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Across the river in Chilembene, conditions were somewhat different. There was less land
available, and all land in the irrigation scheme was claimed by private sector or smallholder
farmers The area was more densely populated by individuals claiming historical rights
and uprooted farmers, also claiming historical rights, who had been displaced off their own
lands.
In May 1993, accommodation centers for the displaced, as well as "displaced camps,"
continued to exist, but the number of their occupants had diminished. Those who remained
did so because they were afraid to leave the relative security of the area, because they had
no place to go, or because of opportunities in Chilembene such as access to education and
other social services, irrigated land, markets, and better transport.
Some individuals living in the camps had been effectively displaced from their own land.
These individuals asserted that they or their families were from Chilembene and that they had
lost land at some point in time either to colonial farmers, to the state after independence, or
to new private or smallholder farmers. They now were laborers or squatters on their land.
They said that they were hoping to reacquire rights to land somewhere in the locality; some
had spoken with district officials about their needs.
Individuals from Chilembene who claimed historical rights to land reported that they
would like the displaced families to return to their areas of origin. It is a common opinion
among smallholders that there is not enough land in Chilembene and that residents have done
their part to support the displaced people. At the same time, important economic—and
sometimes social—relationships have developed between the smallholders and displaced
people in Chilembene. Local residents have benefited from the relatively cheap labor afforded
by a large supply of displaced persons, who have worked in construction and in agriculture.
Some displaced people have established trading enterprises while others have specialized in
services In addition, many young men have married women in Chilembene and have no
intention of moving away.
Locality government officials also said that they would like the displaced people to return
to their areas of origin. They claim that the displaced are a drain on the city's financial
resources and administrative capacity. Displaced people in Chilembene reported that they
were being forced to leave—to return to their areas of origin or to move across the river.
Some said that the locality government was destroying or threatening to destroy their houses
in the camps. Apparently those who were trying to divide their residences were targeted more
than those who were attempting to remain in Chilembene. District officials reported that
displaced farmers had not understood their instructions and that no houses had been
destroyed; they insisted that smallholders were not being forced to leave Smallholders
134. There is an important difference between "claimed land" and "occupied land." There are many reported
cases of individuals from Xai-Xai, Chokwe, or Maputo acquiring land (i.e., claiming rights) without occupying
it or planting crops. Smallholders complain that these absentee landholders are not using the land and that local
residents would use it productively (see Weiss and Myers 1994; and Myers and Weiss 1994).
135. See Tanner, Myers, and Oad (1993).
136. See also Myers (1993a); Myers (1993c).