Chapter 41 38 Mozambican Mom

Riding into the village, I stopped my bicycle, I bought a can of Coke, and while I was drinking, a large group of children surrounded me.All around me is already a veritable black sea of ​​people.This happens in any country in Africa, but it is particularly exaggerated in Mozambique.Probably there were no tourists in the first place, right?The children just looked at me in disbelief, and after careful calculation, there were eighty of them! As a result, I couldn't drink Coke properly, so I picked up a branch, and the children suddenly scattered and ran away, probably thinking that I would hit them with the branch?That's the kind of reaction you'd see in any country in Africa, and it's kind of funny, it always makes me laugh.While they were running away, I drew a circle with a radius of about three meters on the ground with myself as the center.This line is my territory, you can't step in casually...

Not long after, the children gathered around without fear of death.Interestingly, they just obediently stood outside that line, which is also a common phenomenon across Africa.Children in Mozambique seem to be very reserved and shy, and none of you are bold and lively to talk to me or make jokes.Everyone was quiet, standing outside the circle motionless and looking at me. Most of them were shirtless and barefoot.His hands and feet are as thin as branches, and only his stomach protrudes, which shows that he is malnourished.Their national average annual income is US$150, which shows that this is the poorest country in Africa.The size of the children, the houses that look like rags, and the depressed market all convey the poverty of this country without saying anything, and it is painful to watch.

The cause of the poverty was the civil war that lasted until 1992.The long war has dragged down the country's economy, but people's expressions are so gentle and steady. Probably few tourists will travel to this area, and they haven't been disturbed by tourists yet?But even so, did not the bitter experience of the Civil War have a profound effect on their characters?I have experienced their kind treatment several times, so I can't help but think so. That's what happened in the market place of Tete. There was an old woman selling vegetables, and the vegetables were piled on the ground.She looks penniless, and her wrists are thin and dry. If it weren't for the fruits and vegetables in front of her, she might be considered a beggar.

I took four tomatoes and asked her: "How much?" She looked a little guilty and embarrassed, as if she couldn't speak a word of English. I found a pencil and paper, handed them to her, pointed to the four tomatoes in my hand, and smiled. The old lady finally understood , wrote "2000" on the paper, two thousand Meticais, equivalent to eighteen yen. I took out four five-hundred-motick bills from my wallet and handed them to her, and the old woman gave me another one with an expression of "it's better for you!"I was taken aback, and quickly put the banknotes back into her hand. Thinking of the living conditions here, I couldn't accept them no matter what.

She shook her head and stopped me with her hands, and put one more tomato and two lemons on the tomato I was holding, and then ran to the other side of the market, and brought a plastic bag covered with dirt, showing a soft smile. Smiled and signaled to me, "Just pretend to be here." It wasn't just general tenderness, it was special treatment for me, and it must have been done because of my filthy appearance and my bicycle with a lot of luggage.I held the old woman's thin hands tightly, tears kept dripping, I was not mistaken, the old woman's eyes are the eyes of "mother"!