Vida de Refugiados/Refugee life

“Throw them to the Sharks”

Part 1

We watch war movies, read newspapers, watch new channels and see the results of all the terrible conflicts that have been and are being fought in many countries around the world, those images are beamed to our living rooms, usually while eating breakfast or an evening meal with our families in the safe environment of our homes., We ummm and ahhh about how bad it is and we may even get a tear in our eyes when we see that civilians “especially children” have been raped, maimed,  killed or chased from  their homes and forced to flee with thousands of others caught in the crossfire and since time immemorial it has been the non-combatants that have been subject to the whims of opposing forces and at times the very people defending them. Its only since the advent of TV and it access to the masses that we have actually seen what it means to be a refugee, prior to that unless you had actually been a refugee it would probably be hard to imagine what trauma losing everything you have worked for would look or feel like. 

    

I set up this Blog to honour those military men and women who have performed extraordinary deeds for their countries against all odds, and after reading comments written on a Facebook site called (Portuguese soldiers of the SADF), where a picture was posted of Portuguese refugees fleeing Angola in 1975, I really felt that those ordinary Portuguese men, women and children fell into that category and decided that I would write about their plight/s and at the same time dedicate this particular Blog to all refugees, past, present and future who have borne, or will bear the brunt of  ethnic cleansing, tribalism, politics, greed, religion, or whatever other pretext is used by men to justify the indiscriminate slaughter of innocents.

Another reason I decided to look into this subject and write something about it was that little or no information regards Portuguese refugees was or has been published in English (there are lots of Portuguese books that cover the subject), but for us that don’t speak the language reading up about this period in Southern African History is a little difficult, so I hope that this Blog will go a small way in reminding people of South Africa as well as other countries in the world what amazing resilience and determination these men, women and children showed in not only rebuilding their own lives and integrating into another country that had different cultures and language/s but making lasting contributions to all facets of society with many going on to defend South Africa’s borders with the ultimate sacrifice.    

     

Like many South Africans/Rhodesians of my age I remember while living in Vanderbijlpark that we had in influx of children into my high school in the mid 70’s, kids with names like Joao, Carlos, Emelio and Manuel. I remember being particularly enamored with a dark haired beauty called Celia. While initially they battled to fit in, it did not take long before they became “part of the furniture” and firm friends, what we did not realize at the time however was what they had endured to be in South Africa and how difficult it must have been for them to fit in.    

Other memories of that influx of Portuguese refugees are the following.

“I was in Std 8 (1975) when the 1^st group of their children arrived in Potchefstroom, there was a large Portuguese community in Potch and had probably advised their expat families to send their kids through to Potch Boys, Potch girls and Central, the primary school. What struck me immediately was how they, as young people who had just undergone a massively calamitous event in their lives knuckled down and continued with life. Most spoke reasonable English but no Afrikaans, but they didn’t let that get them down. The parents set the example by going out and looking for employment ASAP, no sitting around and dwelling on their situation, not many others would have been able to do that” (Kevin Fitgerald)      

 “I grew up in Chiredzi in the Rhodesian Lowveld. I can remember the families who arrived with their life’s possessions on the roof of old Citroens, etc from Mozambique. Kids came in to the local primary school speaking little English and had to find their feet. I seem to recall these families being given a very positive reception by a primarily farming community where local sugar mills put their skills to use and ensured the opportunity to get back on their feet. It must have been a very tough time because the Bush war was also hotting up and they were quickly expected to do their bit. It must have seemed at times like they went from the fire back into the frying pan”. (Charles Evans).

A few definitions of a refugee are:

•      “Somebody who seeks or takes refuge in a foreign country, especially to avoid war or  persecution”.
• 
  
• ·        “A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster

• ·   “One who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution”
• 
  
• ·      “One that flees; especially : a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution”

No matter what definition you use, the common thread is that you have to flee from your home with very little due to war or persecution and that you are normally in grave danger of being traumatized or killed and the likelihood of you returning is very unlikely. There can probably be no worse feeling than having to flee a country that you have considered home, that your grandparents and great grandparents had helped to pioneer, where you have sunk your life’s work and seen it destroyed and then to arrive in a foreign country with little or no money in your pocket and have to depend on the generosity and kindness of strangers. This happened to close to three quarters of a  million Portuguese citizens of Angola, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique who after the MFA controlled Portuguese government handed over power to the respective countries terrorist organizations were forced to flee the chaos that invariably ensues after a country is handed over, or forcibly taken by so called Liberation groups.

I for one has to admire both the attitude as well as the resilience of those families that endured being forced to leave their homes subjected to deprivations at the hands of not only drunken or doped up nationalist terrorists ,but also the very people they would have expected to protect them. I was shocked to learn that the newly appointed  Portuguese Foreign Minister, Mario Soares when asked about the fate of those living in the colonies, his reply was “Atira-los aos Tubaroes”/”Throw them to the Sharks” and this asshole went on to become  Prime minister of Portugal 1976 – 1978 and 1983 – 1985 as well as become  17^th President of Portugal from 1986 – 1996.      

How can one not admire people that, as you will see saw everything they had worked for taken away, saw family members murdered, disappear as well as loved ones molested and raped in front of them and still managed to start afresh with their lives, whether that was in South Africa, Rhodesia, Portugal or Brazil. 

Some people fled after only having a day’s notice to pack up what belongings they could, many left behind factories, farms, large houses as well as furniture and clothing. They arrived with no jobs, no homes and many had to rely on the help of families or strangers to get them through those early days.      

  

Thousands ended up in Lisbon after deciding not to settle in South Africa or Rhodesia. Portugal was not ready to have them descend on its shores and many returnees had to camp in sheds, family farms, churches or in the living rooms of relatives. Many had been born in the colonies or had been young when they had left Portugal, so it must have been a traumatic time for them and to make it worse their return was not welcomed by the majority of Portuguese who saw them as internal strangers. Many felt (wrongly) that those returning in fact did not want to work, as they had lived a life of luxury in Africa were the blacks did everything for them and all they did was sit and drink coffee in café’s.

Those people that fled the former Portuguese colonies were called Retornados,“the returnees” this was seen as a derogatory name. Retornados clung to memories of how it was and the lucky ones who had managed to bring with them photo albums would look at photos of beautiful gardens, children’s birthday parties or pet monkeys, those not so lucky would reminisce of walks on white beaches as well as the fun times at one of the side walk cafes in Lunada or LM. Something that many people either don’t realise or have forgotten is that unlike other colonialists the Portuguese intermarried more with the locals and therefore Africa is in their blood and that blood was left behind, either in the African soil or in the offspring that they had fathered. 

The white population of Guinea Bissau was very small so the numbers of refugees from that country was minimal, the two colonies that were most affected were Angola and Mozambique. I thought for continuity sake I would look at each one individually and give a brief overview as to how and why so many people’s lives were disrupted and irrevocably changed.

Angola’s war had started in 1961 with the unexpected attacks by the UPA in the North of Angola that saw at least 1200 white settlers as well as thousands of blacks massacred.  While this action by the UPA was both unexpected and brutal, it was to be the catalyst of Angola’s economic growth, so much so that by the early 1970s it was the 2^nd biggest economy in Africa and growing faster than South Africa, in fact the war against the 3 Nationalist movements was so good for the economy, the people of Angola and the country’s infrastructure that had the Angolans seriously considering erecting a monument to say thank you to UNITA, MPLA and FNLA.

Mozambique’s war started 3 years after Angola’s and the fighting mainly happened up North with those in the cities, especially LM  not having any real idea as to what the military situation was like, also in Mozambique the Security forces were only fighting Frelimo.   

While this particular story is not specifically about the military or political situation in Portugal’s colonies, I do believe it pertinent to briefly discuss the reasons that Angolans and Mozambicans in particular had to leave their lives behind and start afresh for those readers that may not have any understanding of the history of Portugal, its people’s and its colonies.

Portugal’s fight to retain their African colonies was and still is unparalleled in modern history. Portugal was the first European empire to colonise Africa and the last to leave in 1975, more than 10 years after all the other European countries had given independence to their African possessions.  The French, Belgian and British on the whole abandoned their colonies when the pressure became untenable, Portugal however decided to hold on with a resolve that surprised many. This is not surprising seeing that the colonies where seen as a source of pride in the twilight of Portugal’s imperial power that had commenced with the “age of discoveries”, Portugal, as the various liberation groupings were to find out, would not give them up without a struggle.   

Holden Roberto (FNLA)

In Angola the Portuguese had to deal with 3 nationalist movements, but were fortunate that they initially spent more time fighting each other than the Portuguese security forces, but in the early 70’s MPLA and FNLA decided that joint effort was needed to rid Angola of the Portuguese. In late 1972 a meeting took place between the 2 movements in Brazzaville under the guidance of the OAU to establish a common front on military as well as political issues in Angola.

UNITA on the other hand decided to negotiate with the Portuguese and signed an agreement with them under the code-name “Operation Madeira”, this in turn saw the MPLA court the Cubans, in 1973 Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere persuade the Chinese to back the FNLA  over the MPLA who had been funded by the Chinese since 1970.

The MPLA however had seen that developments in the country necessitated the reorganization and restructuring of their organization. In September 1973 UNITA ended its agreement with the Portuguese and soon after this saw an offensive against them by the Portuguese that had no parallel with any of those that had been launched against either the MPLA or FNLA. 1973 also saw the formation of the Captains movement made up of disgruntled junior officers, mainly Captains who aligned themselves with the Communist party. The name changed to the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) and by the end of 1973 were a large dissident group whose members were drawn across the entire political spectrum.

        

Plans took place in Portugal for a coup d’ etat and high ranking military officers such as Generals Spinola and Gomes openly defied Premier Caentano’s policy of keeping Africa as part of the Portuguese mainland, for this defiance they were fired. The various factions within the MFA could not agree if links between Portugal and its African colonies should be dissolved and all Portuguese troops withdrawn immediately or that there should be a gradual and structured handover of power but that the colonies would for part of a Portuguese Federation. This confusion or Lack of cohesion within the ranks of the MFA was to follow them beyond the Lisbon coup of 25 April 1974.

In Angola UNITA took advantage of this confusion and on 26 April they ambushed a Portuguese company near Alto – Cuito and wiped them out – this was seen as a major blow for Portugal, not to mention what the civilian population in Angola, already nervous about the Lisbon coup, must have been wondering what the future held for them and Angola. 

In July 1974  Spinola, who had taken over the reins of power after the coup bowed to the wishes of the Officers in the MFA that favoured immediate independence of Angola, Guinea - Bissau and Mozambique. The MPLA, FNLA and UNITA in July 74, after a heated meeting agreed to negotiate as a single political organization with the Portuguese. It was doomed for failure as all 3 jockeyed for position and wanted to become the next government of Angola.

The South African Consol General in Luanda after a meeting with the newly appointed Governor General, Admiral Coutinho, also known as the “Red Admiral” due to his Communist affiliations as well as other influential Angolan citizens warned the South African government Angola was on the slippery slope to a civil war and also advised that the South African government should not become involved in backing any particular group.

Lisbon was anxious to give its African Colonies their freedom, in Mozambique they had negotiated with Frelimo and the Lusaka accord had been signed on 7 September 1974 this agreement saw Portugal formally recognizing the right of the Mozambican people to independence and also agreed as to a transition period when the country would be administered by the Portuguese and Frelimo until its independence at 1 minute past midnight on 25 June 1975. In Angola the Portuguese had the added problem of trying to negotiate with 3 nationalist movements that is why Angola was the last of the African colonies to gain its independence which was declared on 11 November 1975.

This date was agreed upon by the 3 movements and the Portuguese in Alvor, Portugal between 10-15 January 1975, this became known as the “Alves Accord” it was also agreed that Angola would be governed by a transitional government comprising all the parties who had signed the agreement. The Portuguese Had deliberately excluded those wanting independence for Cabinda as well as the any White dominated political party.

A new Angola defence force was established comprising 48 000 men, 24 000 would be supplied by Portugal and 8000 men from each of the movements. It soon became apparent however that Portugal had neither the commitment nor the means to ensure that the agreement succeeded and as for UNITA, FNLA and the MPLA hostility, suspicion and badly trained/disciplined men would lead them on the path to Civil war as the South African Consol General had foreseen months before.  

Jonas Savimbi

On 31 January the transitional government was sworn in but the truce between the 3 Nationalist movements was very fragile with Neto, Roberto and Savimbi jockeying for power and looking to become Angola’s first black president, “no matter the cost”. The MPLA fought amongst themselves, the FNLA used this to consolidate its position in the country and as for UNITA thsy asked South Africa for assistance. By June the OAU interceded and demanded that Savimbi, Neto and Roberto get together and settle their differences, this was not to happen and soon after fighting between the movements broke out with heavy fighting taking place in Luanda between the MPLA and FNLA. On 27 July 1975 the MLA declared war on the FNLA and soon after UNITA declared war on the MPLA, each of the protagonists looking to expand their sphere of influence in Angola, but it was the MPLA that gained territory much faster than its 2 rivals.     

Portuguese troops in Luanda

By the end of August Lunada was firmly in MPLA hands, this caused panic amongst the white population, especially after political prisoners were released from jail and armed by the MPLA, with that the relationship between black and white Angolans became very hostile. Houses were burgled, whites were openly harassed on the streets and in extreme cases women and even young girls molested or raped, sometimes in full view of passers-by or the Portuguese military, who to their everlasting shame stood by and allowed their own people to be treated this way. As can be imagined the situation in Luanda was chaotic and as the date for independence came closer the white population started to realize that they need to leave the country. 

The situation was no better in other major centers or towns in Angola with the MPLA and the FNLA in particular fighting for superiority this resulted in both whites as well as non MPLA or FNLA supporters heading for Luanda in an attempt to escape the death and destruction. Accounts from that time tell of heartache and loss. The USA arranged planes to assist in evacuating refugees, as did Germany, France and South Africa, this initiative certainly saved the lives of many men, women and children. I was under the impression that the Portuguese had sent no planes to assist in the evacuation of its own citizens, however this is not correct and thanks to Mr. Carlos A C Moita, I can advise that that the TAP (Portuguese Airlines) did in fact send their 747-200's to assist in collecting refugees from Luanda airport. This happened due to a man all but forgotten,  Lt Col Antonio Goncalves Ribeiro who refused to accept the indifference of the Portuguese government and badgered the MFA dominated government to assist in getting Portuguese citizens out of Angola.   

Information from a draft UK defence statement, dated 1976 that i received from a Mr Roy Nelson indicates that a total of 42 flights by RAF VC 10 aircraft were made during September and October 1975 that assisted in the evacuation of 5658 refugees from Angola to Portugal.   

Recently reading the book Banana Sunday "datelines from Africa" by Christopher Munnion he writes that soon after independence fighting broke out in Luanda between the MPLA and its coalition partners, the FNLA and UNITA with heavy gunfire and rocket launchers being the order of the day, buildings were daubed with political graffiti and all the pavement cafes closed. 

Soviet ships were lining up at the docks to offload war material and the hotels started to fill up with both Russian`and Cuban advisers. Jonas Savimbi gallantly tried to hold the coalition together but he and his men soon retreated from Luanda to the bush. The FNLA put up a last gasped effort to regain control of the city before they too had to flee northwards to Zaire. The FNLA made a stand at the old fort of Sao Pedro da Barra that overlooks Luanda. here they held on for 3 days against all odds before deciding that they had no chance of taking on the MPLA in a toe to toe street fight.

I came across this eye witness account by the Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski "I don't know if there had ever been an instance of a whole city sailing across the ocean, but this is exactly what happened" He then goes on to describe the rapid decay of Luanda, water ran short and then the pumps ran dry." I walked around dirty, needing something to drink so badly that i came down with a fever and saw orange spots before my eyes" 

The Police,the Firemen, the garbage collectors had all left, mountain of garbage stated to fill the streets, walking through streets became a huge effort and with its hot and humid climate it did not take long for the mounds of rubbish to rot and ferment which in turn ensured that the city stank.  it got so bad that all the cats in the city that had been abandoned by their owners started to die by feeding on rotten food. after a couple of days in the heat and humidity they bloated up to the size of small pigs with huge black flies swarming over their bodies..............The odour must have been unbearable.

The trickle of refugees that started in early 1975, became a flood mid-year and peaked by November, convoys that had been put together had to run the gauntlet of 3 sets of roadblocks manned by drunk and doped up ill disciplined members of UNITA, MPLA and FNLA.

Mozambicans unlike their Angolan counterparts had decided to fight back against the signing of the Lusaka accord and on the very day it was signed an unsuccessful  peoples revolt that was to last 4 days and scuttled a planned coup that had been set up for 20 September. While a large number of Mozambicans decided to flee the country soon after the coup attempt 7-10 September 1974 and were also harassed by Frelimo cadres or supporters of Frelimo, the majority left after October when a fire fight between a group of Commando’s and a Frelimo foot patrol in central LM led to the indiscriminate killing of a number of whites in that country.     

Stephen Dunkley

Port Elizabeth

10 August 2013

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