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Município de Nzaji, Lunda Norte Province, Angola
Residents return from the fields of the diamond rich Lunda Norte province. In the background are the remains of a large agro-industrial complex that fed the local population while colonial powers strip mined the area of its diamond and mineral wealth. While Portuguese colonists fled Angola en masse after independence and the outbreak of civil war in 1975, Israeli, British, Portuguese, South African and other hardened diamond traders maintained precarious operations in this rugged corner of the country along the Congo border, negotiating their security amongst the warring factions. Midway through the 30-year civil war, Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebel army had a firm lock on the country's diamonds, while government forces controlled the nation's petroleum. While both sides financed exotic war machines (by African standards) with their respective sources of mineral wealth, basic farming and food production at facilities such as this ceased. Now in it's eighth year of peace and stability, thousands of hectares of fertile agricultural land are attracting government and foreign investment. Soon this facility and others will enter a new phase of development and hopefully shared prosperity.
Município de Nzaji, Lunda Norte Province, Angola
Residents return from the fields of the diamond rich Lunda Norte province. In the background are the remains of a large agro-industrial complex that fed the local population while colonial powers strip mined the area of its diamond and mineral wealth. While Portuguese colonists fled Angola en masse after independence and the outbreak of civil war in 1975, Israeli, British, Portuguese, South African and other hardened diamond traders maintained precarious operations in this rugged corner of the country along the Congo border, negotiating their security amongst the warring factions. Midway through the 30-year civil war, Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebel army had a firm lock on the country's diamonds, while government forces controlled the nation's petroleum. While both sides financed exotic war machines (by African standards) with their respective sources of mineral wealth, basic farming and food production at facilities such as this ceased. Now in it's eighth year of peace and stability, thousands of hectares of fertile agricultural land are attracting government and foreign investment. Soon this facility and others will enter a new phase of development and hopefully shared prosperity.