Forced migration and deslocados in the Huambo Province, Angola

Abstract

Angola has three to four million internally displaced persons, one of the highest per capita figures in the world. Most of the displaced persons originate from Huambo and other parts of Planalto Central, where the Ovimbundu is the dominant ethnic group. Through the experiences of displaced people, this article discusses why people flee, and thus aims to provide better understanding of the causes of their displacement, the strategies they choose and apply during flight and settlement and their identity as deslocado. The displaced population in Huambo can be divided into two groups: new deslocados and old deslocados. There are several causes of displacement, such as civil war, degradation of the land resources and displacement during the colonial period (war, forced labour, expulsion from land, etc.). The data used in this article were collected in Huambo and Luanda from November 1998 to June 1999.