The trade union representation of the Mozambican business community is calling on the government and the media to tone down the racial language about kidnappings in the country.

"This is a language that we call on the media and the Police of the Republic of Mozambique to withdraw officially and definitively, because the kidnapped people are Mozambican or foreign businesspeople," said Adelino Buque, spokesman for a meeting between Mozambican businesspeople in Maputo.

According to the Confederation of Economic Associations-CTA, there is a greater tendency to normalize the phenomenon of kidnapping among Mozambican citizens or foreigners of Indian descent.

"One of the biggest concerns that the CTA has is that often when people talk about kidnappings, the media and the government, especially state officials, talk about the kidnapping of a businessman of Indian origin. This in itself constitutes serious discrimination. It means that kidnappings only happen to Indians," he said.

Entrepreneurs say that kidnapping is a social phenomenon to which all citizens are subject, regardless of their origin. They suggest analyzing the phenomenon as a social deviation, rather than targeting a specific group of citizens.

"When we spread this [exclusivist] idea, in other words, we want to say that kidnapping has nothing to do with the majority of society," he said, stressing that there should be no need to point out the race of the victim. "The concern should be that, in fact, a kidnapping has taken place."