Mozambique: Taking Control

Yesterday, we got a letter from one of the Mozambican nationals that we know. We had wanted to work with him for some time, but the organization he was working with was being controlled by a western organization, preventing him from working with us as he would have liked. Here is a portion of the message we received:

“Now I was elected as a Chairman of [his organization]. I think we have to start the last conversation about the paternship between Safari Insight Mission (our old name) and [his organization]”

This is much bigger than the statement above would initially indicate. One of the problems we have encountered in Mozambique is the tendency of Mozambicans to simply do whatever the westerners tell them. This is a kind of cultural habit, put in place through centuries of domination and oppression. While many of the current western organizations in the country have no intention of dominating of oppressing the nationals, the fact that the Mozambicans won’t challenge them creates a system of dominance by default. Many westerners, not realizing that this cultural tendency is in place, assume that the Mozambicans are going along with their ideas because the nationals agree that their ideas are correct. In fact, it is often the case that the nationals disagree with the westerners, but feel as if they cannot challenge western authority. The statement above is a significant indicator that the Mozambicans are starting to take back control of their lives. Note that the author indicates he was elected—the process of taking back control does not need to be antagonistic or hostile, simply directed and firm. This is a great step for this particular organization, and for Mozambican nationals in general. One of our goals has been to empower nationals to take control of their own country and organizations, and it looks like that is beginning to happen.