Church is shelter from storm for Muslim cyclone survivors
Next to a marble pulpit inside a Catholic Church, a young Muslim girl chases around with other children.
The church has become a home for her and nearly 1,000 others from different faiths as they wait out the aftermath of Mozambique’s latest devastating cyclone.
Situated in the heart of this predominantly Muslim but diverse city ravaged by Cyclone Kenneth, the Maria Auxiliadora parish houses those displaced by the storm in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s northernmost province.
“We don’t ask about people’s religions, human life is all we value,” said Rev. Ricardo Filipe Rosa Marques, the 41year-old priest in charge.
Dozens of people died after the cyclone made landfall last Thursday, and the humanitarian situation in Pemba and other areas remained dire. More than 55 centimetres of rain fell in Pemba since Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique.
This is the first time two cyclones have struck the country in a single season, and Kenneth was the first cyclone recorded so far north in Mozambique in the era of satellite imaging.
In a region where little-known Islamic militants have reportedly killed dozens of people in recent months, a certain amount of tension might be expected. But for some, what matters most is shelter.
“I had never been in a church before … but as long as I am safe I don’t mind,” said Aamilah Felciano, who is Muslim. “It doesn’t mean I have abandoned my faith, I am just saving my life.”
The church has suspended mass and other routine programs. There is no space or time for such activities, Rosa Marques said.
“There can be no better mass than giving people shelter and hope. That is the church’s mission.”
Women and children have taken up residence inside the main hall. The few belongings they could carry as they fled, mainly clothing and plastic buckets, are tucked close by.
Children climb over the pulpit and the priest’s chair, playing. In one corner a woman breastfeeds her baby. Church pews have been turned into washing lines. Outside, shielded from the pounding rains, girls and boys take turns stirring huge pots of rice and soup.
As nightfall approaches, people prepare reed mats or pieces of cloth. Some will sleep on the bare floor. Men sleep on the hall’s balcony.
Getting people to leave their homes was not easy at first.
“The difficulty was that a lot of people here are Muslims, some said they cannot stay in a Catholic Church,” said Rosa Marques, adding:
“Some refused and preferred to stay at their homes. My heart broke because these people chose to face death over safety.”
But there are few religious tensions among city residents, he said, and many of the people arriving at the church with food, medicine and other aid are Muslim.
“People here have suffered a lot. They have been through (Portuguese) colonialism, civil war and the recent killings. They have been living with scars for years yet their love and sense of sharing is amazing,” he said.
“I am learning from them. The people here are teaching me how to be a true priest.”