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by A. CJGwCimbe (National President, Union Democratica National de Mozambique)
A. C. GWAMBE
'THE "Diploma Legislative" No.
* 36 passed in Lourenco Marques
in 1927 by the white members ol
the Mozambique Legislative Council, created the "Law of Assimilation", which is a system 01^
making Africans stooges of the
Portuguese   Colonial   Government.
Any African who satisfies the
following requirements becomes a
"Portuguese Assimilado":—
(1) Must be profficient in the
Portuguese language.
(2) Must not adhere to the
customs of the indigenous
people.
(3) Must hold a professional post
in commerce and industry,
and earn enough money to be
able to lead a decent life.
These three requirements form the
basis of conditions one must satisfy
before he can be assimilated, and this
system leads Mozambique to a new
form of neo-colonialism.
It was not until 1940 that the
oppressed Africans started to engage
in movements which aimed £t the
overthrow of the Portuguese imperialist government.
From 1940 to 1950, there was a
total of about 4,349 Africans who
still adhered to the policy of assimilation which gave them certain social
privileges which differed from those
enjoyed by the Mullatoes.
People of Asian origin, Portuguese
and all the Mulattoes are not expected
to satisfy the above mentioned con
ditions   as   they   are   by. law   not
affected by the system of assimilation.
Asians together with the Portuguese control the country's economy
along a tight system of capitalistic
monopoly backed by the English,
Americans and Germans. The 1955
official records indicated that the
biggest agricultural enterprises
amounted to about 1,283 and that of
this total, 1,088 belonged to the
Portuguese colonial masters, 59 to
Indians, 34 to the Germans, and 14
to the Pakistanis.
In accordance with the rules of
assimilation, all Africans who have
undergone this process, are regarded
not as Africans but as "Portuguese",
and yet not a single one of these
people is in possession of a farm. This
applies equally to the Mulattoes.
The Portuguese and the Mulattoes
number about 50,000 as against
6-^ million Africans. The chief occupation of this minority group is to
execute Portuguese colonial laws
which compel Africans to work'
under slave conditions in the
plantations.
These people are beaten in a savage
manner while they toil in the plantations.
The Assimilados and the Mulattoes
act as a medium through which the
Portuguese slave owners issue orders
to the oppressed - and humiliated
Africans who have not qualified to be
regarded as Assimilados.
The 1954 statistical records showed
that the  Portuguese  slave, owners
earned about £25 a month through
agriculture and allied pursuits. The
Assimilados earned about £13, while
the Mulattoes got a little over £17,
and the Africans who worked under
the system of forced labour received
only £1 19/-. and no allowance was
made for the two basic necessaries of
life—shelter and food.
The people of Mozambique are
clearly aware of the fact that Mulattoes and Assimilados are puppets who
execute Portuguese colonial instructions of slavery without question.
One Mulatto or Assimilado can take
charge of about one hundred African
plantation labourers.
This arrangement has created
animosity between the African
labourers on the one hand the
Mulatto-Assimilado group on the
other.
Nor is there any co-operation
between these groups which only
work together when they have to
execute oppressive measures over
the African labourers. The Mulattoes
still continue to look down upon the
Assimilado because of the difference
in salary scales, for Mulattoes get
more than the Assimilados.
There is social discrimination, too.
All so-called Assimilados must produce identity cards or certificates of
exemption before they can be
admitted into cinemas and dance
halls. This does not apply to
Mulattoes who have free and unhampered access to all public places.
The people of Mozambique are today
uniting to overthrow the Portuguese
oppressor government in the country.
The fact that the people do not
November, 1961    O    31