História dos ex-trabalhadores moçambicanos na antiga República Democrática Alemã após a rescisão unilateral dos contratos (1979-2019)

Abstract

This work has as its theme the History of former Mozambican workers in the former German Democratic Republic after the unilateral termination of contracts (1990-2019). The political transition and German reunification in 1990 changed the lives of apprentice workers immensely. What is known in Germany as a peaceful revolution was not experienced as a time of peace by the indentured workers. Many workers were sent home prematurely, sometimes without receiving information about how to stay or receive severance benefits. Alongside this economic restructuring, the rise in racist manifestations made life very difficult, as it represented a threat to their safety. Of the 15,100 Mozambican apprentice workers who were registered in 1989, only 2,800 Mozambicans were left in East Germany by the end of 1990. This was a disorderly and unforeseen mass return of workers that overwhelmed the capacities of both the East German states and Mozambique. There are several factors that continue to motivate some Madjermanes to continue their protests. The biggest one is a life on the fringes of society without many prospects for improvement. There is a sense of injustice, which together with past successes perpetuates the Byzantine saga for compensation payments. The memory of the living conditions of workers in East Germany becomes increasingly nostalgic when contrasted with life in a slum and earning a living through informal and irregular employment. Contrasting the expectations that Samora Machel outlined for his involvement in Mozambique's development and the dreams that the Madjermanes once harbored with the invisibility granted to them today makes visible an unfulfilled political promise. It is also inspired by the peaceful transition in East Germany. Some see the Maputo demonstrations as part of a political tradition, along the lines of Monday's demonstrations in East Germany, of civil society confronting the FRELIMO government. All of this is encouraging some Madjermanes to donate their German hats, T-shirts and flags, pick up their vuvuzelas, whistles, drums and homemade protest signs and join Wednesday's demonstrations in Maputo, more than a quarter of a century after their return. The returnees' view of their country of origin changed after their return home. Former cosmopolitan socialists are always comparing post-socialist Mozambican development with an increasingly lethargic picture of their lives in East Germany. The Respect and Recognition conference took place 40 years after the signing of the State Treaty between the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the People's Republic of Mozambique (RPM) and the agreement on the temporary employment of Mozambican workers1 in the GDR of 24.02.1979 with the outstanding issues of opaque contracts and the injustice suffered. This includes, among other things, salary deductions, so-called mandatory transfers, ungranted pension rights and unpaid social benefits, as well as unfulfilled education promises to Mozambican contract workers. The contracts were deliberately non-transparent. The hired workers were not informed, and were deceived about the wages they received. The so-called compulsory transfer of contracted workers served to pay off debts from the GDR government's loans to Mozambique.(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)