Mozambique, so our first few days told us little about civilian life. We did, however, learn something about the
army on the long march. There were no pointless delays,
no crises, everyone seemed to know what they were doing.
Although there was no radio and no transport except by
foot, our commander was kept well informed by reconnaissance units about the military situation in the whole
area. We also soon found that we had no more cause to
worry about our heavy and delicate equipment, than on a
normal location. Everything had to be carried by hand
and the people responsible were often far out of sight in
front or behind us but nothing was lost or damaged.
The care taken of it was almost pedantic. One box containing spare cables and other small objects had a card of
safety pins in it, and one day one of these was needed for
makeshift repair. The man in charge of that case noticed that
it had gone astray and asked about it with great concern.
Well organised as the journey was we were glad to arrive
in inhabited country, to see green corn and bright civilian
clothes after miles of dried up bush. Even the unit accompanying us took on a new significance. For a group
of armed men marching through the bush can mean anything while the same group warmly welcomed and eagerly
questioned in a village begins to mean something.
We soon arrived in an area where, although our real concern
was with the people it was difficult as film makers not to
be a little distracted by the physical beauty of the place:
a green river valley swinging lazily across the dry bush land
and curling sharply under a pointed blue hill. As we reached
the valley floor we saw that the scene was more relevant to
our enquiry than we had thought when we first stopped to
admire it. For the most dramatic element, the vivid green
was largely man-made: acres of lush, healthy maize plants
set neatly in well weeded fields. This was a remarkable sight
for late September for, in that region cultivation is traditionally a rainy season activity and takes place only between
November and March. It is a direct result of the struggle
and the new drive for increased production that villagers
there are now producing two dry season crops as well,
achieving three harvests a. year instead of only one.
This is only one of many ways in which life has changed
for the people since the struggle. The most significant
change is, of course, the disappearance of the Portuguese
administration. This is also behind the three harvests.
It is worthwhile for them to produce more now that they
gain the benefits. It is worthwhile to experiment with new
methods, co-operative production. These kind of decisions
are now taken by the people themselves in the local elected committees. Many other developments have followed
For children and young people, particularly the women,
life holds very different prospects for them now. The network
of FRELIMO primary schools is spreading and offering to
an increasing number of children the possibility of starting
an education. The army and FRELIMO services offer young
people not only the chance to acquire some education
but the opportunity to use their abilities and to use them to
benefit mozambicans,, peasants like themselves and their
families.
We met many young people who had learnt to speak
Portuguese and learnt to read and write in the FRELIMO
army, these people were all in some sense doing responsible work. This was particularly true in the case of women whose responsibilities before the struggle ended with
their family. Now, as well, they were taking part in the
local defense forces, organising supplies to villages, looking after orphans, and trying to deal with various other
social problems fall outside the framework of the family.
This is clearly true not just of young people in that
area. Many of those travelling with us were not from Niassa.
A good number came from Cabo Delgado and some were
from as far as Gaza and Manica and Sofala and had had
to evade the Portuguese to come and join FRELIMO in
the North.
We could see that FRELIMO has been able successfully
to cross language and ethnic barriers. In that region alone
we met people from three different language groups, Yao
Nyanja and Ngoni, and in some cases they were working
the same land together. As for the militants wLh us, who
came from entirely different provinces, they were received
quite as enthusiastically as those who came from local families. The only noticeable problem was that a great deal of
interpreting had to be done, both at meetings and in casual
conversations, but as everyone seemed to speak at least two
local languages and most of the militants knew some Portuguese, there was no shortage of interpreters.
From our short visit we cannot claim to any very profound
knowledge of FRELIMO or Mozambique: we saw only a
tiny fragment of the liberated areas and met only a very few
of the many people who form FRELIMO. But we saw
enough to be able to say that despite the many problems
they face, and despite the persistant bombing raids, the
scars of which could be seen in and around all the inhabited
areas, FRELIMO has a firm base in Mozambique. If outside
support were withdrawn from Portugal it seems certain that
FRELIMO would be able to defeat the colonialist army
within a fairly short space of time and would be able to
follow up their military victory by establishing a strong
effective government founded on the support and active
participation of the Mozambican people.
19