On a recent visit to the British Museum with my Italian
interpreter, a temporary exhibition caught my eye. I share it
below: The Tree of Life The four artists who created the Tree of
Life are Adelino Serafim Mate, Fiel dos Santos, Hilario
Nhatugueja and Christavao Canhavato (Kester). The Tree of Life
is meant to symbolize the dynamic creativity of Africa.
Mozambique suffered extensively from war and natural disasters
in the later 20th century. After the armed struggle for
independence from colonial rule ended, Mozambique experienced a
civil war from 1976 to 1992 in which the country was used as a
pawn in a struggle between opposing world powers. Many millions
of weapons poured into the country during the war, most of which
remain hidden or buried in the bush. Mozambicans have been
encouraged to hand over weapons in exchange for items like
plows, bicycles, sewing machines – in one case a whole village
gave up its weapons in exchange for a tractor. Some of the
weapons are then cut up and turned into sculptures