MOZAMBI Q U E SUPPORT NETWORK NEWSLETTER VOLUME Ill NUMBER 2 ISSN 1045-0254 SPRING/SUMMER 1990 MSN Inaugurates National Campaigns by Rollie Hudson The recent Mozambique Support formally bring itself abreast of the last Network's national meeting, held the six months of activity and forge ahead weekend of April 20-22 in Chicago, into new business for the upcoming successfully brought the election of a summer, Grace Jones will serve with new co-chair, was attended by the Mo­ Dr. Loretta Williams as the new na­ zambican ambassador, and attracted a tional co-chair in place of Mackie number of luminaries. Some two dozen Mcleod, who is leaving next month Network chapter representatives from with his wife, Zubaida, for Harare, across the country participated in busi­ Zimbabwe, where they will serve as ness meetings, caucuses, workshops, international representatives for the and even a party in celebration of American Friends Service Committee. Namibian independence. Upcoming MSN plans include a The conference, it is generally fund-raising drive for a child trauma agreed, further solidified the group's and reorientation hospital in Northern national unity, marked the beginning Mozambique, the allocation of more of several m~jor anti-apartheid pro­ money, and an additional staff person jects, and paved the way for future im­ in Chicago. Plans for the Los Angeles provements on how to raise the aware­ area include targeting of the media ness of mainstream America concern­ and entertainment industry as a means ing the war in Mozambique. for public education. The emphasis Despite some unintended blending will focus on high-visibility personali­ of business and workshop meetings and ties, such as those surrounding the some public confusion over which ses­ Hollywood rock concert honoring Nel­ sions stressed caucusing rather than son Mandela, June 29-30. education, MSN as a group was able to continued on page 13 MSN National Campaigns Defend Mozambican Youth - Defeat Apartheid Financiers MSN members and friends are en­ "Os instrumentalizados" -the ins~ru­ couraged to participate in national mentalized ones- has become a com­ campaigns to show solidarity to the mon phrase in Mozambican vocabu­ thousands of young Mozambicans ex­ lary to describe children who have ploited by REN AMO and to discredit been forced to witness and participate Citibank's continued financial support in the barbaric acts of violence by of apartheid. Materials for these cam­ RENAMO. Special care is needed for paigns are available from the Mozam­ these children who have been severely bique Support Network National Of­ traumatized by armed banditry. Special fice, 343 So. Dearborn, Suite 314, centers have been designed to reha­ Chicago, IL 6b604. Phone no. (312) bilitate and care for the most troubled 922-3286, fax (312) 922-6988. youth, before reintegrating them back Defending Mozambique's Youth into society. Armed banditry, the favored weapon "Child by Child" in South Africa's war against Mozam­ In Zambezia province, thirty orphan­ bique, targets children to destroy their ed children are facing the long struggle present childhood and the foundations for sheer survival and wholeness. The for their future. However, in the Afri­ Mozambique Support Network nation­ can tradition of "spontaneous adop­ al campaign, "Child by Child," is raising tion," Mozambicans have chosen to $100,000 for this center and others care for and protect their orphaned which rehabilitate traumatized chil­ youth rather than institutionalize dren. The funds will be used to buy Ambassador Valeriano Ferrao them. continued on page 9 -2- NEWSBRIEFS Renamo Train Ambush Mozambique National Resistance as he appealed for more help for Mo­ Maputo, February: Renamo am­ (MNR/Renamo) rebel action, the news zambique and Sudan. bushed a train, killing 60 people. Sev­ agency AIM reported. The warning that Africa's repeated eral survivors were kidnapped. The The figure announced could still appeals are beginning to strain donors' train. carrying mostly miners returning increase since some of the delegations generosity came from the UNICEF from South Africa, was six miles from present at the conference said that executive director, James P. Grant, as the border town of Ressano Garcia. they were not yet able to announce he requested $I I million for Mozam­ and about 44 miles northwest of Ma­ definite pledges. bique. puto. Renamo detonated a remote con­ The largest single donor in response UNICEF's appeal coincided with the trolled mine that derailed six pas­ to this appeal is Sweden which has publication of new UN figures showing senger cars. then opened fire. pledged $30m. It is followed by the that Western pledges are running be­ U.S. (about S20m), Canada ($18ml. the hind what many African countries are MOSAIC European Community ($14m), Italy expected to need to avert catastrophe. Johannesburg. April: South African ($10m), Holland ($6.7m). Norway Mr. Grant said the response to a friends of Mozambique have recently ($6.5m), Britian ($6m), Denmark ($5m) $135 million aid program launched in · created an organization baptized Mo­ and West Germany ($2.8m). April for Mozambique has been thin. zambique Support Committee (MO­ The European Community has de­ Meanwhile, the need for aid has in­ SAIC). The aim of the group is to de­ cided to allow funds available under creased since April as a pullback by nounce and expose South African sup­ the Lome Commission for assistance Renamo gave relief agencies access to port for Renamo and to press for its to refugees to be used to support . another 700,000 sick and hungry peo­ end: publicize inside South Africa the people displaced within the country. ( pie. effects of destabilization in Mozam­ UN general secretary, Javier Perez "' The Rome-based World Food Pro­ bique: and fight for the eradication of de Cuellar. has meanwhile condemned gram, which coordinates deliveries, the South African electrified fence the continued "campaign of terror reported recently that it had received along the border with Mozambique. against the civilian population" waged pledges for only 29 percent of the MOSAIC has already held a Mozam­ by the MNR. Speaking at the UN head­ 229,000 tons of emergency food relief bique week in South Africa. quarters on April 26, at the opening of needed this year for Mozambique. $120 Million in Aid the donors' conference, he said that at least 761 Mozambicans have been New York, April: The Mozambique killed already this year in attacks on donors' conference held at the UN villages, trains and vehicles. headquarters in New York on April 26 New U.S. Ambassador has provisionally raised about $120 President Bush announced he would million in emergency aid to meet pri­ nominate . career diplomat Townsend ority needs for 1990/ 91. UNICEF Reports Donor 'Fatigue' B. Friedman Jr., 50, as ambassador to The Mozambican government re­ (Adapted.from New York Times Mozambique, succeeding Melissa quested emergency aid valued ·at 6119/ 90) Foelsch Wells. Since 1987, Friedman $136.lm to meet the needs of about UN, June: The head of the United has served as director of Southern one and a half million Mozambicans Nations Children's Fund accused the European affairs at the State Depart­ displaced from their homes by the world's richer countries of "aid fatigue" ment. Peace Talks Derail Direct talks between the government of the People's Republic of Mozambique and REN AMO were scheduled to begin June 12 in Blantyre, the second largest city in Malawi. The talks collapsed just hours after they were supposed to begin. A joint statement issued by the governments of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi attributed the peace talks' derailment to the RENAMO and Kenyan delegations. "Owing to apparent difficulties experienced by the RENAMO and Kenyan delegations it was not possible to initiate the process of direct talks between the Mozambique government delegation and RENAMO on the agreed dates." Prior to the scheduled start of the talks, RENAMO representatives in the United States, Portugal, and Kenya were surprised by the announcement of the proposed talks and denied that such talks were in the planning. -3- Letter To South Africa Workers Strike Strikes technically are outlawed un­ der the 1979 security law. However, END ALL FORMS OF SUPPORT the right to strike is included in the FOR RENAMO A wave of strikes has washed over draft of the new constitution. People the country since the start of the year. in all sectors and regions of the country Workers have demanded back pay, are participating in the nation-wide wage increases, upgradings, improved debate on a proposed constitution. In January the Johannesburg Sunday working conditions, and greater respect Star, and the Mozambican papers, pub­ for workers and their safety. lished an unprecedented open letter to President F.W. deKlerk from a group of 74 Mozambican intellectuals. It Over 45,000 workers have been in­ called on him to end all forms of South volved from journalists, railway, hos­ African support for REN AMO. pital, textile, glass, food processing, transportation, street-cleaning and oth­ er sectors. Most strikes have been of "Over the last decade, the People's short duration - a few hours to a few Republic of Mozambique has been the days. There has been no bloodshed. setting for one of the most terrible genocides in the history of Africa," The constraints from the IMF/ said the letter. "The aggression ... can­ World Bank economic restructuring not in any way be described as a war. program are key factors in the dis­ A war is directed against the armed satisfaction, but there is more: dissatis­ forces of a state. A war, though it in­ faction with the Mozambican Workers' volves destructive acts, prepared the Organization (OTM) which grew from conditions for insurgents to take over the production councils encouraged the government.