In the city of Maputo, capital of Mozambique, riots erupted during protests over high bread prices. Here in the US, especially in the current political climate, it's easy to overlook the rest of the world outside our borders.
"Streets in Maputo's city centre were eerily deserted after Wednesday's protests which saw seven people, including two children, killed.
"In other parts of Maputo, witnesses said police opened fire on protesters in the impoverished suburb of Zimpeto but there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries."
[...]
"In the city centre, where hundreds of protesters fought running battles with police on Wednesday, soldiers were clearing up burning barricades where shops were closed and no public transport ran. Thousands of people angered by a 30 per cent increase in the price of bread and higher electricity and water tariffs took to streets in protests which quickly turned violent.
"'I opted to join the protests because life is very difficult with these hikes, the government has turned a deaf ear to our long grievances, they only need us during election time,' said Teofilo Pedro, a resident of the industrial suburb of Matola on Maputo's outskirts."
This is the kind of "inconvenient truth" that the enviro-industry chooses not to look at when they lobby to divert land from food production to fuel production. People at the margins starve.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the cause of Mozambique's problems are, QR. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if the Obama Admin.'s version of an enviromentally-friendly-planned-economy is a factor-- though probably several steps removed.
ReplyDeleteAmerican and Western European greens' agenda have really hit Africa hard in the last couple of years, especially with the cutback of DDT spraying and the subsequent rise in malaria deaths. Guess what? Mosquito nets only just doesn't cut it.