04/05/2018
Angolan Peace Day 2018
In Angola, every 4 April is Angolan Peace Day, often called simply “Peace Day”. The date commemorates the end of the nearly 30-year-long Angolan Civil War.
Angola was glad when independence finally came in 1975, after being colonised, conquered, and exploited by Portugal for some 400 years. But the joy was short-lived, for almost immediately after freedom from Portugal came a destructive civil war.
Angola’s War of Independence had raged from 1961 till 1974. Thus, Angolans endured almost 45 straight years of warfare by the time the civil way came to an end in 2002. A whole generation passed by before the fighting finally came to an end.
The civil war was between two movements that had both fought for independence but then could not agree on how the country should be ruled or on who would rule it. Around half a million died during the civil conflict, and a full million were driven from their homes. The nation’s roads, bridges, and other infrastructure were devastated. When the war finally ended on 4 April, 2002, it was easy to see why the date would become a national holiday.
