Mayotte and Mozambique: Contrasting responses to Cyclone Chido

Mayotte was devastated by Cyclone Chido which struck on Dec. 14. Mozambique, an African country also hit by Chido, suffered serious damage but not the same degree of devastation.

Mayotte is a French colony. It comprises several islands in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. All of  the major decisions affecting its economy, living standards, infrastructure and more are made in Paris, 5,000 miles away.

Officially, Mayotte is considered a part of France, a department (level of government between regions, cities and towns) with representation in the French Parliament. Voters in the 1976 referendum overwhelmingly  chose to remain part of France, and this vote has been reaffirmed several times since.

Mayotte is also part of the European Union, even though it is 5,000 miles from Paris.

While Mayotte is perhaps the poorest department of France, with a 38% unemployment rate and 80% of its people — population 320,901 — living in poverty, according to some estimates from France’s statistical services, it is still relatively better off economically than neighboring East African countries. This has attracted tens of thousands of undocumented migrants who lived in the dilapidated shacks that were destroyed by Chido.

The Minister of the Interior is sticking to the estimate of 39 deaths and 2,432 injuries. He says it is more important to help the living than count the dead. However, many local politicians speaking on French television or in alternative media like Témoinage (Dec. 23) estimate the death toll is in the hundreds or thousands based on the devastation that occurred.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to Mayotte after only 10 days had an angry and crude exchange with some of the people living there. In remarks captured on X (Twitter), he said: “Don’t pit people against each other. If you pit people against each other, we’re screwed. You should be happy to be in France. Because if this wasn’t France, you’d be 10,000 times more in the shit.” (tinyurl.com/ycycm5we)

Macron also declined aid from the African Union. A boat from the Comoro Islands, Mayotte’s nearest neighbor, loaded with water, food and medicine was delayed in discharging its desperately needed cargo, because it didn’t satisfy the EU’s bureaucratic sanitary requirements.

Mozambique: solidarity with the cyclone victims

Mozambique is a former Portuguese colony that fought for its independence under the leadership of a progressive political party, FRELIMO (Mozambique Liberation Front). After winning its independence from Portugal in 1975, it had to fight a civil war until 1992 against the U.S. and apartheid-backed organization RENAMO (Mozambican National Resistance).

As part of the settlement of the civil war, FRELIMO had to agree to multiparty elections, which remains a source of tension and disruptions. The current President Daniel Chapo is a FRELIMO member.

A few days after Cyclone Chido passed through northern Mozambique, where a small-scale Islamist insurgency is operating, Chapo visited the area Dec. 22 and made sure that aid was being coordinated.

Witnessing the destruction caused by the cyclone, Chapo expressed sorrow over the horrific conditions it created that caused so much suffering for the Mozambican people.  He said: “We saw that our district is completely destroyed, and we, as FRELIMO, will mobilize support from Rovuma to Maputo. Today, we will deliver trucks with construction materials to help rebuild Mecúfi.” [a district in Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique.]   (tinyurl.com/2p8mabc9)

The support is a result of efforts by party members and sympathizers, who have been demonstrating solidarity with the cyclone victims. The aid will be channeled through the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD).

Chapo promised, “The donation will include various food products, the result of a call to action for all our members, sympathizers, and the general population to create a major movement of mobilization — Mozambicans helping Mozambicans.”

The African Union and Medecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) are also involved in providing aid to Mozambique.

Mozambique is a poor African country with many economic and political problems. But its leaders responded effectively and quickly to the needs of its people who were distressed and damaged by Cyclone Chido. They reached out to international aid organizations and their neighboring countries for help.

France, in its imperialist pride, insisted Mayotte rely on the French state, 5,000 miles away, or another French colony Réunion 890 miles away. It certainly didn’t want to ask the African Union for help, especially since so many African countries are rejecting its colonial military bases.