“Tchau! Ate logo!” I hollered back to my host family as I stepped out of the house and hurriedly started toward the street. I was on my way to meet up with some PC friends to watch a movie at Amanda’s house and was trying to slyly escape because I didn’t want to be later than I already was. I had been messing around, killing time around my host family’s house for almost an hour waiting for dinner to be served and, now that I had finally eaten, the last thing I wanted to do was waste any more time with long goodbyes.
Just as the loud crash of my house’s metal gate rang out behind me, I felt a slight twitch in my front pocket letting me know that I had received a text on my cell phone. I wasn’t too eager to check it, thinking that it might be a request from my host mom to come back and check in with her, but I made a quick glance at it in stride and realized that the text was actually from Alycia, another PC friend of mine. In the short message she innocently invited me to drop by her host family’s party to eat some cake and, even though I was already running late, I figured that her house was on the way. Moreover, I thought “Really, how long would it take me to eat a piece of cake?” (For those of you who know my eating habits, you know what I mean!).
Walking up to Alycia’s house, I was invited inside by her host sisters and quickly realized upon entering that this was not going to be any quick grab-cake-and-go experience. For one, her host mom was still setting the table when I arrived, while the whole extended family was sitting around the room watching in anticipation. To further highlight the importance of the event, there was even a local photographer present to help capture the evening’s activities. “Ugh! This isn’t what I signed up for…” I thought to myself. It’s funny how host families’ parties have become such a burden here in Namaacha, especially as our time here has started to come to an end. It seems that every other night there is a birthday, anniversary, or going away party that some volunteer and their host families are insisting you come to. It’s an honor for sure, but it’s still something keeping you and your friends from just relaxing and chilling together.
While thinking about trying to get to the movie with my other friends, I noticed that only two other volunteers were at the party and knew that I wasn’t going to be able to make a quick run for it and my absence not be felt. Sitting down next to Alycia’s host father, I decided to make the best of it and just go with the flow. After starting some small talk with the other party guests, I flipped out my cell phone and sent a resigned message to Amanda, “be there later. don’t wait to start movie for me. :(”
With music playing in the background and food aplenty set before us, the mood of my conversation remained somber as Alycia’s host father and his friend explained to me about their experiences in Mozambique’s armed forces. Even though they served in the military after the country’s civil war, it was still two long, rough years of their lives where they were uprooted from their homes and forced to train and stay on active duty several hours away from their friends and family. This is not a unique experience: two years of military service is mandatory for all Mozambican men.
Relating this to the issues that public health officials regularly confront in Mozambique, you begin to wonder how this military indoctrination at a crucial developmental stage in a man’s life affects the general Mozambican masculine state of mind in the areas of sexuality and the treatment of women. Although I’m sure there are some soldiers who continue to remain abstinent or faithful to one partner, I’m confident that sexual promiscuity is prevalent and widely accepted among the displaced population of young soldiers. Adding to the dangerous mix, almost the entire population of males in Mozambique has been trained to be “war ready” and I believe that you can sense that callused, detached mindset when trying to discuss the topics of mortality and the value of life in relation to public health issues, such as HIV/AIDS, with middle-age Mozambican males.
As I understood it, for as long as Mozambique has been a country, since 1975, all men have been required to complete at least two years military service. Back in the day this draft made sense while trying to combat any unrest following the independence of the country and the ensuing civil war. Now, however, Mozambique is decades removed from war and yet there exists a sense among Mozambicans that a military draft is still necessary.
Naively asking Alycia’s family who they thought Mozambique could/would be attacked by, one older woman earnestly blurted out “RENAMO!”, the current minority political party in the country and the former combatant during the country’s civil war. Thinking to myself about the implications of this outburst, I began to project the situation on the current U.S. political climate. It’s hard for me to imagine the feeling that would exist in America if people were scared that the Republicans or Democrats were going to try to violently overthrow the administration if they lost the elections. This, however, is a reality in Mozambique. In fact, just the past month, the leader of RENAMO made a televised announcement urging the people of Mozambique to rebel against the government following the lopsided national elections that were widely thought to be fraudulent. Luckily, these pleads weren’t heeded by the country’s population and things were able to continue on without incident. Regardless, being in a country where the tension between the opposing political parties is so high makes you notice how devastating the effects of a civil war could be. Neighbors who help one another, schools and hospitals that serve the needy, businesses that provide essential daily items for the population are all put at risk of collapsing during a civil war. Here we are some many years removed from the country’s civil war and things still feel so sensitive.
After taking all this in, I started to feel the effects of the recent flu-like illness I was still recovering from and ended up calling it a night soon after. I said my thanks to all the party guests, excused myself, and walked out the door, going home with a sense of uncertainty and more questions than answers about what my role here in Mozambique will end up being.
Wednesday December 2nd, 2009
With my head still trying to grasp the ramifications of the conversation at Alycia’s party, the PCTs were lucky enough to receive a visit today from the U.S. Charge D’affairs (Mozambique doesn’t currently have an ambassador) to put the current social, economic, and political climate here in Mozambique in perspective according to his experiences and beliefs (noticeably very politically charged and thus very different from the approach a PCV might take).
The Charge D’affairs, Todd Chapman, was introduced to the room of PCTs by our country director and at first glance came off looking rather stuck up and goofy with his distinctly-parted, meticulously-groomed hair cut. After only a few moments in front of the crowd of PCTs, however, my initial impression was surprising reversed by his frank and honest recollection about his experiences in country.
The take home message of the Charge D’affairs’ short presentation could be summed up as such: when trying to assess the current state of Mozambique, remember where it came from. Mr. Chapman first arrived in Mozambique in 1993, right after the end of the civil war between FRELIMO and RENAMO, and he couldn’t emphasize enough how far the country has come in the past 16 years. In the early 90’s, Mozambique was the poorest country in the world, based on per capita income, with around 80% of the population living in absolute poverty. Since then, there has been a 30% reduction in the percentage of people living in absolute poverty and the per capita income has quadrupled. That said, because it was so low to start with, Mozambique still remains among the 10 poorest countries in the world. After nearly 2 decades of aid, signs of sustainable improvements are suspect at best. In fact, Mozambique is considered one of the 10 most aid-dependent countries in the world. Perhaps best exemplifying this is the fact that, as I mentioned in a previous blog, over 70% of health care system is paid for by outside sources.
When looking at Mozambique’s shortcomings today, it’s hard to imagine how much worse the state of the country was less than two decades ago following the war for independence and the ensuing civil war. The country’s infrastructure (roads, schools, hospitals, electricity, etc.) had been completely decimated by the fighting. For example, the road from Maputo to Namaacha, which now takes an hour or so to travel, took more than 3+ hours to travel in 1993 due to the unbroken stretch of pot holes lining the road’s length. If that isn’t enough to give a picture of how bad it was in the country, think about how nearly 80% of all hospitals and schools were destroyed in combat. (PC education volunteers recently informed us how it’s not unusual for middle-aged men and women to go to night school now to try and regain the education they missed out on during/after the wars. In fact, the situation is so desperate that people even go to night school in places where there is no electricity and must learn by candlelight. Also keep in mind that these are individuals who are often up at 5am and work till their night school shift from 5-10pm, after which they have to go home, take care of household chores, and do it all over again the next day.)
To make matters more complicated, when peace keepers arrived in Mozambique shortly after the end of the civil war and started trying to demilitarize camps from both sides, they quickly realized that there was a whole generation of boy soldiers who didn’t have anyone or anything to go back to. These young men were raised to be soldiers and didn’t even know where they were from, much less who their family was. For those who were able to transition out of the military lifestyle, the early 90’s was a time where people remained inactive because scattered throughout the country were thousands of unmarked, unaccounted for landmines which made it quite treacherous for people to get out and start rebuilding the country.
Although many would argue that the climb up from this low point has been slow and corrupt, I’m torn when trying to assess whether international aid has been helping or hurting Mozambique. In the eyes of the U.S. Charge D’affairs, I’m sure that the aid has made a tremendously beneficial impact. But, the question of Why should the U.S. continue to give aid to Mozambique? is becoming harder answer in light of the global economic crisis and the fact that some people would argue that there are many indications that the aid is actually hurting the country’s movement towards democracy and economic success (the Charge D’affairs gave the example of the recent elections where there were reported incidents of ballot stuffing and an effort to exclude an up and coming third party from many of the country’s voting regions)
Regardless of international aid, the Mr. Chapman, educated with a strong background in economics, took the opportunity to answer the question of what he thinks Mozambique could do economically to improve its current state of affairs. He emphasized that Mozambique should expand its ability to capitalize on its natural resources (i.e agriculture and mineral wealth) and decrease its emphasis on expanding industry (he feels that Mozambique would really struggle to have a large industry presence because it would have trouble competing with neighboring South Africa and international giant China). Instead, the country should continue to build up infrastructure (i.e. reliable electricity, schools, hospitals, roads, etc) to attract more tourism and small businesses, while also building the country’s human capacity by getting more people who are working in Mozambique trained and educated.
All of these reflections (although some were politically charged and contrary to what PC is all about) have given me a slightly different perspective heading into my upcoming service and I trust that it has taught you back at home some new things too. I hope it will give me more patience with myself and my work (I know now it will be a long, slow process) and that it will inspire you to continue to do some of your own research on the subject back at home. As I move forward, please remind me of this blog when I seem down about lack of “forward progress” because no matter how slow things seem to be moving, I have to remember that Mozambique has come a long way.
Friday December 4th, 2009
I was sitting in my room on Thursday evening, trying to buckle down and put a capstone on the journal write-ups from the past few days, when my friend Kat came over and playfully convinced me to come out of my self-inflicted isolation and goof off with her and some of the neighborhood kids for a bit. A few minutes later, there we were in her front yard singing and dancing along to the blaring tune of Beyonce’s “If you liked it then you should’ve put a ring on it” (I don’t know if that’s the real name of it or not, but you know what I’m talking about) coming from the nearby barraca (a place where they sell alcohol) surrounded by 20 kids from the neighboring houses. At the end of the song, Kat and I collapsed into each other’s arms, out of breath and sweating, but smiling from ear to ear. It was a short-lived moment in comparison to other events during my experience here in Namaacha, but definitely one of the last one’s that I’d ever forget.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident of forgetting to be focused on the people I’m actually here to serve. I am constantly trying to remind myself to recognize how it’s not annoying, rather great that my host family brother and sisters are practically kicking in my door to play with me and how special it is that everyone I walk by in the neighborhood screams “mano Michael” (they pronounce it Me-Shy-El) to greet me. Nevertheless, I’m trying and I’m having fun doing itJ
One “business issue” we had going on today was our LPI (an oral exam PC uses to measure your grasp of a language) that everyone needed to earn at least an intermediate score on to be sworn in as a PCV next week. The great news is that everyone passed! In fact, I actually scored on the high end of the spectrum, qualifying as being “advanced” in speaking Portuguese. It makes me feel good, but I’m also very aware that there is a huge amount of learning still left to be done.
After the LPI, we were rewarded with some of the few precious moments of free time during PST and a group of 5 of us decided to spend it sleeping/resting under a mango tree at Roselia’s house. That may not sound that exciting to you back at home, but trust me, it was to us! Walking around Namaacha in the hot, relentless sun really made us appreciate the cool, swooping breeze that practically begged you to pull up a mat and lay down under the Mango tree’s shade. It felt like we were in some small, little oasis, picking and eating Litchis (a fruit) from a nearby tree, staring up at the swirling clouds above, and talking about our upcoming site placements. We can’t wait J
Sunday December 6th, 2009
By the time I rambled out of bed at 4:30am on Saturday morning to walk over to Noemi’s house for Yoga, my host mom was already dressed and heading out the door on her way to the local school to start preparing food for our end-of-training party later that day. The party was supposed to be providing food for all 67 volunteers and their families, so it definitely was no easy feat, not even for a group of hardworking Mozambican women. In fact, the food preparation was underway days before when they host mom’s had gotten together to kill and prepare 70 chickens and send 1 cow to the butcher.
The party started at 10am with speeches from several community members recognizing the efforts of the host families, the PCTs, and the community’s efforts as a whole in this year’s successful training (like I said, everyone passed their LPIs, so everyone will be able to swear in as PCVs on Tuesday). Afterward, the host families and PCTs were called up in front of the crowd to receive certificates recognizing the efforts of the families (a spectacle filled with loud hoots and hollers, singing, and even some dancing). When it came time for my family to be recognized, my host Mom and made our way up to the front doing an impromptu dance which elicited a loud roar from the audience before we retreated to our seats.
When it finally came time to eat, there was TONS of food, but it still wasn’t enough for everyone. Things like chicken and beef ran out early and a lot of the last people to be served were left with just rice and potatoes. People slowly began leaving the party as they finished up their food, but those who decided to stick around were rewarded with a fun dance party afterward. Probably the biggest highlight of the dance party was one song that all the health PCTs knew a dance to because we had to perform it earlier in PST. Even though it got a little old after a while, that didn’t stop us from playing the song 4 times before the hour long dance party was over!
I woke up today hoping I’d make a quick trip to Maputo to buy a few small things for my site, but my host mom was insistent that I stay in Namaacha in order to go to church and say goodbye to the congregation. She was right. I had been going to the church ever since I had arrived here in Namaacha, only missing a few Sundays here and there, and a lot of people had grown accustomed to seeing me around. It was only right to bite the bullet and say my goodbyes to them. That said, after having sat through the 4 hour long church service (!), I felt like maybe I could have just sent my host mom with a message from me and it would have had the same effect…
Nearly reaching the end of the service, I had almost escaped without making any dramatic speech when my mom signaled to me that if I wasn’t going to let the usher know that I needed to say a few words to the congregation, then she would. I conceded and got the attention of the usher, but had to sit and wait several minutes before the time was right. Even though I had just completed an oral exam with PC, the anxiousness that I felt in those few moments before speaking to the congregation was infinitely more nerve wrecking. When the time finally arrived and I was signaled to speak, I stood up and, with only a little awkwardness, informed the church that I’d soon be leaving, let them know where I’d be going and for how long, and closed by asking for prayers for my travels. All in all, I think the speech was well received and several people even came up to me after the service to personally wish me well on my journey. To say the least, it was a great feeling J
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
All 67 PCT’s loaded up in PC vehicles and chapas this morning and headed into Maputo for our long-awaited swearing-in ceremony (during the 10 weeks of PST we aren’t actually considered PC volunteers, just PC trainees). Of course nothing can be as easy as simply heading into town here with PC. Somehow I managed to jump on the chapa that overheated 3 times, got royally lost, and completely died when finally rolling up to the front of the U.S. Charge D’affairs’ house, where we were having the swearing in ceremony.
The ceremony included a lot of speeches from PC staff members, U.S./Mozambican government officials, and even some PCT’s. Although the speeches all touched on slightly different topics, the overarching theme of all of them was highlighting the possibilities that lie ahead of us as PCVs and encouraging us to keep up the good work. The actual process of swearing-in came and went before we even knew what happened, but it was a pretty rewarding feeling afterwards to look around finally be able to call one another PCVs!
Afterwards, me and the 4 other new PCVs who will be working with Friends in Global Health got to meet with a few representatives from the NGO and talk about some of the details regarding the next several days. As it turns out, all the PCVs who are going to the Northern region of Mozambique will be flying to Nampula on Wednesday evening for the PC Supervisors Conference the following day. The conference will last for a day and provide all the volunteers an opportunity to talk with their supervisors/community contacts about expectations, job roles/responsibilities, and short term plans working towards community integration. On Friday most volunteers are heading out to their sites, but all the FGH and ICAP PCVs will instead be driving down to the Zambezia provincial capital city of Quelimane (where I went for my site visit) and meeting with NGO staff members for a few days before heading to our sites on Tuesday or Wednesday.
When I finally get to Nauela, my site, I don’t expect to have electricity, much less internet. Therefore, please bear with me as I try to keep you guys back at home as updated as possible on my comings and goings. I’ll do my best.
I’m soooo excited for site placement! Talk to you later.
One Love,
Michael
Check out the pictures below:
A group of most of my close Health PCV friends at the party recognizing our host families. From left to right: Emily, Josh, Michael, Yokho, Noemi (top), Roselia (bottom), and Amanda.
My host mom and I celebrating her receiving her certificate.
The whole Moz 14 Health group with our trainer Caroline to the far right.
The whole Moz 14 group at the host family party.
Some of the host moms getting ready to serve the food for the party. My host mom is in the middle wearing the blue apron.
Yohko eating and drinking it up!
Donna and Luis Luis (one of the cute, newly formed Moz 14 couples) enjoying the party.
Me dancing at the party after eating lunch!
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