International | Angola’s civil war

Never say never

A U-turn by Angola’s government?

May 17th 2001|mayukwayukwa camp, zambia

IT IS hard to imagine a sorrier lot than the 15,000 Angolan refugees in Mayukwayukwa refugee camp in Zambia. For almost 20 years they were used by Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebel movement, forced into carrying arms or mining diamonds. Anyone who resisted was killed. Then the government seized that part of rebel territory and the slave-workers were chased out of their homes. Many who attempted to stay were executed by government soldiers as enemies. But some of the others, before fleeing, pocketed a few of the diamonds they had been digging for UNITA. Visitors to the camp find themselves accosted by starving fugitives, dressed in rags, offering top-quality gems for sale.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Never say never”