Mozambique: CSOs to set up platform on human rights in regions affected by mining
File photo - UN News
Some survivors of the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado want to return to Mocímboa da Praia as soon as possible and have asked the government to open the doors of the town they fled from more than two years ago.
“We are tired of the suffering we endure in these camps, where there is hunger and disease, and we are humiliated by nearby communities. So we ask the government to let us to go back to Mocímboa da Praia,” implored Fátima Anli, a displaced woman who lost her husband during one of the armed raids in the town. Fátima escaped with her four daughters, but does not elaborate on the type of problems she faces among the people sheltering them in the safe zones.
Despite the prospect of seeing what is left of their homes, the displaced want to return to their origins, allegedly not being able to cope with life in the accommodation and resettlement centres, where humanitarian aid tends to be scarce.
“Since we came to Pemba with my husband and seven children two years ago, I have only received donations twice. Now our names do not appear on the list of displaced persons receiving aid, and aid vouchers are being sold for 2,500 meticais,” says Liança Salibo, another displaced person anxious to return to her homeland.
Mocímboa da Praia was the first zone to be freed from the insurgents after Mozambique, with the help of the Republic of Rwanda and the Southern African Development Countries, launched a military operation which recovered the town in August, 2021. For security reasons, the population has not yet been officially allowed to return.
“A good part of the displaced from other districts are returning to their homes, except for us from Mocímboa da Praia. We hear every day that we will soon be able to return, but so far – nothing. For us, this is strange and complicated,” complains Manuel Correia, a businessman born in Mocímboa da Praia, who is anxious to start his life over.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that former residents are already creeping back into Mocímboa da Praia, but for strategic reasons the return of the displaced remains slow.
“Some have already started to return gradually, but the process is still slow because of security measures. What we want is an official authorization from the government to immediately head back to Mocimboa,” says Paulo Weng, president of the Association of Naturals, Friends and Sympathisers of Mocímboa da Praia (UMOJA).
The concerns of the displaced were raised in the city of Pemba, capital of Cabo Delgado, during the celebrations of Mocímboa da Praia’s 1959 elevation to town status.
By August, 2020, the town had a population of about 80,000 people, but, today, due to terrorist attacks, fewer than 5,000 people live there.
The armed conflict which began in Mocímboa da Praia in October, 2017, has in four years taken around 3,000 lives and displaced more than 800,000 people.
By Hizidine Acha
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