The land of our forefathers
TV short film about illegal land grabbing in Mozambique.
Based on three different regions, the illegal land expropriation is presented.
A short summary of the history of Mozambique
Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world today, ranks 181 out of 188 on the international development index, with a noticeable upswing in recent years. In its history, the country had serious problems in the past: long before the Europeans had stretched their greedy hands for ever new colonies, the Arabs had ruled for centuries before on the coast of Africa. Trading was mainly carried out in gold, ivory and slaves, from India to China.
In 1498, the Portuguese Vasco da Gama reached Mozambique on their way to India. Shortly afterwards, the Portuguese conquered Arab trading places and advanced further inland in search of gold along the Zambezi River. Their rule lasted until the 20th century and was characterized by forced labor, exploitative employment contracts and reckless treatment of the population.
After the outbreak of the First World War, South Africa declared the country a place of conquest in 1915 and occupied it, later colonialisation was re-enforced by the Portuguese until the Declaration of Independence on June 25, 1975. After almost 500 years as a colony, Mozambique finally emerged into an independent state.
And today?
“The Boers are back”, the older generation expresses their fear in many places in Mozambique. The South Africans are desrespectfully referred to as “Boers”; their rule over the country was too brutal and they were involved in war against the independance of Mozambique until 1992- and that is not easy to forget until today. And now the South Africans are back with their money to get whatever the country has to offer!