Poplap wrote:Hiya Serval
I think you are referring to Pafuri and more specifically the TEBA site and the hole is a bullet hole? Hmmmz?
"1.5 Description of the TEBA site
When WNLA built its recruitment stations along the South African-Mozambique border, two camps were built at Pafuri. In South Africa, a camp was built on a hilltop at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers, and in Mozambique directly opposite the border from the camp in South Africa. From both hills on which the camps were built, one is treated to a panoramic view of the Pafuri landscape carved out by the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers.
As the crow flies, the camps are within walking distance from each other. Initially the dwellings and other necessary structures such as storerooms, were constructed from local material, namely ironwood (Androstachys johnsonii) and clay. It was only in 1938 that the buildings in both South Africa and Mozambique were rebuilt from brick in the typical 1930 – 1940s architectural style with large verandas.
It is easy to imagine officials soaking up the late afternoon sun or enjoying their morning cup of tea on these scenic verandas overlooking their scenic view of Pafuri. Both camps had very similar facilities built. ...
Even after the brick buildings were built, it was only in the early 1950s and 1960s that basic amenities such as running water and electricity were respectively provided at the TEBA camps. Water was pumped from a borehole near the Limpopo River in South Africa to the camps. Before this, water was transported from the river up the hill to the station in 44-gallon drums or wine vats on a wooden sledge drawn by an ox. Showers consisted of buckets hanging from trees. Electricity was provided, and still is today, by a generator.
In this remote unregulated area, life demanded innovation, initiative and a practical mind in order to be necessarily self-sufficient. Before motorised vehicles were used to transport recruits and goods in 1928, cattle were kept as a provision for meat and milk (Mockford & Pienaar 1990:565). Vegetable gardens were grown to provide fresh vegetables, despite the troubles caused by wild animals such as baboons and elephants. There is a story about a Portuguese official, who was particularly proud of his vegetable garden that late one night was raided by two elephant bulls. Both the elephant bulls were shot (Mockford & Pienaar 1990:565).
As with remote border zones elsewhere, Pafuri is removed from mainstream laws and regulation of the political states (Connor 2002: 5).
As a result, officials were generally left to their own devices. This was especially prevalent in Mozambique. It would take weeks for messages from the capital, Lorenzo Marques to reach Pafuri and vice versa. This would often delay the recruitment process when new policies were implemented or changed. Officials often took advantage of the areas’ remoteness such as returning from their annual leave two weeks late or simply abandoning their posts for weeks without any suspicion from their managers (Mockford & Pienaar 1990). Life in Pafuri gradually revolved around recruiting men for the mines, managing and maintaining the roads, supply of water and other general maintenance duties.
The recruits would travel from bus (from after 1928) or walk to the recruitment camp. Here their names were recorded as part of the immigration records and were issued the necessary documentation, namely passports and contracts. According to South African law the recruits would not be legally able to enter South Africa without those documents. As part of the Transvaal- Mozambique agreement, the recruits were to be repatriated after their contracts expired on the mines. Therefore the passports issued to the men (at a cost of 10 shillings) were only valid for the 12 months of their contracts. Contracts and passports could be extended for another 6 months while in South Africa at a cost of 5 shillings. After a foot and mouth outbreak in 1938, that was suspected to have crossed over the border from Mozambique, the recruits were prevented from taking any traditional medicine or divining bones, used for protection, into South Africa.
All talisman and charms were taken from them and only returned to the recruits on their journey back home. Once the border post had been built in 1966, recruits would have their documents stamped and finger prints taken at the border post (Mockford & Pienaar 1990). The participants spoke of an atmosphere of excitement and anxiety among the recruits as they crossed into South Africa. Many recruits looked forward to the prospects of earning wages and returning home with food, clothes, and gifts for their families, while the many first time recruits felt anxious of the unknown that lay before them. There was a considerable amount of singing and chattering among the recruits as they crossed the border. The singing was both a representation of their excitement and joy as well as encouragement to the new anxious recruits.
After the recruitment ended in 1976, the buildings were abandoned as the Portuguese evacuated the country and civil war broke out between FRELIMO and RENAMO.
The buildings today are structurally in a relatively good condition (Küsel & Nkatini 2002). Roofs are missing from most the structures, and doorframes are all that are left of the entrances. A dirt road leads up the middle of the houses, finishing near the post’s water tower. The site is overgrown and guano and cattle dung have collected in some of the buildings. These derelict remains of a once powerful recruitment station now echo the brutality of Mozambique’s 16-year civil war.
The feeling of warfare is felt from the scene of these empty buildings with bullet holes in the walls and cartridges scattered all over the site, along with an old rusting truck that was used to transport soldiers. Graffiti on the buildings both representing FRELIMO and RENAMO militia, give more startling evidence of the brutality and cruelty of the war. The graffiti on the remains of the kitchen are interesting in the placements. On the outside wall of the kitchen, all the graffiti represents RENAMO while the inside wall depicts leaders and slogans of FRELIMO. The graffiti spreads slander of the opposing force, and holds high the values of their influential leaders. Imagery depicts male domination over their adversary, and women."
The above is an excerpt from a Masters dissertation by Heidi Suzanne Hansen.
I think you are referring to Sergeant James 'Ngunyupezi' Maluleke ... but not sure why...
