It was the first answer – peace has arrived at last – which was etched on the souls of four members of Britain’s parliament, together with two staff members and one tame professor, on their tour of Angola in May. They were generously received by humanitarian organisations and medical missionaries, lent small aeroplanes by the United Nations, given Gurkha outriders by the British embassy, and paddled their way by canoe across the Zambezi in spate to visit hamlet schools arising from the ashes of war.
Everywhere the London travellers went they were struck by the energy, dynamism and adaptability of a people getting back to work. They were less seized by the commitment and competence of the people’s current batch of administrators and politicians. But to understand Angola one needs to escape from the stifling cloud of obsession with wealth and power.
