Mozambique in concert: Gabriel Júnior brings to the Mahotas stage the voice of the scars of Cabo Delgado

Paulo Vilanculo "

Gabriel Júnior, in his presentation of his program, Moçambique, in concert last Sunday, presented, as a form of support, a widow who saw her husband being beheaded in the forests of Cabo Delgado through social media, a vivid denunciation, deeply revealing publicly, the real scars left by a war ignored and muffled by the official propaganda of insurgency in the death rows in Cabo Delgado. With eyes firmly on the social voice, Gabriel Júnior took to the stage of the Mahotas field, in a public event, a testimony that, morally, would be confined to the silence of the wild tombs of the forests of Cabo Delgado. Gabriel Júnior broke with narratives and presented last Sunday a widow and a baby in her arms, the family of a soldier decapitated and dismembered in the insurgency conflict in Cabo Delgado, a sign that reveals, above all, the abandonment and neglect of the State. It is known that this presentation by Gabriel Júnior is not mere theater, but a cry for human dignity amidst barbarities. By showing the scars of Cabo Delgado, he challenged the conformism of divergent opinions about the situation in Cabo Delgado and brought to Maputo, to Mozambican society and to the world the reality of suffering that many had not experienced in public testimony of suffering. Gabriel Júnior brought, to the human frame present in the Mahotas field, the knowledge and feeling of open wounds omitted in the silence of indifference of those who have never had the experience of running away with a child in their arms in the middle of the woods or seeing the body of a loved one decapitated and dismembered, scars that are not only wounds on the body, but are also deep marks on the national soul. The war or insurgency in Cabo Delgado has left deep emotional scars. Many families have lost loved ones in traumatic ways, such as beheadings, disappearances, rapes, and village burnings. It has already caused the displacement of more than a million people. These populations, torn from their homes, their farms, and their history, now live in situations of extreme vulnerability in shelters and makeshift villages, with scarcity of food, drinking water, health care, and education, which is alarming. But just as serious as the material deprivation is the psychological trauma that accompanies the survivors: sleepless nights, panic attacks, children who no longer speak, mothers who live under the weight of guilt for not having been able to save their loved ones. Behind Gabriel Júnior’s complaint lies a cry for justice, memory and reparation from those who are responsible for repairing, comforting and caring for, and drying the tears of the families of victims and those who have been scarred in Cabo Delgado. It is not enough to silence the gunfire; the role of the State must be ethical, restorative and transformative. Even while the State continues to confront the conflict or insurgency with military operations to defend the sovereignty of its people, it must also look at the human dimension of the scars in Cabo Delgado. Peace is not built only through resistance, victory or speeches of reconciliation. Peace requires recognition of suffering, psychosocial support and effective public policies to hold those responsible accountable, whether they are insurgents, accomplices, indifferent or exploiters of other people’s pain. Neglecting this role is fueling silent revolts that may one day erupt again. It is necessary to heal wounds, listen to those who mourn and restore meaning to the lives of those who are left behind. The State’s actions in this context must follow principles of justice, reparation, social protection and historical memory. The State must be comprehensive, proactive and focused on human dignity towards the families of the victims of the war in Cabo Delgado. The State must listen to the survivors and design public policies to assist those affected, and this requires: • Create free psychological support programs in resettlement centers and affected communities; • Support the emotional reintegration of orphans and widows; • Deploy trained trauma and mental health professionals to conflict zones. • Investments for the self-organization of victims' families in the reconstruction of productive life, through land, inputs, microcredit to victims' families, as a way of compensating human, material and symbolic losses. The State's gesture of recognizing the victims, both civilian and military, and their families, would demonstrate that where work is being done to prevent conflict and protect populations to ensure peace and stability, there can also be failures, and not only does it help to understand the pain of survivors, but it also reinforces its institutional legitimacy.

2025/12/3