Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo's border From a place of business to the point of entry for illegal immigration
| Autor | Avelino Chico, S. J. |
| Páginas | 217-248 |
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Avelino Chico, S. J.
Introduction
is chapter discusses the eects of the border between Angola and the
Democratic Republic of Congo () on international migration. Besides
commerce, the ow of trucks, transport of plenty of goods, smuggling of
diamonds, exchange of foreign currency, drug tracking, trac of fuel,
timber, vehicles and basic supplies, the border between Angola and
serves as a gateway for both legal and illega l immigration. ose who enter
illegally ai m to work in the Angolan diamond mining areas of Lunda Norte,
Lunda Sul, and Bié. However, there are some whose goal is the Angolan
capital of Luanda. In Luanda, t hey seek to establish an informal sector as
well as construction and trade . Others view Luanda as a place of transit, and
their goal is to reach South Afr ica, Brazil, Europe, and the . However, mi-
grants also cross t he border due to forced displacement. By May , ,
Congolese refugees were forced to cross the border eeing from insecurity,
violence, ethnic cleansing, a nd political persecution in the reg ion of Kasai
and Central Kasa i of whom are women and children (United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees [], ). ey are being sheltered
at the camp of Lóvua located in t he Angolan province of Lunda Norte.
Nevertheless, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s border
is not only used by Congolese nationals, citizens are al so using it from other
Central and West African countries: Republic of Congo, Central African
Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Guinea, Sierra Leone,
Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and e Gambia. ere
are also Asian citi zens, mainly Chinese, that are usual ly smuggled into the
country by their Angolan counterpa rts. Some are carried in trucks, others
in boats that land on Angolan shores, and others by way of rivers and lakes .
Assisting the immigrants are the shermen, traditional authority, church
leaders, and border police. Since Angola may be a transit country a nd not a
nal destination for some, what takes place along Angola and t he border
leads to boundary crossings and t herefore, international migration.
Avelino Chico, S. J.
roughout this chapter, boundary crossings wil l be explored from
four dierent angles. First, a historical overview that argues for combin-
ing the approaches of looking at the ow of immigrants bet ween the two
countries. Second, a sociological perspective that seeks to understand
the profound cause of boundary-crossing through Angola and the .
ird, an evolutionary approach based on the eects of this migration.
Fourth, a legal fra mework which addresses the regulations on migr ation
put in place by Angola as a labour receiving country as wel l as a country
of immigration in the Southern Africa region just behind South Africa.
Finally, the conclusion shall address a way forward to deal with migra-
tion and border management. Mass deportation and closure of borders
may not be the solution for illegal immigration. ese proposals lead to
the emergence of maa groups and human rights abuse. e education of
young ones and highlighting t he positive roles and benets of migration
seem to be the best solutions.
Historical overview
e land border between Angola and is at least , km (Davidson,
, p. ). In the
th
century, this territory was st ill part of the great Kongo
Kingdom. e kingdom, whose capital was located in the contemporary
Angolan city of Mbanza Congo in the province of Zaire, was established
between the mid-s and the mid-s. e kingdom extended itself
along the present-day northern part of Angola (Cabinda enclave), Republic
of Congo (Brazzaville), and the Western region of (Lukombo, a).
However, the division of this kingdom by the Portuguese, Belgian, and
French colonial powers (at the Berlin Conference of -) meant that
the population belonging to the same clan remai ned divided (see Figure ).
For instance, we continue to have the Bakongo ethnic group in the south of
the Republic of Gabon, in the south-west of the Republic of Congo, the ,
as well as in the north of A ngola. Rather than fra gmenting ethnic identity,
the division has strengthened it. Visiting relatives and performing certain
traditional ceremonies along the borders and within these countries have
been maintained (see Figure ).
Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s border
Figure . Maps of A frica before and aer the Berl in Conference
Source: Google maps.
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