Road Work

The Chinese have come, and the road that goes between Inhambane Province and Xai-Xai, and subsequently passes my house, is under construction.

Big picture- this is a good thing, the road is pothole ridden, dangerously narrow, and overall terrible… especially in a chapa.

The short term reality – the road has even more potholes thanks to the big construction trucks, the road is narrower and more dangerous because of shoulder work, trucks, little Chinese engineers, Mozambican workers and general construction hoopla, and overall everything is worse… especially in a chapa.

A Chinese group has been contracted to do some much needed road rehabilitation. The group is now infamous. My bus stop used to be called “Missão” after the big Catholic Church that rules the little hill. Now you just shout “Chines” at the cobrador, because the Chinese have built their little base by the church.

As I zip through the construction traffic, with white knuckles clutching the seatbelt-less seat for dear life, I notice that the whole operation is a bit different the usual “road work” picture conjured in my head – but then again there aren’t many white people with mullets, tattoos, and muscle tees in Mozambique. So that explains that.

Among the men, trudging along in their work:
there are no hard hats
there are very few orange warning vests
there are many Mozambican men in tattered t-shirts, jeans, and flip-flops
And instead of fancy stop/slow signs that are coordinated with even fancier walkie-talkies they are just waving tattered little red flags trying with limited luck to get cars to stop or at least slow down, and move in some sort of organized fashion (ie stay on the road and not hit other cars/people)

Minor chaos. I thank deus every time I make it to Xai-Xai and back alive.

Overall, there are some big trucks and machines, but its pretty low tech. LOTS of hand shovels involved, somehow managing to move lots and lots of red, clayey, dirt.

The consensus among my Mozambican colleagues – the Chinese are dirty and poop in people’s farms, crazy especially since they don’t speak Portuguese, Changana, or even English, and most people assume they eat bugs and dogs for all their meals… I’m just glad the Mozambicans have someone else to judge instead of me.