Soldiers at Peace: Veterans and Society After the Civil War in Mozambique

250 Pages·2007·1.946 MB·English

by  Jessica Schafer (auth.)

Soldiers at Peace
Previous Publications
by Jessica Schafer
* “Indigenous Knowledge and Early Childhood Development in Africa: The
Early Childhood Development Virtual University,”with A.Pence,Journal for
Education in International Development 2,no.3 (2006).
* “Exploring and Promoting the Value of Indigenous Knowledge in Early
Childhood Development in Africa,” with M. Ezirim, A. Gamurorwa, P.
Ntsonyane,M.Phiri,J.Sagnia,L.Salakana,and W.Bairu,International Journal
ofEducational Policy,Practice and Research5,no.3 (2004):61–80.
* “The Use of Patriarchal Imagery in the War in Mozambique and Its
Implications for the Reintegration ofChild Soldiers,”in Children and Youth on
the Front Line: Ethnography,Armed Conflict and Displacement, ed.Jo Boyden
and Joanna De Berry (2004),Studies in Forced Migration,vol.14 (New York
and Oxford:Berghahn Books),87–104.
* “Conflict, Peace, and the History of Natural Resource Management in
Sussundenga District, Mozambique,” with Richard Black, African Studies
Review26,no.3 (December 2003):55–81.
* “Sustainable Livelihoods and Chronic Political Conflict: An Overview of
Conceptual Issues,” Overseas Development Institute, Working Paper 183
(January 2003),London.
* “The State and Community-Based Natural Resource Management: The Case
of the Moribane Forest Reserve, Mozambique,”with Richard Bell, Journal of
Southern African Studies28,no.2 (June 2002):401–420.
* “Guerrillas and Violence in Mozambique:Desocialization or Resocialization?”
African Affairs100,no.399 (May 2001):215–237.
* “The African Renaissance in Mozambique,” Indicator South Africa 15, no. 2
(Winter 1998).
* “‘A baby who does not cry will not be suckled’: AMODEG and the
Reintegration ofDemobilised Soldiers,”Journal ofSouthern African Studies24,
no.1 (March 1998):207–222.
Soldiers at Peace
Veterans and Society After the Civil War
in Mozambique
Jessica Schafer
SOLDIERSATPEACE
© Jessica Schafer,2007.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007 978-1-4039-7503-4
All rights reserved.No part ofthis book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case ofbriefquotations
embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2007 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-53571-2 ISBN 978-0-230-60571-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230605718
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schafer,Jessica.
Soldiers at peace :veterans and society after the civil war in Mozambique / Jessica Schafer.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-349-53571-2
1.Mozambique—Politics and government—1994-
2.Mozambique—History––Independence and Civil War,
1975–1994—Veterans—Political activity.
3.Veterans—Mozambique—Political activity.
4.Mozambique—History—1994-
I.Title.
DT3398.S32 2007
305.9'069709679––dc22
2006101524
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Macmillan India Ltd.
First edition:August 2007
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List ofMaps vii
List ofTables viii
Acknowledgments ix
List ofAbbreviations xi
1 Introduction 1
Veterans after Mozambique’s Civil War 2
Veterans ofNew and Old Wars 8
Studying Veterans in Comparative Perspective 11
Methods,Sources,and Terminology 15
Narratives,Ethics,and Analysis 15
Research Process 17
Terminology 23
2 Centers and Peripheries:Patterns ofWar 25
Explaining War in Mozambique 25
Preindependence Historical Background 29
Postindependence Transformations 31
Economic,Social,and Political Change 32
The War in Mossurize 40
The War Period in Rural Renamo Areas 41
The War Period in Frelimo Villages 45
Part I War and Resocialization 51
3 Violence on the Periphery:Renamo Combatants,Civilians,and War 53
Renamo Combatants and Violence in Mozambique’s War 53
Ideas and Memories ofViolence in Historical Context 55
Narrations ofWar 58
Recruitment and Initiation in Renamo 58
Denial and Transferal ofResponsibility 63
Political Education and Mobilization 64
Relations with Civilians: The Re-creation of“Home” 70
4 Violence at the Center:Frelimo Combatants,Civilians,and War 77
Recruitment and Training within Frelimo 78
Social Promotion and Wartime Profit 81
vi CONTENTS
Political Education 83
Relations with Civilians 87
Part II The Return to Civilian Life 93
5 An Incomplete Rupture:Postwar Settlement and Livelihoods 95
Peace and Settlement Decisions 96
Social Negotiation and Family Acceptance 103
Postwar Livelihoods 109
6 Veterans’Politics from Above 123
Veterans and the State 123
External Assistance and Veteran Policies 130
7 Veterans’Politics from Below 139
The Veterans’Association 139
Veterans,Politics,and the War ofWords 152
8 Concluding Remarks 167
Reevaluating Veterans in Postwar Mozambique 168
Veterans,Citizens,and the State 170
Expectations and Entitlements 171
Parallels,not Pathologies 172
Notes 175
Bibliography 217
Index 235
List of Maps
Map 1 Mozambique provincial administrative divisions 19
Map 2 Manica province 20
Map 3 Mossurize district 21
List of Tables
Table 5.1 Comparison ofveteran and civilian numbers of
spouses and children in household 114
Acknowledgments
It is with great joy that I take up the task ofthanking all the people whose support
made this book possible. It is with a worried eye on the ever-mounting word
count,however,that I will endeavor to keep the acknowledgments brief.
I would not have embarked on the project to transform my dissertation into a
book were it not for the encouragement of William Beinart, my supervisor at
Oxford.Nor would I have developed a passion for Mozambique had I not been
given the opportunity to participate in the research project by Barbara Harrell-
Bond.Raufu Mustapha,my co-supervisor,also contributed greatly to the process.
Jocelyn Alexander and Gavin Williams provided insightful commentary on the
original dissertation.
During fieldwork, I accumulated debts to many people. Thanks to my col-
leagues in Mozambique, João Paulo Borges Coelho and Chris Dolan, for their
insights and energy; to the late José Negrão and others at the University of
Eduardo Mondlane,Mozambique,for their ideas and contacts;and to the Arquivo
Histórico de Moçambique, especially António Sopa, for assistance with the
archives. Huge thanks to the people at Concern in Chimoio for assistance with
fieldwork logistics;to Maria do Carmo Carrilho for moral support;to the staffat
German Technical Cooperation and the International Organization for Migration
for their cooperation in research; to the provincial government of Manica for
research permission and for interviews;to the Mossurize District Administration,
the nongovernmental organization Centro Informazione e Educazione allo
Sviluppo (Center for Development Information and Education) (especially Michel
Lafon),and the Consorzio Italia 2000 for facilitating my work in Mossurize;and to
my tireless research assistants,Filomena de Jesus João,Mário Dinis,and Francisco
Soares in Chimoio,and Efremo Samuel and Judite Mateus in Mossurize.I incurred
my greatest debts to the people ofMozambique with whom I worked,and I thank
them for their generosity with their time, food, and shelter during the research
process (with special thanks to Daniel Mude and Isaac Kind Dube).They provided
constant stimulus,challenge,and motivation to continue with the research even
when it threatened to overwhelm me emotionally and academically.Victor Igreja
was an excellent fieldwork companion and his assistance was irreplaceable.
During the post-fieldwork phase,the wonderful colleagues who participate in
the H-Luso-Africa network and the Mozambique Study Group of the United
Kingdom provided invaluable assistance with the development ofthe book.I can-
not resist listing a number who have gone out of their way to help: Gerhard
Seibert,Kathleen Sheldon,Steve Lubkemann,Paul Fauvet,Joe Hanlon,Benigna
Zimba,Andre Thomashausen,João Cabrita,and Michel Cahen.Sam Barnes saved
me when I misplaced a crucial document.Stefaan Dondeyne ventured on a long
journey from Chimoio to Mossurize to request permission from the subjects