Samora

Samora Machel was a politician and Freedom Fighter born in the 30's in a poor family and envioroment in Mozambique, at that time invaded by the Portuguese.
He started fighting against racism when he was a nurse working in a hospital, where he protested for the salary discrimination between whites and Blacks. He later described Black health care situation in Mozambique by saying: "the rich man's dog gets more in the way of vaccination, medicine and medical care than do the workers upon whom the rich man's wealth is built."
After battling in the fields against the Portuguese domination, Samora became the Revolutionary leader of the Mozambican liberation movement FRELIMO. In 1975, the social and political revolution he had dreamed became true and he becase the first president of independent Mozambique.
Machel put his revolutionary principles into practice. As a Marxist he called for the "nationalization" (government ownership) of the Portuguese plantations and property. He moved quickly to have the Frelimo government establish public schools and health clinics for the poor. But Mozambique's economy started being strangled by the white minority regimes in Rhodesia and South Africa and their anti-frilimo armies, which destroyed hospitals, schools, railroads and other new Mozambican facitlities, leaving many deads behind. The country then had to depend on external aid but "President Samora", as he was called, remained popular amongst Mozambique's People and internationally, as he also supported other revolutionary liberation movements.

On October 19, 1986, Samora Machel was on his way back from an international meeting in Zambia in the presidential Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft when the plane crashed in the Lebombo Mountains, near Mbuzini. There were nine survivors but President Machel and twenty-four others died, including ministers and officials of the Mozambique government.. Although, several years before the airplane went down Machel had signed a non-agression pact with the South Africa, there was widespread suspicion that the apartheid regime was implicated in the crash.

Throughout southern Africa angry people mourned the loss of Samora Machel. In South Africa protestors blamed their government for Machel's death. In Zimbabwe thousands of youths stormed through downtown Harare. The crash remains a mystery: with some blaming it simply on bad weather and others still believing in South Africa's guilt. No conclusive evidence to either effect has yet emerged.

References:

* Samora Machel remembered [Online]. Available at: news.bbc.co.uk [Accessed 23 June 2009]
* Mozambique's First President: Samora Machel [Online]. Available at: jlhs.nhusd.k12.ca.us. [Accessed 23 June 2009]
* Samora Machel Biography [Online]. Available at: biographybase.com [Accessed 23 June 2009]