• The gross inequality between the rich and the poor
Having little idea of what "reality" is
"realmozambique" is just a name. It is simply a site
which looks at some of the aspects of the country
that have left an impression on me

It is for those of you who like delving into a world
atlas in order to dream, those who may have already
been to Mozambique, those who see it around some
curve on their voyaging path and for those who feel
the name Mozambique to be vaguely exotic but are
not even sure which continent it belongs to.

When first mentioned to me as a destination I had to
check the atlas. One quick look convinced me - I
saw two thousand three hundred kilometres of
Indian Ocean embracing a long narrow strip of
Southern Africa. I easily imagined myself strolling
barefoot on white sands or being rocked in my
hammock by a dusky beauty shielding me from a
fierce midday sun attempting to burn through the
tall gracefully swaying palms.

Previously, the only times I had heard of
Mozambique was firstly, in a song by Bob Dylan  
called "Mozambique", taken from his “Desire” (1976)
album and secondly, when watching people being
plucked, in a flooded countryside, from tree-tops  in
2000 and 2001. But that was on TV.

I like to spend some time in Mozambique
The sunny sky is aqua blue
And all the couples dancing cheek to cheek.
It’s very nice to stay a week or two.
Bob Dylan (1976)

These observations and photos will, I hope, give
you a small window into, what is for me, one of the
most attractive African countries I have so far
visited.
Places are rarely as you expect or imagine them to be and Mozambique was no
exception. Some of my first impressions have modified or even changed completely
over the years. Some not.
Here are some aspects I have found interesting:
  • The enthusiasm, happiness and inventiveness of the children
realmozambique.org
A personal look at this intriguing country on the Indian
Ocean
The AK47, with the hoe and
as part of the national flag,
revives memories of the
Marxist part of its recent
history.
Donal Conlon has lived in
Mozambique for about six years.
He has been helping to train
secondary-school teachers, first in
the central city of Beira and, at
present,  in the capital, Maputo. He
has already worked at second and
third-level education in Ireland,
Thailand, Greece, England and
France. He also set up  and ran,
while living in France, a travel
agency specialising in educational
travel. He took early retirement
from his university in France to
work in education in Africa.

He has also worked at  various
other jobs: fisherman in Greece,
barman in New York, construction
worker in London, etc.

Travel has always been one of his
principal passions.
  • The ability of Mozambicans to enjoy the moment
The site will have a look at some of these subjects through observations and
photos. We will look at some of the following:

  • Music and dance
  • Hairstyles
  • Using your head
  • The Mozambican attitude to sex and marriage and children
  • Landscapes
  • Informal markets
  • Education
  • The light, ranging from blazing white to velvet mauve and black and
    the sometimes startling juxtaposition of colour
  • The good-humoured, good-natured behaviour of the people when,
    materially, they seem to have little to be happy about
  • The beauty of  Mozambican girls and their relaxed relationship with
    their bodies.
  • The important place of music and dance in the culture
  • Religion, the role of witchdoctors, worship of ancestors and some
    unusual beliefs
  • The difficulty of giving children a decent education
Reminders of the
ex-colonial power
Portugal
Hard-working women
Transplanting rice near
Beira
Women netting small fish at
dusk off Pemba Beach
Exotic hairstyles
Informal markets
South Africa to the south
and Tanzania to the
north, plus Zimbabwe,
Malawi, Zambia and
Swaziland.
An ex-luxury hotel in Beira,
squatted by several thousand
people. No water or power.
  • The beauty and exotic nature of many landscapes
In black and white
Villa Algarve in Maputo:  once
used as an interrogation
centre by the Portuguese it
has remained abandoned
since independence..
Mozambicans