"I am a result of this history"

Walking around her store, Nina was wearing traditional African clothing imprinted with her own sense of style. Her shop, located in the arcades of Arcos Street (Rua dos Arcos) selled a variety of itens crafted in Africa, such as clothing and accessories, pieces of furniture and decoration. We convened in a space far from the clients eyes and Nina shared extensive insights on the dynamics of living in the Island.

Nina

Businesswoman (owns and manages a retail store and touristic accommodations), 44 years old
Excerpted · August 2017

What is your connection with the Island of Mozambique?
Nina: It is the place where I grew up, I have an affection and love for this place and it is pitiful to see how much is still not doing much to change the Island. Very simple things that would not take a lot of money to do things well.

Do you know that is UNESCO?
N.: Yes.

What do you think about UNESCO and its role regarding the Island of Mozambique? The World Heritage Site nomination, the rules that imply. How does this reflect on the Island of Mozambique?
N.: UNESCO has no impact on the Island because UNESCO does not have an office, it is not present on the Island. UNESCO is in Maputo. From the Island to Maputo is very far. There were a few years in which we had here the UNESCO office ... it even worked more or less while they were here but it was a few years that UNESCO worked on the Island. This presence was much needed.

Did you notice a difference between when they were here and when they were no longer there?
N.: Yes because the city council gives the authorizations that they want to give, about buildings, to houses. GACIM sometimes gives a negative assessment but the city council continues. If you take a stroll into the city you will see that these changes ... and even having people to ask, to say that this is badly done that cannot continue, they advance because they already have money that was given under the table, illicit money ... some things like that. And worst of all, even open spaces that are protected, the green spaces of the Island, they still build on those. We have the example of a house that is there on the waterfront that was built, was seized twice, and yet built.

And was it GACIM that seized it?
N.: Yes, it was GACIM. The GACIM was that it was seizing the work and even so it was completed.

Because they do not have enough authority to say no.
N.: No, they do not have enough authority. They are like technical advisers to the council. The council then gives the final opinion so there are some things like that.

The Island was made to the WHS List in 1991, did you notice a difference between before and after? At the level of buildings, the way people live on the Island...?
N.: It changed. More people are investing on the Island, they are foreigners, some Mozambicans, very few. And all these people who are buying houses, are rehabilitating their houses and already we see some houses inhabited. Because there was a time from the years 95 to 2000 there was a lot of ruin, mainly this central area, there were even many ruins and now we do not have many ruins left that way.

What do you think about the coming of foreigners to the Island? Does the WHS classification help boost tourism or the coming of foreign investigators and investors..?
N.: The number of tourists declined. The funniest thing is that over all these years the number of tourists has declined on the Island. Decreased dramatically. More young people appear who are doing some thesis ... younger people appear more. At least students who were interested in the Island did some study, come and this always happened. But now the number of tourists, dropped a lot.

But since 91..?
N.: No, since 91 it was a high but more recently 3/ 4 years ago it began to fall.

And you think it's because people think that Mozambique is unstable or for other reasons?
N.: Yes, the information you have outside is that Mozambique is at war, it is unstable. We are still in this situation of instability. And then there's the problem with flight tickets. They are very expensive. When you arrive in Maputo or inland, it is very expensive, and this causes people to look for other destinations and also have interesting sites that are more accessible. Because a couple and kids are very expensive. He comes to the Island because he wants to come to the Island. It's a goal to come and see the Island. Not because he heard of an attraction and came to the Island. For example, the tourists now come and do not have much, do not have much activities to do. They go to the beach, go to the islands, but then they stand still. It does not have much cultural access, for example, it is stopped.

Do you think this distinction brought more benefits to the Island?
N.: Not much has changed. That's the truth. The island becoming a WHS did not bring much change, because the constructions continue to happen anyway, even if it is prevented, it keeps happening and there are still some that are already authorized that are also going to be more aberrations inside the Island. Then we have the problem of overpopulation on the Island. The Island has many people living here.

About 14 thousand people...
N.: Yes, inside the Island. We will know now the real number. There are censuses right now. So now we really know how many people are on the island. But I think it already has more than 14 thousand people.

And the number grow with the UNESCO classification or does not correlate?
N.: It has nothing to do with. It's just another point. It’s like the light with the butterflies around. It is a place that is considered a city by the locals so the locals come here around because it has facilities, energy, electricity, and water, so people are around those points. It has this facility.

Do you feel connected to some monument on the Island of Mozambique?
N.: We have more connection with the fortress here. Perhaps because it is the place where we have the festivals, the parties. The whole Island feels like the fortress that connection.

Do these festivals belong to the whole community?
N.: Yes, the whole community participates. It is a cultural festival where you have part in shows with national musicians, sometimes comes some international. We have traditional music, here on the island. Then there are some parts also for lectures, seminars, readings, exhibitions of crafts, some art, gastronomy ... It is in September.

When talking about community on the Island is there only one or more groups within this large community on the Island?
N.: It's a whole community.

So there are no groups?
N.: It has the neighbourhoods, and then there are the brotherhoods, but when there is a party everyone goes. The island likes to party, so everything goes to the same place.

What do you consider to be your heritage?
N.: It’s everything. Everything about the Island. I'm linked more to the arts. For example, I try to protect the traditional clothing, now there are not many people to do that, because there is a fold that is made with cloths and there are not many people that can do this and the part of the jewelry. The part where I work the most is with silver. The goldsmiths are selling all the old jewelry and the ones from here buy them and melt so I have an agreement with the goldsmiths here on the Island that when someone comes here with a beautiful piece before they melt it, they come here to show and thus I buy the piece and .. so far I do not know what I will do but one day I would like to make an exhibition, show these pieces that are already almost unique pieces.

So, people with relevance in the community like Nina, take this type of initiative.
N.: Yes, I do this with silver jewelry and beads. For example, the beads that are the trade bead, the stones, and the beads of tronca that were used in the slave trade here on the Island. So it has started to sell a long time so I always try to save whatever comes different, I try to save, so we can have a record. For example, some traditional handicrafts are no longer made, so I try to pick up the old ones to reactivate. I'll show you the old parts I have. To know if anyone can do to continue to do it.

Do you have any support from GACIM, or from any other institution/association related to heritage?
N.: I have no support. It is all initiative of its own.

And they know that Nina does this?
N.: Some people know.

Do you generally think that people care about the conservation of the Island as a living monument?
N.: Here, the local community lives on a daily basis. Tomorrow is tomorrow. Today is what matters. So you do not have that. Only they like when they see that things are changing inside the Island, they are going for better...

But they do not have much initiative.
N.: No. Only about traditional dance. Some are no longer made, but there are others that are still made. The Tufo dance is still done but is now diminishing a little, and there is also another that only one group is left which is the faquires, maulides, is a dance with men.

And the Tufo is just women.
N.: Yes, only women dance.

Did you ever visit any museum here on the Island?
N.: Already.

Overall, what is your opinion about them?
N.: I think it could be better. For example, there is only colonial history. It does not have the Mozambican part, the traditional part, nothing. In Nampula, for example, the museum already has more of this Mozambican part. Now, for example, I am part of a tourism association here on the Island, APETUR, so we want to make a museum of slavery and we are trying to pull the museum here to the Island because they want to build it in Mossuril and we are trying to see if they come to build it here instead.

And is the government going to do this alone or UNESCO has something also to do with it?
N.: I never heard Unesco speak of it, I only saw that it was with the government.

You mentioned that the museum just displays the colonial part. Is there any part of Mozambique's history that you identify with the most?
N.: I am a result of this history, because I am a mixture. I have grandparents, great-grandparents, different ancestors from all over the world. It has Asia, Arab market, Persian, Indian and African market.

And this is normal for who is really from the Island? To such a background?
N.: The ones from the Island, in the previous years, yes they had this mixture. Now new mixes begin. With the new Europeans entering the Island, new mixes begin.

Do you agree with the description of the Island that is found in many places: The island of Mozambique is a melting pot.
N.: Yes, even in construction it is a mix. It has a Portuguese part, and an Indian part, it's always a mix. Nothing is just one thing. It's all a melting pot. It's a place where it has a lot of mixing. And it is very good because it does not have the problem, for example, of religions, because here are the Hindus, the Ishmael, Muslims, and Catholics and have always lived in this little piece of land that is 3 kilometers without any problem. Always at peace and even if there is something internal Catholics and Muslims mingle. So it is a very good thing we have here on the Island. This can be seen all over Mozambique. At least this part was an achievement that Samora managed to do, which is to bind all Mozambicans, to have this national unity. There is no ethnicity. It has people with different cultures but they are all Mozambicans.

About the parties at the fortress. Are there other parties where other communities go...? Does each community have a party or are they all joint...?
N.: No, there are a lot of national parties here, national holidays, so everybody has a party. There are some festivals that are organized, some shows and also everybody participates and some parties are only in the neighbourhoods. A neighbourhood decides to organize a party. Like Sunday afternoon, decide to have a party or some party in relation to some child who did for example circumcision or marriage, then invite all the other neighbourhoods. Party is party, everybody goes.

The fortress of San Sebastian is now empty. Do you think it's a good solution or one should rehabilitate the space? And if so, with what?
N.: There is nothing there [note to the reader - this situation has since changed]. A part was repaired that was to make GACIM’s office, but GACIM did not go in there so it remains abandoned.

Do you have any ideas for using the fortress? To gain a life again?
N.: Who wants to install there now has the archaeology part, where Yolanda is, they want to build a part of the archaeology, but that is huge, then there is a part that the university wants to get too.

And you think that will be a good use of fortress?
N.: I think it can be, from the moment that space is being occupied. And there is still more space where it could be done other things. For example, the cinemas of the island no longer work and some rooms could make the cinema. It can be used for that or for something like that, or for some tourist agency, it is possible to have there everything, it is a big fortress. There was a time when we were talking about making a hotel there, but no one can occupy all that, but it was a good idea.

So you do not think the Island has too many hotels?
N.: For me it's like this, if you're going to make a hotel on top of a house that already exists, you're going to invest and try to reach out to customers, and you will not be waiting for customers to come. Waiting for clients to guess that the Island has this new Hotel. Then you will spread the word. Each Hotel that comes next will be good because it spreads the word. I just do not think it is convenient is that it is to build a hotel from scratch, that takes in an open space to build something, because the Island already has problems of overload, sewage energy, everything. So if there is already a building to repair, where you will not build more walls into it, I think it is a viable thing. Big hotels always do more advertising. More publicity more tourists to the Island.