IB,'-*\ ...'.,;■■
The best comrades are those who stay to:
gether during difficult times - the one who
having little food, shares it with his brother because he knows that when we are
many and work together we are stronger.
But we must also remember that Mozambique is not just this area where you live.
Our country stretches very far, from the
Rovurna in the north to Maputo in the
south. When we go to Beira, Zambezia
or Cabo Delgado we are still in Mozambique. And the people there are fighting
just as here. If we have peace in this region today, it is because the planes are
now over Cabo Delgado and Niassa; the
people can live and grow their crops in
Niassa because the war is being conducted
in Tete and Cabo Delgado. The guerrillas
in the front lines are from all over Mozambique.)) One of the students interjects: «In school our teacher teaches us
to be Mozambicans. If we had been born
over the border in the north we would
have been Zambians, but we aren't and,
we aren't Portuguese either. We are sons
of Mozambique, fighting for the liberation of Mozambique)).
Comrade Samora replies:
«That is true, and that is why you did
not run away when the war came. What
you feel about the liberation of Mozambique must be different to what a foreigner feels, but it is the same as our people
in Beira, Lourenco Marques, Cabo Delgado, and other parts of Tete feel. We
are all fighting the same enemy.
«It is very difficult for some people to
understand the size of our country. This
is not surprising when you have never
been outside your home area, when you
needed passes to travel anywhere, even a
few miles. It is necessary therefore always
to remember that Chufumbo is our coun
try, Chioco, Furancungo and Mutarara
are in our country. When we cross south
of the Zambezi we are still in our country,
Mozambique.
«Mozambique is our home and the only
stranger here is the Portuguese. The one
who fights side by side with you, who
gives you food when you are hungry, who
treats you when you are wounded, is
your brother and comrade, no matter
from which part of Mozambique he
comes. We must never think we are
Mozambicans because we come from a
certain tribe. That is a tactic the Portuguese have always used to keep us weak
and divided. During the wars of our
fathers, as mentioned by the comrades
earlier, the Portuguese would come to the
Ngonis and tell them that the Senas
wanted to steal their land. This would
set these two tribes fighting against each
other and in the end the only ones to
have the land would be the Portuguese.
If the Senas won, they would then be
incited to attack the Nyungwes, and these
to fight the Ndaus. In this way the Portuguese have remained powerful in Mozambique.
One member of the local Committee,
comrade Nepiala Kantambe, asks comrade Samora to explain exactly which are
the different tasks to be carried out by
them, and which are the most important.
«There are many tasks to be undertaken
to advance the war, and all of them are
equally important in contributing to driving the Portuguese out of our country.
The main task of the soldier is to fight
and annihilate the enemy. The task of
the peasants is to cultivate for themselves and the fighters, to participate in
their own defence and to help transport
war materials. The reason you can culti
vate here in peace is because you have
helped transport war materials to distant
parts, to the advance zones of combat.
All of us are working in this war. Soldiers may think their task is more important than that of the civilians, men
may think they are working more than
women, some women may think they do
more than men, and the same with the
young and the old. But it is important to
realise that although FRELIMO is big and
growing every day, for us to be big we
had to be small first. We must not think
that one task is more important than
another. Our Organisation FRELIMO is
like the body. The head is to think, the
stomach is to receive food and distribute
it. Even the skin and the nails are important. The body can only function when
all its parts work together and in harmony.
And every effort made, no matter how
small it may seem to others, is important.
«01d people have important responsibilities in the war. They must constantly
guide the young along the right paths.
If we teach a child to steal he will be a
thief when he grows up. When a child
sees fire it touches, when it sees medicine
it drinks. It needs constant guidance. To
work in a shamba you need strong legs
and hands and back. But a fool with all
these things does not work well because
he does not use his head to think. Our
fighters can have weapons to give them
strength but if they do not think correctly
about what they are doing they will
achieve nothing. In order to think correctly it is necessary to have learned.
One mother, Maria Mtukuliza, asks comrade Samora to reprimand her young son,
who is among the students, because sometimes the son does not want to go to
school and goes to play instead; and also
neglects his homework. Comrade Samora
explains the role of the students in the
revolution and concludes:
«You, children and students, also have
important responsibilities. The results of
our work will probably not be seen by us,
but by you and your children. We are
fighting so that you will never experience
the machila and the palmatoria. But to
achieve this you must play your part for
in time it will be you who will be making
the war. We have provoked the beast but
it is you who will finally kill him. You
must study hard so as to better contribute
to the organisation and building of our
country. You must also help teach your
parents to read and write.
«Women must also play an active part
When the Portuguese shoot they do not
distinguish between men and women.
There is not one war for men and another