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Portuguese Fort No Longer Repels Foreign Visitors
FrontLines - November 2009
MOZAMBIQUE ISLAND,
Mozambique—The 60-foot tall
stone walls with their grim, iron
cannons that the Portuguese built
here in the 1580s kept Dutch and
other foreigners from interfering
in their control over the Indian
Ocean–from Mozambique to
Goa and Sri Lanka.
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This perfectly intact 16th century fort on Mozambique Island once blocked Dutch warships from
the Indian Ocean as part of a Portuguese fortress chain reaching to Goa in India, Sri Lanka, and
further east. The U.N.-declared World Heritage Site may now help lure thousands of tourists to
the country’s coral reefs, sandy beaches, and game farms under a USAID tourism plan.
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But now the Fortress of São
Sebastião and the 400-year-old
houses along the narrow streets
of this island have become a U.N.
World Heritage Site and are
expected to draw thousands of
foreigners–this time as tourists to
experience the local culture and
history, enjoy the beaches and
coral reefs, and create local jobs
by spending money.
USAID is one of many donors
that believe preserving the
ancient forts and homes is as
important for tourism as rebuilding
the game parks that once held
thousands of lions, elephants,
giraffes, and other wildlife.
To the south, Gorongosa
National Park is being restocked
with wildlife and restored to its
former status as Mozambique’s
premier wildlife park with
USAID funding and support
from American philanthropist
Greg Carr—inventor of voice
mail in the 1980s.
Carr, who has been extensively
interviewed on 60 Minutes
and other media, has spent millions
of his own money to save
the 1,800 square-mile park.
Meanwhile, grants from the
United States and other donors
are working to preserve the
Greater Limpopo Trans-Frontier
Conservation Area —part of a
three-nation park system—as
well as Lake Niassa and Pemba
Bay. The U.S. government’s
2009-2014 Country Assistance
Strategy for Mozambique predicts
that 141,000 jobs will be
created by stimulating the economy
through tourism, especially
up here in what is called “the
Northern Arc.”
Here on the island, October is
shifting from the chill winter of
the southern hemisphere to
spring. Some of the 13,000
Mozambique residents are out in
the evenings—children play in
the ancient cobblestone streets
and a languor envelopes tourist
and local alike in the breezes off
the ocean.
Whales can be seen offshore
and small sailing boats ply the
choppy waters searching for
fish in the protected areas
between outer islands and the
mainland, which appears as
miles of beach decorated by a
fringe of palm trees.
Residents say that what is
needed here is sanitation, preventing
malaria, and building
hotels—probably on the mainland
to protect this small and
fragile island—as well as an
airport or cruise ship docking
facility.
Jumping into the water off
Semaforo Island—which holds a
lighthouse, dunes, and spectacular
rocks etched by the surf —
one sees sea urchins, giant clams,
soft coral waving in the current,
and colored fish. Protecting the
reefs is another priority of aid
donors hoping to prevent the
destruction that has hit so many
reefs from Thailand to Mexico.
With 1,500 miles of Indian
Ocean coastline but very little
in the way of hotels, transport,
and restaurants, Mozambique
may well be the next frontier
for adventurous foreign travelers
seeking a natural, unspoiled
landscape and friendly
population.★
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A sailboat plies the bay between Mozambique Island and the African mainland.
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WORK BREAK: A carpenter takes a break from making doors and
window frames in northern Mozambique to take care of a child.
Behind him a poster reminds people to vote in the Oct. 28 elections.
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FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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Material should be submitted
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by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
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