MOZAMBICANS ABROAD ARE UNOFFICIAL AMBASSADORS

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Friday urged Mozambicans in the diaspora to display “exemplary behaviour”, because they are the complement to the country’s formal diplomacy.At his traditional end-of-year meeting with representatives of Mozambican communities abroad, Guebuza said that, even in the countries where Mozambique has embassies or consulates, the handful of Mozambican diplomats in those missions cannot possibly contact all the citizens of those countries.“Mozambican abroad play a very important role which complements very well our diplomacy”, he said. “When you are approached by citizens of those countries and are asked about Mozambique, your response is more credible because it comes from a Mozambican. And when those outside of our continent are asked about African issues, their answer is credible because they are Africans”.This was a heavy responsibility because they might perhaps be the only Mozambicans, or only Africans, whom the foreign citizen had ever met. What Mozambican abroad say, and how they behave, might thus be the only reference points that citizens of those countries had for Mozambique and for Africa.They had the task of representing decently Mozambique and Africa, “not only through the replies you give, but above all through exemplary behaviour, and through the culture of hard work. Your behaviour and your relations with citizens of other countries counts greatly for our good name”.But so far, be was pleased to announce that “in our meetings with the authorities of the countries where you live, we hear only praise”.Guebuza took the opportunity to urge Mozambicans in the diaspora to organise themselves into associations, which made it easier to establish a relationship with the authorities of the host countries, and also to have a structured dialogue with the Mozambican authorities.Speaking on behalf of the Mozambicans living abroad, Manuel Massocha, who is an auditor for the company KPMG in Angola, said “we don’t want to be on the margins of the struggle for development, for valuing and promoting the culture of work, and for strengthening Mozambican sovereignty and international cooperation”.He praised the preventive actions taken by the Mozambican government towards the threat of renewed xenophobic attacks against Mozambican living in South Africa”We have seen a greater coordination of our government, through the Mozambican High Commission and consulates, with the South African authorities seeking to prevent similar situations to those that occurred in 2008”, said Massocha. He was referring to the pogroms in South African townships, in which at least 60 foreign citizens were murdered, and tens of thousands were forced to flee.