->Portuguese
During the discussions held by the research team of the project, it was suspected that women would be vulnerable to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. This because these mosquitoes frequently bite inside households and during morning hours and (we thought) many women stay home during the day. However, after traveling to Pemba and conducting house to house ethnographic work in the low-income neighborhood of Cariacó, one of the neighborhoods that was most affected by the dengue epidemic, I was struck by the number of young men who were at home during the day. Young men stayed home during the mornings and afternoons hanging around the house, in the living room watching television or in the small porches sitting on top of the beds (beds made of sisal and wood). These young spent their days chatting and playing on their high-end mobile phones.
On the basis of a conversations with some of these young men, it was possible to know that a large part of the youngsters finished the average level of general education and could not find a formal job. Some of the youngsters engage in temporary jobs that provide immediate cash payments, accompanying tourists in the city and showing them the main sights, especially the beaches. In addition to these young men I also observed the presence of some children who gave up school. In conversations some of them justified their decision arguing that “studying is very difficult”. I also noticed the presence of elderly women sitting in the living rooms or on the porches. Based on these observations, it was possible to reflect on the difference between the ideas we made before going to the field and what was really going on the ground. While most women were outside working, young men were hanging out around the house.
By Margarida Paulo
Quem é vulnerável de contrair dengue no bairro de Cariacó, cidade de Pemba?
Durante as discussões da equipe de pesquisa do projecto: “Dengue, Água e Agregados Familiares” suspeitou-se que as mulheres estariam vulneráveis ao mosquito causador da dengue, porque grande parte de mulheres ficam em casa durante o dia. A partir de observações realizadas nos agregados familiares, no bairro de Cariacó, em Pemba, durante o period entre 07-13 de Dezembro de 2017, chamou-me a atenção a quantidade de jovens de sexo masculino que se encontravam em casa durante o dia, na sala de estar a assistir televisão ou nos pequenos alpendres sentados por cima de quitantas (camas construídas de fios de sisal e madeira). Estes jovem mexiam em seus telemóveis que curiosamente são de alta qualidade.
Com base numa rapida conversa com alguns desses jovens foi possivel saber que grande parte dos jovens terminou o nível médio do ensino geral e não conseguiu arranjar emprego formal. Alguns dos jovens fazem biscatos (trabalhos temporários que dão dinheiro imediato) quando aparecem turistas na cidade que os acompanham para mostrar os locais turísticos da cidade de Pemba, especialmente as praias. Para além desses jovens também observei a presença de algumas crianças que desistiram de estudar, que na conversa com algumas delas justificaram que estudar é difícil. Tambem observei a presença de mulheres idosas sentadas na sala de estar ou entao na varanda. Com base nessas observações foi possível reflectir sobre a diferença que existe entre as ideias que elaboramos antes de ir ao campo e o que realmente ocorre no terreno.
Por Margarida Paulo
chasing the mosquito 