Northern Mozambique Bleeds
Northern Mozambique has been suffering from an Islamist insurgency for nearly four years. This has largely been ignored by international media. Thousands have died and nearly 700,000 people have become displaced. ACN has provided the local Church with €160,000 in aid to help deal with the crisis.
ACN Staff
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Nangololo after a terrorist attack. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Since 2017, the north of Mozambique has been devastated by an Islamist insurgency carried out by the Islamic State in Central Africa (ISCA). Around 2,000 people have been murdered in terrorist attacks during this insurgency. The reports of a mass beheading of around 50 people in late 2020 caused widespread revulsion and fear. Thousands of people fled for their lives. The UN reported that in late 2020 that there were 670,000 refugees in northern Mozambique.
Refugees in Cabo Delgado. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
On 10 March, the United States formally classified ISCA as a terrorist organisation and imposed sanctions. Given the lack of coverage by media, it is unlike that these sanctions will be enforced let alone be effective. The refugee crisis in Mozambique has been made even worse by COVID-19. There was an initial COVID-19 wave in the country that was not too bad, but cases have now started to skyrocket since January. This has also been compounded by a cholera outbreak in the refugee camps.
Ulrich Kny, ACN’s project officer for Mozambique. speaks about the situation in the country:
“Almost weekly, new horror stories from Mozambique reach Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Largely unnoticed by the international community, the country is suffering one humanitarian catastrophe after another.”
Kny recently spoke with Sister Aparecida Ramos Queiroz about the crisis in northern Mozambique. Sister Aparecida is coordinating the humanitarian response of the Diocese of Pemba, located in the north of Mozambique. The majority of the refugees have fled to the capital of the northern province of Cabo Delgado. This on one hand makes the logistics of distributing aid simpler, but on the other hand raises problems such as the spread of COVID-19 and cholera. According to Sister Aparecida six of the twenty-three parishes in the Diocese of Pemba are now deserted. Islamists have carried out attacks against churches.
Religious sister with a baby in the Diocese of Pemba. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Sister Aparecida and the local parochial vicar have stayed in their parish, as although the majority of the parishioners have fled, some of the sick and old have not been able to do so. The sister and priest are determined to continue to serve those who cannot flee.
Many religious sisters and priests have been forced to flee with their parishioners. Kny details the work of these religious sisters and priests now:
“They are now trying to continue their pastoral work among the refugees from their parishes there, where they have taken shelter. The local Church workers are supporting them in their work as much as they can.”
ACN has provided €160,000 in aid to the local Church to deal with this crisis. This had has been used to provide humanitarian aid. Kyn details:
“Thanks to this support, the priests and religious sisters are able to distribute food to the refugees.”
Some of this aid has also been used to give 120 pastoral workers and volunteers psychological training to help in ministering to the refugees.
ACN, before the current emergency, provided aid for the training of priests and religious sisters in Mozambique, in addition to provide funds to help set up the Church’s infrastructure in the African country. ACN will continue to provide this support to Church in Mozambique in the years to come. Please keep the work of ACN in your prayers.