It starts with smoke – a single column of black smoke rising on the other side of the village. Then a second, a third. Houses are burning. Soon, the sound of gunshots and screaming. This has been the reality for millions of people in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, since the conflict started in October 2017. Due to the ongoing violence, 583,000 people are still currently displaced. “When they came to kill us, we ran and hid in the bushes,” recalls Zacarias, 31. He and his family fled with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. “I carried my grandmother on my back as we walked for three days from 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. over 100kms,” he describes. They only rested when it was too hot to walk. The whole village fled together. “There were over 2,000 people in the bushes, but it was completely silent because we were in shock. We saw so many dead people on the way, who died from thirst, or they were too ill or old to flee. The only sound I could hear was when someone was crying,” Zacarias describes.
In the chaos of fleeing, parents lose their children, and families are split when they run in different directions. Those unable to flee are taken or killed. “My brother was in the field when they came. His wife and two small daughters were with him when they killed all the men on the fields,” says Joaquima, 35, a farmer. “My sister-in-law had to sit on the ground. The two girls, two and five, had to sit left and right from her when they dropped my brother’s head onto her lap and left.” Some family members are taken and have not been seen since. “My 12-year-old son was taken, and we do not know where he is, or if he is still alive,” says Jamal, 37, a carpenter. Every person fleeing has similar stories of death, loss, fear, and terror. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, 189,000 people were newly displaced. A total of 205 security incidents in the first half of the year have forced whole communities to leave everything behind and flee.
“We survived the attacks, but we were suffering. Where we fled, there was nothing. In the beginning, there were food distributions, but then there was no more food,” says Zacarias. Funding for international aid is insufficient to meet the needs of those affected by the conflict. As of September 2024, the humanitarian response plan is only 37.7% funded. “We were hungry, so we decided to return home. It is better to suffer at home than somewhere unknown,” Zacarias continues. 632,000 people who had to flee their homes in the last seven years have since returned to their villages. With 1.7 million people in need of humanitarian aid in the conflict area, communities face multiple challenges: food insecurity, lack of access to water and shelter, loss of income, disrupted infrastructure, and trauma. A majority of those who fled could not take anything with them. Livestock was left behind to die. The fields are unattended. Crops are failing and cultivating land around temporary shelters or resettlement areas is impossible without proper tools and access to water.
Finding water is a big challenge. Rivers are far away, waterholes have dried up due to drought, and groundwater is too salty to drink. Building new boreholes is very expensive. “If we find water, it looks like this,” says Ancha, holding up a bottle of milky, yellowish water. “It makes us very sick, but it is the only water we have,” she adds, pouring the water into a plastic cup and drinking a few precious drops. The conflict has made it even more difficult to access water, where in the rural communities already only 37% have access to potable drinking water. To address these needs, CARE – with the support of the Austrian Development Agency – establishes water holes, rehabilitates water tanks and latrines, distributes seeds and farming tools, and provides training on climate-smart agriculture to help communities adapt to the challenges of climate change.
Life starts this way
Finding adequate shelter is also a big challenge. Many live in huts made from sticks and mud. “Those who are lucky have a plastic tarp for when it rains, but most of the time we huddle together and wait for the rain to stop,” says Ancha. Some huts have old clothes spread across their roofs for protection, while others only have ripped strips of tarps that were destroyed by the wind. With no source of income after fleeing their homes, people have no money to build better shelters. That is why CARE has established saving groups in these communities. Together, the members save small amounts, receive loans, and support each other. “With my savings, I want to build a better house. One that stays standing when it rains,” says Fatima, 50, a member of a savings group that calls itself “Life starts this way.” Amina, 35, spends the money on her children. “I can buy school materials for my children. Books, bags, and pens. Before the savings group I did not have any hope to send my children to school,” she says.
Coping with fear and loss
In the conflict area many schools remain closed. Teachers have fled and are too afraid to return. “My children have not gone to school for four years. I feel helpless and as if I am losing. Time is passing. My kids are growing, and I worry they will not have a future,” says Jamal. Additionally, the health centers have not reopened in many communities. 80% of health centers in the nine most conflict-affected northern districts of Cabo Delgado are not functioning.“When we receive medicine, it immediately runs out in a couple of hours. Our baby had a fever a week ago and there is no one here who can help us. There are no immunizations for the children, and no support for women giving birth,” describes Zacarias. On top of all the challenges, the communities have lived through trauma.
With funding from the European Union, CARE and its partner organizations Save the Children, Norwegian People’s Aid, and ShelterBox provide trainings and psychosocial support to help people cope with fear and loss. Additionally, safe spaces are being created for women and children, who are particularly at risk of violence. “I have learnt how to deal with what happened. It helps to hear what other women have gone through. We have learnt to be a community again, to talk to each other and I am able to put my trauma in words. To speak about when we ran into the bush and returned to find food, that they followed us and started killing us. That my house was set on fire. And that we managed to flee the violence but were caught in a car accident 50kms before our destination. My 4-year-old son was immediately dead,” concludes Ancha.
Joaquima, whose brother was beheaded, is worried about the children. “His daughters have seen the worst. They remember everything. I do not know how they will cope with something so horrendous in the future,” she says, before taking a bucket to collect water from the river. She passes houses that have been destroyed. The roof of a house painted blue and yellow collapsed. It was targeted because it looks pretty. It burnt. A single column of black smoke rising into the sky.