Dynamic Africa

In 1975, just after Mozambique had won its independence from Portugal after a bitter struggle, a quarter of a million Portuguese settlers fled the country. Fearful for their lives, but also without prospect of a livelihood, the mother country was a safer bet.

Now, nearly 40 years later, the flow is reversing.

With Portugal staggering economically, many now see the country’s former colony as holding out more prospects than home.

Businessman Paulo Dias tells a story that is increasingly common.

He moved to Mozambique in 2010 after the financial crisis in Portugal convinced him that his future lay elsewhere.

“I decided to leave because I felt the situation in Europe was catastrophic,” says the 42-year-old, who now lives in the capital, Maputo.

In Portugal, Mr Dias ran a company marketing cruise trips. But, after months of struggling, he shut it down.

Within a year he had relocated to Mozambique, where he set up a business building prefabricated houses.

“It was a fresh start and the best decision I ever made,” he says.

Henrique Banze, Mozambique’s deputy foreign minister, says about 200 tourist and working visas are being granted every day, marking a “huge increase” on recent years.

“In the last two years there have been many more Portuguese coming,” he says adding: “I suppose it must be to do with the crisis in Portugal.”

It is difficult to get firm figures for the influx, but Mr Banze says it is clear that thousands of Portuguese people are relocating each year.

The vast majority - around 20,000, according to some reports - base themselves in Maputo, where the majority of business opportunities exist.

“A tsunami hit Portugal and now everyone is coming here,” says Mr Dias. “I don’t believe the economic situation in Portugal will improve within the next five years.”

Two years ago, when he arrived, most of his countrymen in Mozambique were manual labourers. Now, he says, the middle classes are moving in.

Some, he says, are working for large mining companies with operations in Mozambique. Others, like him, come to set up their own businesses.

Mr Dias’ new life is not without challenges.

He says the cost of living is high and he struggled during the first year in his new home until he established a partnership with a local businessman who provided the patronage needed to broker deals.

But he has seen his business grow, working on a range of projects from social housing to homes for employees of mining companies.

A few years ago, the thought of moving to one of Africa’s poorest country in search of work would have seemed unthinkable for most Portuguese, particularly given the bitter legacy of the colonial period.

But Mozambique is changing and times are hard in Portugal.

At more than 17%, its jobless rate is among the highest in the eurozone.

And if there were any doubts of where future opportunities lay, Portugal’s Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho sent a stark message in 2011.

He told unemployed teachers in Portugal to emigrate, urging them to leave their comfort zone and move to Portuguese-speaking countries like Brazil and another former African colony, Angola.

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Mozambique is a country full of hope, promise and a booming economy after difficult times.

Two decades of civil war ended in 1992 but left the country dependent on international donors and it has struggled to rebuild.

But now with one of the world’s largest new coal finds and a growing tourist industry, the capital city of Maputo is booming.

For Working Lives, the BBC’s Laeila Adjovi travelled to Maputo to meet five people who live and work in a country that is one of Africa’s emerging success stories.

In a country undergoing major transformation, Clothilde Maita’s job as one of Mozambique’s three female train drivers seems only fitting. As such, she is typical of many Mozambican women who relish a challenge.

Juneide Lalgy, a transport tycoon, is another person who thrives on a challenge. Starting with two lorries loaned by his father, he has built one of the biggest private companies in Mozambique. But he has used his success to help others from school children to aspiring young footballers.

Very few people would answer a job advert to work with rats, but Catia Rodrigues is happy she did. Now Catia and her very special rodents are helping Mozambique fight tuberculosis, a deadly disease of that kills 50,000 Mozambicans every year.

Ramos Saide is building the new Mozambique, literally. His construction skills help provide the growing middle class with their prized new houses. His own home, just three square meters (yards), stands in stark contrast to the smart villas where he spends his working days.

Natural resources may be booming now in Mozambique, but the country has always been rich in dance and music and Perola Jaime is considered one of the country’s national treasures. From her early years as a famous dancer, to choreographer and mentor to the national dance company, Perola embodies the spirit of the country.

Mozambican taxi driver, who was allegedly dragged from back of vehicle by policemen, was later found dead in custody.

South African authorities have suspended the officers accused of dragging a man from the back of a pick-up vehicle, an incident caught on video, and sparked further anger after he died in custody.

Riah Phiyega, the police commissioner, said on Friday she was looking into the “alleged brutal treatment” by officers “in a very serious light and it is strongly condemned”.

“The [police] management regrets the incident that led to the death of Mido Macia,” Phiyega said.

“We would like to assure the country and the world, that what was in the video is not how [police] in South Africa goes about its work.”

The officers involved were also ordered disarmed, and the station commander removed while the investigation is ongoing, she said.

The 27-year-old Mozambican taxi driver Macia, was found dead in detention with signs of head injuries and internal bleeding, according to an initial post-mortem report released by the country’s police watchdog. 

The incident, videotaped on Tuesday and broadcast nationwide on Thursday, was condemned by President Jacob Zuma and opposition politicians.

“The visuals of the incident are horrific, disturbing and unacceptable. No human being should be treated in that manner,” Zuma said in a statement that described the incident as “the tragic death of a man in the hands of the police”.

‘Routine brutality’

Police told media they detained Macia after he parked illegally, creating a traffic jam and then resisted arrest. The video clearly shows the man scuffling with police, who subdue him.

He was then bound to the back of the pick-up by his arms before the vehicle drove off in front of scores of witnesses in the east Johannesburg area of Daveyton.

The latest fatal incident is drawing a storm of protest against the South African police force accused of routine brutality.

Lucy Holborn, of the South African Institute of Race Relations, told Al Jazeera that South Africa’s police force has a long history of using “brutality and violence” going back to the Apartheid era.

“I think that has permeated into the police force in the democratic era,” Holborn said.

“There’s a huge amount of pressure for the police to be tough on crime,” she said in the wake of allegations of corruption and incompetence in the police force.

The country is also struggling with the fallout from the Marikana mine shootings.

In August last year the police opened fire on striking miners, killing dozens at a platinum mine northwest of Johannesburg.

Now a judicial commission is investigating allegations that many were shot in the back as they tried to escape.

“It is absolutely par for the course,” said Nooshin Erfani, the coordinator of Wits Justice Project at Witwatersrand University. “Such ridiculous things happen all the time.”

This culture of xenophobia and the violence that comes with it in South Africa needs to be addressed thoroughly. Whilst incredibly shocking and heinous, this is not a unique incident both as a xenophobic attack and as an attack of this nature supported by South African authorities.

If you head to the link to watch the video, be warned - it contains graphic and disturbing content.