Floods in Mozambique: Nature's Fury or Colonial Echoes?
📰 THE STORY: The Telegraph reports that Mozambique is experiencing its worst floods in a generation, sparking fears of a cholera outbreak. The article focuses on the immediate humanitarian crisis, attributing the disaster primarily to climate change and inadequate local infrastructure. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: Mozambique was a Portuguese colony until 1975, suffering
centuries of resource extraction and brutal repression. After independence, it endured a devastating civil war from 1977-1992, exacerbated by foreign intervention, particularly from apartheid South Africa, destabilizing any chance for robust infrastructure development. This colonial legacy left Mozambique with weak institutions, pervasive poverty, and an economy structured to serve external
interests rather than build internal resilience against natural disasters. The 'generation' experiencing these floods is also the generation whose parents lived through colonialism and a proxy war. Double Standard: When floods devastate regions in the Global North, the narrative often centers on national resilience, government response, and massive aid packages. In Mozambique, the focus quickly
shifts to fragility, disease, and the need for external 'charity,' framing it as an inherent state of affairs rather than a consequence of historical underdevelopment and ongoing global economic inequalities. There's little mention of Mozambique's national debt—often held by former colonial powers or Western financial institutions—which diverts funds from critical infrastructure and climate