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A typical component in the machinery of oppression by fascist regimes is torture. The Portuguese prisons of Mozambique are no exception. There, political prisoners are continually subjected to bru tality by the colonialists — as Agostinho Thawe explains in this statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights. I was a teacher in the Anglican Mission of Messumba (Niassa) when I was arrested on the 11th September, 1964. Officially freed on the 8th January, 1971, I stayed in prison until the 26th February, 1971; that is for nearly 7 years, and 1 was never on trial. From September to October, 1964, I was kept in the prison at Vila Cabral. On the I Oth October, I was sent to the penitentiary of Lourenco Marques where I stayed till the month of March, 1965. From March to July, 1965, 1 was kept in the Machava Prison. In July I was transferred to the Pinto Teixeira working camps in Mabalane. In 1968 I was sent back to Machava and sent back again to Pinto Teixeira in 1969 where I stayed until the 8th January, 1971. I was then brought back to Lourenco Marques where 1 was finally freed in February, 1971. THE INTERROGATIONS It is the most dangerous and critical time for the prisoners. It is during this phase that many prisoners lose their lives. While being questioned the prisoner is submitted to tortures. The principle tortures consist of: a. being «ironed» with a hot clothes iron on the back; b. being suspended from the ceiling by the hands; c. being kept on bended knees on the sand for days; d. being submitted to electric shocks; e. being forced to swallow pills or receive injections that disturb the nervous system; f. being kept in a frozen room; g. being whipped, being beaten with a «palmatoria» or with a baton (casse- tete); h. being beaten with a perforated «palma- toria»; i. being tied and beaten by six policemen. When the prisoner faints, he is revived with water and the torture starts again. 18 Inside Caetano's prisons Amongst the prisoners many die because of these tortures and others, in the war zones, are killed by the soldiers. One of my friends Estevao Njilamo, died in Machava as a consequence of the blows he received while being interrogated. Many prisoners bear scars and others become mad or handicapped. During the period between 1965 and 1968 the army used to come and take away prisoners who had finished the investigations phase and use them as mine detectors in front of their military convoys. The prisoners' eyes were closed with adhesive tape or with handkerchiefs and they were tied and kept at the end of a rope about 10 metres long. The vehicles followed them. Now they don't come anymore to take people away from the prisons. For detecting mines now, they use people they capture in the war zones. But even after the questioning, every thing, the forced labour, the medical assistance, the food, the sleeping quarters, the water, everything is used to punish us. FOOD At Mabalane the food was o( a very bad quality. It was mostly rice husks or maize of the quality normally given to chickens. In Machava it was even worse. Several times 1 saw people fainting from hunger sometimes even dying. The quantity of food sufficient for one person was given to four. The situation got even worse after 1966. We were given half a cup of rice, three quarters of a cup of beans per day. When we received flakes we received a whole cup but no sugar. We never had meat, only small bones ^meticulously scraped» as we said in the letter that we - 1 and six others - sent to the inspector of the Section of Prisons from PIDE in Machava. The sauce was like water, no oil, no onions, no tomato, sometimes even without salt. Diarrhoea was frequent due to bad food. SLEEPING BARRACKS At Mabalane we slept on the ground. From 1967 onwards we were given blankets every two years. It was much worse at Machava where, at the moment of my departure there were 4,700 prisoners sharing the three wards reserved for the political prisoners. The people were stacked like tinned sardines, pressed against one another, the feet of one on the head of the other. In these conditions epidemics were frequent and spread easily among the prisoners. This was aggravated by the fact that the authorities did everything to make the hygienic conditions worse. We could see that the sleeping barracks were used as a means to put an end to the prisoners' lives. HYGIENE At Mabalane, like in Machava, there were taps and showers. Nevertheless, during the hot season (the rainy season) the authorities used to cut the water and only turn it on every two days, while in the cold season (dry season) there was water every day but only from 3 to 5 o'clock in the morning. All this shows that bathing was also a method of punishment. Soap was very seldom given and when A
Object Description
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Title | CENPA-343~20 |
Filename | CENPA-343~20.tiff |
Full text | A typical component in the machinery of oppression by fascist regimes is torture. The Portuguese prisons of Mozambique are no exception. There, political prisoners are continually subjected to bru tality by the colonialists — as Agostinho Thawe explains in this statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights. I was a teacher in the Anglican Mission of Messumba (Niassa) when I was arrested on the 11th September, 1964. Officially freed on the 8th January, 1971, I stayed in prison until the 26th February, 1971; that is for nearly 7 years, and 1 was never on trial. From September to October, 1964, I was kept in the prison at Vila Cabral. On the I Oth October, I was sent to the penitentiary of Lourenco Marques where I stayed till the month of March, 1965. From March to July, 1965, 1 was kept in the Machava Prison. In July I was transferred to the Pinto Teixeira working camps in Mabalane. In 1968 I was sent back to Machava and sent back again to Pinto Teixeira in 1969 where I stayed until the 8th January, 1971. I was then brought back to Lourenco Marques where 1 was finally freed in February, 1971. THE INTERROGATIONS It is the most dangerous and critical time for the prisoners. It is during this phase that many prisoners lose their lives. While being questioned the prisoner is submitted to tortures. The principle tortures consist of: a. being «ironed» with a hot clothes iron on the back; b. being suspended from the ceiling by the hands; c. being kept on bended knees on the sand for days; d. being submitted to electric shocks; e. being forced to swallow pills or receive injections that disturb the nervous system; f. being kept in a frozen room; g. being whipped, being beaten with a «palmatoria» or with a baton (casse- tete); h. being beaten with a perforated «palma- toria»; i. being tied and beaten by six policemen. When the prisoner faints, he is revived with water and the torture starts again. 18 Inside Caetano's prisons Amongst the prisoners many die because of these tortures and others, in the war zones, are killed by the soldiers. One of my friends Estevao Njilamo, died in Machava as a consequence of the blows he received while being interrogated. Many prisoners bear scars and others become mad or handicapped. During the period between 1965 and 1968 the army used to come and take away prisoners who had finished the investigations phase and use them as mine detectors in front of their military convoys. The prisoners' eyes were closed with adhesive tape or with handkerchiefs and they were tied and kept at the end of a rope about 10 metres long. The vehicles followed them. Now they don't come anymore to take people away from the prisons. For detecting mines now, they use people they capture in the war zones. But even after the questioning, every thing, the forced labour, the medical assistance, the food, the sleeping quarters, the water, everything is used to punish us. FOOD At Mabalane the food was o( a very bad quality. It was mostly rice husks or maize of the quality normally given to chickens. In Machava it was even worse. Several times 1 saw people fainting from hunger sometimes even dying. The quantity of food sufficient for one person was given to four. The situation got even worse after 1966. We were given half a cup of rice, three quarters of a cup of beans per day. When we received flakes we received a whole cup but no sugar. We never had meat, only small bones ^meticulously scraped» as we said in the letter that we - 1 and six others - sent to the inspector of the Section of Prisons from PIDE in Machava. The sauce was like water, no oil, no onions, no tomato, sometimes even without salt. Diarrhoea was frequent due to bad food. SLEEPING BARRACKS At Mabalane we slept on the ground. From 1967 onwards we were given blankets every two years. It was much worse at Machava where, at the moment of my departure there were 4,700 prisoners sharing the three wards reserved for the political prisoners. The people were stacked like tinned sardines, pressed against one another, the feet of one on the head of the other. In these conditions epidemics were frequent and spread easily among the prisoners. This was aggravated by the fact that the authorities did everything to make the hygienic conditions worse. We could see that the sleeping barracks were used as a means to put an end to the prisoners' lives. HYGIENE At Mabalane, like in Machava, there were taps and showers. Nevertheless, during the hot season (the rainy season) the authorities used to cut the water and only turn it on every two days, while in the cold season (dry season) there was water every day but only from 3 to 5 o'clock in the morning. All this shows that bathing was also a method of punishment. Soap was very seldom given and when A |
Archival file | Volume21/CENPA-343~20.tiff |