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On the 25th of September, 1964* our People took up their guns
and fired on Portuguese troops. The myth of the invincibility
of the whiteman, built through centuries by the colonialists
was shattered. Our people said Enough', to their masters,
and started fighting for their freedom. Herein lies the
principal significance of this day for the people of Mozambique. The first shot was symbolic. It was a challenge to
white supremacy. It showed confidence in the power of the
people. It demonstrated faith in the revolution. On that
day there were more than 250 fighters, most of them armed
only with pistols or rifles - against the whole Portuguese
army, equipped with all the latest weapons: aircraft, tanks.
Such a daring attack against such overwhelming odds required
great confidence on the part of the people, convinced of
the justice of their cause.
That first shot was also symbolic because of the motives behind
it. There had been skirmishes between our people and Portuguese troops before. But these skirmishes were only aimed
at expelling the Portuguese from a specific region. The
people of a tribe would fight for their own freedom. They
were merely revolts. But now, however, the aim of the struggle
was the freedom of the whole country, the whole of Mozambique.
The fighter who fired first may have been a Jawa, a Makonde,
a Changana, a Macua, But he was not just fighting for the
liberation of his region. He was probably fighting in a
region far from his own, amongst people of other tribes.
He was fighting for the liberation of the whole of Mozambique.
Four years have passed. The results we have achieved prove
that our revolutionary faith was justified. The tiny army
of 25O fighters grew to 10,000. The quality of our weapons
improved - from pistols to machine guns, mortars and antiaircraft guns. The disparity of forces between us and the
enemy is thus diminishing quickly, as more people join our
army every day and more weapons are either captured or offered
to us. We have liberated large areas of our country, and
started building a new life for the people. We have achieved
great successes. Our conviction that the might of the pepple
would triumph has proved correct. ...
:> . (cont. page 7)
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