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"For us greens in Mozambique, the German Greens are a shining example," says João Massango. The 47-year-old is president of the "Partido Ecologista – Movimento da Terra" (PEC-MT), which specializes in environmental issues. But unlike the German Greens, the PEC-MT has not managed since its founding in 1997 to send even one member to parliament. "Of course, we have noticed that our German friends are on the upswing and this success of the Greens in Germany, but also in other European countries, spurs us on," says Massango in a ‘ interview.

In Mozambique, it is the same as in most other African countries: environmental protection plays a minor role in the public sphere. Most people are occupied with seemingly more important issues: work, health, safety. "If we bring environmental protection to people, it sounds like a great utopia in their ears," said Massango.

Mozambique: Many environmental problems, few voices for the Greens

Mozambique is exposed to particularly high environmental risks due to its geographical location. The country suffers regularly from extreme droughts, but also from tidal waves or hurricanes, like the

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  Beatriz

  Beatrice with three of her seven children in front of their devastated corn field. For days her home village Grudja was under water. Beatrix and her children were able to save themselves from the floods that surprised the residents on the morning of March 15. For three days, people were waiting on the school roof or even trees for the water to sink again.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  Destroyed health center

  In front of the health center in Grudja patients and children are waiting for medical care by an emergency team. The health center was completely destroyed by the flooding. Medicines and treatment materials were rendered useless by the water.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  Rescue on the school roof

  On the roof of the elementary school "Nhabziconja 4 de Outubro", many of the people saved themselves from the floods. A few weeks after the disaster, this school was able to resume operation. Many other schools, however, are always closed. Rebuilding is slow.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  The lifeline

  The Revue River in the district of Grudja has overflowed its banks due to heavy rains after the cyclone and has flooded much of the surrounding land. Meanwhile, the water level has returned to its normal level and women wash their laundry on its banks.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  Regina

  Regina works with her mother-in-law Laina on their property. Before the cyclone Regina lived with her husband and five children in the nearby village Grudja. The flooding destroyed their house and crops. Regina and her husband were able to save themselves on a tree and survived. Their children have died in the floods or are still missing today.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  Destroyed harvest in the countryside

  Teenage Elisabete Moisés and Victória Jaime and 38-year-old Amélia Daute are standing in a ruined cornfield. Like many others, they had to wait for days after the heavy rains in mid-March for days on the roof of Grudja. 14 of her neighbors, including 9 children, drowned in the floods.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  Elementary school as a hospital

  Women and children are waiting for medical treatment by an emergency team of the Johanniter before a primary school in the district of Buzi west of the coastal city of Beira. In the 500,000-inhabitant town of Beira, the hurricane "Idai" hit the coast on 15 March.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  Snake stands for seed helps

  In many parts of the country, the crops were destroyed by the floods. At least 750,000 people are dependent on food for one year, according to World Food Program estimates. At Cafumpe, in the district of Gondola, 50 families have received seed for maize, beans and cabbage from the Hospitallers and the local aid organization Kubatsirana.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  reconstruction

  In the district of Ponta Gea in Beira, everyday life has largely returned after the hurricane. Large parts of Mozambique's infrastructure have been destroyed by the natural disaster. Here broken power and telephone lines are repaired, a few miles further entire villages must be rebuilt. In many places there is still a lack of water and food.

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  Mozambique after the cyclone "Idai"

  Everyday life in Beira

  53-year-old Helena Santiago works in the rubble of her home in the CFM – Maquinino district of Beira, where she lives with her husband and eight children. When the cyclone reached Beira, she and her family found refuge in the nearby station building. Her house could not stand the hurricane. Help for the reconstruction they have not received until today.

  Author / Author: Lena Mucha

which destroyed parts of the country in mid-March. Hundreds of people were killed at that time, thousands are homeless to this day. "Actually, people in my country would have to burn for environmental issues," said Massango. But in the last parliamentary elections in 2014, his dedicated campaign was not rewarded with a countable result.

Nevertheless, the trained geographer does not want to give up: his goal is to win at least one parliamentary mandate for his party in the coming elections in October this year: "Environmental protection and the fight for the climate are and will remain the themes of our time Be extras, but have a big say in the future of our country and our planet. "

As a result of climate change, extreme weather events such as the cyclone "Idai" are also piling up in Africa

International cooperation of the green parties

Elsewhere on the African continent, green parties have so far failed to celebrate any major political successes. But that is about to change – especially through more intensive international networking and cooperation. The Green Party, the "Green Greens", which brings together all green parties worldwide, now has 22 Green Parties from Africa, including João Masango's PEC-MT from Mozambique. The aim of the Global Greens is to promote the ideas of green politics worldwide as an international network.

João Massango, head of the Mozambican Greens

The green parties around the world are like a big family, says Dorothy Nabulega, women's spokeswoman for the "Ecologial Party of Uganda" in a ‘ interview: "If one green party celebrates success somewhere, then everyone else joins in and the success of one party colors others green sister parties. "

So far no wide green movement in Africa

Why is the success of green parties in most African countries so long in coming? "I think that's because in Africa there is not a strong environmental movement from the center of society, like the 'Friday for Future' movement in Europe," says Nabulega. Greta Thunberg managed to get a lot of attention in Europe for the dangers of climate change.

João Massango sees a cause for the lack of success also in the limited resources of the small environmental parties in Africa. He therefore hopes for financial and logistical support from the more prosperous sister parties from Europe.

The Ugandan environmental politician Dorothy Nalubega at the UNFCCC World Climate Conference in Bonn

Green achievements in Rwanda, Congo and Madagascar

Despite all the challenges: In the meantime, green movements in Africa also have some small success stories, emphasizes Dorothy Nabulega. She refers in particular to three countries: Rwanda, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In fact, in Rwanda, the "Democratic Green Party" won a respectable 4.55 percent of the votes and thus two seats in parliament in the 2018 elections. In Madagascar, the Greens of "Parti Vert Hasin'I Madagasikara" formed a coalition with Andry Rajoelina's "Tous Ensemble Movement" even before the elections last year. Since the coalition's electoral victory, the Parti Vert has been the country's environment minister. And even in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is a thoroughly successful green party work, although no Green MPs sit in the National Assembly. But the Congo and Didace Pembe Bokiaga have a very prominent and enterprising environmental activist, who for many years held the post of Minister of the Environment.

But like João Massango's PEC-MT in Mozambique, Dorothy Nalubega's "Ecological Party of Uganda" ekes out an outsider existence in her country's politics. "So far, we have failed to win seats in parliament," says the green official. The Ugandan Greens want to make the next attempt in the parliamentary elections of 2021: "We do not give up the hope that some of our people will one day be elected to parliament."

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