When two elephants fight, the grass suffers

Abstract

The year 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Angola's independence from the Portuguese colonisers. The fourth of February commemorates the start of the armed struggle in 1961, called the Revolta das Catanas, which would lead to the official liberation of the country in 1975. The machete (catana) on the national flag, used in farming, represents the mobilisation of Angolan workers against Portuguese domination. On 4 February 2025, I went to Luanda and photographed the Golfe 2 neighbourhood, on the outskirts of the province, as well as the central region with its historical monuments and informal workers (zungueiras). The imagery of the city is diverse and bears traces of the country's memory. I present a snapshot of these traces of memory in everyday life with film and an analogue camera (much used 50 years ago), contrasting the forms of the past with the present. What links has Angola maintained since its liberation with contemporary life? What has changed in these 50 years, and what persists? Looking at the past memorial, what does Angola, from its periphery to its centre, see of hope in the traumatic memory of years of civil war? The proverb was told to me by a man who fought in the war and sums up these 50 years with wisdom: When two elephants fight, the grass suffers.