Paper short abstract:

This presentation explores how North American and British Protestant aid workers assisted and documented Angolan refugees who fled Portuguese rule to Congo in the 1960s, as well as how also aid workers became embroiled in political disputes among Angolan exiles.

Paper long abstract:

The role of humanitarian aid workers in Angolan decolonization has not drawn much attention. A transnational network of North American and Canadian Protestant missionaries sent doctors and aid workers to assist the thousands of Angolans who fled from Portuguese control at the advent of the war for independence in 1961. Aid workers viewed themselves as morally obligated to help Angolans victimized by colonialism, even as they claimed to be apolitical humanitarians. Although Angolan refugees sometimes tried to break rules for assistance set by aid workers, the biggest difficulty for aid workers came from political divisions among exiled political leaders. This essay examines how the ostensibly apolitical role of missionaries allowed them to solicit aid from various Protestant and secular donors, as well as how aid workers found themselves caught in struggles between Angolan resistance Holden Roberto and his critics. Aid workers also tried to mediate between Angolan refugees with Congolese employers and the Congolese government.