Maputo, Mozambique — Angelika Adriano, the widow of Alberto, a Mozambican migrant worker murdered by neo-Nazi thugs in Germany last year, has thanked the Mozambican government for the support provided to her since the death of her husband.
Angelika, accompanied by her oldest of the couple's three children, has been in Mozambique since 1 March.
Adriano's body was flown back to Mozambique for burial, and his widow travelled to the northern province of Nampula to visit her husband's grave, and meet his relatives.
Speaking at a Tuesday press conference in Maputo, she thanked the Mozambican government and civil society for the support she received in seeking justice for the murder of her husband.
She said she is still living under renewed death threats from neo-Nazis in Germany, but she is happy about the way in which the German government has been dealing with the case because, for the first time, her country's government brought to court and sentenced someone for this type of crime.
Angelika also noted that, after the assassination of Adriano, this matter was brought to the German parliament and a bill has been proposed against xenophobic behaviour.
But she complained that the German government is not paying any attention to the threats against her life, and is not providing her and her children with any protection.
Angelika said she is even considering moving to Mozambique, where she believes that she and her children will be better protected against racist attacks.
Meanwhile, the director of the Mozambican Institute for Immigrants, Jose Felix Mambula, noted that this is not the first case of a racist murder of a foreign worker in Germany. But the circumstances of the killing (a singularly brutal beating in a public park) led to substantial press coverage, which generated more attention both in Mozambique and the international community.
Mambula called on the German government not to take measures against xenophobia only when it results in death - instead European governments should undertake serious civic education to eradicate xenophobic attitudes.
Mambula said the problem is that people look upon a foreigner as somebody who comes to steal their jobs, but are blind to the fact that migrant workers also contribute to the development of their host country.
