Mozambique: New statue of Eduardo Mondlane unveiled – Watch

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Mozambique: New statue of Eduardo Mondlane unveiled – Watch

2:12 CAT | 26 Sep 2024

Photo: Social Media

A new statue in honour of the first president of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and an icon of resistance to Portuguese colonial rule, Eduardo Mondlane, was unveiled in Maputo yesterday.

In a solemn ceremony led by the President of the Republic, the statue replaced another sited at the start of the avenue named after the architect of national unity, as part of celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Armed Forces of Defence of Mozambique (FADM).

Several personalities believe that the installation of the new monument represents the materialisation of efforts to keep alive the legacy of this figure and the generation of 25 September that brought independence to Mozambique.

The new statue of Eduardo Mondlane is made of copper and is six meters tall, weighing 6,410 kilos, and is housed in a paved structure.

In addition to the new statue, the site also features educational plaques with records of various moments that marked Mondlane’s life, from his birth, academic and professional career, the premises of the founding of Frelimo until his death on February 3, 1969.

The space also has a digital dimension, with technology installed that allows access to a series of documents and historical facts via scanner.

The engineer responsible for the project, Celso Nícolas, explained that five educational plaques are installed on marble plinths, lit by several lamps. The statue base is built to withstand winds of up to 200 km per hour.

Renovation of the intersection between the avenues that lead to the monument will begin in the next few days.

A country prepared to overcome challenges

Former President of the Republic Joaquim Chissano believes that the legacy of Eduardo Mondlane and the generation of 25 September is proof that Mozambique has the capacity to overcome all the barriers of the present and those that may arise in the future.

Present yesterday at the inauguration of the Eduardo Mondlane monument, the former head of state highlighted that the resilience of the Mozambican people has spanned generations and will prevail in facing the challenges of today on the same basis of principles and values as those who liberated the country in 1975.

“Challenges are there to be overcome, our celebrations today show that these barriers are not impossible to overcome. In our time, we had nothing, we had few resources to fight a well-equipped colonial army and we only had 250 men trained in Algeria and we were able to replicate knowledge to liberate our country,” he stressed.

For Chissano, the primary fruit of all the sacrifice made by the Mozambicans who rose up against the Portuguese colonial rule in 1964 is the unity of the country for development.

“National unity is the country’s main achievement, all Mozambicans have followed what Eduardo Mondlane advocated. He was responsible for uniting the efforts of Mozambicans on a single front,” he highlighted.

Unity of Mozambicans reconfirmed

Eduardo Mondlane Júnior, son of the founder of Frelimo, said that the new statue represents the reconfirmation of national unity, while also recalling the importance of the lessons learned by the country’s heroes in overcoming today’s challenges.

The Mondlane family, represented at the ceremony by Nyeleti and Eduardo Mondlane Júnior, see the occasion as a symbol of the appreciation of their father’s sacrifice for the sake of a free, united and developed country.

“This statue represents a new phase that the country is entering and, for us, it is the reconfirmation of Eduardo Mondlane’s presence among Mozambicans. He is the architect of national unity and this action only reinforces the strength of the union among Mozambicans,” said Eduardo Mondlane Júnior.

Having achieved political independence, he added, the country must now focus its efforts on achieving economic independence and collective well-being. “This is a new stage. In the past, we spoke of the freedom of the people that we achieved in 1975, but now we are more optimistic about overcoming more challenges. We are currently in the battle to achieve our economic independence and overcome other scenarios in the global context,” he stressed.

In the view of the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Eldevina Materula, the square’s digital dimension is the best way to immortalize the achievements of the organizer of the group of young volunteers who launched the national liberation struggle.

“Among several aspects that will be mentioned shortly by His Excellency the President of the Republic, this monument was designed to attract tourism, and that is why we opted for this model, this model of bringing a statue where our tourists can also take photos with our first national hero. We chose this digital square because people can come and, through the QR Code, which is on all the information boards, access more information about President Eduardo Mondlane,” Minister Materula said.

Source: Notícias / O País