chapas

I drove from Maputo to Xai Xai yesterday afternoon with two of my Mozambican colleagues. About halfway into the 2.5 hour journey, an oncoming car flashed his headlights. We slowed and then immediately saw a mess of cars a few dozen meters away. Within seconds it was obvious that there had been a very bad accident. We saw that a small truck had been smashed, likely by the nearby minibus or chapa (pronounced "shapa") that had veered off the road.

I have never been that close to a fatal accident. People were clearly dead in the truck. Two men were desperately trying to tear off the doors and pull out the bodies. It looked as though at least one man was alive inside, as I caught a glimpse of a bloodied head trying to lift. My colleagues and I couldn’t see how we could help, so we left with the hope that we’d reach a police station soon to report the accident. When we did, the police began to say that the area was outside of their jurisdiction. My colleague responded, “There are no jurisdictions when it comes to saving human lives.”

Car accidents are common in Africa. For instance, I’ve heard that Malawi (another Southern African country, bordering Mozambique) has the highest car accident rate in the world. People say that it’s due to the crazy drivers of minibuses that provide transport in many African countries. In Mozambique, chapa drivers are notorious for being reckless – speeding, swerving in and out of the road, allowing too many passengers, and driving after having several beers. Ironically, some drivers name their chapas “Nice Nice” or “Your Friend” and paint them on the side doors for all to see. Other names like “Diablo” are probably a closer fit.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, although we noticed that many chapas seemed to be going more slowly than usual. Perhaps the drivers saw the accident and were reminded to drive more responsibly. If so, I wonder - how many days will it take before the accident effect wears off? Behavior change – unfortunately for all of us it’s not so easy, as I have come to know professionally, programmatically, and of course, personally.

Thankfully, despite the initial hesitation, the two police officers we found decided to take on the challenge of checking out the accident scene. They lacked means of communication and transport, but with a bit of a verbal push, and armed with helmets and machine guns, they successfully flagged down the next oncoming truck to catch a ride. I hope that they were able to provide some help and semblance of order for those who were affected yesterday.