Mozambican children from Beira enjoy the sunset as they sit on the main entrance of the Grand hotel Beira on November 2 2010 in Beira Mozambique The...
{"Image ImageDescription": "Mozambican children from Beira enjoy the sunset as they sit on the main entrance of the Grand hotel Beira on November 2, 2010 in Beira, Mozambique. The Grande Hotel Beira was a luxury hotel in Beira, Mozambique that was open from 1952 to 1963. It continued to be used during the 1960s as a conference center and swimming pool. During the Mozambican Civil War (1977?1992) it became a refugee camp. Today the former hotel is occupied by approximately 1,000 squatters who live in substandard conditions. The hotel opened in 1954, when it was billed as the \"pride of Africa,\" and was widely regarded as the largest and most exquisite hotel on the continent. Its owners intended to include a casino, but failed to secure the necessary government authorization. The hotel was never profitable, and never attracted the wealthy client?le it was intended to. It closed as a hotel in the early 1960s. The swimming pool and conference rooms continued to be used during the 1960s and even after the independence in 1975. The last event held in the hotel was the New Year's Eve party in 1980-81. After independence in 1975 its basement was used as cells to hold political prisoners. Some members of the police and army started using the third floor as their living quarters. After 1981, it was taken over by the general population. The new guests used the entire parquet floors as fuel. The building has no running water or electricity, and is currently inhabited by more than 1,000 people. AFP PHOTO/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA (Photo credit should read GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images)", "Image Copyright": "2010 AFP"}