Seeking Freedom in Angola

Ruacana Falls

During our time in the north we managed to visit the Namibian-Angolan on two separate occasions. Our first was a visit to Ruacana Falls, which is part of the Zambezi river system. It flows all the way from Mozambique to Angola and provides water throughout the region. Now at the peak of the rain season, the water flow was at maximum capacity. In contrast, during the dry season it is easy to cross over to the other side. The border fence ends a bit before the river and there is a place to cross into Angola. I spent a few minutes walking into a new country, looking at the beautiful vegetation and picking up interesting stones.

Angolan post

After realizing I had a short window of time to see the bottom of the waterfalls, I rushed down the steps towards the great spray. Soon after I found out I had my video camera and started running back up the steps so it wouldn’t get ruined. I ran head first into a low cut tree branch finding blood pouring from my head. The medical attention from a pool life saver and a nurse in training was on to me. Thankfully, I made the decision not to get it checked out with stitches and it is now almost fully healed.

On our second trip to the border we visited Oshikango, a small booming border town. It is set up as a border post for Angolan people seeking to travel to Namibia to buy goods. Angola had a 27 year war ending in 1994, which debilitated its opportunity at producing a sound market. Therefore, the country is lacking in various commodities which Namibia is happy to sell to them in Oshikango.

Angola and Namibia mutually benefit each other through trade. 60% of Oshikango is comprised of Angolans. As Angola was colonized by Portugal, the main language of the nation is Portuguese. It is also the language of business in the region and virtually all traders can speak it. Since the U.S. dollar is second in Angola, it is highly accepted in Oshikango. Most Angolans living in Oshikango have dual citizenship, even though it’s not allowed by the constitution.

Oshikango

As both Angolans and Namibians in the region speak Portuguese it is difficult for immigration officials to determine who is who. However, in the past years peace in Angola has helped develop markets. Unfortunately, as a result business in Oshikango is on a decline. When a Namibian sees an Angolan they see money. Even with the lack of infrastructure, health care and education forcing Angolans to look at crossing the border, Angola has great wealth. The country has some extremely rich people and it was recently able to create the second largest sporting event in Africa, after the Soccer World Cup in Johannesburg, S.A.

We also visited the Penhofi Secondary School, which has a war torn history of being stuck in the conflict between South African forces and Namibian freedom fighters. During the years from 1981-1990 students experienced the conflict first hand and a few were even killed. The school was established in 1977 during the peak of the war for independence and the base of S.A. forces was directly behind it.

Penhofi Secondary School

Particularly in light of the effects of globalization, poorer Angolans are starting to question the inequalities of wealth disparity and the governmental system in Angola. For example, through social media such as facebook and twitter many Angolan are learning about the struggle against the oppressive regime in Libya.  Similar forms of resistance are occurring in countries throughout the African and Arab world and are helping to transform political perspectives. The people are becoming restless and are looking towards change. Just as the Namibian Liberationists were seeking a free society apart from the colonial control, Angolans are searching for a nation where all people have a voice and can impact politics.