Africa is associated with war, disease, oil, diamonds, hunger, corruption, destruction, death - a lost and forlorn world. In Angola all these are manifest, yet the authors fell in love with the country, with the wonderful people, whose daily struggle for survival arouses both sympathy and admiration, with Angola's enchanting natural beauty, mysterious cultures, rare biodiversity and fiery sunsets over an endless ocean. For many years a bloody war of independence raged and, as soon at it ended, the country was thrown into a terrible civil war, during the height of the Cold War. Millions were killed, maimed, or lost their homes. The war is now over but the minefields still claim their gruesome harvest. Everything is interwoven: life and death, war and peace; children who know no childhood and adults who dream of a long-lost innocence; men and women, tough warriors who suddenly find softness and warmth in their souls; betrayal of and return to tradition; man and Nature, their fates irrevocably intertwined. "Calma, calma!"is the answer for every problem - your visa has expired, you are wracked with malaria, there's a power cut and you're stuck in the elevator ...things have a way of working themselves out in Angola.
About the Authors Tamar Golan was born in Haifa and is a former member of Kibbutz Lahav in southern Israel. In 1994, Tamar was appointed Israeli ambassador to Angola. Tamar Ron has a BSc Biology and an MSc in Environmental Biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and completed her PhD in Zoology at Natal University in 1991.