Afonso Xerinda has been waiting 30 minutes for the only boat that gives access to Gazene, a community of more than 200 people isolated by a branch of the Incomáti River, 30 kilometers from the center of the Mozambican capital.

"When the tide is high, we have to use the boat. But when the tide is low, we actually cross the river by walking," says Afonso Xerinda, 33, on the bank, waiting for more people who live inside the community to arrive so that the only precarious boat that makes the crossing can make its first trip of the day.

It's almost 9am and the tide is relatively low today.

Some locals are already venturing out on foot, carrying their bundles on their heads and children on their laps to cross, always careful not to slip in the mud typical of the banks of each detour of the 287 kilometers that make up the length of the Incomáti River in the territory.

"The boat stops running at 16:00. A lot of people aren't home yet at that time, which is usually high tide [...] The children who have to go to school suffer the most. They arrive at school dirty and with wet books when the tide is high," explains Ângelo Chichava, another Gazene resident.

When the sun goes down, getting in and out of the community is impossible, even in emergencies, explains fisherman Alberto Timane, a resident of the neighborhood since 1978.

"When my wife became pregnant, I went to leave her at a relative's house in the city. I couldn't run the risk of her labor starting at night and us not being able to get to the hospital," the fisherman told Lusa.

On today's first trip, the boat, whose only guarantee of safety is a rope stretched between the two shores, set off with five people, but the tide was too low and the boat ended up stuck in one of the sand dunes.

The young crew members, fishermen from the neighborhood, have to climb down to push the boat to the other shore, while Afonso and other passengers help to remove the water that is invading the boat, which is already visibly dilapidated.

"It's a really precarious vessel and I don't see safety as being the best. Fortunately, we haven't had any accidents so far. But it's worrying," Ricardo Leite, a Portuguese resident who settled in Gazene almost two years ago, told Lusa.

But the dilemma for those who live in Gazene is not just the crossing: the neighborhood, located in the district of Marracuene, is isolated from the rest of the Mozambican capital: there are no hospitals, schools, drinking water or a police station.

The apparent quiet that dominates the community, far from the typical hustle and bustle of the urban center, does not hide the desperation of the families who live at the mercy of their fate in Gazene, in a paradox in which the misery of populations abandoned in the middle of nowhere mixes with the natural spectacle offered by one of Maputo's many beautiful beaches.

"The structures have the knowledge, but these problems are years old [...] It seems to me that Gazene is forgotten," says Zita Pedro, a local shopkeeper.

The authorities admit that they are aware of the difficulties faced by the community's residents, but point out that the lack of resources to finance infrastructure is a common dilemma in the 154 districts that make up the Mozambican territory.

"We've spoken to some operators and investors so that they can support us in creating the conditions. Even the issue of the bridge, which is necessary, we've already taken to the district administrative structures," Pires Manhiça, a councillor for the administrative structure, told Lusa.

Until solutions arrive, when the sun rests, the more than 200 families living in Gazene will remain isolated from the rest of the world, even though they live less than an hour from the center of the Mozambican capital. (sapo)