Santa Lucia, Honduras, 1 August 2002 Dear friends: Since I wrote last, I spent two weeks in Angola covering the post-war humanitarian crisis in that southern African country. I’m now back home, finishing several articles about the situation there and editing the photographs from the trip. Looking at the images anew is an interesting experience. When I’m in a context like that of Angola and taking photos of human suffering, I’m usually so concerned about things like lighting and focus that I can put aside the emotional response and concentrate on the task at hand. Yet when I’m back home, sitting at the light table bending over the film, the pain of people who are hungry and hurting comes back to hit me hard. As I stare at the faces of people who I got to know however briefly, I feel the trust they placed in me, a perfect stranger, to tell their story, to convey the truth about what has happened to them, a truth that they hope will contribute to setting them free–from hunger, from despair, from powerlessness. It is in many ways a sacred trust, and I take it seriously as I write about the myriad political, economic,and spiritual issues that contribute to hope–or its absence–in Angola today. Although Angola is on the other side of the world, many of the issues it faces are similar to those we face in Central America. Indeed, its recent history has much in common with Nicaragua, where we lived for nine years. Both countries suffered from the U.S. government’s knee-jerk reaction to home-grown forms of self-determination in the 70s and 80s. Angola’s UNITA rebels were the “contras” of Africa, yet they took a decade longer to disappear, prolonging the suffering of Angola’s 13 million people, a third of whom have been left homeless by the fighting. Given that history, the people of the United States have what seems to me to be a historic responsibility to contribute to rebuilding Angola now that the war is over. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is an excellent channel that we can use to do that. UMCOR has created a special account (“Angola War Recovery,” Advance Special number 105720-5) for Angolan reconstruction. Contributions can be made by sending money through your conference treasurer or by credit card at 1-800-554-8583. By working through the ACT alliance, UMCOR is supporting not only the feeding and reintegration of tens of thousands of displaced Angolan families and former UNITA combatants, but also some creative and courageous ministries of peacemaking and reconciliation in the Angolan countryside. Reconstruction implies a lot of things in Angola. One of the hopeful signs I found was the work of churches and a nascent civil society to demand transparency and accountability of a government which is run by a bunch of crooks. One of the ways we can contribute to that struggle is by supporting their demand that northern oil companies and banks publicize what they annually pay the Angolan government for drilling rights and oil concessions. A lot of that money currently disappears into Swiss bank accounts, and civil society leaders in Angola would rather the money be used at home to rebuild their war-torn land. Church folks in the U.S. were key players in the boycott of conflict diamonds, a successful campaign that helped weaken UNITA’s ability to wage war and thus led to peace. Now that peace is here, it’s time to put the same heat on Angola’s wealthy elite. You can find elsewhere on our website a selection of articles and photos from the trip. In the section entitled “Reporter’s notes,” you’ll find links to some groups that are pushing for full financial disclosure from oil companies operating in Angola. As always, I appreciate your financial support and prayers that make possible my ministry, both here in Central America and in other corners of the world. Know that Lyda and I also pray for you and your ministries of compassion and justice. Shalom, Paul