Moderator: Maria Clara Oliveira (FEUC / Colabor)


Overview

Since October 2017 Cabo Delgado has been shaken by sudden, chaotic, and devastating violence that terrorizes its population, bringing insecurity and uncertainty to those living in its northern districts.  The attacks have expanded from Mocimboa da Praia, where they began, to the neighbouring districts of Palma, Nangade, Mueda, Muidumbe, and Macomia. The growing numbers of dead, wounded, and displaced, the destruction of property, the erratic nature of the violence, and enduring insecurity have made the region increasingly dangerous. The visible, often violent, presence of the Mozambican armed forces and the travel restrictions in place recall past wars and experiences of violence.

This presentation takes a step back from present day violence and addresses the context in which the current insurgency emerged, offering historical and ethnographic background that may allow us to explore the interplay between violent encounters, belonging, and the ownership of history, and the forms it takes in contested political spaces. 

Activity within the scope of the project «REPLAY - Approaches to peace and the (re) production of violence in Mozambique», funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia I.P. (EXPL/CPO-CPO/1615/2021) and the Doctoral Programme «International Politics and Conflict Resolution» (FEUC/CES)

Nota biográfica

Ana Margarida Sousa Santos is lecturer in Social Anthropology at Durham University and research associate at the Institute of Social Sciences – University of Lisbon. Ana'a research explores the politics of memory and legacies of violence. Her work in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique investigates the afterlives of violence, focusing on memory, belonging, and ownership. Ana’s current research with Portuguese ex-combatants examines the connections between silenced war memories, personal trauma, and collective remembrance of war. Recent publications include 'It's not my story to tell’: ownership and the politics of history in Mocímboa da Praia, Mozambique (JRAI 2021) and Violence, rumor, and elusive trust in Mocimboa da Praia, Mozambique (Social Analysis 2021).