Riding motorbike taxis has become a lifeline for young men fleeing Mozambique's Islamist insurgency.
Some of the motorbike taxi riders in Pemba, who rule the roads of the Mozambican port city, have fled jihadist violence - escaping from an insurgency further north that has devastated their hometown of Mocímboa da Praia.
Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado, has escaped militant occupation - but has become a refuge for hundreds of thousands of people.Pelé now hangs out with other mota taxi riders opposite the market in Pemba's Emulação area, where the roadside is lined with their parked motorbikes.The drivers chat and play a Lotto game on their phones, waiting for work or hoping for a small gambling windfall."I was the first of my family to leave. I came on my own," says Pelé.
"It works on a daily basis, where per day I give the owner 200 metical and the remaining amount I keep. Sometimes I can make 400 metical, sometimes 200 metical, sometimes nothing. It's God's luck. The days are never the same. Last Saturday I made 700 metical - I was top!" says Pelé. For Issufo the main challenge for the riders is that there is no standard rate for journeys - so prices fluctuate.Looking in the direction of a local Pemba group of drivers, Issufo says: "We have too much competition." They all agree.None of Mocímboa riders have ever received humanitarian aid, though some of their female relatives get food vouchers.
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