Africa-Press – Mozambique. Alcina Nhaume is one of the latest victims of post-election violence in Mozambique. Her life is on hold since she was hit in the jaw by a bullet allegedly fired by an agent of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR), which disfigured her face.
Alcina’s case has outraged Mozambican civil society. The Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) announced that it had filed a complaint against the police.
But Alcina’s greatest wish at the moment is to seek treatment abroad.
“When I looked in the mirror, I saw my face completely disfigured. I had lost my teeth and my jaw looked like it was about to fall off.”
March 5 seemed like any other day for Alcina Nhaume, a 30-year-old Mozambican seamstress. In her studio in the capital Maputo, she was concentrating on finishing a wedding dress when the post-election violence came right through her door.
Unaware of what was happening on the streets, Alcina was suddenly shot in the face.
“What came to my mind was: ‘Oh my God, what is this?’ And I only realised that it was a bullet when I went to look for help and realised it was the police,” she told DW.
A painful struggle and life on hold
The young woman says she went out in search of help and the agents of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) remained unmoved by the situation. They ignored her calls for immediate help.
It was through her own family’s efforts that Alcina arrived at the Maputo Central Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. Since then, she has been fighting a painful struggle.
Alcina was unable to eat or speak for about a month. Now, she awaits the possibility of treatment abroad for facial reconstruction and replacement of lost organs.
Her brother Boaventura Nhaume describes the impact on the family. “We are shaken, shocked, and we are still trying to understand what happened and what will happen, because the after-effects are still very visible and the wound is very large.”
Alcina’s work as a seamstress contributed to her family’s livelihood. Since the tragedy, she has been hospitalized and unable to work, her life on hold.
The family is experiencing a mix of pain and anger, not only due to the brutal violence, but also due to the silence of the authorities.
“We feel angry, because at least there should be accountability or an attempt to reach out to the family to understand what happened and provide support in this process,” they say.
Alcina Nhaume is one of the hundreds of victims of violent police repression during the post-election demonstrations in Mozambique, in a context of profound political and social crisis.
Alcina was shot in the face inside her studio on the same day that the government and political parties signed an agreement for an inclusive national dialogue in the centre of the city.
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