Samora Machel

Samora Moisés Machel (September 29, 1933 – October 19, 1986) was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Latest election List List of Heads of State of Mozambique The official residence is the Palácio da Ponta Vermelha. Machel led the country to independence in 1975 until his death in 1986, when his presidential aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain where the borders of Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa converge. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The Kingdom of Swaziland is a country located in Southern Africa centred at approximately 26o49'S 31o38'E The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Early life

Samora Machel was born in the village of Madragoa (today's Chilembene), Gaza Province, Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique), to a family of farmers. Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75709 km² and a population of 1333106 (2006 Mozambique was a string of Portuguese overseas colonies and later a Portuguese overseas province along the south-east African coast which now form the republic of Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa He was a member of the Shangana ethnic group and his grandfather had been an active collaborator of Gungunhana. The Shangaan (Vatsonga or Vitsonga are a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique in Maputo and in Gaza Province; there is also Gungunhana (1850-1906 also spelt Gungunyana, Ngungunhane or Gungunyane, was the king of Gaza (now in Mozambique) from Under Portuguese rule, his father, an indigenous, was forced to accept lower prices for his crops than white farmers; compelled to grow labor-intensive cotton, which took time away from the food crops needed for his family; and forbidden to make an identifying brand on his cattle to prevent thievery. However, Machel's father was a successful farmer: he owned four plows and 400 head of cattle by 1940. Machel grew up in this agricultural village and attended mission elementary school. In 1942, Machel was sent to school in the town of Souguene in Gaza Province. The school, was run by Catholic missionaries who educated the children in Portuguese language and culture. Although having completed the fourth grade, Machel never completed his secondary education. However, he had the prerequisite certificate to train as a nurse anywhere in Portugal at the time since the nursing schools were not degree conferring institutions. Higher education in Portugal is divided into two main subsystems University and Polytechnic education Machel started to study nursing in the capital city of Lourenço Marques (today Maputo), beginning in 1954. Maputo, formerly Lourenço Marques, is the Capital and largest city of Mozambique. Unable to secure the fees to complete formal training at the Miguel Bombarda Hospital in Lourenço Marques, he got a job working as an aide in the hospital and earned enough to continue his education at night school. He worked at the hospital until he left the country to join the nationalist struggle. In the 1950s, he saw some of the fertile lands around his farming community on the Limpopo river appropriated by the provincial government and worked by white settlers who developed a wide range of new infrastructures for the region. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The Limpopo River rises in central southern Africa, and flows generally eastwards to the Indian Ocean. Like many other Mozambicans near the southern border of Mozambique, some of his relatives went to work in the South African mines where additional job opportunities were found. Shortly afterwards, one of his brothers was killed in a mining accident. ^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Liberation struggle

Main article: Mozambican War of Independence

Machel was attracted to Marxist ideals and began his political activities in a hospital where he protested against the fact that black nurses were paid less than whites doing the same job. The Mozambican War of Independence was an Armed conflict between the Guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. He later told a reporter how bad medical treatment was for Mozambique's poor: "The rich man's dog gets more in the way of vaccination, medicine and medical care than do the workers upon whom the rich man's wealth is built. " His grandparents and great grandparents had fought against Portuguese colonial rule in the 19th century so it was not surprising that in 1962 Machel joined the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) which was dedicated to creating an independent Mozambique. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism The Liberation Front of Mozambique, better known by the acronym FRELIMO, from the Portuguese Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (IPA /fɾeˈlimo/ The Liberation Front of Mozambique, better known by the acronym FRELIMO, from the Portuguese Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (IPA /fɾeˈlimo/ He received military training in 1963 elsewhere in Africa, and returned in 1964 to lead FRELIMO's first guerrilla attack against the Portuguese in northern Mozambique. Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc Machel married his first wife, Josina, in 1969, having his first child later that same year. Josina Machel (born Josina Muthemba (b 10 August, 1945 - d 7 April, 1971) was a Mozambican political exile and first wife of By 1970, Machel had become commander-in-chief of the FRELIMO army which had already established itself among Mozambique's peasantry. His most important goal, he said, was to get the people "to understand how to turn the armed struggle into a revolution" and to realize how essential it was "to create a new mentality to build a new society. "

Independence

Converging borders of Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa

That goal would soon be realized. The FRELIMO army had weakened the colonial power and, after Portugal's coup in 1974, the Portuguese left Mozambique. The Carnation Revolution (Revolução dos Cravos was an almost bloodless military-led pro-democratic Coup d'état, started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon Machel's revolutionary government then took over and he became independent Mozambique's first president on June 25, 1975. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. At home, he quickly put his Marxist principles into practice by calling for the nationalization of Portuguese plantations and property, and to have the FRELIMO government establish schools and health clinics for the peasants. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government As an internationalist, Machel allowed revolutionaries fighting white minority regimes in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and South Africa to train and operate with Mozambique. Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colony of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent ( Unilateral Declaration of Independence See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election The regimes retaliated by forming a rebel group called RENAMO to destroy the schools and hospitals built by FRELIMO, and to sabotage railway lines and hydroelectric facilities. The Mozambican National Resistance ( RENAMO; Portuguese: Resistência Nacional Moçambicana) is a conservative Political party in Mozambique The Mozambique economy suffered from these depredations, and began to depend on overseas aid - in particular from the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Nonetheless, Machel remained popular throughout his presidency.

Samora Machel was awarded Lenin Peace Prize (1975-76). The International Stalin Prize or the International Stalin Prize for Strengthening Peace Among Peoples (renamed Международная Ленинская премия «За

The fatal aircrash and investigations

Main article: Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 air disaster

On October 19, 1986 Samora Machel was on his way back from an international meeting in Lusaka, Zambia in the presidential Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft when the plane crashed in the Lebombo Mountains, near Mbuzini. The Mozambican presidential Tupolev Tu-134A aircraft crashed just inside South African territory on October 19, 1986. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau of the country at an elevation The Republic of Zambia (ˈzæmbɪə is a Landlocked country in Southern Africa. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, are a long narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa stretching from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal There were ten survivors,^[7] but President Machel and twenty-four others died, including ministers and officials of the Mozambique government.

The Margo Commission, which included high-level international representation, investigated the incident and concluded that the accident was caused by pilot error. ^[7] Despite the acceptance of its findings by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the report was rejected by the Mozambiquean and Soviet governments. The International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO) an agency of the United Nations, codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation The latter submitted a minority report putting forward a conspiracy theory that the aircraft was intentionally lured off course by a decoy radio navigation beacon set up specifically for this purpose by the South Africans. A conspiracy theory attributes the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually Political, Social or Historical events or the concealment Radio navigation or radionavigation is the application of Radio frequencies to determining a position on the Earth. Speculation about the accident has therefore continued to the present day, particularly in Mozambique,^[8] however a number of follow-up reports and investigations have been unable to find any evidence to support the theory of foul play.

Graça Machel

Machel's widow, Graça, is convinced the aircrash was not an accident and has dedicated her life to tracking down her husband's alleged killers. Graça Machel, DBE (born Graça Simbine on 17 October 1945 in Incadine Gaza Province, Mozambique) is the third wife of former South In July 1998, Mrs Machel married the then South African President Nelson Mandela. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (xolíɬaɬa mandéːla born 18 July 1918 is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative She thus became unique in having been the first lady of two different nations (Mozambique and South Africa), although not simultaneously. First Lady is a term used in the United States to describe the wife of an elected male Head of state. Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Memorial

A memorial at the Mbuzini crash site was inaugurated on January 19, 1999 by Nelson Mandela and his wife Graça, and by President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique. Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Joaquim Alberto Chissano (born 22 October 1939) served as the second President of Mozambique for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 Designed by Mozambican architect, Jose Forjaz, at a cost to the South African government of 1. 5 million Rand (US$ 300,000), the monument comprises 35 steel tubes symbolising the number of lives lost in the aircrash. At least eight foreigners were killed there, including the four Soviet crew members, Machel's two Cuban doctors and the Zambian and Zairean ambassadors to Mozambique. ^[9]

References

See also

• Portuguese Colonial War

External links

• Speech by Nelson Mandela at the unveiling of the Samora Machel Memorial
• The TRC's Special Investigation into the death of President Samora Machel
• A case of assassination? President Samora Machel and the plane crash at Mbuzini
• Biographical notes on Samora Machel
• Graça Machel and Mandela
• Historic film essay on Frelimo and Samora Machel's rehabilitation program