Why Brazil is the top choice among Angolans

Hairdresser Bilongo Lando Domingos, 32, has been living in Rio de Janeiro for 13 years. Angelina Sissa João, 26, landed in the city two years ago to study marketing. Cabingano Manuel is a journalist who specializes in business and came to the country to work as a correspondent at a TV network. All of them are Angolans who chose Brazil in their search for better life conditions and professional opportunities.

Today, close to 12.5 thousand Angolans live in Brazil today, 3.7 thousand of whom residents, the Justice Minister reports. Most of them landed in Rio and São Paulo during the civil war in Angola, which raged from 1990 to 2000, during which Brazil granted refuge to those leaving the country. A case in point is Bilongo, who left Luanda, the capital city, to avoid being recruited.

“The country was at war, and we, the young people, aged 16 and 17 at the time, well-built, were the target, meaning that the country's Armed Forces needed young people to fight; and I didn't want that; that war wasn't worth it,” reports Bilongo, who specialize in stylish hairdos for men and works in downtown Rio.

He says Brazil's language and culture are near to his own, and that was a determining factor in his choice. “Brazilians feel great respect for us, they relate to our music, colors, and lifestyle,” he adds.

Angelina Sissa crossed the ocean in search of professional training. Motivated by her parents, who studied in Rio before returning to Angola, she became a marketing student. “Brazil has more experience in this area,” she claims. For two years, she has lived in Tijuca, northern Rio, where she goes to a private university. Like Bilongo, Angelina argues that Angola and Brazil are culturally related.

“The environment here is close to that in Angola. [Brazilians'] lifestyle isn't considerably different from [Angolans']. Brazilans are open-minded people who like to talk; they're nice,” she noted.

Cabingano Manuel came to Brazil for a master's degree in journalism and a business graduation program. As an international correspondent for Continente Americano, he has been promoted and became a representative for Public Television of Angola (TPA). He says he got to know the country better while lecturing in Bahia, and that he only decided to move to the country with his family later on. “My decision was first an academic one. Only afterwards other factors came into the picture,” he said.

Manuel also believes that cultural similarities between the two countries played a significant role in his decision. “It's much more practical to find myself and adapt to Brazil than it is in Portugal or any other country: the streets, the people, the habits and customs are very close to their Angolan counterparts, especially in Luanda,” he declared. Among his favorite free-time activities are going for a walk on Copacabana beach and sightseeing.

The fact that both countries have Portuguese as their official language has help attract immigrants, says Luiz Fernando Godinho, spokesman from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Because of the war, Brazil saw as many as 1.7 thousand Angolan citizens entering the country. Angolans were also the largest group of refugees in Brazil for several years.

“[The number of refugees] started to decline. Today, Angolans rank third among a the nearly 7.2 thousand refugees from 80 nations. Most of them come from Syria (1.2 thousand) and Colombia (one thousand),” Godinho reported. The number of refugees from Angola—currently 873—are still at a downward trend, once they have been changing their refugee status to that of residents.

The UNHCR spokesman further remarks that, after Brazil no longer granted refugee statuses, a repatriation program was created by the country to allow refugees to go back to Angola, but no one signed in. “It's a sign that Brazil did a good job fulfilling its duty of welcoming [refugees] and providing [them] with the means to build a new life and become part of society,” he argued. “Brazil's reception worked.”

Since early in November, TV Brasil has been airing, at 11 a.m. from Monday to Friday, a soap opera entitled Windeck: All the Shades of Angola. It takes place in Luanda, and centers on the backstage of a magazine called Divo. Episodes are broadcast in their original language, Angolan Portuguese. Windeck is the first soap opera produce in the African country.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira