EUREKA! I made it!

Finally I landed in Luanda! A very old dream became a reality! my fascination with Angola started when i was still an undergraduated student at the Institute for International relations. At the time we used to have prestigious academics from all over the world lecturing us on contemporary international issues. Academics such as Alan Isaacman, Mario Pinto de Andrade and others used to pass by either to give short term courses and lectures or for a full semester. it was then that my fascination with Angola began. At the time my interest was to understand what was going on in Angola, as angola proved to be an interesting case for conflict management and resolution. Bill zartman´s theories seemed to work perfectly in Angola, where there were three levels of conflicts: internal one (MPLA and UNITA), regional one (South Africa versus Cuba) and International URSS and USA!

At British Angolan Forum (from the Royal Institute for International Affairs in London) I made lots of friends! By the hand of Alex Vines and teresa O´shanassy I came to know several angolans from both sides: several angolan ministers as well as the Samakuvas, Dino Chinguji, Sousa Jamba, Rafael Marques, Justino Pinto de Andrade, Filomeno Vieira Pinto, Guilherme Santos, Henda Ducados, Mariana (ACORD), Fernando Macedo, Padre Pio, Reverendo N´zinga, Manuel Paulo and others.

Are still vivid the long hours I spent interviewing (1995) in Washington the then UNITA representative in Washington Jardo Muekalia to deepen my understanding of the logic of the Angolan conflict! Inspite of my enthusiasm with Angola, the chance of putting my fit in the country of Neto, Roberto and Savimbi only came to light today! Hope to see my long standing friends such as Henda Ducados, Nuno Vidal, Guilherme Santos, Manuel Paulo, Dino Chingunji and so on!

Definitely, today is my luck day!