Some of the peasants in the liberated
zones tend to forget that there is a war
going on. I asked Samora whether FRELIMO was aware of this problem and he
said that it was a problem of prolonged
war. FRELIMO is combatting this problem by involving the peasants more and
more in the war of liberation and by political education. ((One of the advantages
of last year's offensive was that it helped
us to remind the peasants that the war of
liberation had not yet been won)) - he
said.
FRELIMO'S Peoples Liberation Army is
an army with a difference. Titles such as
major, captain or sergeant, are scorned.
Everybody refers to each other as ((Comrade)). All the time there is movement
with arms within easy reach. Yet the atmosphere is completely relaxed with comrades cracking jokes about everything, including their war of liberation.
The Portuguese are definitely aware of
the existence of the FRELIMO military
bases. It is their exact location that they
do not know. Whenever they fancy ideas
of their whereabouts, they try to destroy
them by dropping bombs on their imaginary targets. But not always. The Portuguese may know of the existence of a
military base and yet refrain from any
attempts at bombing it. This restraint
has been forced on them through the loss
of their aircraft and men from the strong
anti-aircraft fire that stands guard on some
of the bases. Besides, FRELIMO's military bases are not permanently located in
one place. Like the army itself, the bases
too are always on the move.
This constant movement of FRELIMO's
freedom fighters and their bases is in
fact the deciding strategy. ((Constant mobility)) is the guerrilla term for it. The
first base which we visited had only been
constructed a couple of months ago. It
could be moved to another location within short notice.
FRELIMO has to feed about 20,000 freedom fighters. Where does it get the food
to feed all these people? I saw part of
the answer on our way to the Central
Base. The land on the other side of the
range of mountains in the Niassa region
is very fertile. It is particularly good for
the cultivation of rice. We passed by
large acres which were planted with rice
maize and beans.
A number of shambas belong to the freedom fighters themselves. We actually
stopped for a few minutes that morning
to give a hand to comrades engaged in
agriculture work.    They are not waiting
for external help before facing one of the
most important elements of any war.
Napoleon once said that ((every army
marches on its stomach.))
The participation of the army in food
production is providing a good example
to the peasants. The drive for more food
production can be seen everywhere. This
year is not a bad one, there has been
plenty of rain and freedom fighters and
peasants alike have expanded their shambas. There are also what are called ((Production bases». In these bases all those
combatants who for one reason or another cannot go to the front, take to the
land to produce food for their comrades.
THE next morning, May 17 we started off
again in the same direction. We were
now covering areas different from anything we had seen so far. Here and there
we could see traces cf abandoned home
steads and shambas. We started to make
contact with small population that live in
tiny villages separated by miles of bush-
land. It is one thing to march with a group of armed revolutionaries through territory which they claim to control. It is
another when you come across peasants
who tell you with confidence that they
are free from Portuguese control. Only
then does one start to realise the reality
of the situation.
THESE impromptu meetings of freedom
fighters and peasants are moving scenes.
Elders would converge around Samora
Machel, some touching him in the way
grand-fathers welcome their hero-sons.
Mothers come to inquire about their sons
serving with FRELIMO in other parts of
Mozambique, while the young ones just
stand around admiring the soldiers.
THE question is sometimes asked even by
well-meaning people, whether FRELIMO
has the support of the people of Mozambique? It is not a question of support.
Everybody is involved.
Peasants brought us chicken, sugarcanes,
and flour as we passed through their villages. They would join the marching columns to listen to news about the development of liberation in other areas.
They offered to carry the load of the
guerrillas and advised them on the best
sites for camping.
It was spontaneous and none of those
speeches about the need to rally around
FRELIMO and drive out the Portuguese
were heard. Everybody understood why.
It is the HOW that they talk about Only
by careful observation could I distinguish
between the peasants and the guerrillas,
otherwise everybody was ((comrade)).
The Tanzanian journalist at a FRELIMO base