Josina Machel says the continent’s people don’t need to take up arms to get rid of neocolonialism, but rather must unite
Josina Ziyaya Machel, the daughter of the first president of independent Mozambique, Samora Moises Machel, is part of the delegation from her country in St. Petersburg for the Russia-Africa Summit. She spoke to RT about the need for Africa’s youth to carry on her late father’s legacy of fighting for the continent’s liberation.
In response to a question about why foreign military forces are stationed in independent African states, claiming to be fighting terrorism, Machel stated that it is a modern form of colonialism.
“It’s the lithium; it’s the oil; it’s the gas,” she said, adding that colonists are on the continent to continue grabbing the continent’s resources.
“These wars are somehow being fought in a different shape. It is not different from the reasons they were there in 1920. It’s almost the same reasons they were there with the process of colonization,” she told RT’s Moussa Ibrahim.
She believes the way forward to being liberated from neocolonialism is a united Africa, not by picking up arms to fight.
“The young people who are educated, who have a very big sense of being African wanting to do the best for the continent need to unite,” the human rights activist said, urging the continent’s governments to invest in their citizens.
Watch Machel’s full interview to learn how African youth can continue the legacy of the continent’s forefathers, including her father, by fostering a sense of interdependence among states.
LINK: Daughter of first Mozambique president speaks to RT ahead of Russia-Africa summit
MANDELA, LUMUMBA AND ABDEL NASSER: RT BRINGS TOGETHER DESCENDANTS OF AFRICAN LIBERATORS AT THE RUSSIA-AFRICA 2023 FORUM
On July 27-28, descendants of Africa’s most prominent freedom fighters will participate in a series of sessions organized by RT at the Russia-Africa Forum in St. Petersburg. In addition, RT invited more than 140 editors-in-chief and journalists to represent African media at the event. RT’s own presenters and correspondents will be moderating the sessions.
Descendants of Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Samora Machel, Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Oliver Tambo and Ahmed Ben Bella will participate in a session titled Pan-Africanism: Origins, Relevance and Future. The discussion will focus on the role of Pan-Africanism in the forming of Africa’s future and in the context of the continent’s long-standing friendship with Russia. This session will be the first to bring together political and media figures such as Ndileka Mandela, Roland Lumumba, Nomatemba Tambo, Josina Machel and others. The discussion will be moderated by Moussa Ibrahim, head of RT’s Africa bureau.
RT Arabic host Salam Musafir will moderate a discussion titled Multipolar Media World: The Role of Africa’s Arab Countries Amid the New Reality of International Relations. The panel will include speakers from Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan and Mauritania.
RT will also host two more sessions – Media of the Global South: New Formats, Technologies and Narratives in Africa and The Role of Video Content in Improving Coverage Quality And its Applications for Media Businesses: Harnessing Digital Technologies to Benefit Russia and Africa.
RT has arranged for more than 140 journalists, editors-in-chief and directors of major African state media companies to attend the Russia-Africa forum. These include the CEO of the African Union of Broadcasting, Secretary General of the Union of OIC News Agencies, Chairman of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation; representatives of Morocco and Somalia media regulators; directors and editors-in-chief of state media in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, Nigeria, Mali, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Uganda, and the Comoros; pan-African TV networks such as Afrique Media and Africa 24; major private TV stations from a number of countries including Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Tunisia; and prominent private TV networks in South Africa (TV BRICS) and Ghana (Pan African Television). Sessions will also be attended by board members of public and private TV channels representing a number of other countries.
The full program of the Russia-Africa Forum is available at: https://summitafrica.ru/en/programme/business-programme/.
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