Over the next few weeks, I will continue to post a few lingering thoughts from my recent trip to Mozambique, Africa. This post is on guns.

I was comparing the gun situation in Mozambique to the massive gun problem they have in the US, where guns are entrenched in their culture. South Africa is very close by, and shares that dubious distinction of also being one of the most violent countries in the world, clinging stubbornly to their right to bear arms, refusing to evolve.

Mozambique is certainly not a crime-free country by any stretch, but widespread gun ownership and use does not appear one of their problems. Is it because of the people themselves, is it because they can’t afford them, or is it because there is strict access to them (you must make a case for why you need one)?

My sense is that it may be a combination of the latter two, and that easy and inexpensive access would lead to gun mayhem in Mozambique, just as it is in the US and South Africa.

For the past 30 years or so, Mozambique has basically been a peaceful country, having had more than its share of violence, and yet their flag features an AK47, the only country in the world to do so. I find it sickening. And primitive. Is there no other way to symbolize independence?