---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought again about the contradiction…"
description: "\"“I thought again about the contradiction Mozambique was. On the one hand there were people like Dona Maria, compassionate and caring, and on the other ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bf/farida-karodia-48939_slowly-but-surely_i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction_2232095.jpg"
---

#  I thought again about the contradiction Mozambique was. On…

![“I thought again about the contradiction Mozambique was. On the one hand there were people like Dona Maria, compassionate and caring, and on the other hand there was those who had no concern for the people in this country. Rita’s opinion, however, was that no matter how well intentioned the…” quote by Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bf/farida-karodia-48939_slowly-but-surely_i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction_2232095.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bf/farida-karodia-48939_slowly-but-surely_i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction_2232095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bf/farida-karodia-48939_slowly-but-surely_i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction_2232095.jpg)

> ““I thought again about the contradiction Mozambique was. On the one hand there were people like Dona Maria, compassionate and caring, and on the other hand there was those who had no concern for the people in this country. Rita’s opinion, however, was that no matter how well intentioned the Europeans were, they never quite measured up. According to her, this concern for the Mozambicans from people like Dona Maria, although commendable, was a mere drop in the ocean compared with the reality in which the blacks were tortured, burned, raped, emasculated, drowned, decapitated, disemboweled, abducted and slowly but surely decimated. \[196\]””

[Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Humanitarian aid can be superficial compared to systemic oppression and violence.

**In simple terms:** Aid is tiny versus massive suffering.

Key Takeaway

Address root causes, not just symptoms.

Themes

justice colonialism human rights

Mood

somber critical

Type

political reflective

When to use this quote

- NGO work
- policy reform
- education initiatives

Key Concepts

Systemic oppression moral responsibility

Questions to Reflect On

- What actions can truly dismantle oppression?
- How can we ensure aid reaches those most in need?

A Different Perspective

Aid can be tokenistic without structural change.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [We say that our objective is to conquer complete independence, to install a people's power, to construct a new society without exploitation, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samora-machel/we-say-that-our-objective-is-to-conquer-complete-independence-to/)

[Samora Machel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samora-machel/)

> [At the time of independence in 1975, Mozambique was extremely poor. Many Portuguese residents abandoned the country, leaving only a handful of well-educated Mozambicans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/at-the-time-of-independence-in-1975-mozambique-was-extremely-poor/)

[Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/)

> [Finding the right guy is like finding a tear drop in the ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/finding-the-right-guy-is-like-finding-a-tear-drop-in-the-ocean/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Prayer in action is love, and love in action is service. Try to give unconditionally whatever a person needs in the moment. The point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/prayer-in-action-is-love-and-love-in-action-is-service-try-to-give/)

[Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/)

> [My "drop in the ocean" will contribute to the enlightenment of Europe, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varg-vikernes/my-drop-in-the-ocean-will-contribute-to-the-enlightenment-of-europe/)

[Varg Vikernes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varg-vikernes/)

> [“Spirit does not belong to any particular religion because It has nothing to do with any religion and humanity cannot claim any exclusivity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vazhakunnathu/spirit-does-not-belong-to-any-particular-religion-because-it-has/)

[Thomas Vazhakunnathu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vazhakunnathu/)

> [Not just for tonight but for the rest of your life. You have so much to look forward to in the future that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-just-for-tonight-but-for-the-rest-of-your-life-you-have-so-much/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-meredith-walters/we-ourselves-feel-that-what-we-are-doing-is-just-a-drop-in-the-ocean-2/)

[A. Meredith Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-meredith-walters/)

> [Absolutely not consider themselves super brilliant, all paces much as you do in life, is like a drop in the ocean of knowledgement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/absolutely-not-consider-themselves-super-brilliant-all-paces-much-as/)

Mak\_786

> [“What we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/what-we-are-trying-to-do-may-be-just-a-drop-in-the-ocean-but-the/)

[Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/)

> [“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop were not there, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa-of-calcutta/we-ourselves-feel-that-what-we-are-doing-is-just-a-drop-in-the-ocean/)

[Mother Teresa of Calcutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa-of-calcutta/)

> [I always say that music is a small drop in the ocean of life. I was told a long time ago that your horn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/i-always-say-that-music-is-a-small-drop-in-the-ocean-of-life-i-was/)

[Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/)

> [“We aren't a drop in the ocean, but are the ocean, in drops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-aren-t-a-drop-in-the-ocean-but-are-the-ocean-in-drops/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [“Greeks did not invent philosophy, philosophy had existed across Latin America, Africa, Arabia, India and China, thousands of years earlier, not as some elitist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/greeks-did-not-invent-philosophy-philosophy-had-existed-across-latin/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [You are not the drop in the ocean, but the ocean in the drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/you-are-not-the-drop-in-the-ocean-but-the-ocean-in-the-drop/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

## More by Farida Karodia

> [“On the way we encountered many other people: families on the move, women wearily limping along behind their men, carrying bundles on their heads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/on-the-way-we-encountered-many-other-people-families-on-the-move/)

[farida karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

> [“One could only hope that this country, which had always been poor – not through a lack of resources, but because Portugal had decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/one-could-only-hope-that-this-country-which-had-always-been-poor-not/)

[Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

> [“It didn’t matter which side you were on. It was an empty, cavernous world in which young boys groped around in the dark, dreading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/it-didn-t-matter-which-side-you-were-on-it-was-an-empty-cavernous/)

[Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

> [“The deserters and dissenters expelled from the party formed RENAMO, a rebel group committed to snatching power from FRELIMO. Supported by South Africa and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/the-deserters-and-dissenters-expelled-from-the-party-formed-renamo-a/)

[Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

> [“All along the path into the village we encountered rebel militiamen – barefooted, wearing ragged uniforms, carrying rifles and bandoliers. They were obviously locals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/all-along-the-path-into-the-village-we-encountered-rebel-militiamen/)

[farida karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

> [“My education had equipped me to suffer in silence, a form of passive endurance. Even though I know nothing about being brave, I soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/my-education-had-equipped-me-to-suffer-in-silence-a-form-of-passive/)

[Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

> [“David had once told me that there was no sky as totally black as the African sky, where the stars hung so low that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/david-had-once-told-me-that-there-was-no-sky-as-totally-black-as-the/)

[Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

[Explore all 8 Farida Karodia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/)

## More Slowly but surely quotes

> [People give the South a bad rap. It's often stereotyped as backwards and close-minded and dogmatic, and all of those things have been true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/people-give-the-south-a-bad-rap-it-s-often-stereotyped-as-backwards/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [Love is like slow poison kills you slowly but surely take my advice don't falling in love it cause you just pain nothing just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/love-is-like-slow-poison-kills-you-slowly-but-surely-take-my-advice/)

[Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/)

> [Dear friends of Haiti, we are indeed on the right track. Slowly but surely we are rising from the ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurent-lamothe/dear-friends-of-haiti-we-are-indeed-on-the-right-track-slowly-but/)

[Laurent Lamothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurent-lamothe/)

> [I've been biting my tongue a lot lately. I'm learning slowly but surely that sometimes my opinion is best kept to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-been-biting-my-tongue-a-lot-lately-i-m-learning-slowly-but/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Charlie Davis finds her voice, and her solace, in drawing. I find mine in writing. What's your solace? Do you know? Find it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-glasgow/charlie-davis-finds-her-voice-and-her-solace-in-drawing-i-find-mine/)

[Kathleen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-glasgow/)

> [Democracy does not race, it reaches the finish slowly but surely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/democracy-does-not-race-it-reaches-the-finish-slowly-but-surely/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [No matter how many times people say I'm like this or that artist, it never sticks. Slowly but surely people are going to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sisqo/no-matter-how-many-times-people-say-i-m-like-this-or-that-artist-it/)

[Sisqo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sisqo/)

> [“And slowly, but surely she was coming out of her shell. Chrysalis was much subdued and prone to long bouts of silence, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-hall/and-slowly-but-surely-she-was-coming-out-of-her-shell-chrysalis-was/)

[Marie Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-hall/)

> [Slowly but surely, people don't see 'Popstars: The Rivals,' they see Girls Aloud. We're a band in our own right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-coyle/slowly-but-surely-people-don-t-see-popstars-the-rivals-they-see-girls/)

[Nadine Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-coyle/)

> [Slowly but surely, breaking old habits one by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/slowly-but-surely-breaking-old-habits-one-by-one/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In the absence of love, we began slowly but surely to fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/in-the-absence-of-love-we-began-slowly-but-surely-to-fall-apart/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [Im tired of pretending.. Im tired of lying... Im tired of crying... Im tired of sighing… Im tired of everything... I cant change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megannn/im-tired-of-pretending-im-tired-of-lying-im-tired-of-crying-im-tired/)

Megannn

> [We are reducing the number of relationships. We are slowly but surely consuming the massive reserves of energy that have been accumulating and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-pauli/we-are-reducing-the-number-of-relationships-we-are-slowly-but-surely/)

[Gunter Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-pauli/)

> [Banks are slowly but surely lending again, and never again will taxpayers foot the bill for Wall Street's excesses. In case we forgot, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahm-emanuel/banks-are-slowly-but-surely-lending-again-and-never-again-will/)

[Rahm Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahm-emanuel/)

> [. All strength, all courage lies within us; nothing can hold us back for too long. Slowly but surely we will build our wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/all-strength-all-courage-lies-within-us-nothing-can-hold-us-back-for/)

Senoraroy

Browse all 103 Slowly but surely quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I thought again about the contradiction Mozambique was. On the one hand there were people like Dona Maria, compassionate and caring, and on the other hand there was those who had no concern for the people in this country. Rita’s opinion, however, was that no matter how well intentioned the Europeans were, they never quite measured up. According to her, this concern for the Mozambicans from people like Dona Maria, although commendable, was a mere drop in the ocean compared with the reality in which the blacks were tortured, burned, raped, emasculated, drowned, decapitated, disemboweled, abducted and slowly but surely decimated. [196]”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Farida Karodia"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction-mozambique-was-on-the-one/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Slowly but surely"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction-mozambique-was-on-the-one/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bf/farida-karodia-48939_slowly-but-surely_i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction_2232095.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bf/farida-karodia-48939_slowly-but-surely_i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction_2232095.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bf/farida-karodia-48939_slowly-but-surely_i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction_2232095.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I thought again about the contradiction Mozambique was. On the one hand there were people like Dona Maria…” — Farida Karodia",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Farida Karodia",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I thought again about the contradiction...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction-mozambique-was-on-the-one/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/i-thought-again-about-the-contradiction-mozambique-was-on-the-one/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
