Military

DATE=10/17/00

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=ANGOLA / SAURIMO

NUMBER=5-

BYLINE=CHALLISS McDONOUGH

DATELINE=SAURIMO, ANGOLA

INTERNET=YES

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Angola is a country of startling contrasts. With its vast reserves of oil and diamonds, it has the potential to be one of the richest nations on earth. But those resources are also fueling a civil war between government forces and UNITA rebels that has dragged on for most of Angola's 25 years of independence. Because of the war, the country's people remain some of the poorest in the world. V-O-A Southern Africa Correspondent Challiss McDonough found conditions desperate even in the town of Saurimo, known as the diamond capital of Angola.

TEXT: Many in Angola simply assume everyone in Saurimo is rich. The town lies just 35 kilometers from one of the world's largest, most productive diamond mines. But not everyone in Saurimo works in the mines -- not even close. The region may be diamond-rich, but its people are still dirt-poor.

This province, Lunda Sul, contains some of the most hotly-contested real estate in the country. Government troops and UNITA rebels fight intense battles aimed at getting and maintaining control over diamond-rich areas. The war is taking a very heavy toll on the civilian population.

The World Food Program is feeding more than 71-thousand people in Saurimo -- which is considered the wealthiest part of Angola. One woman who showed up to collect her monthly W-F-P rations says this is the second time the fighting has forced her out of her home.

/// WOMAN ACT - IN LOCAL LANGUAGE - FADE UNDER ///

She says she first came here in 1995 to escape the fighting. Then, she says, they told me there is peace, so I went home. But almost immediately, UNITA started attacking again, so I had to come back here.

/// NAT SOUND - SCOOPING BEANS ///

At this particular aid distribution center, W-F-P base manager John Robinson says most of the people getting maize, beans, and cooking oil are from Cacolo, a village about 130 kilometers to the east.

/// ROBINSON ACT ///

As you can see most people are women, because the men have all been killed and the women have fled. In the Cacolo situation, many of the men are still out in Cacolo, defending the town and looking after their property. The town is still in government hands.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Robinson says most of the residents of Lunda Sul are probably living in Saurimo at the moment. And because of the diamonds underground, it may be even harder for them to get help than it is in other areas of Angola. Only a few humanitarian organizations work here.

It is staggeringly expensive for aid groups to set up shop here. Because of the severe insecurity and remote location, everything has to be flown in. When I visited, gasoline was selling for four dollars a liter. Water is also expensive, and it will remain scarce until the rainy season starts in the next few weeks.

The food supply is inadequate and therefore costly, even for those not displaced by the fighting. There is not much fertile farmland available in Lunda Sul. Much of it has been reserved for diamond mines.

But there is one distinct advantage to life in the diamond district. Neither government nor rebel forces have planted landmines here, as they have throughout the rest of Angola. In Lunda Sul, there is too much of the other kind of mining to be done. (Signed)

NEB/CEM/KL/JWH