Mozambique: “Any mother would have done what I did.”

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Mozambique: “Any mother would have done what I did.”

9:23 CAT | 13 Nov 2024

FILE - Casimira Macamo: "I went outside to find out what was happening, why the police were throwing (tear) gas inside my house" [File photo:Jaime Álvaro/DW]

A mother worried about her children’s safety, who confronted police during a demonstration, is being dubbed Mozambique’s “new Josina” on social media.

The image of 36-year-old Casimira Macamo confronting the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) during the demonstrations contesting the results of the general elections on October 9 has gone viral on social media.

Taken for a protest leader and a human rights defender, she has been nicknamed the “new Josina” of Mozambique – a reference to Josina Machel, an inspirational role model in the women’s movement.

In an interview with DW, the young woman clarifies that she is not the leader of any protest and claims that she was there “to demand satisfaction from the PRM for having thrown tear gas at her children”.

Deutsche Welle: What motivated you to join the protests on the day your image was captured?

Casimira Macamo (CM): I was not joining any protest and I am not a protest leader. That day, I was at home doing my housework. My children were inside and, suddenly, my oldest daughter starts screaming saying “Mom, it’s burning here”. I took them out of the house and, after leaving them safe, I went outside to find out what was happening, why the police were throwing (tear) gas inside into house.

DW: What was the police’s justification at that time?

CM: When I got there, I went to the brigade commander and tried to find out why they were unnecessarily spraying people’s backyards, because the population was demonstrating peacefully. He said that the population was throwing stones at them, and I said that wasn’t true.

DW: What was the outcome of the conversation you had with the police?

CM: When I spoke to the commander, he immediately made a phone call and then spoke to his colleagues. It was agreed that I didn’t want a conflict either. After speaking to the police, I went to speak to the population and asked them to continue the demonstration peacefully, holding up posters, singing without offending the police, and much less throwing stones.

DW: At that moment, were you a mother worried about her children’s health talking to the police, and not a protest leader?

CM: I would repeat the act more than ten times if necessary, because I know what it’s like to lose a child, because I already lost a child in one of the demonstrations that took place during the doctors’ strike. That’s why I couldn’t stay at home. I went out as a mother and asked the commander if he didn’t have any children and told him not to forget that, in addition to his uniform, he is a father, son and grandfather, and that he has people who care about him.

DW: After that act, what has your life been like in the last few days?

CM: I don’t leave the house anymore, and when I do, people keep calling me “Josina, Josina”. That’s embarrassing for me. I gave an interview to clarify this issue, because people were asking me from all sides: what really happened? I didn’t answer, because I had nothing to say. I only went there to defend what is mine, my children. People are saying a lot of untruths about those images, but any mother in my place would have done what I did.

Source: Deutsche Welle