“The fear in Angola is decreasing. There is a stir. You can already see people arguing in public». These were the words of the rapper Luso-Angolan Luaty Beirão, opponent of the Government of José Eduardo dos Santos, in a session to promote human rights, which took place this morning, January 19, in the Large Auditorium of the Loulé Secondary School.
They entered with a “v” for victory and came out with harpsichord in hand. Luaty Beirão and Marcos Mavungo, two of the faces of the opposition to the Angolan government, told stories of their struggles in front of an audience full of students.
They criticized, warned, and wanted to leave a message: "it is urgent" to change the course of that country.
“We know that we can die at any moment, but we feel that people are overcoming the barriers of fear. To live like this, with fear, is to live like a slave”, said Luaty. "The boss [José Eduardo dos Santos] is increasingly lonely and sad," he added.
"The Angolan money that is invested in Portugal undermines Portuguese democracy," said Mavungo. "It is necessary to publicize and raise a debate about what is going on, both in Portuguese institutions, as well as at world and European level, with the European Union", he defended.
Luaty Beirão stated that "it has to be you, the Portuguese, who demand the Portuguese State to comply with an ethical minimum." This is because, in the understanding of the rapper, «the Portuguese State is your employee. It was you who elected them to represent you».
In a session where applause was recurrent, some light was given on what could be the future of Angola: «that regime will fall by itself», considered Luaty. Revolt or revolution… “will happen when there is freedom”. “We are working on it. What we want is to defend what is correct», concluded Luaty.
This session was hosted by Amnesty International's Loulé Secondary School Student Group.
Photos: Pedro Lemos|Sul Informação
NOTE: Stay tuned for the video report on this session that we will publish tomorrow
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