Mozambique will, this year, rebuild 104 health units affected by cyclones - government
Mozambique: “Terrorists are dancing as they please” – activist
7:45 CAT | 06 Mar 2024
FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: DW]
Mozambican activist Abudo Gafuro, a member of the Associação Kuendeleya , a civil society organisation that works with communities suffering “first hand” the consequences of terrorism in Cabo Delgado, says that there is a great discrepancy between official speeches and the situation on the ground.
“The situation is not under control; the situation is quite dramatic and violent,” Abudo Gafuro said in an interview with DW, published on Monday (March 4, 2024).
DW Africa: How would you describe the situation in Cabo Delgado?
Abudo Gafuro (AG): These are days of uncertainty, specifically in the district of Chiùre, where the majority of the population in the most remote villages had to abandon [their homes]. There are more than 67,000 people, numbers that we have not seen since 2017, when the terrorist attacks began. They burned some religious infrastructure, schools and health centres. They displaced thousands of children, around 35,000 children are out of the education system. Some of our volunteer activists in Quissanga had to be removed to Ibo Island, and from Ibo Island to Pemba, because of the presence of terrorists in that region of Cabo Delgado province.
DW Africa: Are terrorists already on the Quirimbas islands?
AG: They have been on the Quirimbas islands for more than three days. They came on Saturday night and are looting food products that have been supplied in the island regions.
DW Africa: Is it true that terrorists settle in villages and even give lectures at will without prompt intervention from the authorities?
AG: The terrorists are “dancing” as they please. There is no resistance. Yes, they are giving lectures – we haveinformation from people in the area of the village of Cumilamba, on Quirimbas Island, who reported that the terrorists went to the forests, where there are people hiding. And they go after the Mozambican military, so they can show that they are not afraid of the Defence and Security Forces.
DW Africa: Meanwhile, the government and the President of the Republic himself are trying to de-dramatize the situation. Why?
AG: There are individuals who say that the situation is under control, but what we are seeing in practice, what we are feeling in our skin, is the opposite of that. The situation is not under control; the situation is quite dramatic and violent.
DW Africa: Is there any appeal you would like to make to the Mozambican authorities or the international community?
AG: We have to stop looking at this as if it were a normal thing. We cannot normalise something that is destabilising a province and an economy. The international community should not be silent. Our government must adopt an emergency plan to be able to accommodate people; accommodate those displaced people who want to leave danger zones and find safe areas.
Source: Deutsche Welle
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