48
important consideration. Even with the cease-fire, many rural Mozambicans have chosen to
remain where they are—or move to more secure areas or areas with better economic
opportunities—rather than return to their areas of origin. Research suggests that if displaced
smallholders perceive the quality of life to be better, or if there are better economic
opportunities or greater physical security in their present location, they are less willing to
move back to the areas of origin. On the other hand, smallholders who are in weak economic
positions and have less land or weaker land rights than before they were displaced are more
likely to relocate and may indeed return to their areas of origin.
Another complex set of factors influencing reintegration and resettlement relates to local
political relations. For a number of reasons we believe that some individuals will not go back
to their areas of origin because of their gender, their prewar political status, or their position
in the household. For some people, the war created opportunities to resist or flee from
undesirable political and social relationships. Individuals who had weaker rights within the
family or the wider community may choose not to return to their areas of origin. The same
observation applies to families or lineages. Some families who were subordinate before the
war may also choose to move elsewhere or remain in their new location in the postwar
period. Research conducted in a number of districts supports this hypothesis. 104
Some individuals or families may choose not to return to their homelands because the war
created opportunities for them to resist or attack dominant individuals and institutions. For
example, the success of RENAMO operations in Angonia and Tsangano districts of Tete
Province in the mid-1980s is partially credited to the "mobilization" of poorer peasants
against wealthier peasants, customary elite, commercial traders, and the government. 105 It
is likely that some of these people will choose to move elsewhere rather than return to
Angonia. At the same time, the war created opportunities for some individuals who were able
to gain access to land and other resources. These people may return to their communities but
may also encounter tension and conflict as they attempt to assert rights over their new
resources. Other individuals were able to exploit new political opportunities and assert more
influence within their communities. 106
3. CUSTOMARY RULES AND THEIR CONSTRAINTS
The customary tenure system appears generally effective in securing tenure rights and
resolving local disputes among smallholders; however, it is unsuccessful in securing these
rights and resolving disputes when commercial interests or the state is involved. Thus it is
104. Ken Wilson, personal communication, February 1994; Olaf Juergensen, personal communication,
December 1993; and Jocelyn Alexander, personal communication, August 1993. For evidence from Tete
Province, see Wilson (1991b); for Zambezia Province, see Wilson (1991a, 1991d); and for Manica Province,
see Alexander (1994).
105. Ibid. Wilson cites one woman in Angonia who stated, "Most of the damage done during the war was
just people stealing privately. People stole from each other and from the official buildings." This same
respondent reported that FRELIMO officers stole government property. Another wealthy respondent said that
he knew who stole his property in Ulongue. He declared that he would report them to the police when the war
was over (Wilson, unpublished field notes, 1991; and Wilson, personal communication, February 1994).
106. Ibid.