Death toll in Mozambique' Cyclone Idai, floods could surpass 1,000: President Filipe Nyusi

Death toll in Mozambique Cyclone could surpass 1,000: President Filipe Nyusi

More than 120 people have died and many more are missing in Mozambique and neighbouring Zimbabwe on Sunday after tropical cyclone Idai barrelled across the southern African nations with flash floods and ferocious winds.

Authorities in Mozambique said the toll there had risen to 62 in the centre of the country, while Zimbabwe said 65 people were killed in affected eastern areas after the cyclone tore across the region on Friday and Saturday.

Mozambique's environment Minister Celso Correia gave AFP the country's updated number of deaths in Beira and Dondo districts, but warned: "We will certainly end with a higher toll."

"I think this is the biggest natural disaster Mozambique has ever faced. Everything is destroyed. Our priority now is to save human lives," he said at Beira international airport, which reopened Sunday after being temporarily closed because of cyclone damage.

Idai hit Mozambique first on Thursday night before moving to Zimbabwe.

In Zimbabwe, eastern Chimanimani district was the worst-hit part of the country, where houses and bridges were washed away by flash floods when the storm slammed the area.&nbsp;

The most affected areas are not yet accessible, while high winds and dense clouds have hampered military rescue helicopter flights.&nbsp;

"So far we looking at 65 people that have lost their lives," Joshua Sacco, lawmaker for Chimanimani, told AFP by phone, adding that between "150 to 200 people" are missing.

The majority of those unaccounted for are thought to be government workers, whose housing complex was completely engulfed by raging waters. Their fate is currently unknown because the area is still unreachable.

"We are very worried because all these houses were just suddenly submerged under water and literally washed away and that is where we have about 147 missing," he said. "It's very sad and the situation is dire."

Two pupils at a secondary school in the area were among those killed after a landslide sent a boulder crashing into their dormitory, the country's civil protection agency said.

School pupils rescued

Soldiers on Sunday helped rescue nearly 200 pupils, teachers and staff who had been trapped at the school in Chimanimani.&nbsp;

The group had to wade through waterlogged and mud-churned roads for some 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) to reach a relief area, where they were given food and checked by medics, according to an AFP photographer.

Tents have been set up to provide shelter for those affected by the cyclone and scores of villagers have made their way to the relief area, some having trekked for up to 20 kilometres to reach safety.

Roads have been swallowed by massive sinkholes, while bridges were ripped to pieces by the flash floods, according to the AFP photographer.

The United Nations in Zimbabwe said that nearly 10,000 were affected by the cyclone.

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who cut short a visit to Abu Dhabi over the cyclone, has declared a state of disaster in the affected areas.

'Worst disaster'

Idai battered central Mozambique on Friday, cutting off more than half a million residents of the port city Beira where the environment minister said 80 per cent of the electricity network was destroyed.

"All roads are cut, the infrastructure is destroyed, practically everything is destroyed," said Correia.

Beira international airport was briefly shut after the air traffic control tower and navigation equipment were partially destroyed by the cyclone. Flights began flying in on Sunday.

A significant part of the central region was "absolutely decimated by this cyclone, even larger than anticipated," said Jamie LeSueur, the International Federation of Red Cross's roving emergency operations manager for Africa after an aerial survey of the affected areas in Mozambique.

"It's bad and there's potential for it to get even worse," he said as rain continued in Zimbabwe, "which could potentially lead to another flood," said in Beira.&nbsp;

The World Food Programme (WFP) said its "projections indicate at-least 1.7 million people were in the direct path of the cyclone in Mozambique, and 920,000 people were affected in Malawi. Thousands more are potentially impacted by events in Zimbabwe where assessments are ongoing".

Despite having part of its roof torn off, Beira airport was busy handling flights and relief agencies have been setting up operation hubs there.

One Portuguese software business company owner Luis Leonor, 49, flew in from Maputo after having contacted with his wife via satellite phone on Saturday.

"She is fine. My house is fine but there's no more running water. I don't know what I will find there," he said. "My five employees lost their houses, they are staying at our offices."

Even before the cyclone made landfall on Friday, heavy rains earlier this month had already claimed 66 lives in Mozambique and 56 in Malawi.

&nbsp;

More than 120 people have died and many more are missing in Mozambique and neighbouring Zimbabwe on Sunday after tropical cyclone Idai barrelled across the southern African nations with flash floods and ferocious winds.

More than 120 people have died and many more are missing in Mozambique and neighbouring Zimbabwe on Sunday after tropical cyclone Idai barrelled across the southern African nations with flash floods and ferocious winds. Authorities in Mozambique said the toll there had risen to 62 in the centre of the country, while Zimbabwe said 65 people were killed in affected eastern areas after the cyclone tore across the region on Friday and Saturday. Mozambique's environment Minister Celso Correia gave AFP the country's updated number of deaths in Beira and Dondo districts, but warned: "We will certainly end with a higher toll." "I think this is the biggest natural disaster Mozambique has ever faced. Everything is destroyed. Our priority now is to save human lives," he said at Beira international airport, which reopened Sunday after being temporarily closed because of cyclone damage. Idai hit Mozambique first on Thursday night before moving to Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe, eastern Chimanimani district was the worst-hit part of the country, where houses and bridges were washed away by flash floods when the storm slammed the area. The most affected areas are not yet accessible, while high winds and dense clouds have hampered military rescue helicopter flights. "So far we looking at 65 people that have lost their lives," Joshua Sacco, lawmaker for Chimanimani, told AFP by phone, adding that between "150 to 200 people" are missing. The majority of those unaccounted for are thought to be government workers, whose housing complex was completely engulfed by raging waters. Their fate is currently unknown because the area is still unreachable. "We are very worried because all these houses were just suddenly submerged under water and literally washed away and that is where we have about 147 missing," he said. "It's very sad and the situation is dire." Two pupils at a secondary school in the area were among those killed after a landslide sent a boulder crashing into their dormitory, the country's civil protection agency said. School pupils rescued Soldiers on Sunday helped rescue nearly 200 pupils, teachers and staff who had been trapped at the school in Chimanimani. The group had to wade through waterlogged and mud-churned roads for some 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) to reach a relief area, where they were given food and checked by medics, according to an AFP photographer. Tents have been set up to provide shelter for those affected by the cyclone and scores of villagers have made their way to the relief area, some having trekked for up to 20 kilometres to reach safety. Roads have been swallowed by massive sinkholes, while bridges were ripped to pieces by the flash floods, according to the AFP photographer. The United Nations in Zimbabwe said that nearly 10,000 were affected by the cyclone. Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who cut short a visit to Abu Dhabi over the cyclone, has declared a state of disaster in the affected areas. 'Worst disaster' Idai battered central Mozambique on Friday, cutting off more than half a million residents of the port city Beira where the environment minister said 80 per cent of the electricity network was destroyed. "All roads are cut, the infrastructure is destroyed, practically everything is destroyed," said Correia. Beira international airport was briefly shut after the air traffic control tower and navigation equipment were partially destroyed by the cyclone. Flights began flying in on Sunday. A significant part of the central region was "absolutely decimated by this cyclone, even larger than anticipated," said Jamie LeSueur, the International Federation of Red Cross's roving emergency operations manager for Africa after an aerial survey of the affected areas in Mozambique. "It's bad and there's potential for it to get even worse," he said as rain continued in Zimbabwe, "which could potentially lead to another flood," said in Beira. The World Food Programme (WFP) said its "projections indicate at-least 1.7 million people were in the direct path of the cyclone in Mozambique, and 920,000 people were affected in Malawi. Thousands more are potentially impacted by events in Zimbabwe where assessments are ongoing". Despite having part of its roof torn off, Beira airport was busy handling flights and relief agencies have been setting up operation hubs there. One Portuguese software business company owner Luis Leonor, 49, flew in from Maputo after having contacted with his wife via satellite phone on Saturday. "She is fine. My house is fine but there's no more running water. I don't know what I will find there," he said. "My five employees lost their houses, they are staying at our offices." Even before the cyclone made landfall on Friday, heavy rains earlier this month had already claimed 66 lives in Mozambique and 56 in Malawi.

More than 120 dead after cyclone hits Mozambique, Zimbabwe

Cyclone Idai killed at least <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-than-120-dead-after-cyclone-hits-mozambique-zimbabwe-203943">157 people in Zimbabwe and Mozambique</a> as it tore across Southern Africa, officials and state media said on Monday, and vast areas of land have been flooded, roads destroyed and communications disrupted.

The Mozambican port city of Beira has suffered massive damage, the Red Cross said. The storm has also pounded Malawi.

"The scale of devastation (in Beira) is enormous. It seems that 90 per cent of the area is completely destroyed," said Jamie LeSueur, leader of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) team there.

In Zimbabwe, the Chimanimani district has been cut off from the rest of the country by torrential rains and winds of up to 170 km per hour that swept away roads, homes and bridges and knocked out power and communication lines.

Zimbabwean information ministry official Nick Mangwana told Reuters the number of confirmed deaths throughout the country was now 89. The body count is expected to rise.

The Mozambican state news agency put the death toll in Beira at 68, although television channel TVM reported that about 84 people had died across Mozambique.

Zimbabwean rescuers were struggling to reach people in Chimanimani, many of whom have been sleeping in the mountains since Friday, after their homes were flattened by rock falls and mudslides or washed away by torrential rains. Many families cannot bury the dead due to the floods.

The Harare government has declared a state of disaster in areas affected by the storm, the worst to hit the country since Cyclone Eline devastated eastern and southern Zimbabwe in 2000.

The country of 15 million people is already suffering a severe drought that has wilted crops. A United Nations humanitarian agency says 5.3 million people will require food aid.

In Beira, home to Mozambique's second largest port which serves as gateway for imports to landlocked countries in southeast Africa, billboards were blown down and electricity and telephone poles knocked down.

Large swathes of land city's outskirts were submerged, and many houses were destroyed. In some streets, people waded through knee-high water, avoiding piles of mangled metal, detached tin roofs and other debris.

Beira has a population of 500,000 and sits at the mouth of the Pungwe River.

The director of a company that jointly manages the port, Cornelder, based in The Netherlands, said the port had been closed since last Wednesday but was relatively all right and would hopefully resume operations on Tuesday.

At least two cranes would be working but damage to the access routes and roads further inland was more likely to cause a problem, said the director, who asked not to be named.

"It's a total blackout, so all networks and electricity are down," the person said, adding the company had large generators and enough fuel to run for now.

The fuel pipeline running from Beira to Zimbabwe was believed to be intact, the person said, though communication was still very patchy and therefore the situation at the port remained uncertain.

In February 2000, Cyclone Eline hit Mozambique when it was already devastated by its worst floods in three decades. It killed 350 people and made 650,000 homeless across southern Africa.

Cyclone Idai killed at least 157 people in Zimbabwe and Mozambique as it tore across Southern Africa, officials and state media said on Monday, and vast areas of land have been flooded, roads destroyed and communications disrupted.

Cyclone Idai killed at least 157 people in Zimbabwe and Mozambique as it tore across Southern Africa, officials and state media said on Monday, and vast areas of land have been flooded, roads destroyed and communications disrupted. The Mozambican port city of Beira has suffered massive damage, the Red Cross said. The storm has also pounded Malawi. "The scale of devastation (in Beira) is enormous. It seems that 90 per cent of the area is completely destroyed," said Jamie LeSueur, leader of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) team there. In Zimbabwe, the Chimanimani district has been cut off from the rest of the country by torrential rains and winds of up to 170 km per hour that swept away roads, homes and bridges and knocked out power and communication lines. Zimbabwean information ministry official Nick Mangwana told Reuters the number of confirmed deaths throughout the country was now 89. The body count is expected to rise. The Mozambican state news agency put the death toll in Beira at 68, although television channel TVM reported that about 84 people had died across Mozambique. Zimbabwean rescuers were struggling to reach people in Chimanimani, many of whom have been sleeping in the mountains since Friday, after their homes were flattened by rock falls and mudslides or washed away by torrential rains. Many families cannot bury the dead due to the floods. The Harare government has declared a state of disaster in areas affected by the storm, the worst to hit the country since Cyclone Eline devastated eastern and southern Zimbabwe in 2000. The country of 15 million people is already suffering a severe drought that has wilted crops. A United Nations humanitarian agency says 5.3 million people will require food aid. In Beira, home to Mozambique's second largest port which serves as gateway for imports to landlocked countries in southeast Africa, billboards were blown down and electricity and telephone poles knocked down. Large swathes of land city's outskirts were submerged, and many houses were destroyed. In some streets, people waded through knee-high water, avoiding piles of mangled metal, detached tin roofs and other debris. Beira has a population of 500,000 and sits at the mouth of the Pungwe River. The director of a company that jointly manages the port, Cornelder, based in The Netherlands, said the port had been closed since last Wednesday but was relatively all right and would hopefully resume operations on Tuesday. At least two cranes would be working but damage to the access routes and roads further inland was more likely to cause a problem, said the director, who asked not to be named. "It's a total blackout, so all networks and electricity are down," the person said, adding the company had large generators and enough fuel to run for now. The fuel pipeline running from Beira to Zimbabwe was believed to be intact, the person said, though communication was still very patchy and therefore the situation at the port remained uncertain. In February 2000, Cyclone Eline hit Mozambique when it was already devastated by its worst floods in three decades. It killed 350 people and made 650,000 homeless across southern Africa.

Cyclone Idai: At least 157 killed in Zimbabwe, Mozambique

At least 31 people have died in eastern Zimbabwe while dozens were missing as homes and bridges were swept away by a tropical storm, state television reported on Saturday.

Cyclone Idai, which brought floodwater and destruction to areas of Mozambique and Malawi, hit Zimbabwe on Friday, cutting off power and communications.

Pictures shared on Twitter and television footage showed roads, houses and bridges that were washed away while communication towers were knocked down and electricity cables blocked roads in Chimanimani district, 410 kilometres (255 miles) east of the capital Harare.

State television ZBC said 31 people had died in the district while more than 70 people were missing.

The information ministry said the army had moved in to rescue 197 pupils trapped at a local school.

"This a very challenging operation as it's being undertaken as a ground effort because of unsafe weather conditions for air efforts," the ministry said in a statement.

Joshua Sacco, a member of parliament in Chimanimani earlier told Reuters the district had been cut off from the rest of the country as the storm left a trail of destruction reminiscent of Cyclone Eline in February 2000, which devastated southern Zimbabwe.

Sacco said the death toll was expected to rise as rescue efforts continued.

Chimanimani, which borders Mozambique, has been worst affected, with the storm causing floods as well as destroying crops and plantations, Zimbabwe's Ministry of Information said.

Air force helicopters were rescuing people, but flights were being slowed by heavy winds.

Zimbabwe has faced a severe drought this year that has damaged crops and a United Nations humanitarian agency says 5.3 million people will require food aid.

The country's meteorological services expect rains to continue throughout the weekend.

At least 31 people have died in eastern Zimbabwe while dozens were missing as homes and bridges were swept away by a tropical storm, state television reported on Saturday.

At least 31 people have died in eastern Zimbabwe while dozens were missing as homes and bridges were swept away by a tropical storm, state television reported on Saturday. Cyclone Idai, which brought floodwater and destruction to areas of Mozambique and Malawi, hit Zimbabwe on Friday, cutting off power and communications. Pictures shared on Twitter and television footage showed roads, houses and bridges that were washed away while communication towers were knocked down and electricity cables blocked roads in Chimanimani district, 410 kilometres (255 miles) east of the capital Harare. State television ZBC said 31 people had died in the district while more than 70 people were missing. The information ministry said the army had moved in to rescue 197 pupils trapped at a local school. "This a very challenging operation as it's being undertaken as a ground effort because of unsafe weather conditions for air efforts," the ministry said in a statement. Joshua Sacco, a member of parliament in Chimanimani earlier told Reuters the district had been cut off from the rest of the country as the storm left a trail of destruction reminiscent of Cyclone Eline in February 2000, which devastated southern Zimbabwe. Sacco said the death toll was expected to rise as rescue efforts continued. Chimanimani, which borders Mozambique, has been worst affected, with the storm causing floods as well as destroying crops and plantations, Zimbabwe's Ministry of Information said. Air force helicopters were rescuing people, but flights were being slowed by heavy winds. Zimbabwe has faced a severe drought this year that has damaged crops and a United Nations humanitarian agency says 5.3 million people will require food aid. The country's meteorological services expect rains to continue throughout the weekend.

Cyclone Idai batters Zimbabwe, at least 31 people dead

In the wake of cyclone Idai hitting the Mozambican coast, the Indian Navy on Friday diverted ships to the African country for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) work.

"#IndianNavy diverts Mission Deployed ships of Training Squadron operating off Mauritius, to Mozambique for HADR efforts in wake of cyclone IDAI @SpokespersonMoD @DefenceMinIndia @IAF_MCC @nsitharaman @narendramodi (sic)," the Navy's spokesperson tweeted.

Cyclone Idai battered Mozambican coastal city Beira on Friday, jeopardising the lives of nearly half a million people. As per reports, the city's power grid has crashed, airport shut and roads inundated. The cyclone has claimed 66 lives nationwide.&nbsp;

In the wake of cyclone Idai hitting the Mozambican coast, the Indian Navy on Friday diverted ships to the African country for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) work.

In the wake of cyclone Idai hitting the Mozambican coast, the Indian Navy on Friday diverted ships to the African country for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) work. "#IndianNavy diverts Mission Deployed ships of Training Squadron operating off Mauritius, to Mozambique for HADR efforts in wake of cyclone IDAI @SpokespersonMoD @DefenceMinIndia @IAF_MCC @nsitharaman @narendramodi (sic)," the Navy's spokesperson tweeted. Cyclone Idai battered Mozambican coastal city Beira on Friday, jeopardising the lives of nearly half a million people. As per reports, the city's power grid has crashed, airport shut and roads inundated. The cyclone has claimed 66 lives nationwide.

Cyclone Idai: Indian Navy diverts ships for disaster relief

Twelve people were killed and 14 injured in an attack by suspected jihadists on a village in a gas-rich region of northern Mozambique, a local source told AFP on Friday.

"Ten people killed were shot by firearms and two burnt (to death) after 55 houses were charred. A person was beheaded after being shot dead" in the northern village of Paqueue late Thursday, said the source.

Twelve people were killed and 14 injured in an attack by suspected jihadists on a village in a gas-rich region of northern Mozambique, a local source told AFP on Friday.

Twelve people were killed and 14 injured in an attack by suspected jihadists on a village in a gas-rich region of northern Mozambique, a local source told AFP on Friday. "Ten people killed were shot by firearms and two burnt (to death) after 55 houses were charred. A person was beheaded after being shot dead" in the northern village of Paqueue late Thursday, said the source.

12 killed, 14 wounded in Mozambique jihadist attacks: Source

By:&nbsp;Andries Bezuidenhout*

What is the ultimate song to celebrate Workers' Day? Many will suggest "The Internationale" which had its roots as a poem written in the aftermath of the Paris Commune in 1871 by Eugène Pottier, a transport worker. Set to music a few years later, it became the anthem for the wider progressive movement.

It served as the Soviet Union’s anthem after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, making it more closely associated with the communist movement.

But I would argue that trumpeter Hugh Masekela's iconic and internationally popular song "Stimela" – the coal train – is perhaps a more appropriate anthem for Workers' Day in southern and Central Africa. The song speaks aboutthe local history and the migrant labour system on the mines.

"Stimela" reminds everyone that South Africa's wealth and infrastructure was built on the back of labour from all over Africa. They were the force that modernised the country. But the song is also internationalist in focus.

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Later recordings of the song typically begin with bass rhythms and percussion mimicking the sound of a train on its tracks. Then the instruments retreat to the background and Masekela announces:

There is a train that comes from Namibia and Malawi

there is a train that comes from Zambia and Zimbabwe,

There is a train that comes from Angola and Mozambique,

From Lesotho, from Botswana, from Swaziland,

From all the hinterland of Southern and Central Africa.

This train carries young and old, African men

Who are conscripted to come and work on contract

In the golden mineral mines of Johannesburg

And its surrounding metropolis, sixteen hours or more a day

For almost no pay.

Early morning commute

Until recently I was responsible for teaching an introductory course in sociology to first-year university students. The auditorium in which I delivered the lectures had a beautiful sound system.

I’d plug in my computer and play music before lectures started. The music served two purposes. I liked to imagine that it allowed students to find some calm after their early morning commute from the city’s periphery on dilapidated trains.

It was also a way to introduce debates about key topics covered in the first year course.

I always started the first lecture of the year with Masekela’s "Stimela" because it was the perfect opening to a conversation about the forces that modernised South Africa.

South Africa's was not a slow, organic growth of industrialisation that characterised the European transition from feudalism to industrial capitalism, the great transformation that gave rise to my discipline of sociology, with Karl Marx as one of its key contributors.

The emergence of modern South Africa was brutal in a different way. It came about as a result of the discovery of diamonds and gold, and the need for cheap labour to extract metals from the seams that ran through the Witwatersrand's rock formations.

This was a story of labour shortages and the intervention of colonial administrations and armies across southern and Central Africa. They dispossessed pastoralists of their land and imposed hut and poll taxes on traditional leaders so that Johannesburg could be supplied with the much needed "Black Gold", as journalist-activist Ruth First described the system.

The song describes what’s on the minds of mining recruits on a steam train as it makes its way to Johannesburg: "They think about their lands, their herds that were taken away from them."

For Masekela, writing "Stimela" must have been, in part, a reflection on his own life. Born in the coal mining area called Witbank, he was raised by his grandmother who made her livelihood from a shebeen (an illegal bar) for mineworkers.

The legacy lives on

Up until the 1970s, when Masekela composed "Stimela" while he was in exile, South African mineworkers typically spent only a few years on the mines, saving up money or buying cattle to return to their lands.

But the 1970s was the time of great change in South Africa’s mining industry.

In 1974, 72 Malawian mineworkers were killed in an airplane crash. A year later, Mozambique became independent. Both Mozambique and Malawi were major suppliers of migrant workers to South African mines and these events put the steady flow of labour at risk.

In the case of Mozambique, the apartheid state was able to strike a deal with the new Mozambican government for the continued supply of labour. But Malawi withdrew permission for the recruitment of workers from their country.

The result was a shift to recruiting more South African workers and the emergence of career mine workers with much longer contracts. This change in the mining labour market eventually led to the founding of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 1982.

The successful organisation of workers who were at the heart of South Africa’s economy was one of the most important pillars of resistance against apartheid.

Sadly, the mining industry's contested legacy and its migrant labour system remain challenges in the post-apartheid period. This is evident in a number of ways. The massacre of mineworkers at Marikana in 2012 was a stark reminder of the acute vulnerability and exploitation of workers.

On top of this is the inability of the mining companies and the state to provide many mine workers – now often employed through subcontractors – with decent housing and services. And finally, the issue of land dispossession still haunts the country and remains unresolved.

Steam trains no longer crisscross southern Africa. Yet "Stimela" remains as much a song about the present and future aspirations, as it does of the past.

*Andries Bezuidenhout, Professor of Development Studies, University of Fort Hare

(This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-best-anthem-for-workers-day-stimela-a-tale-about-apartheids-migrant-labour-system-95794">original article</a>.)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL

Hugh Masekela's iconic and internationally popular song "Stimela" – the coal train – is perhaps a more appropriate anthem for Workers' Day in southern and Central Africa

By: Andries Bezuidenhout* What is the ultimate song to celebrate Workers' Day? Many will suggest "The Internationale" which had its roots as a poem written in the aftermath of the Paris Commune in 1871 by Eugène Pottier, a transport worker. Set to music a few years later, it became the anthem for the wider progressive movement. It served as the Soviet Union’s anthem after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, making it more closely associated with the communist movement. But I would argue that trumpeter Hugh Masekela's iconic and internationally popular song "Stimela" – the coal train – is perhaps a more appropriate anthem for Workers' Day in southern and Central Africa. The song speaks aboutthe local history and the migrant labour system on the mines. "Stimela" reminds everyone that South Africa's wealth and infrastructure was built on the back of labour from all over Africa. They were the force that modernised the country. But the song is also internationalist in focus. × Later recordings of the song typically begin with bass rhythms and percussion mimicking the sound of a train on its tracks. Then the instruments retreat to the background and Masekela announces: There is a train that comes from Namibia and Malawi there is a train that comes from Zambia and Zimbabwe, There is a train that comes from Angola and Mozambique, From Lesotho, from Botswana, from Swaziland, From all the hinterland of Southern and Central Africa. This train carries young and old, African men Who are conscripted to come and work on contract In the golden mineral mines of Johannesburg And its surrounding metropolis, sixteen hours or more a day For almost no pay. Early morning commute Until recently I was responsible for teaching an introductory course in sociology to first-year university students. The auditorium in which I delivered the lectures had a beautiful sound system. I’d plug in my computer and play music before lectures started. The music served two purposes. I liked to imagine that it allowed students to find some calm after their early morning commute from the city’s periphery on dilapidated trains. It was also a way to introduce debates about key topics covered in the first year course. I always started the first lecture of the year with Masekela’s "Stimela" because it was the perfect opening to a conversation about the forces that modernised South Africa. South Africa's was not a slow, organic growth of industrialisation that characterised the European transition from feudalism to industrial capitalism, the great transformation that gave rise to my discipline of sociology, with Karl Marx as one of its key contributors. The emergence of modern South Africa was brutal in a different way. It came about as a result of the discovery of diamonds and gold, and the need for cheap labour to extract metals from the seams that ran through the Witwatersrand's rock formations. This was a story of labour shortages and the intervention of colonial administrations and armies across southern and Central Africa. They dispossessed pastoralists of their land and imposed hut and poll taxes on traditional leaders so that Johannesburg could be supplied with the much needed "Black Gold", as journalist-activist Ruth First described the system. The song describes what’s on the minds of mining recruits on a steam train as it makes its way to Johannesburg: "They think about their lands, their herds that were taken away from them." For Masekela, writing "Stimela" must have been, in part, a reflection on his own life. Born in the coal mining area called Witbank, he was raised by his grandmother who made her livelihood from a shebeen (an illegal bar) for mineworkers. The legacy lives on Up until the 1970s, when Masekela composed "Stimela" while he was in exile, South African mineworkers typically spent only a few years on the mines, saving up money or buying cattle to return to their lands. But the 1970s was the time of great change in South Africa’s mining industry. In 1974, 72 Malawian mineworkers were killed in an airplane crash. A year later, Mozambique became independent. Both Mozambique and Malawi were major suppliers of migrant workers to South African mines and these events put the steady flow of labour at risk. In the case of Mozambique, the apartheid state was able to strike a deal with the new Mozambican government for the continued supply of labour. But Malawi withdrew permission for the recruitment of workers from their country. The result was a shift to recruiting more South African workers and the emergence of career mine workers with much longer contracts. This change in the mining labour market eventually led to the founding of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 1982. The successful organisation of workers who were at the heart of South Africa’s economy was one of the most important pillars of resistance against apartheid. Sadly, the mining industry's contested legacy and its migrant labour system remain challenges in the post-apartheid period. This is evident in a number of ways. The massacre of mineworkers at Marikana in 2012 was a stark reminder of the acute vulnerability and exploitation of workers. On top of this is the inability of the mining companies and the state to provide many mine workers – now often employed through subcontractors – with decent housing and services. And finally, the issue of land dispossession still haunts the country and remains unresolved. Steam trains no longer crisscross southern Africa. Yet "Stimela" remains as much a song about the present and future aspirations, as it does of the past. *Andries Bezuidenhout, Professor of Development Studies, University of Fort Hare (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL

Opinion: The best anthem for Labour Day

People were trying to take petrol from the truck when it exploded, the government said.&nbsp;

&quot;The incident occurred when citizens tried to take petrol from a truck&quot;

&quot;Because of the heat, the truck burst into flames, leading to the deaths of 73&nbsp;people and causing burns in 110 others, according to investigators&#39; initial findings.&quot;

The truck was going to Malawi from the port city of Beira, when the incident took place near the border, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

&quot;Ambulances and medical personnel were deployed to the scene in order to assist the victims. The injured were evacuated to Tete hospital,&quot; some 90 kilometres (55 miles) away from the accident site.&nbsp;

Information ministry director, Joao Manasses said an investigation will be conducted to find out if the truck was selling petrol or people took over.&nbsp;

Fuel prices were increased recently after Mozambican currency, metical fell against the dollar.&nbsp;

Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world and since 1992 is going through severe economic crisis.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

The truck had overturned on its way to Malawi and authorities suspect that people were taking fuel when the blast occured

People were trying to take petrol from the truck when it exploded, the government said. "The incident occurred when citizens tried to take petrol from a truck" "Because of the heat, the truck burst into flames, leading to the deaths of 73 people and causing burns in 110 others, according to investigators' initial findings." The truck was going to Malawi from the port city of Beira, when the incident took place near the border, Reuters reported. "Ambulances and medical personnel were deployed to the scene in order to assist the victims. The injured were evacuated to Tete hospital," some 90 kilometres (55 miles) away from the accident site. Information ministry director, Joao Manasses said an investigation will be conducted to find out if the truck was selling petrol or people took over. Fuel prices were increased recently after Mozambican currency, metical fell against the dollar. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world and since 1992 is going through severe economic crisis. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Mozambique: 73 killed, 110 injured in fuel truck explosion

Visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded the Indian community in Mozambique for keeping the essence of being an Indian intact. 
 
Interacting with the Indian community in capital Maputo, Modi said Africa was the land which first shaped the identity of the Indian diaspora. 
 
He complimented the community for keeping their traditions alive even after so many decades. 
 
&quot;Some of you might be fourth generation or third generation (Indians) but still, you all have managed to conserve the essence of your Indianness, and you keep handing it over to the next generations,&quot; he said. 
 
He also posed for photographs with the diaspora at the event. 
 
Before the address, Modi met the president of Mozambique&#39;s National Assembly, Veronica Macamo, and visited the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD) at the Maluana Science and Technology Park where he interacted with students. 
 
Earlier in the day, the Indian prime minister held a closed-door meeting with President Filipe Nyusi. Afterwards, India and Mozambique signed key agreements in areas of drug trafficking, pulse trading and sports. 
 
Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday and is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the African nation in 34 years. 
 
He left for South Africa in the evening where he will have a series of events in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg, places associated with Mahatma Gandhi&#39;s stay in South Africa. 
 
(Reuters)

'You keep handing it over to the next generations,' he said

Visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded the Indian community in Mozambique for keeping the essence of being an Indian intact. Interacting with the Indian community in capital Maputo, Modi said Africa was the land which first shaped the identity of the Indian diaspora. He complimented the community for keeping their traditions alive even after so many decades. "Some of you might be fourth generation or third generation (Indians) but still, you all have managed to conserve the essence of your Indianness, and you keep handing it over to the next generations," he said. He also posed for photographs with the diaspora at the event. Before the address, Modi met the president of Mozambique's National Assembly, Veronica Macamo, and visited the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD) at the Maluana Science and Technology Park where he interacted with students. Earlier in the day, the Indian prime minister held a closed-door meeting with President Filipe Nyusi. Afterwards, India and Mozambique signed key agreements in areas of drug trafficking, pulse trading and sports. Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday and is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the African nation in 34 years. He left for South Africa in the evening where he will have a series of events in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg, places associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa. (Reuters)

Modi lauds Mozambique Indian community for keeping its Indianness intact

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