Humble goals for former UNITA soldiers

The ambitions of demobilised UNITA soldiers in Angola are humble - to go back to farming or to finish school, a survey by the International Office of Migration (IOM) has found. IOM carried out the survey among 4,731 demobilised UNITA soldiers currently living with their dependants in eight gathering areas in the provinces of Benguela, Bié, Huambo and Kuanza Sul. The sample represented 11 percent of the total number of former UNITA combatants in the four provinces. The majority of the soldiers and their spouses were born in Huambo province and 85 percent said they would like to return to their area of origin. The average length of service with UNITA was five to seven years. Of the total sample, 3,550 said they were self-employed in agriculture or full-time students before they joined. "That is indicative of the pattern [of employment] they want to go back to," Nick van der Vyver, the head of the IOM office in Angola told IRIN. "Here we are seeing their expectations are: 'I would just like to go back to farming or finish my education'." According to the survey, almost half of the men interviewed had a farm prior to joining UNITA and wanted to return to farming. Fifty percent said they would welcome professional training to do better in their previous jobs or to change profession. Some 50 percent of those of school age said they wanted to continue with their studies. "More than 60 percent of the people we interviewed joined UNITA when they were aged 18 or under, I think we can assume a large majority were persuaded to join when they were still of school going age," Van der Vyver said. Out of the 84,000 demobilised soldiers, 5,000 have been selected for integration into the Angolan Armed Forces. For the remainder, the government plans to close the 42 gathering areas by the end of the year and resettle them and their families in designated areas where they will be given assistance for reintegration. "The value of the survey is that up to now decisions about reintegration have been made without enough consultation. It shows that their demands are achievable and pretty much realistic," Van der Vyver said. The IOM report quoted Domingos Jaime, a demobilised UNITA soldier as saying: "We want the peace process to help us get back on the right track so we can live better, work and rebuild our country." Another, Justino Camela, told IOM: "What I need at this very moment is to work during the day and study at night."