SEARCHING FOR JUSTICE

 
A POLITICAL REFUGEE SEARCHING FOR JUSTICE

When Angel Elo Ndong and his family first arrived in Tucson, they weren't exactly ready for the hot, parching Tucson climate. This dramatic transition from the tropical humidity of West Africa was exhausting. But for Angel, whose fight for political and social change in his home country of Equatorial Guinea has crossed countries and oceans, this was only a small challenge. Angel is not a man of imposing stature, but his presence is compelling. The memory of his country, its broken, impoverished people is the image that spurs him to continue to tell his story; the story of a man who is at once a father, a Guinean plant expert, a teacher, a soccer player and a political refugee.

When the muti-party democratic system officially opened in 1991, Angel joined a political party in his home district of Kogo with the hopes of bringing more just democracy to Guniea’s people. He did not yet know that the government of Theodore Obiang Ngeuma would do almost anything to maintain its iron clasp on the power and wealth of Guinea...that his life would be in grave danger. He was 24 years old. He began working as a delegate to youth of the district and the next year, he graduated from college with a degree in education.

Angel’s party, El Partido Progresso, enjoyed a growing, fervent public support. This piqued the government’s interest and in 1995, the crackdown on opposition leaders began. Angel, along with others from his party, was detained and tortured into denouncing their parties. The only food he received in detention came from his wife, Concepcion, who visited the prison gates everyday. She couldn’t talk to Angel, but they cleverly communicated with each other through notes left inside the food parcels. Angel and his allies sent notes to the foreign press to publicize the abuses and pressure from the International Community sped their release.

Because his party had been virtually wiped out, Angel joined another party as Secretary General. There was a plan for a junta but the Spanish, Guinea’s former colonizers, alerted Obiang to these plans. In 1998, Angel was a candidate to be elected to the Parliament of Guinea. He was taken to prison, tortured, and all his money was stolen. Upon release, he continued his campaign anyway despite having to resources. After a third detention and death threats, he and his family fled the country in the middle of the night. In Gabon, where he was granted asylum, he continued political organizing with fellow Guineans. Because there are close connections between the Gabonese and Guinean governments, Angel was continuously threatened. In 2005, he requested and was granted political asylum in the United States.

Now, Angel, his wife, their children and grandchildren live and work in Tucson. With the help of the AFSC and another refugee services council, Angel is organizing speaking events in the Tucson area to talk about Equatorial Guinea. He hopes that these meetings will popularize the struggle for political and social freedom in Guinea. Now, Angel says, the country lives in poverty as its rich leader enjoys bank accounts in several countries and hordes all the country’s capital, including oil money.

But Angel insists it’s not about the oil: it’s about a continuum of exploitation in Guinea that will continue unless he finds support. His search continues.

Amanda Wilson