WarMozambique & Civil War

“For sixteen years the African country of Mozambique was turned inside out by bloody civil war. Sixteen years of government forces versus rebel forces, sixteen years of neighbours killing neighbours, brothers killing brothers. Peace was reached but at an awful price--more than one million people dead.”

Despite the wounds inflicted on its citizens by decades of war, the country has not adopted any formal mechanism to bring about reconciliation—no truth commission or attempt to prosecute those involved in atrocities. …

Mozambique & Civil WarMozambique & Civil War

Instead, they are using traditional healing practices and grass roots measures to try to reintegrate those who participated in the war on both sides, especially child soldiers.So far these methods seem to be working.

[Important to consider in comparison with South Africa. ]

[see additional Readings: CBC report “After the wars: Mozambique, 2004;NPR report on ‘Child Soldiers’, 2005]

The Price of WarThe Price of War

“Snapshots” The Mail & Guardian

Johannesburg, South Africa

Mozambique—the Past is Mozambique—the Past is PresentPresent

Traditional religion banned by FRELIMO Government:

- Led many to oppose government, join RENAMO

- Many looked to traditional practices to deal with the upheaval of the war (audio clip)

- In aftermath of war, traditional religion again has role

Mozambique: Traditional Mozambique: Traditional HealersHealers

“At sunrise, Chief Nchiri invokes the ancestors. Sitting with the chief around a sacred pakassa tree are seven men, barefoot and bare-chested. Nchiri has a white cloth draped around his waist.

Nchiri explains to the ancestors that builders from Beira want to demolish the ruined houses of Maringuè. Many people died there during the [civil] war. Permission must be sought from the spirits.”

The workers from Beira, urban but Sena, have no doubts about Nchiri's ceremony. They have heard footsteps at night among the ruins. Equipment didn't work. In a previous job at Mafambisse, the mixer and generator stalled until a ceremony was performed.” (June 1998)

Mozambique: Traditional Mozambique: Traditional HealersHealers

“Nchiri's powers are legendary here. It is said that last year, when the minister of agriculture was about to leave, Nchiri asked him for a packet of cigarettes. "You people are always asking for money," said the minister haughtily, and walked away. His plane had problems. The delegation had to sleep in Casa Banana, where ants bit them. Whether this is true or not is not important; people's belief is. Nchiri complains that locals do not see any benefits out of the frenzied building. There are no jobs, except for a few servants to clean and fetch water; no local materials are used. Yet he is not against it. "War ended through an agreement. With the same spirit, we can welcome changes," he says. The government can build expensive houses. Cultural memory that survived a brutal war and grinding poverty builds bridges of understanding.”

Child SoldiersChild Soldiers

“The former child soldiers of Renamo confront their own families ….The boys, adolescents now, were the child soldiers of the former rebel movement Renamo. They had been kidnapped, brutalized, and forced to kill in a campaign by the apartheid South Africa-backed Renamo to control Ilha Josina Machel, a strategic island in the Nkomati river, around 100km from the capital Maputo. The children were Renamo's shock troops. Lost to their families and culture, they were responsible for some of the worst atrocities of a bitter war.” (April, 1999)

Reconciliation w/o TruthReconciliation w/o Truth

Another man, who was used by Renamo as a porter and twice escaped, also works with RE in the community. He still sees some of the children who held him captive and on one occasion urged that he be killed. Reconstruindo a Esperanca [Portuguese, ‘rebuilding hope’] has two other programs in Nampula and Gaza provinces helping not just Renamo ex-soldiers but children who were in government militias, and the anti-Renamo and traditionally-based Naparema forces - as well as abused girls. …thousands more children in Mozambique … continue to live with the trauma and memories of the war unaddressed. (April 1999)

Post War: Reconciliation w/o Post War: Reconciliation w/o TruthTruth

“One of the key aspects of RE's work is that it cooperates closely with traditional healers and religious leaders. All the children that returned to Ilha Josina Machel went through cleansing rituals "to clean their mind's of what they saw," the local 'Bishop' of the African church on the island said. "We clean so that they can forget," which in turn allows the community to forgive, he added.” …

Post War: Reconciliation w/o Post War: Reconciliation w/o TruthTruth

The 'Bishop', who himself was shot by Renamo, had his son kidnapped and did not know he was alive until he returned in 1994. "When I see a child and know he was a soldier I'm not meant to hate him because I know he was forced to do all that," he told IRIN. "I don't want to talk about the war but our recovery," which with flooding this year, and little money in the area, is perilous enough.”

Kalashnikovs and Hoes…Kalashnikovs and Hoes…

“The Mozambican people believed that if people hold hoes instead of weapons, peace could be maintained, agricultural development could be promoted. Symbolically, the flag of Mozambique illustrates this possibility with the image of hoes and guns. “

Post-Scripts: the new ‘Great Post-Scripts: the new ‘Great Trek’Trek’

The South African Chamber for the Development of Agriculture in Africa (Sacada) seeks to resettle Afrikaans farmers in African countries (1997):

-Small groups emigrated to Zambia ,Congo,

- litmus test is project in Mozambique's northern Niassa province- South African (white-owned) agribusiness will increase food production, food security,

- create jobs, stem illegal immigration to South Africa.

Land and the Great Trek (#2)Land and the Great Trek (#2)

 From a social perspective, there is a fear that the settlers will reproduce the system of tenant labour prevalent in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga … Asked about the pansies growing nearby, Ina [a new Afrikaner settler] explains the secret of her budding garden: "I tell 'my black' where to plant and water."

 Whether planting pansies or felling trees, Mozambican labourers do the hard work (August 1997)

Post-Scripts: ‘new’ politicsPost-Scripts: ‘new’ politics

“… the government has suddenly decided to spend a fortune on buildings in Maringuè … Maringuè, stronghold of rebel group Renamo during Mozambique's 16-year civil war, was strategically well chosen. It lies in central Sofala province, linked to the north and south of the country. …And it can be reached by air, as South African planes did, landing on a bit of tarred road the Portuguese were building at the time of independence in 1975. Maringuè is the last area Renamo surrendered to government administration after the 1994 elections.” (June 1998)

Post-Scripts: rule by Post-Scripts: rule by ‘terrorists’?‘terrorists’?

So why does Renamo have a shot at winning Parliament [2000 elections]? Cherinda blames ethnicity. "The speech of a lot of Renamo people is tribalist. They say this man is not from their region, why is he in Parliament as a representative of the region? This works with uneducated people," he says. But there is also a lingering anger at Frelimo's authoritarian past, particularly in some rural areas badly affected by its collectivization of agriculture during the 1980s.

 The prospect of an organization that was created by Ian Smith's Rhodesia and funded by PW Botha winning control of Parliament horrifies some Mozambicans.

(December 1999)

Post-war politics Post-war politics

“A call for Mozambicans abroad to register for military service has raised fears that the opposition former rebel Renamo party intends to go back to war. Political analysts say the exercise may be a response to threats by former rebel Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo) to forcibly take over regions in Mozambique it believes it took in general elections held last year. Renamo claims that the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) rigged the elections, whose results were, however, declared legitimate by international observers.” [Riots followed RENAMO protests; 40 killed.](February 2000)

Post-Script: MarriagePost-Script: Marriage

Gracia Machel, Nelson Mandela (July 18, 1998)

MarriageMarriage

“Ms. Machel resisted marriage for a long time because she didn't want to give up her work and her status in her native Mozambique as the widow of Samora Machel, the former president of Mozambique. She is a highly popular and influential figure in Mozambique and headed the first United Nations study on the impact of war on children.

Despite her marriage to Mandela, she continues to live in Mozambique and uses her own name.”