After being in Mozambique for a while, I’ve noticed a big
difference between non-urban areas here and non-urban areas in the states.
Mostly in that, when we say ‘rural’ in the
states, we mean there is absolutely nothing.
No people, no buildings, maybe a railroad, cow, or oil well, but really
not much else.
Mozambique is a bit
different.
When you’re in ‘rural’
Mozambique (aka, the mato), there are people, maybe a lower density than in
urban areas, but definitely people and the obligatory mud/cement/grass huts and
machambas (farms) scattered across the countryside.
But that’s it.
No stores, no running water, no electricity, maybe
cell service or something that could be considered a road.
Rural areas in the two countries have opposite characteristics:
in the states, rural means no people, but there’s still infrastructure (roads,
electricity, phone lines) while in Mozambique there’s people without the
infrastructure.
Not sure what this says about the route and rate of
development of the two countries, though it probably says something, I just
found it to be interesting.
It also means that when you try to go hiking into the mato, you
get a lot of confused looks from locals who then shout after you in ciyao (one
of the local languages), the only word you can usual understand being ‘mazungo’
(meaning ‘white person!’).
