Angola: June 19, 2004

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While the war is over, the violence is not. Over a million refugees, including 86,000 who sided with the rebels, have been resettled. But thousands of young men with guns have created a crime wave that defies solution. As a result, there are over a hundred security companies supplying bodyguards and watchmen for those that can afford it. Armed watchmen receive about $30 a month, with better trained bodyguards getting several times that. The capital alone employs 15,000 private security personnel. It costs about $2,000 a month to get 24/7 security for a house. For many wealthy Angolans, this is seen as a justifiable expense. 

Meanwhile, international food aid is declining, in part because of the stories of government officials stealing oil income as foreign donors were being asked to give money. The country earns $6.5 billion a year from oil and diamond exports, but government officials steal most of it. Little is spent on public services. If this continues, and it appears that it will, another rebellion will evolve. There is already one rebel group in the oil producing Cabinda region, but the government has spent a lot of money to put troops in Cabinda and keep the rebels under control. 

 

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