Angolans show resilience in face of tragedy

Three lanes wide and bumper to bumper, the traffic crawled, heading south out of Luanda until the Estadio 11 de Novembro came into view.

And there the road turned abruptly right, away from the ground for several kilometres, before swinging back on itself, carrying on past the stadium, and then checking back again.

Perhaps those heading to the opening game of the African Nations Cup were trying to create the world's longest traffic jam; perhaps the stadium's architect simply wanted to ensure his creation was observed from all angles, but it was deeply impractical.

The promised traffic jams ahead of the hosts' game with Mali had materialised in the city yesterday, caused apparently by Army officers blocking roads to allow Angola's President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, to pass through. Motorists, evidently used to such obstructions, took to driving down the wrong carriageway, on pavements and in some cases through rubbish dumps to escape the congestion.

From a coach, a frustrated horde of women, all dressed in white T-shirts marked with the cog, machete and star emblem that adorns the Angolan flag, poured out on to the road, and in tight formation jogged the final few hundred metres to the stadium, drawing a parping of horns from the cars and cheers from the pedestrians milling among them. The emblem is supposed to represent the three spheres of labour: urban, rural and intellectual, but the machete, of course, recalls acts of the most dreadful barbarism that marked Angola's civil war, and the violence from which this country is struggling to emerge.

It would be wrong, though, to think Angola had been gripped by a mood of universal gloom in the aftermath of Saturday's terrorist attack on the Togo team bus. For the most part the atmosphere in the build-up to yesterday's game was excited, and it was at times possible to believe, however briefly, that this could still, despite it all, be a successful tournament.

A battered white truck sped through the red dust that marked the central reservation, dozens of fans, all dressed in the red and black of the Angolan flag, all cheering or blowing whistles.

Many sported red and black wigs, others had scarves wrapped around their necks, both feats of some fortitude as temperatures soared. This was chaos, but it was at least happy chaos, and it was possible to see what the Confederation of African Football had been thinking three years ago when it awarded Angola the right to host the Nations Cup.

The stadium itself is highly impressive, from the outside at least, as it shimmers in red and silver triangles through the baobab trees.

The atmosphere in the stadium was enthusiastic, with supporters, in pockets of white, red and yellow, jumping and dancing, vuvuzelas (long horns) warbling and clap-sticks thwacking into an indiscriminate but rousing cacophony.

Whether the optimism of the hosts alone can carry through the tournament is doubtful. When this Nations Cup is remembered, it is hard to believe that it can possibly bring to mind anything other than the terrorist attack.

The mantra from local organisers before the tournament was that it would "showcase" the virtues of Angola; so far the impression given is that, after years of practice, Angolans are resilient in the face of tragedy.

For the separatist movement FLEC and its leader, Rodrigues Mingas, though, the war is not over and his threats of further actions during the tournament ensure that a sense of fear still remains.

- INDEPENDENT