Mozambique witnessed some of the worst violence ever since the last food riots held in 2008. At least six people have died, including one child on her way home from school. The violence seen is the latest in a series of protests sparked by rising food prises and global hunger.
A 30% increase in the price of bread and other goods sparked a three day protest and has left hundreds injured in Maputo and Matola. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called an emergency meeting to be held later this month to discuss the food crisis.
These price increases come as Russia, one of the world’s leading exporter of wheat, restricted exports of wheat after drought and bushfire. This has placed immense pressure on wheat substitutes such as rice, causing prices to skyrocket.
A child sits in the middle of a cropfield in Mozambique
Before even addressing some of the issues raised in the current debate it is important to note that Australia is not a major international donor to the poorest countries by international standards and this fact is consistently incorrectly misrepresented in the mainstream media.
