|
|
AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
Show panel list
Reshaping the landscape: post-war resettlement in Northern Mozambique
| Panel |
37. Political Economies of Displacement in Southern Africa
|
| Paper ID | 488 |
| Author(s) |
Santos, Ana Margarida
|
| Paper |
No paper submitted
|
| Abstract | This paper will address how a history of movement has changed the use of space, and reshaped the landscape of the northernmost districts of Mozambique. Colonial rule, and two consecutive wars have had a huge impact in the population distribution of this area. People have moved both across international boundaries and internally. It has led the Makonde, to move from their original area in the Mueda Plateau to other neighbouring districts and impacted their relationship with other groups inhabiting the area.
During colonial rule many Makonde used the international border to escape unpopular policies of the state, such as forced labour, and taxes. The violence with which some of these policies were enforced led to a continuous rise in Makonde migration to Tanzania. Throughout the liberation struggle (1964-1974) the international border was also used strategically, with the Mozambican fighters finding refuge in Tanzania, where they had the support of Julius Nyerere’s government, and starting military actions from there. This continued during the civil war.
I will explore the community processes that have been developing along the international border since peace was established: how they are linked with ideas of place and space, and how local communities deal with both the memory of war, and the challenges raised by peace. These include the return of displaced people and the need to rebuild both local communities and the country as a whole. When people move back home, and when governmental policies change with relation to rural development, how are they expressed in space, and how does this affect social relationships?
|
|