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A couple of weeks back I
posted a Blog on Portuguese refugees that had fled from Angola as well as
Mozambique in 1974/75. That initial Blog was more of a background as to why
those men, women and children had to pack up what they could and leave the
country that they considered home, often having to run a gauntlet of theft and
abuse from doped up or drunk terrorists that manned roadblocks those refugees
had to pass through to be able to get to safety. This Blog is about those individuals and
families that had to leave Angola. I have used information collected over the
years as well as some info found on a local Facebook page (Portuguese speaking
soldiers in the SADF) As is sooooooo often the case, promised information,
personal stories or possible leads as to eyewitness accounts from those days
has not materialized so hopefully I can do the subject as well as those brave
men, women and children justice…………. “You can be the judge”.
Refugees
from Angola coming to South West Africa were badly harassed. Those who did make
it unmolested then had to contend with life in refugee camps prior to being
shipped out to Portugal as not many were either able or wanted to. Those not
able to would have been people of colour or mixed race, which in South Africa
in the mid 70’s was a big “no no”. The links between Mozambican citizens and
South Africa was much stronger than that of Angolans and that of the few
Angolan families that did settle in South Africa, very few adapted and by 1977
most had decided to leave for Portugal or Brazil.
It also
has to be remembered that many of those that fled Angola did not have passports
with them when they crossed into South West Africa and therefore could not
prove that they did in fact have Portuguese nationality. Unlike the
Mozambicans who had close ties with both Rhodesia as well as South Africa (both
countries absorbed about 120 000 Mozambicans after the September coup and
October massacres of 1975) the Angolans did not have much contact with South
Africa and while very few were unable to speak English, almost none could speak
Afrikaans.
Something that I love about
researching information for a story is coming across information that I had not
even thought about. “Sometimes it’s not about the question you ask but who you
ask the question”. Asking a good friend In Portugal “why it was easier for
Mozambicans to get into SA than Angolans after the shit hit the fan in those
countries”, he replied South Africa would have liked that the Portuguese stay
in Angola to help control the situation there. But Stephen the USA was very
happy to have thousands removed from Angola to Portugal as new voters in
Portugal would help control the situation in Lisbon after November 25,
1975. This "Retornados" from Angola arrived in Portugal and joined
the anti-communist front. Now there is a new book about Angola and the interest
that there was in the US to move the Angolans to Portugal”.
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After posting this
information to get comments on the Facebook page I got a couple of replies
agreeing that this in fact was a strong possibility with this one in particular
standing out. “Stephen that spanner in the works could well be true as the
story goes, the then American Ambassador in Lisbon, Frank Carrlucci gave Mario
Soares some advice and that was. He had to take Socialism and put in the very
dark corner of the bottom drawer. If he did that the USA would help him win the
elections and keep the Communists out, basically thanks to Carlucci we didn’t
go Commie. Kissinger was prepared to let a NATO member go down the toilet…..The
book Carlucci vs Kissinger, the USA and the Portuguese Revolution could share
some light”.
Another
difference was that unlike the Angolan refugees the SADF had little to do with
those coming out of Mozambique. An
e-mail I received from an old soldier who had been an 18 year old “wet behind
the ears” troopie brings home the fact that Angola between April and November
1975, “was not for sissies” The civil war brought, plunder murder and mayhem
caused by all 3 liberation movements, it was not as he had imagined war would
be, but it was the way of the so called “freedom fighters”. Women and children
were sexually molested or raped at roadblocks set up by the various
organizations, especially if there was nothing of value that could be bartered
with to ensure that the women were not harassed, stories of women being raped at
all of the roadblocks they encountered are not uncommon.
What
shocked him more than the looting and stealing by the Liberation movements was
how the Portuguese refugees fleeing Angola were treated by certain members of
the SADF as well.
This
eyewitness account may “and I use the word lightly” show us what sort of hell
people went through. “Once, when we were receiving people that got away from
Angola via Zambia, I came across a couple with 3 daughters that were completely
bonkers and with a very good reason as you will see in what follows. They were
stopped by the gooks and told that they had to leave one of the 4 daughters
behind for them or they would kill the whole family. They had to do just that
to save the other 3. That is why they only had 3 daughters with them, Can you
get any sadder than that?
Those
fleeing the country that where only given a hard time and had their possessions
taken from them by gunpoint where seen as being “lucky”, clearly it was not a
good time to be a white in Africa.
Something that I was not aware of was how many Afrikaners, descendants
of the 1928 Dorsland Trek also took flight and had headed to South West Africa
and just like the Portuguese men, Afrikaner men could also do little to protect
their loved ones from the 3 liberation movements who were not only fighting
each other but also turning against the civilian population. With reports that
in Silva Porto that a group of schoolgirls had been killed by UNITA and that
the rape of women and young girls becoming common place anyone who had hoped
that things would get better realised that flight was the only option.
It’s not that those who wanted to stay were not prepared to fight but
with the Portuguese authorities having withdrawn the weapons that they had
issued to Angolans, they were left defenceless and how did this happen, well
again the new Leftist orientated Portuguese government had sat down with UNITA,
FNLA and MPLA and drawn up the Alvor agreement.
Part of
the Alvor agreement stated that all civilians were to be disarmed and any
civilian found in possession could be shot on sight. This however did not stop
the 3 liberation movements from arming their civilian supporters. To the shame
of the Portuguese authorities Portuguese civilians were left to their own fate
and little was done to protect their lives or property, escape seemed to be the
only option open to them.
Due to renewed
fighting in the North of Angola between the MPLA and FNLA Portuguese as well as
Afrikaners began to flee. Refugees did not have an easy time as they were
stopped at roadblocks on a regular basis harassed and humiliated with many
cases of molestation and rape being reported. By May 75 the trickle had become
a stream and those fortunate enough to have possessions to barter were able to
buy their way out of having their women folk and children raped at roadblocks
or having their possessions stolen. Many refugees however had nothing but the
clothes on their backs and had left behind houses, business’s, farms as well as
all worldly possessions.
Photos of families that had fled the fighting in Malange to a local military camp garrisoned by the Portuguese show despair and fear as well as an attempt to try and salvage some meager possessions. other pictures show dead bodies, both black and white residents slaughtered by men with nothing but hate and revenge in their hearts, they are piled in the middle of the town of Malange some with lime on them them to prevent disease. These are the words of a Portuguese soldier that was in Malange over that period. (translated from Portuguese)
'Malange in 1975 was a deserted city, besieged by looters and under fire. Everything messed up that could be destroyed. My battalion had the thankless task of trying to keep order. another battalion had more traumatic experiences with dead scattered in the streets and they had to cover them with lime to prevent epidemics"
Photos of families that had fled the fighting in Malange to a local military camp garrisoned by the Portuguese show despair and fear as well as an attempt to try and salvage some meager possessions. other pictures show dead bodies, both black and white residents slaughtered by men with nothing but hate and revenge in their hearts, they are piled in the middle of the town of Malange some with lime on them them to prevent disease. These are the words of a Portuguese soldier that was in Malange over that period. (translated from Portuguese)
'Malange in 1975 was a deserted city, besieged by looters and under fire. Everything messed up that could be destroyed. My battalion had the thankless task of trying to keep order. another battalion had more traumatic experiences with dead scattered in the streets and they had to cover them with lime to prevent epidemics"
On one
Occasion a group of refugees, mainly Angolan Boers were halted by UNITA
guerrilla’s at Oncocua when they attempted to cross the border. After lengthy
negotiations some of the men were allowed to go to Ruacana on condition that
they return with food and alcohol. To ensure they would return the women and
children were held hostage. At Ruacana they managed to get food and liquor as
well as some guns, they returned to Oncocua gave UNITA the food and booze and
after the alcohol had done its job they managed to escape to Ruacana.
While many
tried to escape some were not that lucky and a few Angolan farmers and their
families were to lose their lives or become badly wounded in the civil war. In
one particular sadistic incident a man was tied to a tree had wood packed
around his feet and burned to death. Some women and children were abducted from
their farms and never seen again.
A large
group of 1000 people in 200 vehicles managed to cross the border into South West
with another smaller group of less than 200 refugees having grabbed the public’s
attention by driving from the Kunene Mouth along the Skeleton coast to Walvis
Bay.
This is
there story that I sourced from the internet has been translated and summarized from a book by a Rogerio Amorim called “A Costa dos Esqueletos” (The Skeleton
Coast).
“A
small convoy of about 180 refugees in 61 vehicles left Mocamedes and Porto
Alexandre in August 1975 in the direction of Walvis Bay. At the mouth of the
Cunene River they built a small ferry with large empty drums and wooden planks
that they 8had brought with them. They attached a cable from a land Rover
already on the opposite side of the river, which pulled the ferry with 2 small
vehicles at a time, safely across the river, except the last heavy truck which
topples over and sank.
The
convoy travelled south at about 20km to 30km per day, along the beaches and
desert of the Skeleton Coast of SWA in the direction of Walvis Bay, some 800kms
away. They camped each evening along the beach, away from high incoming tides,
which changed suddenly and frequently forcing them to camp further up into the
treacherous sand dunes.
A
couple of days later a SAP patrol came across the convoy. This patrol was
totally surprised as no one had ever survived such a trip and took
responsibility for these refugees all the way to Henties Bay. Some refugees,
whose vehicles broke down, were airlifted by a SAAF helicopter onto a vessel of
the SAN and taken to Walvis Bay.
This
remarkable and courageous trip of desert survival for 4 weeks, characterized by
breakdowns, sandstorms, constantly getting stuck in deep sand on the beach or
in the sand dunes, sometimes up to their axles and getting flooded by sudden
high tides, would not have been possible without the care, assistance,
vigilance and support of the SAAF, SAN and SAP.
After a
short period at a refugee camp at Walvis Bay set up by the SADF, some refugees
decided to stay on in SWA while the majority were placed on a ship and sailed
to Portugal were they arrived in Lisbon in mid-October 1975 to start the long
journey of assimilation into a society that was foreign to them.
Those who
did make it across the South West border with their lives then had to contend
with life in refugee camps. The first group of Afrikaner refugees who reached
Windhoek were accommodated in army tents at the Windhoek showground’s. In
Walvis Bay a refugee camp was established to house those civilian fleeing from
Angola with many being repatriated to Portugal by sea.
 |
| Refugee camp at Grootfontein |
The
initial refugee camp that South Africa set up at Oshakati by the SADF, it was
situated next to the hospital and water tower, it comprised of 10 x 10 military
tents with the refugees cars parked on the one side of the camp, the camp held
between 1000 – 1200 men, women and children from all walks of life, being
thrown out of one’s country shows no favoritism to rich or poor. The camp was
guarded day and night by South African troops with each unit in the area
sending men to assist with this assignment.
A major who was a medical doctor was in charge of the camp with a Sgt
Major who ran the stores and would convey orders to the refugees in the camp
who had set up a committee to ease communication between the Portuguese and the
South Africans. The camp was cleaned daily by a team of black workers.
The
atmosphere at the camp as one can imagine was one of despair and disbelief, people
had lost all they had, businesses, homes, vehicles, even their dignity and an
air of “we must be grateful for what the South African government is doing for
us” seemed to permeate the camp. The Escudo was worth nothing and my source
said how he saw fathers pimp their daughters, husbands their wives and
desperate women selling their bodies to South African soldiers or anyone else
for money just so they could try to have a life in South Africa.
While it
should have been expected that the Liberation movements would take advantage of
the refugees plight my source did point out to me that Perhaps what shocked him
more than the molesting, looting and stealing was how the Portuguese refugees
fleeing Angola were treated by not only terrorists but by certain members of
the SADF as well. he remarked that some permanent force members also took
advantage of the refugees by buying cars, trucks as well as any other items of
value for next to nothing.
So on one
hand we were assisting the refugees and on the other taking advantage of them
with a number of soldiers getting rich off others misfortune. The camp at
Oshakati was only used for a month before it was relocated to Grootfontein.
What should have been seen by a young soldier as an act of kindness had only
made him question his as well as South Africa’s role in Angola It also made him
realize that their where good and bad soldiers and that war is not fair, no
matter who’s side you’re on………………. “The Innocent suffer”. It must be said that
while a number of SADF got richer by taking advantage of the war in Angola a
number of Portuguese in South Africa and Swaziland also took advantage and made
money out of the misery of their fellow countrymen.
While there
were those that took advantage of people in need, many refugees remember
nothing but kindness from South Africans receiving them as this account shows. “You will go back to Portugal” – that
was the official reply to most requests to settle in South Africa from the
Portuguese/Angolan Refugees. Unlike those from Mozambique, very few from Angola
were allowed to settle in South Africa, I always maintained that it was a mistake from the
South African authorities, but that was the official orientation at the time.
Nevertheless, all Angolan refugees who crossed into SWA are thankful to South
Africa for all the help that was provided to us. Our profound gratitude,
especially to all those South African volunteers (whole families) who waited
for us at every camp with a warm plate of food and words of encouragement. I
will never forget a young kid in school uniform, about my age, stopping his
bicycle at a shop in a small town in South West Africa and after a few minutes
emerging with his hands full of sweets that he had bought, most probably with
his pocket money, approaching our car and giving it to me and my siblings. Man,
it touched your soul deeply”.
Having to flee your country
as an Adult is hard but the effect it had on their children had a deep
emotional influence on many of them and for many years kept their experiences
buried in their subconscious. This information is from one such child.
“My family left Angola in
mid 1975, my dad’s far-sight and correct reading of the situation saw us leave a
few short months before the refugee exodus. Fortunately a visit to the family
in SA the previous year coupled with my dad securing employment saw us leave
Angola with minimum trauma and financial loss. An epic voyage in a little Mazda
filled to the brim with family effects (including the pet Spaniel, who would
live another 10 years) saw us leave Serpa Pinto, through Caiundo, endless sand tracks through the “terras do fim do mundo”, UNITA roadblocks, Nkurenkuru
SAP post and finally Rundu. The little overloaded Mazda which was brand new and
would remain in our family right into the 90’s, the little car handled it all,
sand, tar and gravel. Our family came off lightly and our trauma and financial
loss was negligible compared to those of the most of our friends and
acquaintances’. A few short months later I would find myself visiting family
friends at a refugee camp in Zonderwater, engineers, Dr’s reduced to pauper
status, living on hand-out’s in muddy army tents….sad….even as a 11 year old I
knew that I was no longer proud to be called Portuguese and since that time I
have considered myself a South African. I am now again proud to be Portuguese
but for different reasons, one of them being the way so many refugiados and
retornados turned their unfavorable situation around and have led successful
and productive lives”.
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While one may get upset at
the harsh treatment that many refugees suffered at the hands of both the
liberation movements as well as that of certain members of the SADF, what
shocked me is the total lack of concern of its citizens by the Portuguese
themselves and when I say Portuguese I mean the men in charge of the country at
the time.
All Portuguese born in the
African provinces, despite being born in a Portuguese territory, had a Portuguese
ID as well as a passport, where stripped of that nationality at the time of
independence. Those refugees from those provinces had to re-apply to become Portuguese
citizens. This had to be done by proving that at least one of your parents or
grandparents were born in Portugal and just to make things a little more
difficult, despite already having fill Portuguese birth certificates issued by
Portuguese authorities, you had to bring forward a witness that was not a
family member to state under oath that your relatives were in fact born in
Portugal. So basically they wanted is for you to prove that your parent’s and
or grandparent/s were in fact the people you said they were.
This Crazy and some say
criminal conduct saw many Portuguese “stateless” for many years as the process
was both slow and difficult and in many cases the declaration that was needed to
prove that a parent or grandparent had been born in Portugal s done out of compassion
from a complete stranger. A number of
those Angolan refugees that did manage to get permission to travel to only
managed to get South African resident permits due to the kindness of the
Portuguese consul in Pretoria who issued Portuguese passports needed for that.
Those refugees that landed
up in Portugal were issued with a travelling document that was normally issued
to non-citizens who needed to travel outside the country. To show how bizarre
and hypocritical the system was, a good friend of mine who had left Angola and
settled in South Africa visited Portugal in 1984, he was arrested by the army
and not allowed to leave the country as he was classified as a deserter for not
having reported for military service. He had to report to the Military
Headquarters in Lisbon who then instructed him to report for duty at the
Engineering Regiment in Lisbon so that he could start his military service.
Once he was there he had to prove that he in fact lived in South Africa and he
was issued with a “military passport” that had to be stamped at the border
every time he entered or left the country and he was not allowed to stay in
Portugal for more than 90 days a year. If a person was caught they would be
arrested by the military police and forced to do military service (1 year for
conscripts) .
The last
refugees feeling Angola crossed the border in March 1976. Many organizations
and government departments assisted the refugees such as the departments of
welfare, labour, Interior and pensions, the SAP, SADF and SAR also assisted.
Organizations such as the International Red Cross, The Vroue landbou Unie, The
Rotarians, The Lions, numerous churches as well as local municipalities as well
as civilian volunteers did what they could to ease the plight of the refugees as this eyewitness account indicates.
"Stephen my father was from Okahandia Namibia, he was a Ouderling (elder) as we called it responsible for looking after the black churches and his brother used to farm in Angola who died in a crocodile attack. The NG church asked my father to assist a group of Angolans that were crossing at Ruacana, which my father fetched and also other groups. In Okahandia there was a deserted camp of the Department of water affairs. in that area he put up a small hospital and all the farm ladies in the area divided into 2 groups, those who were cooking food, the rest were collecting clothes etc. The camp was later swamped with refugees, but my father handled it. one of the refugees later bought a small cafe in Okahandia the whole community Afrikaans and Germans supported him.
When I left for the army in 1976, his was the biggest retailer in our town. his son later became the head boy of Windhoek High School the biggest and best school in Namibia. some of those children in the camps had businesses and still stay in contact with me. when my father was old the same said Portuguese gentleman rent a house in Okahandia to him, out of what he did for the Portuguese and black tribes of Namibia".
Something that I forgot about but was reminded when I saw this photo was that many loyal black members of the Portuguese Military or DGS/PIDE were imprisoned, tortured and humiliated, many publicly because of there anti communism sentiments and when the Junta handed over power to the Nationalists, they were thrown to the wolves, some did manage to escape but far to many disappeared.
.
"Stephen my father was from Okahandia Namibia, he was a Ouderling (elder) as we called it responsible for looking after the black churches and his brother used to farm in Angola who died in a crocodile attack. The NG church asked my father to assist a group of Angolans that were crossing at Ruacana, which my father fetched and also other groups. In Okahandia there was a deserted camp of the Department of water affairs. in that area he put up a small hospital and all the farm ladies in the area divided into 2 groups, those who were cooking food, the rest were collecting clothes etc. The camp was later swamped with refugees, but my father handled it. one of the refugees later bought a small cafe in Okahandia the whole community Afrikaans and Germans supported him.
When I left for the army in 1976, his was the biggest retailer in our town. his son later became the head boy of Windhoek High School the biggest and best school in Namibia. some of those children in the camps had businesses and still stay in contact with me. when my father was old the same said Portuguese gentleman rent a house in Okahandia to him, out of what he did for the Portuguese and black tribes of Namibia".
Something that I forgot about but was reminded when I saw this photo was that many loyal black members of the Portuguese Military or DGS/PIDE were imprisoned, tortured and humiliated, many publicly because of there anti communism sentiments and when the Junta handed over power to the Nationalists, they were thrown to the wolves, some did manage to escape but far to many disappeared..
Sources
· Wikipedia
· Manuel Ferreira
· Manuel Ferreira
·
Jose
de Sacadura
·
Coenie
Bekker
·
Carlos
A.C Moita
Riaan Botes
Riaan Botes
·
Face
book page (Portuguese soldiers in the SADF)
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