Angola: Land of Shattered Dreams

Book excerpt: This is not a book of fiction. It is an actual account of the events and the nature of the tragedy that befell so many innocent victims on the fateful morning of March 15, 1961, in Angola, Africa, and how it has developed into one of the greatest tragedies to ever hit the continent of Africa. From a genuine desire to be independent from the European powers, so much brutality and vengeance has surfaced that not much has been left standing in Angola on which to build. This book, Angola: Land of Shattered Dreams, was written by Zeca Santana as a record of what happened during those early days of 1961 to his family and others, as well as some of the observations and experiences he has had on his numerous trips to Angola since 1991. As a student of world history, the author also wants to remind and warn the reader of the message that this terror can happen and indeed is happening now in many parts of the world. When ruthless forces or dictators such as Saddam Hussein in Iraq or Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and the great genocide in Rwanda incite primitive and superstitious beliefs in certain groups of people for the purpose of hatred and violence, terror occurs. It is a message that urges the free and civilized world to take care and be prepared. This terror knows no geography, as every American citizen should realize from the September 11 experience in 2001. It is timeless, and it belongs to every man and woman. It may be a private terror, or it may strike a family, a town, a nation. But whatever its form, its language does not change.