Another reason why I love Mozambique and remain skeptically optimistic about the U S. Mozambique now has better press freedom than the United States.

I knew there were many reasons why I enjoyed my time in Mozambique and here is just one more to add to the list. Thanks once again to AllAfrica.com I was alerted to the new Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index for 2006 which recently was released and ranks Mozambique above the United States in terms of press freedom. The initial article I found which is simply called “Mozambique: More Press Freedom in Mozambique than in US” is worth a read. Mozambique is ranked 45 (tied with 3 other countries) and the US is 53 (tied with 3 other countries) and the list has countries such as Cuba, Eritrea, Turkmenistan and North Korea at the bottom of the rankings. Maybe Mr. Bush the US got this rating to help you remember that Africa is a continent with 53 INDIVIDUAL countries and not a country as you have said on at least one occasion. I also see the irony in Cuba’s rating as I am still interested in going there and besides my father my good friend Francisco has also expressed interested in a trip there.

The Press Freedom Index itself can be seen on the Reporters Without Borders site along with the past PFIs and other information on the state of reporting around the world. You might be interested to know that the US was ranked 17^th in 2002, the first year this index was compiled so you can see there has been quite a decline. Mozambique was ranked 70th. I feel guilty wondering if my departure from the States to live and work in Moz might not have been part of the reason that the state of press freedom declined in the States. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Or maybe it was that our president took the chance to unite our nation and country after 9/11 and decided to start invading sovereign nations, silencing the press, giving false reports and taking many more liberties with his job and responsibility.

I thought it would be good to end on a note about the United States gradual decline since 2002. I think we know what we (United States citizens) can do next Tuesday at the ballot box to start to turn this downward trend around. The article that accompanies the index says of the US: “The United States (53rd) has fallen nine places since last year, after being in 17th position in the first year of the Index, in 2002. Relations between the media and the Bush administration sharply deteriorated after the president used the pretext of “national security” to regard as suspicious any journalist who questioned his “war on terrorism.” The zeal of federal courts which, unlike those in 33 US states, refuse to recognise the media’s right not to reveal its sources, even threatens journalists whose investigations have no connection at all with terrorism.”