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Fobert af KlintebergF

A _ MACIAS COUNTRYE0UAT0RIAL EUINE¡

THE FOFGOTTEN FEFUGEES

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An lnternational Univcrsity Exchange Fund ilUEF)Field Study on the Equatodal Guinea Befugee $ituation

CONTENTS

Page }{unb.er1

1.

)

Foreword

Maps

Surmnry

Introduetion

Baekground

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v

1

3

3

4

B

10

L4

15

23

2B

32

39

43

46

50

55

55

56

6I

64

66

2.L.na

2.3.

2.4.

3.1.

3.2.

J.J.

3.4.

3.5.

The Country

The People

IIi s toryChronology

). Macías t Countrv

The, State Apparatus

Economy

Forced Labour

Law and Law Enforcement

Relations with Foreign Powers

Macías, "The unigue Miracle"

4,r.+.¿.

'The Personality of

Macías and Religion

Papa Macías

( The Refugees

5.1.(,

6. Solutions and Recommendat,ions

Outflux

Influx5.2.I. Gabon

5 ,2.2. Cameroon

5.2,3. Nigeria

5.2,4. Spain and OtherEuropean Countries

Legal Recognitíon

RehabilitationEducation

Sugges tions

66

69

70

7L

74

75

80

BZ

8485B7

6.1.

6 .2.

6.3.

6 .4.

Sources7"

8" S.elected Bibliography

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

w.È-!-1

FORE TORD

By Lars-Gunnar Eriksson, Director, International University ExchangeFund (IUEF)

On a number of occasions, the IUEF has commissioned studies on specialrefugee problems with a vier,v to devise prograrunes for assistance.

A refugee problem r¿hich has been preoccupying us for the last coupleof years is that of the Equatorial Guíneans. Their plight, as well asthat of Lheir countrymen sti1l living under the brutal oppression ofPresident Macíast dictatorship, is litt1e known and hence the assistanceprovided Eo them is in no proportion to their needs.

I^lith the assistance of a grant from the Swedish InternationalDevelopment Authority (SIDA), the IUEF decided to carry out a mission,combining a study of the situation in Equatorial Guinea itself with thatof the refugees in neighbouring countries, as well as in Spain.

The ob.jective was twofold: firstly, to provide information aboutthe situation of the refugees and to make proposals for programmes ofassistance, particularly in the field of education and training;secondly, to províde firsthand information about the situation inEquatorial Guinea in order to facilitate assessment of the possibilitiesfor repatriation.

I,rle were lucky to be able to benefit from the services of Dr. Robertaf Klinteberg, a Swedish anthropologist with sixteen years of experienceof refugee problems in Europe, Asia and Africa. After a very risky visitto the country itself , Dr. Kl inteberg spent four months living with r-he

refugees ín Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria and Spain. The ensuing report andits appendix are the result of this mission, which we hope will add tothe knowledge about the refugees, as well as the situation insideEquatorial Guinea. Above all, we hope it r¡ill contribute to increasethe aid provided to the refugees.

The views expressednot necessarily those of

this report are those of Dr. Klinteberg andIUEF.

inthe

Geneva, November 1978

P.

FERNANDO PO(MACIAS NGUEMA BIYOGO)

SANTA ISABEL

.ci\C' BALOERI DE

0$' cRlsro RE)¡

Þ\\BASAKATO DEL

SAN CARLOS

SUALASAKATO

DEL ESTE

CEPCION(RIABA)

LOCATION ONWEST COAST OF

THEAFRICA

Sonlo lsobelFERNANDO PO IS./ì

(MACIAS NGUEMA( /BIYOGO)

GULF OF GU/NEA

principe ls,

ELOBEY CHICO, ELOBEY GRANDE

Sio romé lsrsõo Tomi

NIGERIA

PortHorcourla

CAMEROON

Lr

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ANNOBON (PAGALU)

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(t o t

E Q U AT O R I A L G U IN E A

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SUMMARY

Equatorial Guinea consists of the island of Fernando Po situated in'

rhe culf of Guinea and the mainland enclave of Rio Y"ii^tliih is sandwiched

betweenGabonandCameroon.Thecountryissmall,2S,000km.,andhadanestimated population of 285,000 in L910'

A strategic position made it a valuable pa!ùn in colonial politics and

for nearly 300 y..r" it was dominated by Portugal, England and spain'

I^lhen it reached independ.ence aftel 110 years of Spanish rule the prospects

looked good. An economy based on the best cocoa in the world, coffee and

timber made the per capita income the highest in Black Africa' A good

infrastructure and a high 1evel of education promised even gl:eater prosperity

for the future.

In 1968, Francisco Macfas Nguema became the first President of the

independenr Republic. The diffiãulties began shortly afterr'iards when he

began to eliminate real or imagined political opponents. 1972 saw him

become President for 1ife. His rule has since become increasingly personal

and is characterised by political, religious and ethnic persecuËion'

Systematic terror and near total disintãgration of the economy have contrib-

uted to drive an estimated third of the population into exile from the most

regressive desPotism in Africa'

president Maclast reign has a \^/eak po\,7er base. It functions because

of a deliberate cultural regression not unlike that of Nazi Germany, which

has thrown the country and the people into a situation far below that of

the pre-colonial period and has even destloyed lhe strong traditions of

village democracy. fni" is condoned by the foreign po!üers present'in the

country, notably the USSR, Cuba and China' as \^7e11 as by ruthless capítalistenterprises, particularly French. The United Nations' Development Prografrune

(UNDP) and the European Economic Community (EEC) provide assistance' tacitlyaccepting the regimL, while Spain and the Vatican remain silent about what

is going on in oid"r to avoid, at all costs, a final rupture of very strained

relations. The silence perpetuates the terror, and the cost is paid by the

people of Equatorial Guinea'

official figures for refugees are: 60,000 in Gabon, 30,000 in cameroon'

5,000 in Nigeriu:6,000 in spain, wirh smaller groups in a number of other

countries in Africa and Europe. The refugees in Gabon and cameroon are inan especially difficult posiiion. Agents provocateurs threaten theirsecurity. unemployrnent, poverty, tact< of education and medical facilitiescombine with the language problLm and micro-political tensions to make theirsituation increasingly worrying.

Maclas, persecutions have been directed against the intellectuals inparticular. As a consequence, the refugees are probably among the best

educated and most competent professionally in Africa, a fact i¡hich poses

special problems for their social and economic rehabilitation.

Tn view of the current situation inside Equatorial Guinea' repatriacionis not conceivable.

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INTRODUCTION

This report deals with the situation of the refugees from EquatorialGuinea. For varíous reasons they have remained almosttotally ignored andneglected. ft was thanks to the initiative of the International UniversityExchange Fund (IUEF), and the generous assistance of the S¡^¡edish InternationalDevelopment Authority (SIDA), that I had an opportuníty to go on a f.act-fíndingmissíon to Central Africa during four months in L978,

The fact-finding was planned with four major questions in mind:

l{hat is the situation of the refugees?

I,rlhat are the possibilítíes of repatriation?lrlhat are the short-term and long-term needs of the refugees?

Itlhat solutions should be suggested?

The first question required information about where the refugees areand in whar circumstances they find themselves, about health and nutrition,security, emplo¡rment, relations with nationals and other micro-politicalconsiderations - all seen in the context of the general situation in thecountry of asylum

The second was crucial in the sense that voluntary repatriationalways remains the most desirable solution to a refugee problem, so much sothat it is questionable if other forms of assistance should even be attemptedif a return is a genuine possibility. An assessment of the situation requiredinformation about Ëhe economíc situation inside Equatorial Guinea: employment,salaries and prices, economic plans and prospects, infrastructure, etc.;the health and nutrition status; macro- and micro-polirics, educatíon andsecurity. Information about these matters would also hopefully help in sortingout some of the rather disturbing contradictions which occurred as soon as onetried to understand the situaËion

There r^rere, for instance, the discrepancies betv¡een the sombrepicture of Equatorial Guinea painted by the exiles and the rather more s)anpatheticdescriptions given in certain Spanish and French media; the apparent ambivalenceof the United Nations and the European Economic Community, both giving assistancewhile providing minimal information about their progrannes, an unusLlal policy fordonor agencies. There \^iere also the conflieting appraisals of the reliabilityof rhe information abouË the country. l,Iore specifically, if President Macíashad his counLry under strong domination, must he not also have an equally strongpo\,,rer base indicating that vast numbers of his subjects were in favour of theregime? If it \^/ere true that exiles returned voluntarily, must it not beassumed that Macfast rule r^ras much more benevolent than had been a1 leged?hlhy had the important Fang tribe, described as fierce \¡rarriors, not createdan effective opposition to the President if they had really felt oppressed?Evidently these and oËher questions had to be given satisfactory ansr¡/ers.

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Once it became clear if large-scale repatriation was a realisticsolution to the refugee problem, a preliminary need assessment would have

to be presented, either'for a return to a counlry said to have lost much

of its htunan resources and its infrastructure, or for continued lífe inexile.

The question of repatriation reoccurred in the context of theneeds of the refugees, especially in the field of education and training.If they vrere to go back to a country said to have lost much of its trained*"rrporlr and infrastructure, how could assistance best be used to alleviatethe needs of Equatorial Guinea? If the refugees could not go back, how

could they best be assisted to become useful residents in the countriesof asylum?

Final1y, preliminary solutions would have to be suggested on the

basis of these needs, to facilitate further discussions between the countriesand agencies concerned.

2

2.L.

BACKGROUND

TIIE COUNTRY

Equatorial Guinea is among the least known countries in the ¡¿or1dtoday. It is often confused with Guinea-Conakry and Guinea-Bissau, even withNew Guinea in the Pacífic (1) or incorrecÈly referred to by íts old colonialname, Spanish Guinea.

Geographically and administratively it consists of t¡¡o parts, themainland province of Rio Muni plus the three coastal islets Corisco, ElobeyGrande andElobey Chieo; and the offshore islands Fernando Po and Annobón.These have now been renamed, respectively, Macías Nguema Biyogo and Pigalú,but will be mentioned by their more familiar names in this report.

The official capital is Malabo, formerly Santa Isabel, on FernandoPo. The island is subdivided into the districrs of Malabo; Luba, ex-SanCarlos; and Riaba, ex-Concepcion. Also included in Maclas Province isAnnobón r^rhich constitutes a fourth district. On the mainland the Rio MuniProvince has twelve districts: Bata \,/ith the province capital, Ebebeyin,Evinayong, I'ficomeseng, Bimbiles, Mongomo, Nyefang; Mbini, formerly RioBenito; Kogo, Acurenen, Nsok and Rio Campo.

Fernando Po is in the Gulf of Guinea, 33 km from the nearest partof the Cameroon coast. It is roughly 70 by 30 km, with a coastline of some

250 krn and an area of 2rOI7 km2, and consists of Ëhree extinct volcanoes.The highest, Pico de Santa Isabel, is 3,007 meters and important for Ëhe

possibilities it offers for electronic surveillance of sea and air traf.f.ícalong a strategically important part of the African coast. The Mokamountain, with its crater lake at 11800 meters, used to be economicallyimportant because of its livestock. A1l over, the volcanic soils contributeto exLremely fertile lands, and in Malabo a broken dor,¡n crater rim providesa good deepwater harbour some 700 meters in diameLer.

Annobón is the last of the chain of volcanoes which begins with¡{t. Cameroon and continues through Fernando Po, Príncipe and Sao Tomé.

South of the Equator and 600 km south-south-west of Malabo, it is 750 metershigh, covers 17 km2 and, at the time of independence, had a population of1,500. This has since been reduced by an uncontrolled cholera epidemic.

NaËural reseurces abound in Equatorial Guinea. The agriculturalpotential is very high, particularly on volcanic soils and the differingaltitudes allow the cultivation of practically anything. The sea and therivers are rich in fish and other seafoods.

On the other hand, there seem to be no mineral resources of anyconsequence. ùn the mainland, minute quantities of gold have been foundnear Evinayong, and there have been rumours about títaniumriron-ore andcoal. Prospecting for oil in the coastal sediments, inspired by the presence

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of oil in similarinvestment of US$

be excluded that

geological strata in Gabon, began in 1960' In spite of15 million it has so far 1ed to nothing, but it cannot

future test-dri11ing might produce results'

Duringthecolonialtime,theeconomywasbasedprimarilyoncocoa, famous for its excellent quality; on second grade Robusta coffee;on timber, like Oukoumé, walnut aná different kinds of mahogany; and on palm-

oil.

Rio Muni is a rectangular enclave on the continent, bordering

on Cameroon in the north and Gabon in the east and south, roughly 7?0 ^O^I . ,

140 km, with approximately 150 km of coastllne and wiÈh an area of 2b'0UU Km'

Most of the boundaries have been drawn with a ruler on the colonial map'

Behind a narror¡r coastal plain, the landscape begins to roll gently

upwards, eventually reaching hills of 1,000 tó 11200 meters in rhe eastern

pära. Geological1y, it consists of ancient metamorphic rocks, like granite'gn.iss, diorites and gabbroes. This produces soils of mediocre quality,but with an annual rainfall of 21300 mn or more, average temperature of

¡øõC rni "lr"ttge hurnidity rangíng around 862, the fertility is very good and

rhe rain forest stands lush and ábundant - strikingly beautiful in its great

variety, manifested in 140 different species of wood'

Animal life in the forest \^7as sparse but rich in variety, withgorillas, chimpanzees, elephants' hippopotami, buffaloes' antelopes'

crocodiles, pythons and Gaboon vipers ' It would seem that it has now

practicalty àisappeared, as pïoLein shortages have forced people to hunt

rh"t",r"t they have been able to calch with traps and dogs'

In the Rio Tamboni estuary are the manglove-studded islets of

Corisco, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico' respectlvety 1-5,2'34 and O'26 kmZ'

Being closer to the coast of Gabon than to that of Rio lfuni, the islands were

the subject of conflicts betr¿een the two countries in 1912 and 1974'

2.2, THE PEOPLE

Ethnically,EquatorialGuineahasbeendominatedbytwogloups'the ancíent Bubi on Fernando po, and the increasingly powerful Fang on the

mainland. some of the history of the country is influenced by the animosity

between them, which has been deliberaCely exploited in a divide-and-rulepolicy, both by the colonialists and by the present regime'

TheslaveryperiodmusthavehurttheBubibadly,butquitetov/hat exte"a ir unknown. Statements that they suffered from a ne\^/ decline

around 1900 probably reflect exaggerated population estimates in the pasr

rather than an actual reduction brrt, since then, their number has increased

very slowly. Apparently they were affected by sleeping sickness and other

diseases and, "".otairrg to Bubi informants' also by a tendency rowards

alcoholism which r¿as reinforced by Spanish plantation ovmers who paid part

of the vrages in low qualitY wine'

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A census in 1912 gave the Bubi as 547" of the population of Fernando

Po.Inlg60,theymayhaverepresentedaboutathirdoftheinhabitants.In addifíon, therL were a few thousand Fernandinos ' They are a group of

mixed heritage descended from Europeans as r¿ell as from former slaves

îi;;";;; by"the Brit.ish, and from emancipated Africans from sierra Leone'

Liberia and the West Indies, oft.en with English names and a knowledge of

Coastal Englísh. Other minorities r/ere lhe Crioulos of mixed African and

portuguese blood, and irmigrants from Ëhe ís1and of Annobón, populated by

liberated slaves from Angola. There I¡/ere a1 so limited nurnbers of Fang and

ri"y.ro" from Rio Muni and 4,222 whites. However, the largest group !üere

irmigrants fron Nigeria; Ibo, Ibibio and Efik contracË \^rorkers on the

"o"oã plantatiorr" tto lived in compaet colonies' Theybrought the toËal

population up to some 63r000 shortiy before independence, making a population

density of 31 per kmz. An important characleristic $/as the large surplus

of men, caused by the importation of workers '

The mainland tribes are divided into Ë¡¡o seeËions. The oldest

inhabitants are the small tribes of the Bujeba and the Ndowe tribe with itssubdivisions Benga and Combê. They are the "People of the Beach", Los

Playeros. Inland are the Fang, comparatively late arrivals'

A census made 31 December 1950 showed Rio l'Íuni to have 156,175

inhabitants; L,4g7 of them whites, and L2,263 mainly of.Gabonese and

Cameroonese origin. Ten years later the population had increased to LB3'377;

Z,gøq of rhem rtit". The population density was 7 per krn2, fairly evenly

distributed throughout. the districts. Subsequent figures have to be extra-polated r¡ith the help of an estimated growth rate of 1.7% per annum' This

brings rhe populetion to 285,000 in 1970 and would have brought it to 326'000

in 1978 if it had not been for factors outside normal demography' The slow

growth raÈe should be noted. Although Èhe infant mortaliËy rate I'fas one

of the lo¡¿est on the African continent (53.2/Lr000), Lhe fertility rate \'ras

Ëhe second lowest (G55/Lr000) after Gabon' This sub-fertílity has a strong

bearing on the values and atùitudes of the ethnic groups, especially the

Fang.

l,lany events of the more recent history of the people of Equatori-al

Guinea are fair1y well known, in particular from writers like Ndongo Bidyogo'

Domínguez, Fernandez, Pelissier and cronjé. l{hat has been made less clearis the general cultural and social background for these events and the attitudeswhich hãve interacËed with them. To clarify the issue it is necessary to make

a thr:mbnaíl sketch of the people. The emphasis will be on the Fang tribe,because of its numerical and political domifiance, and because its extension

into three countries must be taken into account for an understanding of the

situation of the exiles.

Fang stories tell that they cane from a bush country far to the

north-easË, outside the region of the tropical rain forest' They seem to

have been driven south and south_r,¡est by the Fulbé tribe Some one hundred and

fifty years ago and to have s1ow1y made fheir \day into rn¡haE is nor'r Ëhe Centre-

Sud Province of Cameroon, Rio Muni and the norttrern and north-\^Testern parts

of Gabon. sma11 groups arrived at Írhat is now Libreville about 1850, but the

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movemenË petered out around 1890. l4ígration inside Fang territory is stillgoing on, which has made frustrated colonial administt.iorc describe theFang as "nomadic". The Ëerm is misleading, with few, if any, of the normallyaccepted criteria of nomadism applicable to the slow extension and consolid-ation of an area taken over from smaller tribes.

Fang settlements have taken dífferenË forms. In Cameroon and Riol4uni there are relatively well demarcated. areas populated by one parËicularsubdivision of the tribe while in Gabon fragmented groups are interspersed.Relations between the groups are strengthened by "*ogr*y, a system aimed atpreventing incest in the widest sense of the term, which allows a man tomarry only outside his own clan. The Fang actually appear to practise double

exogamy, which means that a man is prohibited from ràrrying nàt only a girlfrom his fatherts c1an, buË also one from his motherts. this cornplicatedsystem means that the kinship ties become further extended geographically.rt is also indicative of the profound values-Fang tradition attaches tomorality, which they regard as one of the fundamental prerequisites for thegranting of fertí1iry.

It is not certaín what the economic basis of Fang life was beforethe migration began, but once they entered their present tãrritory, trad.eseems to have become a dominant aspect. Slave trade and colonialism hadencouraged an extensive netv/ork of Ërad.e routes between the inland and thelittoral, and the Fang were in an excellent geographical and cor¡rnercialposition to make use of it.

During the seventy years after 1850, commerce changed from almostexclusively ivory and natural produce to manufactured trade goods, andfrom bartering to exclusively cash basis. rn the process, most of thetraditional skil1s at handicrafts disappeared. and the capitalisation oftrade goods upset the circulation of marriage payments which, in turn,weakened the social organisation. This is relevant to the present hardshipsin Equatorial Guinea in three \,rays: non-existence of the cottage ind.ustrieswhich might have provided basic necessities, adherence to cash economy inspite of runavray inflation, and serious social disorganisation.

compared with many other Bantu tribes, the Fang appear to havepaid little attention to farming. subsistence agricultui" "ãr,

on rhe whole,for the I¡/omen' while the men d.evoted themselves to trading, at times raisingthe necessary capital through wage labour in the timber industry and to thesporting events of hunting and "obánn" raiding. The introd.uction of cocoaand other cash crops, in the nineteen-twenties, changed this. Many of themen became farmers attached to a particular plot of 1and. As a consequence,the population became more settled and the growing importance of tradingcentres for the crops led to previously unknown concentrations of thepopulation. In the centres the bark huts gave \,/ay to r^¡ell-built housesof dried clay on woodframes and, in spite of a certain resistance toinnovations, furniture of all kinds began to appear. propelled by theeconomic boom which had begun in the tr,¿enties with the

"*ploit"tion ofoukoumé wood and the profits made from cocoa and coffee, lh" area \,,/as on its\''lay ro a relative prosperity. At the same time, crises were building up insidea social system which was vulnerable to the sLrains imposed by rapid socio-economic change.

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A classical study by Balandier analyses what happened in Gabon;

what \^7ent \^rrong r¿ith the colonial system and how the Fang responded' (1)

The situation i-n Equatorial Guinea shor¡s st-rong analogies which help inexplaining how a rapidly developíng country with excellent economic

pofential has backtracked a century of evolution in a few years and become

the most backr¡ard region in Africa.

Early explorers like du Chaillu and Fourneau were impressed by

the intelligence "tt¿ tn" vitality of the Fang, but were not a\'rare of the

vulnerability which was inherent in the social system. They saw the

strength and dynamism but not that it was lacking in direction' Migrationsto do wage labour added to the dispersion and fragmentation of the socialgrorrpirrgs. Rapid economic progress had unfortunâte social side-effectsãnd contributed to a !üeakening of tradítional values which, in turn,interacted with what can best be described as a eultural inferioritycomplex vis-ã-vis the colonialists and their technical superioríty. "The

whiteman r¡ras described as the favourite son of God, the possessor of the

knowledge that is the source of power. He was said to be able to perform

miracles (akungé) ." (2)

At the same time, the growing imbalance was further affected by

Ëhe gap betvreen the traditional village elders and the rapidly growing

number of well trained and educated youngsters who were becoming a ne\¡I

social type for which there \^/as no place available within the system'

Apparently, the Fang felt a kind of identity crisis and a need

for reorientation. ]n the late forties' a series of steps v/ere taken tocope with the situaËion: bringing the groups togelher inside the "alarayãng" movement for clan consolidation and setting up the "Pahouin Congress"

for policy-making and external relations. ("Pahouin" has often been used

as a name for the Fang. In reality, it is probably a corruption of a

M'pongwe phrase *eaning "I do not know" used in response to incomprehensiblequesËions about their neighbours the Fang')

Another response to the vaguely understood but strongly feltcrisis was in the field of religion. Missionaries, money and the miraclesof technique had reduced the ínfluence of the Biéri cult of ancestor worship'A new, more por4Terful , religion had to be introduced. The outcome r¿as the

syncretistic Bwiti cu1t, courbining traditional and Christian traits and

sirongly reminiscent of the Voodoo of the inlest Indies and the Candomblé

of Brazi|. Like these, Bwiti had strong elements of magic and secrecy and

is, in many respects, an underground movement made to Serve as refuge and

defence frorn the superimposed threats of colonialism"

The reaction is in no way unique. 0n the contrary, it is quitecommon as a reaction of defence againsË oppression in the form of innumerable

more or less messianic movements throughout history. On occasion the reactior¡

has been pushed further to become a militant \^/ay of political expression and

Balandier , L970.

Balandier, Ibid. r P. 279

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(2)

action. Bur while such a turn of events as, for instance, in Çhe case ofMau-Mau in Kenya has oftqn been the work of évo1ués with a sopûisticatedpolicy towards eventual improvement of their own peoþle, Equatorial Guineais a different case altogether.

The Bwiti cult appears to have been growing strong during thefifties. It vras protected partly by its ov¡n clandestinity and partly bythe perpetual lack of corununicaËion across the cultural and linguisticgap between colonisers and colonised. In retrospect, it is clear thatmuch of Macfasr election campaign in 1968 r¡as dírected towards the adherentsof the Bwiti cult and, more specifically, towards Lhe influential villageelders whos.e fears of the Spaniards could be played upon easily. Once theforeigners and their superior magic were gone, the good o1d days of Fangpo\¡/er would return, with many wives and children; the old virtues restored,notably that of greater respect for the elders. All the property of thecolonialistis would be distributed to those'who were for Macías, bringingendless prosperity.

a') IlISTORY

The history of Fernando Po began in a distant past when it waspopulated by Bantu-speaking peoples coming across the narro\.{ straits fromwhat is now Víctoria on the coast of Cameroon. Their descendents were theBubi who created a centralised kingdom, ruled from the Moka highlands.Portuguese seafarers came to the island tn 1472, noted its great economicand strategic value and named it Formosa, "The Beautiful".

Twenty-one years later, in an unparal1e1led display of colonialisticat,titudes, a Papal Bu11 put the "undiscovered" r¡or1d up for grabs, dividingit into two spheres of interest for Portugal and Spain. The Papal Seal closedAfrica to Spain and. gave Portugal South America east of longitude 460\,1. The

arrangement survived until L777 when Spain obtained Fernando Po in exchangefor its part of BraziI . i^Ihat Spain lost in terms of size of territory itgained by getting a base for the slave-trading which was necessary for theexploítation of its American colonies. But Spanish presence on the islandwas insignificant and the most influential there r¡rere the British who weresoon Ëo use it as a base for their anti-slavery warships. English attemptsat buying the island were opposed by the Cortes but Spanish interests inkeeping it were dívided and it v/as not until 1858 that Spanish colonialinterests, rapidly declining in the rest of the r¿orld, reluctantly began tofocus on equatorial Africa. In the turmoil of frantic land-grabbing in thelate nineteenth century, Spain demanded large areas on the mainland whereit r¿as now beginning to stake out possessions, but. it was'up against strongercolonial po\¡¡ers and received only a fraction of its claims.

Originally, the desire to possess the mainland terrítory of RioMuni was based on a realisation that there \¡/as a great need for manpower

on the plantations of Fernando Po. This did not work out. The mainlandtribes were different from the docile Bubi and Crioulos. Spanish settlerscould geL theiï way with the Playeros. They found it rather more difficultto bend the Fang who, in 1960, made up 80-902 of the inhabitants of Rio Muni.

The Fang were fierce warriors, independent and primitive' not quite' to be

trusted and no good as farm labour. The inability to understand what was

goíng on ¿lmong the Fang qras to become one of the most fatal short-comingsof the colonialists.

There were other faí1ures. Rio Muni remained largely unexploreduntil the 1920s. Itlhen the Europeans finally moved in they did much todevelop Èhe area, building model villages compleËe with churches and schoolsalong the new roads, introduced coffee farming and timber industries, built

"r, rã"q,r"te road netowrk and worked hard on getting the health situationunder cont.rol. But there \^7as an ever-presenË paternalistic attitude whichprevented clear ideas of the damages which were being done and createdwhat was to become a heavy psychological legacy. Post-primary educagion

was sadly neglected and attitudes tol'rards political conscíousness hlere setby the Franco regime.

In 1945, a newly awakened and slightly bewildered attention toits exotic colony found an expression in the creation of an Institute forAfrican Studies in Madrid. IL was getting too late. "The winds of change"

were moving up on the Beaufort scale. The Bubi and the Playeros kept quiet,but Fang nationalism \^las beginning to express itself in Gabon and Cameroon'

gradualiy spilling over into the more prosperous and advanced Rio Muni'lp"in r.â"tå¿ with increasing oppression, culminaling wirh the alleged murder

of the nationalist Enrique Nvo.

Two years later Spain was finally admitted into Èhe United Nations.Respectabitity became a must. l'loreover, there was the issue of Gibraltarand how to put pressure on the British to hand it back to Spain. UN pressuretovrards decolonialisation left litt1e option. The Madrid Government had todo something. It made the colony a province and began an assimilation policy"Economically, iE created great benefits for the population, in particular forthe r¿hites. Predictably, the increased freedom stimulated the demands forfurther independence. In 1958, hundred of nationalists went into exile'one of the most important leaders was kil1ed and pressuTe mounted. The

nationalists protested in the UN against the strengthening of the Spanish

influence through an increasing integration r¿hich sar¿ the first Africandelegates in the Cortes in Madrid and growing numbers of African studentsin universities in Spain. The opposition against these apparent benefits must

be seen against the inferiority complexes which the colonial domination created'

From 1960, Spanish repression became milder. Prisoners and detaineeswere released and ín 1962 most of the exiles had returned. In that yearSpanish Foreign Minister Carrero Blanco visited Spanish Guinea for the firsttiure. Things were beginning to stir. In 1963 a referendum \^7as held on thequestion of increased autonomy. The people of Fernando Po, feeling theyhad more to lose than to gain from stronger Fang participation in internalaffairs, voted against. The larger population of Rio Muni voted for'

In July Lg63, the Liberation Conrnittee of the OAU increaseddiplomatic pressure and, one month later, Madrid announced its intention ofgiving the two provinces of Spanish Guinea greater autonomy and an opportunity.Ëo "prepare themselves to be administered and governed by their oh'n sons". (1)

(1) lloronoff , 1970, p' 208.

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Atanasio Ndongo founded the independence party MONALIGE and an

autonomous goverrìment r^ras set up, headed by Bonifacio Ondo Edu who laterbecame the leader of the MUNGE party. An unkno\^m colonial civil servantfrom a remote inland district named Francisco Macfas was,íappointed as

Vice PresidenL.

It is obvious that Ëhe last years of Spanish rule representeda seríous attempt to make up for past neglect. "Economically speaking theperiod of autonomy \^ras characterised by outstanding achievements, especiallyas regards Ëhe development of an economic and social infrastructure andthe development of agricultural exports." (1) Fernando Po had a per capitaGNP of US$ 466.-- in 1965, way above any other country in Black Africa. In1968, the average per capita GNP for the whole country reached US$ 300.--,second only to Gabon. Literacy \,/as assessed at 897., there \474s one doctorper 71230 inhabitants and 5.7 hospital beds per 1,000; Fernando Po had12.3 telephones per 1,000 and by far the highest number of vehicles. Thecountryts energy consumption per capita was the fourth in Black Africa, etc. Q)

Opinions among the exiles about the role of Spain as a coloniservary from acceptance by most of the refugees in Africa, to harsh condennationfrom several of the politícal1y conscious resistance groups in Europe. Buteven those who give much credit to the malerial benefits of the later periodof Spanish presence agree that"Ëhe greatest crime Spain committed in EquatorialGuinea was its neglect to introduce political education and to form politicalcadres". There is an easy explanation for this, the oppression of politicsduring the Franco regime - but the fact remains. The colonial por^/er withdrewfrom a country woefully unprepared for the political aspects of independence.

The circtrnstances leading up to and following independence'described in some detail by the specíalists, will be outlined here undersection 3, ttMaclas I Countrytr.

2.4. CI1RONOLOGY

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L4:3

L494

T77 7

L789

Portuguese seafarers discover uninhabited Annobón, andr\^ro years later Fernando Po, populated by the Bubi people.

First factories and slave-trading on Annobón

Papal Bu1l splits the world into tv/o sphere of dominancebetween Portugal and Spain along longitude 46oW, shuttingout Spain from Africa and giving a part of present-dayBrazil to Portugal.

Portugal and Spain swap Fernando Po and Annobón for BrazíLíanpossessions.

Spain begins slave-hunting and slave-trading.

(1)

(2)

ANRD document, undated.

"España y Guinea Ecuatorial", Servicio Informativo1968,

10

Espaãol, Madrid,

L827 England sets up a base for naval ships to suppress theslave trade at Port Clarencer no\¡tr Malabo'

Beginnings of Fang migration into Rio Muni'

1843 A spanish Royal commíssioner sent t.o take possession ofthe islands appoints an Englishman the first governorof Fernando Po

1B5B The first spanish-born governor, and beginnings of spanish

colonialism orì Fernando Po'

1866 The first Catholic mlssions on Fernando Po

1885 Germany and France draw a coÍlmon border between theirrespective colonies Karnerun and Gabon'

lBBg Spain, having lost its American and Asian colonies,expropriates land from the indigenous population and

steps up the colonialisation.Fang migrations ebbing ouË.

1900 A treaty in Paris reduces Spanish land claims on Ëhe continentfrom 300,000 km2 to 26,000 k'n2: the Rio Muni enclavewhich is conceded from French Gabon. An adminisËraËionis organised ín 1904, but most of it remains unexploredunril rhe 1920s.

1936 Civil war in Spain. Fernando Po is Falangist. RepublicanRio }funi becomes "pacified", i.e., Falangist'

Lg42 Treaty with Britain on Nigerian labour in Equatorial Guinea.

Lgl+7 Fang nationalism emerges in Gabon and Cameroon. Spain Ëries- to repress budding tendencies towards independence'

1953 Nationalist leader Enrique Nvo is killed

1955 Spain joins the United Nations.

Lg56 Under UN pressure Spain gives its colony equal statusr¿ith the provinces of the peninsula.

spain introduces an assimilation policy along Portuguese1ines.

1958 Nationalist leade-r Acacio Mané is ki1led. Hundreds in exílein Gabon ¡.nd Cameroon.

f959 The indigenous population is granted Spanish citizenship.

. Nationalists protest increasing Spanish domination in the UN.

1960 General Spanish elections. First African delegates in the Cortes.

11

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L963 Referendum. Rio Muni votes for increased autonomy'

Fernando Po against for fear of becoming dominated by

the Fang. Macías becomes Vice President'

Franco no¡ninates Bonifacio Ondu Edu to head the autonomous

government.

Two UN resolutions urge Spain to give full independence

and to prepare a constitutíonal conference'

A UN commission visits Bquatorial Guinea'

Record. year for cocoa. In October Èhe constitutionalconference begins in Spain, buL stalls'

t964

L965

]-966

t967

1963SpainI^fantstoincreaseinternationalpressureonBritainto concede Gibraltar and pushes the conference to show

its eagerness for decolonisation'

Macíasr relations with Trevijano begins' Maclas visitsUN in New York'

11 August, the new constitution is accepted in a referendum

observed bY the UN'

In September general elections are won by Macías '

12 October: proclamatíon of Independence'

11 Novernber: Equatorial Guinea joins the UN'

Lg6g t{acías bans Red Cross relief flights from Fernando Po to

Bíafua; asks UN for peace-keeping force; ki1ls Ondo Edu'

5March:thefirst''coupd'étatatËempt'tleadstoviolentseriesofassassinations.6,00Ospaniardsareevacuatedby air and sea, B0 remain in Equatorial Guinea'

TgTo''YouthonEhelnlarchwithMacías''roamthecountry.7 July: creation of "Partido Unico Nacional'

Exchangeofambassadorsbetr¿eenSantalsabelandPeking.

Equatorial Guínea voËes for China in the UN'

LSlt Macías assumes total por¡/er'

SpaindeclaresallinformationaboutEquatorialGuineatobeagainst the official secrets act'

LgTzReligiouspersecutions'NzéAbuy'BishopofBata'inexile'14 July: l'Iacías makes himself President for Life'

AgreemenEsabouteconomic'cultural'rechnicalandmilitaryassistancefromUssR'Cubaandothersocialistcountries.Somalís and Ethiopians engaged ín the security system'

Strained relations with Gabon'

12

r97 3 Maclas imposes ne\,ü coûstitution and renames most places ina desire for authenticity. Third PUNT congress. Attemptsat a national census. Economy disintegrating. Ca. L27. ofthe populatíon in exi1e. US$ 400,000'-- loan from IDA'

August: formation of ANRD Liberation movement'

"Coup attemptil followed by large-scale killings '

L97 4

L975: March: formation of Liberation movements: ANALIGE, URGE and

MOLIFUGE in SPain.

1976

Deterioration of relations with spain. Macías signs friend-ship treaty r,/ith PresidentBokassa of CenËral African Republic.

Labour treaty with Nigeria abrogated and 20,000 Nígeriansrepatriated.

All Roman Catnâlic priests and nuns arrested'

Diplomatic relations with US broken.

Franco dies.

11 Nigerians shot in Malabo. 25,000 repatriated'

US Embassy closed.

Equatorial Guinean students in Spain occupy the EquaforialGuinean embassy in Madríd. Their relatives at home ki1ledin reprisals.

Meeting of the Liberation movements.

20 October: the ner¿ Spanish Government lifts the officialsecrets act from information about Equatorial Guinea.

lularch: last Spanish diplomat leaves embassy in Malabo.

November: The President of Gabon, Omar Bongo' goes to Spain

where he requests diplomatic support for his countryts claimon the islands of Equatorial Guinea in exchange for Gabonrs

support for spain in its problems with the canaty Islands.

Macías visits Peking, Pyongyang and Hanoi'

March: last Spanish teachers leave.

April: A mercenary committs suicide in London. Docr:ments

found in his apartment prove that he had been employed inI972 to overthrow Macías and put General Ojukwu, leader ofthe Bíafran rebellion, in his place.

May: Macfas declares an atheistic state.

June: The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs says in Pekingthat his country would strengthen its diplomatic relationswith Equatorial Guinea'.

July: Six Spanish priests are expelled from Equatorial Guinea.

Equatorial Guinean ambassador in Gabon abducËed and presuruablyki11ed.

L97 7

L97 B

13

J. MACIAS' COUNTRY

The change r¡hich has Laken place in Equatorial Guinea after Macías

took poweris ofamagnitude which makes it unique in Africa. stil1 more

astounding is that it remains so unknor^m. It is a contributing part' of

the tragedy that even the meagre information ¡n'hich has trickled out of the

country has to a great extent been ignored, or repressed. Spain and the

vaLican have kept their silence. So have the socialist countries and the

inter-governrnental organisations. Some lJestern publications like "Marchés

Tropicãux" have produãed information vihich is misleading to the point of

becárning fa1se. Other üIestern reíterations of reports from the refugees

have been regarded by Third !,lorld countries as representing partisaninterests. t'Such reports remain a matter of speculation in the absence

of first-hand reports, much more so while Spain, United States and West

Germany are sti11 Equatorial Guineafs rnajor.trading partners'" (1) fne

list of trading païtners is incorrect but the caution is justified' Most

of what has been published so far is at best second-hand, and much of itconsists of rehashed digests based on sources so far away in time and space

that checking' and controlling become irnpossible'

The task of providing a report on Ëhe exiles, their reasons forleaving the country and the possibilities of repatriation, made an assessment

of Ëhe current situation inside the country essential. However, a study

of the existing documentation was anything but conclusive.

until 1968 the country had been abundantly, if not wel1, described

inSpanishpublications.AnauthoritylikeLinigerlistsl,T00titlesinhisiiuriogr"ptti. Q) Macías changed that. rn December 1968 he told leading

civil servanEs "Franco commands in Spain and I command here" ' (3) Among

his commands were the closing doi,rn oi tr"tt a dozen nevrspapers and period-icals, rigid censorship and banning of all foreign journalists' News from

and about Ëhe country became scarce, contrádictory and hard to evaluate'In 1971 he was helped by the Franco regime which made all informationrelating to EquaÈo.i"f grrirrea "materia reservada", prohibiting its public-ation in Spain under the official secretst act'

tr{hat was eventually published was obviously biased. statements

from Ì,Ialabo, reinforced by Macíast eminence grise, Trevijano, stressed the

progressive nature of a regime threatened by colonialism and imperialism'Those who had fled from the country held rather different opinions '

Impartial sources like member organisations of the uN expressed

themselves in bland offici.alese and ín statistical estimates. Handbooks

abouË Africa provided some inÈeresting information but in vier¿ of what I

was laËer Eo experience personally, much of it is so out-of-date that it

is totally misleading. l"la1abo is no longer a town where "You may sip

coffee in the main plaza in front of the Cathedral, walk to the port and

No . 79 , l"larch \97 8.

, "Guinea EcuatorialiBibliogtafía general,UNESCO 1L91 4(1)

(2)

(3)

Africa Magazine,

Liniger-Gournaz rM.

L4

"Ya",October L977.

the beach, and enjoy 12 hours a day of televísion on free public sets (Spain's

last pre-independence gift) and where inexpensive local taxís Ëake you to a

cqcoa esËaterr. (1) All this was already untrue in 1973 and the statementsin "Africa Yearbook" of L976 ate nothing short of macabre. Its "VisiËorrsGuide" provides opening hours for banks and shops, lists hotels and restaurants'and describes t"tala¡o "ã "r busy town, throbbing with life and music". (2)

Evidently it was necessary to visit Equatorial Guinea personally,^.Eo assess the contradictory infor*"rion. But "Tourism is not encouragedt' (3)

and visas were all but unobtainable for lJesterners. I eventually goE one

from a díplomaf who was planning to defect in order to avoid the fate ofnumerous of his colleagues. Some had been called home "for urgent consulations"and some had been forcibly abducted from their embassies; all had been kil1ed.

The following descriptions contain ury firsthand observations of the

situation inside Equatorial Guinea and corroborative information obtainedthrough methods mentioned.,below in sectlor- 7., "Sources".

3.1 THE STATE APPARATUS

"The rule of the first President, Francisco Macías Nguema, ishighly personal" observes the Encyclop.edia Britannica. l'fitogo, less givento understatement, claims that I'True independence lasted only 145 days, from

12 Ocrober 1968 to 5 March 1969. Since then Macías has suppressed the righcof association, abolished the political parties and created PUNT, membership

of which is compulsory from birth. The President has assumed the rightswhich belong exclusively to the people. To maintain his por/Íer he practisesto an excessive degree racism, tribalism and regionalism. The life presidencyclaimed by Macías is contrary to the ConsËitution. tle has insfitutíonaliseda reign of rerror by imprisoning or physically elirninating persons guilty ofnon-existant or supposed crimes". (4)

Actually the democraticConstitrrlion was disregarded after 75 days.

After the Christmas recess the Public Prosecutor, Juan José Martínez Zafo,approached the Minister of the Interior on 26 December L968, drawing hisaltention to "excesses and maltreatmentt' by Government officials, and "reports,of which the Chief of Police had no official ne\,/s, that certain persons had

been detained and were being held Inrithout having appeared in court, apparentlyas political prisoners. The Minister informed the Public Prosecutor that tre

could not discuss the matter r¿ith him and that it ¡¿as forbidden to interferewith political matters". (5)

The five political parties had all come into existence during thecolonial period. Idea Popular de la Guinea Ecuatorial (IPGE) was formed bythe lawyei, Lrri" Maho, whose leadership eventually passed on to Maclas' once

(1) A11en & Segal, "The Travellerts Africa", Hopkinson & Blake, New

York, L973.

(Z) "Africa Yearbook and tr^lhot s .hlho", Africa Journal Ltd., London, L976,

"Africa South of the Sahara", Europa Publications Ltd., London' 1977.

l"títogo , 1977 .

"Yat', october L977 .

(3)

(4)

(s)

l5

iiiiit

Ìiiiii

Spanish attitudes tor¡ards the independence movements had become more tolerant.The Movimiento de 1a Guinea Ecuatorial (MUNGE) was formed in 1963 by Ondo

Edu who died in Blackbich prison in 1968. The Movimiento Nacional de

Liberacion de la Guinea Ecuatorial (MONALIGE) was formed ín L964 by AtanasioNdongo, ki11ed in March 1968. The others r¡/ere the Fernando Po DemocraticUnion and the more important Union Bubi. The Bubi leader, Pastor ToraoSikara r¡/as to die in Bata pfison, "of thirst". A founder of the Union Bubiis said to have died from gangrene caused by his eyes having been gougedour. ( 1)

In 1970 Macías banned the political parties and created the PartidoUnico Nacional. In July the same year it was renamed Partido Unico l.lacionalTrabajadores (PUNT), "The Workerst Only National Party'r. The PIJNT membershipcard became the all-important document which had to be shov¡n ever¡zwhere and

at any time. Before he became a refugee, the Minister of fhe Interior usedto say that "Once you needed a certificate. of baptism to enter Heaven. Now

al1 you need is the card fron PUNT, because there is no other God but Macías".Failure to produce the card usually 1ed to immediate arresÈ. The Partyactivists quickly assumed a povüer over and beyond the 1aw, much of it basedon the fear inspired by the youth section of PUNT, Juventud en Marcha con

Macías. The Youth on the March with Macfas \^¡as recruited mainly from thediscontented teenagers at the boÈtom of the society. Given sudden po\,üer

to intimidate anybody below the top strata of the Party they formed bandsof thugs, encouraged to ferret out potential enemies of the state. Confisc-ations, beatings and general harassment of the population became routine.

The democratic Constitution, accepted by a UN-supervised referendumin August 1968 had become more and more dísregarded. hrhat remained of itwas effectively s\¡/ept aside when Macías assumed Èota1 supremacy over thenation, PUNT and the arrned forces. Adding a surrealistic touch he alsodeclared himself Grand Master of Education, Science and Culture. (2) Aft"ra nevr referendum, twelve months later, Ëhe Third Congress of PUNT adopted a new

constitution r¡hich formalised the autocracy and set legal rights aside in thecase of subversion or acts against state security. Accusations of thesetwo offences would be judged by persons appoínted by Macías himself. Theirverdict could be anticipated from the way in which the referendum had been

carried out. "Everybody agreed that the referendum day was disastrous. It\¡/as pure coercion and ímplanted an undescribable terror: anybody who intendedto vote against. or abstain \,üas threatened with public ki1ling. This was carriedout. The few r^/ho abstained in Evinayong and Santa Isabel were given a terríblebeating, and any who managed to survive v/ere executed a few days later inBata prison." (3)

The Independence Consitution had tried to balance the numericallydominant Fang by providing certain safeguards for the smaller ethnic groups

on Fernando Po. These measures r,¡ere no\,ü abolished and the administratíon ofthe two provinces became more íntegrated.

L7 October 1975.

de1 Estado, 14 JulY L972.

(1)

(2)

(3)

Jeune Afrique,Boletin OficialBidyogo, p. 229

T6

officially Malabo remains the capital. In reality the centre of

po\,üer is now on the mainland, as Macfas only visits the island on very

rare occasíons, preferring to spend almost all his time in the small town

of Mongomo and ,.rl_irrg rhrãugh his political network. Each province isgo.r"rrrãd by a "Gorci" (Gobernador Civil). Each district is governed by a

ã"yor who is delegated from the Government, and by two Lieutenants-ín-Chief'one from the National Guard and one from the Militia, commanding theirrespective units. The Government delegate is theoretically in control over

a conrnittee consisting of the local President of the PUNT, the President

of the l,Iomenf s Section of the PUNT and the President of the Juventud en

Marcha con Mácías. On paper this set-up is under formal control of the

PUNT and the arme-d forces but responsible to the civil administratíon'In reality it is a shell around Ehe security organisation shown in the diagram

below, r^rhich has its members in all the other bodies, primarily as spies

and informers.

,7\

The real administrative structure gives a different picture. Tire

diagram below shor¿s the key posts. Gone are the ideas of delegation ofpo\^rer between etitnic groups, of balance and collaboration. All of them

are held by Ì'{acíast clånsmen, Ëhe Esengui from Mongomo'

tenant-in-Chief €-- (Government Delegate) -+

President of rhe PUNTT' President of

[Jomenr s Section Youth Section

Detachment Heads

Civil Governor

..tMayorNational Lieu- Ì,fi1itia Lieu-

tenant-in-Chief

)

1SECURITY

JArmy

Detachment lleads

II

\.LMilitia

L7

¿J

Life PresidentH- E. Macías

of the RepublicNguema Biyogo

Miníster ofArmed Forces

the People I s(Macías )

lutínister for NationalSecuriry (l'tacías)

Minister for(Macías)

Trade

Head of H.E. I s

Cívi1 Household

SecretarY GeneralMinístry of Defence

(Com. Teodoro Nguema

Mba N'zogo) (1)

Head of H.E. rs

Military Household(Com. Teodoro Nguema

Mba N'zogo) (1)

Captain Aide-de-CanP(t,taye)

lfinis ter f orBonifacio

ViceBonifacio

PresidentNguema Esono (2)

ForeignNguema

AffairsEsono (2)

Di s tric tCorunanders-

in-Chief

CaptainZnd. ComPanY

(IIba Onana) ( I)

Secretary of State forEconomy and Finance

Director-General ofInformation and Tourism

(Daniel Oyono AYingono)

Civil Governor

)

)

))

(3)

Notes:

(1) Cousins of Macías

(2) From Macías t villageand f amilY.

(3) Nephew of Macías

Permanent SecretarY ofthe PUNT (FelicianoOyono) (l)-vCommande'r-in-Chief of the People'sMilitia (Braulio N'zue)

vDis trict- Lieutenants-in-Chief

\yDi s trict Second-Lieutenant s

vDetachment Offieers

{,Militia

Minister of the InteriorSecretary-General ofthe PresidencY

Director*General ofSecurity

1B

As with Ëhe administration, the Government is one thing on paper

and another in reality. This began on L4 JuLy L972 when Macías, elected fora five-year period, proclaimed himself President for Life and took upon him-self forty-five other official titles. The first Vice-President, a Bubi

from Fernando Po, died in connection with the destruction of a photo ofMacías. According to the Constitution the post should be held by a Bubi,but the present Vice-President is a Fang from Ì'facías' clan in Mongomo.

He will appear again in this account, in the office of Blackbich Prison.

The CabineË should also include the heads of twelve ministries.Of those who made up the Independence Cabinet, ten have been killed'"Africa South of the Sahara" lists the 1974 Cabinet, soberly commenting that"some of these Ministers may be dead". Three have indeed been ki11ed' butthe low number most 1ikely depends not so much on lack of zeal as lack ofmoney. trrlhen the economy came close to bankruptcy in L972, several ministries\47ere more or less closed. At present three seem to have dísappeared altogether'The l,Iinistries of Popular Educatíon, Popular Construction, Agriculture,Popular Health, and Electricity and Natural Resources have ministersappointed by Macías personally. However, they have no budget and when I went

tå tne buitdings the doors had been loeked for a long time. The onlyministries which seem to function to any degree are the l4inistry forExternal Relations and Friendship with the Peoples,headed by the Vice-president; the Ministries of the Peoplets Armed Forces, National Securityand Èhe Peoplets Ministry of Trade, with Macías carrying all the portfolios'

The mechanisms which really govern life in the country are elementary,

brutal and effective. The constitutional structure at the top has been

s\^/ept array and the same has happened to the structures at grassroots 1evel,i.u., the tradítional village democracy which functioned on a basis ofspiritual authority, kinship loyalties and prestige based on Ëhe respecta person could earn from his community. The o1d chiefs and their councillorshave been substituted by militants appointed by Macías. "Now every chief\^/ants to be a little Macías in his or,rn village." If he has ambitions togo further in life he has to prove himself politically, inform on those

who are discontented, report suspected "subversivos" and act in supportof Þtacías. The days of ruling by consensus are long gone.

Every village or tor^7n in controlled by a Comité de Base:, The

compositíon is the same as that of the Committee at the district 1evel,with the local President of PUNT, the President of the I'rlomenrs Sectionand the president of the Youth Section. The Base CommitËee deals primarilywith national security and surveillance of al1 travel and movement withinthe country. Nobody is allowed to leave his or her place of residencewifhout splcial permission. The perrnit, ca11ed "credencia", is issued by

the Delegã'ao C.tUãtnativo. It ís given for such things as reporting for\^/ork; on occasions for seeking such medical treatment as is available,but very rarely for such purposes as visitinEi onets wife and children.

lfhen a traveller arrives at his stafed destination he must

prompt.ly report to the local Base Commíttee, giving an account of v¡here he

h", "oro"

from, the purpose of his visit and the persons with whom he isgoing tostay (there are no\¡/ only two hotels in the eountry, in BaLa and

l9

Malabo) ancl for how 1ong. His host must report on the s¿tme matlers'Failure Ëo comply inevitably leads to arresË by the political police -the Mílitia.

Further control of movements inside the country is maintained by

an extensive network of checkpoints' established every 25 kiloneters along

Ehe roads and manned day and night. The system is based on a double watch

kept borh by the Militia and the ar:Ïny, the Guardia Nacional' At every

chãckpoint there are tr^7o separate camps \^7ith 5-10 people in each, checking

orr each other as well as on travellers'

There has been no lack of official justification for the internalsecurity system. Macías has declared that he has been threatened by, and

by devine grace saved from, no less than fourteen attacks against hislife. This is not a case of allegations open to doubt; it is downright

ridiculous. Already the evenLs of 5 March'Lg6g are questionable, and as faras the other reputeã coups d'état are concerned it seems faír1y clear thatmost of them have been nothing but stories made up by Macías to demonstrate

his invulnerability and divine protection. Among the refugees, opinions

are dívided as to l"lacías' other motives for claiming that he has been

threatened by "subversivos". Some say that he uses an invented attempt

against tris iife as ân excuse to kil1, others that he kills whether he has

an excuse or nor. Judging from the existing list of his victims and from

the knov¡n cases where entire villages have been exterminated, it appears

unlikely that he feels restrained by the need for offical excuses '

"Mitogott, an Equatorial Guinean using a pseudonym for the sake

of protecting rálatives inside the country' also mentiones "excessive degrees

of racísm, tribalism and regionalism". This deserves comments' The racism

directed tor¿ards Spaniards may be seen as a natural post-Independence

reaction and has not been systematic. The tribalism directed tor¡ards

the non-Fang ethnic groups has been much in evidence and has been severe

periodically, but I have heard refugees of Bubi and Fernandino originsay ttrat "tie Fâng now suffer more than us". Against the background of

what has been donã to their groups lhis seemed a surprising opinion, but

their rationale \^¡as that "the Fang have lost more than us because there are

more of them and nor^i Macías oppresses everybody"'

Theregionalismcanperhapsberegardedasanexaggeratedat.tempt at counteracting the preferential treatment the colonialistsgave to Fernando Po. But other things are difficult to understand, such

as the attitude to\n/ards the already vastly diminished population ofAnnobón. A medically trained refugee relates:

"In March and April there \^ras a cholera epidemic in EquatorialGuínea. The hrorld Health organisation, in collaboration tiiththe Ministry of Health, began a campaign of vaccination with a team

for each province. The tearn for Ëhe island of Macías Nguema

Biyogo began its work in the capital, starting r¡ith the Government

grtr_rl r" i" usual and then going on to vaccinate those in

""f,oãt". A third of this latter group was vaccinated. Subsequently,

/,\)

the anticholera vaccine was 'exhausËedt before it reached

the inland schools. The vaccine which had been allocatedfor the Annobón district was puE into storage at the medicaldePositorY '

"There v/as a brand new ship r¿hich could do Ëhe voyage in one

day. The Government \^ras aware of the sítuation on Annobón butconsidered that a trip to the island \,{as not rworthwhiler.

Some time later Annobón was stil1 cut off and the remaininginhabítants seríously considered leaving for Angola or some othernearby country. Basic goods were short and fundamental needs

could not be sa.tisfied. I recall that one of the worst thíngsthat could happen to one !¡as to be sent to Annobón. The areahad become a living hell and the epidemic continued to takeits to11.

"The General Dírector for Health made an attempt to protestagainst such a state of affairs. He protested and thisaction cost him his job. He was sent to Ebebiyin as TechnicalAssistant in the Health sector. After nearly a year theGovernment, rconvincedr that tsomething serioust \¿as happeningand,with the intention of obtaining pigs to eat on the feastdayof 5 March 1g74, ordered the ship Presidente Maclas Nguema

Biyogo to sail for Annobón with a leam of nurses, 70 rnilicíanosand about 15 Guardia Nacional.

"They arrived two days later after having stopped off fortsightseeingt on the island of Sao Tomé (then a Portuguesecolony), vaccinated the population of San Pedro de Annobón and

did the best deal of their lives, four cakes of soap for eachpig. They did an about turn and went back to Malabo. l4issionaccomplished. Result z 192 dead, unburied' out of a populationof 400 inhabitants. These and other events which are presentin all our minds give, I believe, a clear idea of how our countryis tled and governedt."

The case of t.he courageous General Dírector for Health shouldbe compared with that of a football player from Micomeseng who made a

political career in Ëhe JuvenEud. "He had not even the training of a

medical dresser, bu¡ Maclas made him a medical doctor by decree and

nominated him Hospital Director."

On the whole, the health situation is becoming increasinglyfrightening. The climate of Equatorial Guinea provides fertile ground formost tropical diseases, making effective health care imperative. The

colonialists built one. In the L92Os there were thousands of victimsof sleeping.sickness. Tn L942 their nurnber was reduced to 538, fourteenyears later, several hundred thousand analyses had revealed 70 cases.The dread.ed "pian", also knovrn as "tropical syphilis" had appeared åmong

61794 people out of 44,652 r,¡ho had been checked in L942. In 1952 thesituation had deteriorated, with 10r952 cases out of 81,352 consultations.However, in 1958, a campaign against the disease found only 21381 afflicted

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among 7:I4r37L. Malaria r¡/as fairly well under control, rnrith an average

recolnition as cause of death of. 20 per year. Leprosy had affected4 - 51000 in the l94os but the fight against it was having results in several

treatment centres. The biggest leprosarium, in Micomeseng' had 1r210

parienrs in 1958. (1) In 7967 the country had 16 hospital establishments

,itr, r,637 beds. According Ëo uN statistics, spain, at that time, had one

hospital bed for 193 people, Equatorial Guinea had one hospital bed for171 people. There are no indications that the health care system is even

beinã *.irrtrirr.d today. on the contrary' it appears to be deliberatelyneglected, apart from token conLributions from abroad' After the

indigenous medical personnel had been exiled or eliminated, small numbers of

cubans worked r" p"t"*"dica1s. "Inle could talk ro them when f/e Tíere sick'bur they had very little in the way of drugs or medicines, and did not seem

inËerested in helping us any\"/ay. Now we have the chinese' They are friend-lier and r^rant to telp rrs more' but we cannot talk to them"'

As for medicines, the refugees agree that there are medical

supplies of some size in the country. These are said to be stored in l{ongomo

and can be released only on specific order from Macías' This is apparently

not forthcoming. All the pharmacies I have seen \'üeÏe kept open but the shelves

\^Iere completely empty apart from collections of headache pills and the like;

in size and composition approximately what one would find in a family-stzedfirst-aid kit. There \,r'ere no customers to be seen in any of the pharmacies

and I did not get the impression that the people behind the counters had any

training in pnaãacy. uäcías is known to have attacked modern medicine in

the context of his campaign for "authenticity", saying that Lhe people did

not need it before the colonial period and, therefore, there should be no

need now. ft is interesting to note that the use of European medicine met

with no counter-indications as far as he himself or his innnediate family

were concerned, as will be seen in section 4'

If human health eare has deteriorated to the stage of the eatlycolonial days for all except the Party hierarchy, animal health care has

disappeared altogether, largely becase of sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) 'The livestock whlch was not ki1led by disease has been slaughtered wholesale

for the national feast days when the participants have been offered rare

opporËunities of eating meat '

However,iËmustbestacedclearlythatlsahTnoindicationsofserious food deficiency. Even Ehose in forced labour can keep themselves

from sLarvation with a bit of luck and with enough family members free to

do some subsistence cultivation. Generally speaking the hothouse climate

makes real famíne a remote risk. 0n Fernando Po the excellent soil makes it

easy to grow manioc' yam' bananas and other staples, and along the beaches

women and children catch small amounts of fish with crude fishing rods ' In

Rio t4uni there is also the possibility of catching fish in the rivers' using

traditional fish-traps or hooks. In some areas there is game, such as antelopes

(1) Valentin Mati1la, D.4., "Progresos Sanitarias en 1a Guinea

Española", Archivos del Instituto de Esludios Africanos,Numero 55, Madrid, 1960.

22

gazeLLes and procupines. The authoríties have forbidden firearms and metal

spear_headsbut'iittagerssometímesorganísethemselvesinsmallgroupswhodig pits to trap the !ame, use dogs to-"hase it and kill it with spears with

wooden tíPs hardened bY fire'

The fact that their dier is adequate is illustrated by the extra-

ordinaryphysíqueofthemajorityofGuineans,bothintovrnsandjunglevíllages. I^Iith few exceptions, Ëhey are extremely well built' bulging

with muscle and of great physical vitality. Even ex_prisoners, whose

ordeals are clearfy illustrated by deep scars and burns, have managed to

regainimpressivepnysi"alrlealttl.Itseemsfaírtoassumethatt'hisphysical and mental strength has been a major contributing factor to the'anazíngLy long periods some prisoners have survived'

Infact,onehearslitcleaboutlackoffood.Almostwithoutexeeption, the p.ápt. are stoic and proud' and complaints about the

Government-created shortages are f.r, concerned mainly with salr, soap and

medicine. Salt is an absolute necessity in an equatorial climate and the

lack of ir has been severely felt. The clímate also increases the need to

be,andtofeel,clean.Refugeeswhohaveescapedaf.tertT¡Toyearsofforcedlabour report túat they recej-ved five pieces of Chinese soap during the

entireperiod,tobesharedbytheirramities.othershavebeenusingpapaya leaves to wash themselves and their few remaining clothes '

According Eo UN statisËics for 1967, Equatorial Guinea exported

38,000metrictonsofhighgradecocoaworthUs$25'1:9'9qO:,-1^:'064metricrons of RobusËa "ãriã..oãrin

us$ 6,209,000.--, 325,806 mr of wood worth

US$ 19 ,L67,000.-- , 2,995 metric tons of palm oi1 worth US$ 624'000'--'L,43g metric tons of palm kernels r¿orth us$ :ogr000'-- and 4,005 metric Eons

of yuccaworrh us$ 296,000.--. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (rAo)

calculated that industrial fishing produced approximately 1,000 metric tons

of fish per year and that shrimps-worth US$ one million r¡iere exported'

However, this was insignificant in comparison with the extensive sma11-

scale fishing, done largely from canoes, which provided approximately

12,000 metric tons of risr,, bringing the annual per capita consumpLion

of fish uP to 46 kg.

Allthischangedafterlndependence,althoughitisuncertaintowhatdegree.Afterlg6gEquatorialcuineaslowlydroppedoutoftheworld.Information about the country became more and more scarce' The kind of data

which make up the coh¡nns in the uN SÈatistical Ydarbook were marked with

anasterisksígnifying''estimate''.ForafewyearstheestimateshTereadjusted for estimated growth rate, then abruptly descended to low estimated

errãrr nrr*b"rr, then disappeared altogether'

AccordirrgtoPelissíer,''Spain,whomadeconsiderableinvestments'\"/as \^Tearying of incessant calls for assistance from lhe new President"' (i)

spanish benefits from trade agreements with its former colony fell as flatas production and imports. The Madrid Government cut its losses and compen-

).¿. ECONOMY

(1) Africa South of the Sahara, L976-L977 '

23

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sated its returnees for much of what they had to leave behind. It was a lot'One among many, the forest.enterprise ALENA lost all its peseta 727 millioninvestment because of the economic paralysis in 1971. The flight of capital'and know-how did not help the economy to recover' but there ís no indicationthat Maclas r¡anted it to do that. On Ehe contrary he continued to lead hiscountry towards bankruPtcY.

In June L974, Africa l{agazine published an article on the situationin Equatorial Guinea stating that the countryrs rate of inflation was greaterthan in any other African country and among the highest in the world- It1üas revealed that Macías had just expelled the remaining Egyptian, Sudanese

and Nigerian Ëechnical experts sent under the Interafrican Progranrne forCo-operation, as well as the Haitian Mittchel Louis, who was in charge ofthe UNDP office in }4alabo. Currency reserves r^rere exhausted and Lhe onlycurrency which the country possessed was the pesetas one thousand million(US$ 15 million) offered to Macías by Spain. 'According to the magazine,

African leaders whom Macías \,üas said to respect, including the presidentsof Cameroon, Nigeria and Zai"xe and the Emperor of Ethiopia, had advisedhim to abandon his power. Iufacías' nalural response rras to forbid them

to interfere in the internal affai-rs of his country.

Tvro months later he convened the First Extraordinary Congress ofthe pUNT in Bata. In his opening speech, Macías, much in his owrì manner'recognised the reasons for the chaotic situation: "The matters which willbe discussed within this Congress will be limited exclusively to thoseconnected with the world oil crisis and the consequences of this in the

Republic of Equatorial Guinea and in Africa in general. I am not aÍraíd,Comrades and fel1ow Guineans, to affirm that this crisis has affected many

developing countries and not simply the Republic of Equatorial Guinea as

our enemies within and without believe, for in many regions of the worldthe price of basic arlicles has increased considerably and such artíclesare in as such short supply as in our o\trl country.... Iluch has been saidabout salt and soap, but I believe that' at the plesent time, thousands

of sacks of salt and soap have arrived in Equatorial Guinea and these

have been distributed restríctively to avoid price abuses which have been

committed by many traders and others who have been selling soap at pesetas

Guinean 75.-- to 150.-- per unit. i^le consider such persons as enemies

(cries of tDown with the traitorst) of the Government because such salesare destructive. Anybody selling a cake of so.ap at this price will be

arrested and brought before the courts to be judged in conformity with the

present Constitution of the Republic of EquatoÏia1 Guinea (applause) 'Henceforth, nobody may sell basic articles at abusive pr{ces, but can

only sell them at the duly authorised prices of the Government of the

Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and these basic articles will be controlledby the Government itself and nobody else '" (1)

True to its name, the Extraordinary Congress then adopted Point 10,

a decision "To approve the urgent construction of a Palace of Congress witha capacity for up to 10,000 people; B5Z of the costs to be met by the Peoplers

Revolutionary Governnent of the Republic and L57" by the Militants of the Party"

(1)(2)

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Bidyogo, p. 266f.."Decisionãs adoptadas por e1 I Congreso Estraordinario de1 PUNT",

Bata, Agosto I974.

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(2)

Simultaneously Macías acted in two directions. First he providedhis people with a rationale for the economíc situation, expressed in an

.ngty retort abouË the scarcity of food mentioned in the internationalpress, saying, in effect, that only colonialists and neo-colonialiststalk about rrilk, bread, sugar and tomatoes "which are not typicallyAfrican foodstuffs. Meals of the African type exist in EquatoríalGuinea". (1) The non-avaílability of certain typical African foodsËuffslike meat, fishreggs and other essentials \^/as not mentioned, neither was

the lack of salt, spices and the ríght to consume crops which had previouslybeen produced in the countrY.

Secondly, Maclas blamed tnle shortages olr the failure of his country-men to implement Decisíon No. 2 of tine Third National Congress of PUNT.

The Decision read: "To unanimously approve the Economic Development Planoutlined by the PIINT and its Life President for the recruítment of SIXTY

THOUSAND (60,000) NaËional I,lorkers who will dedicate themselves to activitiesconcerning agriculture, forestry, roads, etc.r to be recruited from alldistric¡s in a First Plan for the rehabilitation of all the plantationsabandoned by foreigners. " (2)

The Decision did not do much to help the economy. Semi-officialdoctrnents from UN Headquarters cautiously refer to the crisis which had begun

ín 1971, mentioning that the experts which had been sent from FAO in Rome

and the United Nations Development. Progranrne (U¡llp) had returned fromEquatorial Guínea without making any recommendatíons. It is noted, withoutcoûments, that. they had not been able to study the question. The crisiscontinued and new UNDP projects' approved in January L975, included "twoor three volunteers to assist one expert in a project for "íncrease and

diversification of agricultural producLion". (3) Evidently the days ofplenty \,/ere over and the indigenous management capability had sunk to belowthat of expatriate volunteers.

The ilN plans for assistance were in the fields of. agriculture,livestock, forestry, industry, nalural resources, human resources, infra-structure, development planning and administration, conËained ín 14 sep-arate projects. A Headquarters spokesman recently declared, off fherecord, thaË "due to circumstances outside our own coritrolr our currentactivities bear no resemblance to the rather extensive Country Programme

described for Equatorial G'uinea".

Indeed, current UN activities consíst. of teleeommunication develop-men¡, a UNESCO project which no\^7 appears Ëo be Lerminated, a project formaintenance and repair of industrial equipment which is "not in fullimplementationrr as the experts have lefr the project and reactivation of'apalm oil factory.

At the same time, the needs appear to be greater than ever.Exactly to what 1evel producËion has decreased is uncerLaín. Recent export

r) ( 1)

(2)

(3)

Unidad de 1a Guinea Ecuatorial, B June L97t+.

Bidyogo, p. 233.

UNDP, Assistance Requested from UNDP by the Governrûent of EquatorialGuinea for the Period L974-1978.

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figures for cocoa are said to be approximately 3,500 metric tons per year'

The commodiry experts at Gill & l,rii,r" put the L975 export at 2,340 metric

;;;". try orÁ observations indicate that the low figures might well be

correct. The extensive plantations around Malabo are all dead' The beans

are rotting on the trees, all Ëhe feeder roads are overgrornm and the concrete

basins are filled with debris. In places,valuable trees have been felled

Eo make place for family-sized ptot" of subsistence banana cultivation'on the other hand, some coeoa is evidenËly produced ín Rio Muní and sma1l

quantities of it ''. ,*,,ggled into Gabon for sale on the loca1 markets.

overseas exportsronce almost wholly absorbed by spaint no\^7 go to Eastern

European.o.rrrtriá". This is also ih..tr. with the low grade coffee' said

to end up in East Germany. The productivity of the forestry industrydecreased from an annual average of 364,000 m3 before rndependence to

;a;õõõ-;, in rgzr. Later ít became negligible. French and swiss commercial

enterprises at¡empted to revitalise the producËion, incidentally securing a

monopolyintheprocess,butnothinghappened.Itshouldbeaddedthattheprevious trigh productívity, 23 m3 pãtnu"t"te as opposed to 10 m3 in Gabon,

had been possible because of a good transport system and because Spain had

accepted a r¡ider ïange of diffeient types of wood than other importing

countries. (1)

Indigenous production of fish and seafood has virtually disappeared'

parrly due to the prohibition of ovrning boats and partly due to ussR fishing

monopoly. observers in cameroon expressed their concern that the trar¡lers

were using fine-meshed nets and "fishing as if they wanted Ëo empty the sea"'

Apart from what is gíven to those in forced labour, nothing of the catch

reaches Equatorial Guineans. There is no livestock to be seen any!'Ihere'

not even goaEs. The only animals I sa!¡ \¡üere four pigs inside afl army compound'

The Africa Yearbook and trihots Vüho for Lg76, sLates that'rthe island

of Macías Nguema Biyogo and Rio Muni together have approximately 7,000

licensed vehicles". That, like much of the rest of its information'refers to

the period around 1968. Now it is rare to see a single vehicle in the streets

of l,lalabo. There are no buses, taxis or other means of public transport' 0n1y

exceptionally does one encountel a battered truck or Landrover in Government

service. vehicles v¡ith co regist.ration exist, but a petrol supply, rationed

at 15 litres per t\,/o weeks, keeps them off the streets' All the repair-shops'

many sti11 with their o1d advertisements for some t\'/enty different trade-

marks,areclosed.Soarethefillingstations.Boattraffícusedtobeintense,with663shipsenteringandleavingthecountryín1967.Thepresent number does not seem to be recorded in international doct¡rnentation

onshipping,butitisnotinexcessoftenshipspepyear'apartfromtheSoviet fishing ships based in Malabo, and the Soviet navy entries in the

closely guarded harbour of Luba, formerly san carlos' The ship' Presidente

Macías'Nguema, commutes infrequánt1y between Malabo and Bata' It is a

Japanese-built vessel, providea uy trre Peoplers Republic of china and manned

by chinese who gi.re ""rtain on-th"-jo¡ training to a smal1 indigenous cre\^/'

The only other Equatorial Guinean Uãats are three mi1í-tary patrol boats of

approximately 16 tons used for control of the coasts and the prevention of

escape attempts. Two are staËioned in Malabo and one in Bata'

(1)

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As for civit aviation, Africa South of the Sahara mentions that'ín 1967, the number of arrivals and departures in Santa Isabel was 13,863

and 14r166 respectively and in Bata 7,350 and 7,68L respectively. These

have been drastically reduced but the facilities remain quife good' The

Spanish airline lberia has a weekly flighr. The Soviet airline Aeroflotalso operates a weekly f1ight, luloscow-Tripoli-Malabo' set up "for getÈing

naval cre\^rs and technicians in and out", and to avoid what has often happened

in the past when Equatorial Guinean students, coming home from training inrhe USSft, rried to defect before boarding the lberia planes. In addition,there is the national airline Lineas Areas Guinea Ecuatorial (LAGE), which

has two flights to Douala in Cameroon and four per week between Malabo and

Bara. LAGE is perated by Iberia personnel but Equatorial Guinea holds 51%

of rhe shares.

Other services still exist. Malabo has electricity more or lessdaily and water for one hour a day. But the national bank is closed sincethe Director \,üas publicly tortured to death behind the Hotel Panafrica in Bata

The central post-office remains permanently closed with an iron bar across

the doors. Its closure cannot have made much difference in view of therigidity of the censorship. Tr¿o hotels remain open' Panafrica and HotelBahia in Malabo. The Bahia is attractively situated by the beach, whi-ch

one is forbidden to visit, thus making the harbour completely out-of-bounds.It is not a bad place. The stained and rotting matresses have no bugs and

it is kept very clean. Guests who bring their ovm food from abroad have no

problems with meals and, when I stayed there, it was very quiet, possiblybecause I was the onlY guest.

The streels of Malabo are s\^/ept regularly and Ë.he facades of most

houses are still in reasonable repair. In fact' one is constantly reminded ofwhat an extraordinarily attractive city it must once have been' It is now

strikingly depopulated and gives a general impression of a place hit by war

or the plague. At the tirne of my visit practically all shops were closed,as \^rere most of the market-place stalls. In a few places small girls or old\¡/omen can be seen on the sidewalk selling a couple of very small loaves

of bread made from flour mixed with maníoc, or a síngle cigarette' or a

box of matches for 75 ekuele. With rhe ekuele on par with the Spanish

peseta, this amounts to approximately US$ O'90' Certain staples are more

reasonable in price: manioc was US$ 0.30 per kilo, bananas US$ 0'60,poratoes and yam US$ 3.-- per kilo, avocado US$ 0'60 per piece, pineapple

US$ f.20 per piece, palm oi-1 US g 3.-- per litre, a small tin of condensed

milk was US$ 4.90 and one egg cost US$ I.25. (These figures are expressed

in US dollars to facilitate appreciation' )

Fresh fish from the beach can be found on the market in very smal1

quantities at US$ 7.30 per kilo. The crabs, lobsters, shrimps and otherseafoods, for which Santa Isabel particularly used to be famous ' are nowhere

to be seen. MeaL and dairy products ale non-existant. Flour is very scarce

and bread made out of flour is a privilege only for those who have the means

to import it by air from Douala in Cameroon. Rice from China is reservedfor påople doing forced labour and not available in the markets, but Cuban

sugar can sometimes be found at US$ L2.20 per ki1o. A big bottle of Chinese

beer costs US$ 9.75.

27

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Importedgoodsareexpensive.Apairofshoescosts5'000ekuele (US$ 6r.--), a pair of trousers 6,000 ekuele, a shirt 5,000 ekuele

and a towel 2,OOO át,r.i.. Razor blades used to cost the equivalent of

us$ 0.60 each but can nol^7 no longer be found. Inlristwatches' spectacles

and the like are Ehings of the pãst, vrhich helps Eo explain the'matter-of-fact way ín which most of my belongings were stolen by the milicianos at Ëhe

airport. when I tras leaving the country'

The con.rol over the sale and purchase of basic articles, mentioned

in Macías, speech tn L974, sti1l exists. I have seen bribes taken' also

very matter-of-factly and routinely, for the issuing of the permits

required for essentials. The ttitt.o permission to buy a bar of soap lists

all the members of the applicants household, and similar, but separate'

permissions are required for the purchase of kerosene' a spade and other

fundamentalthings.Ho'u.,".,itappe''sthatwhenthearticlementionedon the permit is not available, many officials will not insist on a ne\'I

bribe for a new aPPlication'

Even the visiting foreigner quickly becomes ahTare of the differ-

ences between the "haves" and the "have-notstt' It does not manifest irself

so much in clothing, but rather in behaviour and in using money' The "haves"'

smart, confident and free r*o move around, carry their money in bundles in

their pockets. The banknotes are of the best-, British-made quality' wiLh a

metal thread inside the watermarked paper for electroníc detection of

counterfeit money. Yet their real value is demonstrated in the \^lay they are

often handed over in the standard bundle of nineteen 50-ekuele notes ' held

together by the folded twentieth. Party-officials, having a beer at the terrace

of the Hotel Bahia, calmly pay with bundles which neither they, nor the

recipient,bother to count. The "have-nots" do not Sl^Taggert do not drink beer

and do not carry bundles'

Before going on to mention Maclas' most important effort to\^7ards

Lhe implementation of the Economic Development Plan: the recruitment of

the National Inlorkers, these notes on the economy would be incomplete \^¡ithout

the quotation from a spanish periodical, "Equatorial Guinea has ordered

themintingofsilverandgotdcoinswithavalueof2'000ekueleand10,000 ekuele respectively, to comlnemorate the Iniorld Football Championship

¡¿hich are to be held in Argentina"' (r)

3.3 . FORCED LABOUR

TheendofslaverySomel50yearsagodidnqtmearranendtoforcedlabour. Cocoa and coffee, economically the most important crops' are both

iab'our íntensive, and the building-up of plantations required imported labour'

Ðu-ri,ng much of the rrineteenth ".rrlnty the workers eâme mainLy from the Kru

rribe,recruitedbyLiberiancons.,ls,bothontheLiberiancoastandinvüest African ports, where the Kru-men I,,/ere widely scattered as itinerant

dockersandsailors.ThisSystemgaverisetoconsiderablecomplaintsaboutbad working conditions, illegal extension of contract time and consuls keeping

part of the workers' wages for themselves. A defeated Liberian presidential

candidate caused a stir in the us by accusing his Government of being respon-

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"Ya", 7 l{"ay 1978.

s.ible for what amounted to slavery. The Liberian President denied this

and asked the League of Nations to send an inËernational commission to

investígate. The report, read in Geneva in 1930' noted that recruitment

had been carried out "under conditions of criminal compulsion scarcely

distinguíshable from slave-raiding and slave-trading"' (f)

At the same Ëime, French colonial authorities I^/ere concerned about

the continuing out-migrarion of \^ToIkers from Gabon into Equatorial Guinea ' (2)

However, this was a voluntary, spontaneous migration across artifícia1 borders

into Rio Muni and neither the Frlnch nor the Spanish colonial administration

had the means to stop it. LaËer a similar iurmígration of Fang from Cameroon

took p1ace.

The trend in cocoa prices was rising and, from Spaints point of

view, Ëhe mosË important thing \,¡as to increase production on Fernando Po r¿here

large modern plantations \^7ere being created, needing more manpol¡/er' At the

same Ëime, there hTere reasons not to bring over large nurnbers of mainland

Fang. some were paLently absurd, such as the coÛtrnofl saying that Fang were

not fit to farm cocoa: the same subtribes r¡/ere successfully handling most'

if not all, of the cocoa farming in Gabon. Others h/ere more real to the

politically astute: the old aniagonism bet\'Ieen islanders and Fang' which

Spain had made r¡rorse, and particularly the fear of imporLing rising Fang

nationalism and claims for Independe.rce into the peaceful and docile island'

rt was easier to import foreign v¡orkers from another country, who could

conventiently be expelled should the need arise'

Economicandotherpressuresintheover-populatedsouth-easternpart of Nigeria 1ed to a migrant \^/ork-force' parts of which began to find

their \^Iay to Fernando Po. Tn L942, a formal labour agreemenË was signed

by the Spanish and British colonial administrations but, on occasion' attempts

to keep thíngs working smoothly failed. The short distance betr'reen Fernando

po and Nigeria contributed Èo the difficulties, particularly during the Biafra

war when large nr.rnbers of Ibo refugees reached both the island and Rio l"luni'

and Santa Isabel \4'as the main airbãse for relief flights duríng the height

of the famine.

After Equatorial Guinea became Independent, Macías stopped the Red

Cross relief ffigúrs. He also stopped payíng the lbo fheir \^7ages' Faced

with the choice úetween starving in Equatorial Guinea and starving in Biafra'

thev stayed on, but the situatiãn was tense and- 95 of them are saíd to have

;;; ;iii"ã. (:l Nevertheless, when 20,000 workers !üere repatriated to

Nigeria in 1972, the Lagos Got"rn*.nt signed a ne\d agreement r'¡ith Macias to

recruit another 15rO00. But the strained situation continued' with accusations

from both sides, incidents and isolated outbursts of violence' Irritationgrew in Lagos where it was said that "while the spaniards were in conËrol

the labour agreement had been kept and paym.ents'dere made' But after Indep-

endence...EquatorialGuineanotonlyfailedtomeetitsobligations,but

(1)

(2)

(3)

League of Nations Document C.568M.272,Commíssions Report, Geneva,

1930.

Balandier, 79lO

Sunday Times, London, I February L976'

29

subjected the Nigerians to what the Nigerian Government descríbes as an

unbroken chain oi pto.ro"ation and humiliation". (f) About half of the45r'000 man !üorkforce on Fernando Po had gone back to Nigeria r¿hen theincidenËs goL \^/orse. After embassy personnel had been whipped and elevenNigerians shot, the remaining 20,000 Nigerians were quickly repatriated and

the Nigerían Labour Congress urged that the Federal Government consider'lthe imperative necessity to annex that is1and". (2) It could have beendone, but was not. The usual ominous calm settled over Fernando Po and thecocoa production ground to an almost complete ha1t.

This r^/as unacceptable. Equatorial Guinea had substantial billsto pay, for arms, Government vehicles, the presidential plane, improvementsLo the port in Bata (although it was used less than ever before) , a veryexpensive Congress palace, printing of new stamps (a costly undertakingarranged through Trevijanots interests in Liechtenstein) and the printingof the new ekuele bank notes in Great Britain (at a cost of US$ 2 nillion).tlacías needed cash. He had got credit before from the USSR by giving them

the monopoly of fishing in the rich waters, but that affair could not be

repeated.

Cocoa production had to be increased. The output on the smallplantations o¡¿ned by Rio Muni Fang had declined badly after nationalisation.Only large-sca1e agro-industrial farming on Fernando Po could help thebankrupt economy.

The first recruitment should have taken place after PUNTTs ThirdCongress in 1973. Actually it began in 1976, mainly in Rio Muni. About 700

people were called in. Ilost of them had nothing to do and little to eatanyvray and went voluntarily for a twelve-month period. The real number ofpeople who went was much higher as many could not afford to leave theirdependents and took them along to Fernando Po.

Ln L977 there \^rere two more recruitments, this time under strongcoercion. The Larget was 25,000 workers from all the ten districts of Rioluluni. Taking into account their dependenls the number reaehed approximately40,000.

Forced labour is unpaid. It may be regarded as an unusual "food-for-work" system, remunerated by 20 kilos of rice, 4 litres of palm oiland 4 kilos of fish per month. The ration is given to the v¡orker, írrespectíveof the number of dependents. While for an individual the quantity is actuallysomewhat in excess of that provided by the World Food Érogranme for people inrelief camps, it is clearly insufficient for even a small family. It is alsointerestíng to note that rice, provided by China and fish, provided by Ehe

Russian fishing monopoly, are not available on the market places, but onlyfor those in forced labour.

Conditions are tough. The workday is as long as the daylight'from 6.00 to 18.00 hours, the r¿hole year around. The severity of thecontrol varies. When bad it means beatings, withholding of food rations,

(1)

(2)

30

Sunday Tirnes, London, 1 February L976.

International Herald Tribu'ne, 2B February L976.

viol.ations of women of all ages, random brutality and the occasional killing'I^Ihen good it means certain leeways, such as allowing depedendents to carry out

slash-and-burn cultivation, leaving the workers quiet as long as they fulfiltheir quoËas, and no molesting. Under no circumstances does it mean paynent'

food beyond that mentioned above, medical care, or freedom to coffnunicare wíth

relatives' or to go home.

l"iost of the forced labour is on the cocoa plantations. There are

also other fields of endeavour for the National In/orkers. Maclast faithful,together with Chinese technicians supervise those building the highway, from

behind the barracks of the Policia Armada in Bata in the direction ofEvinayong and Mongomo. French engineers from the DRAGAGE enterprise r¿atched

them toil on the construction of M,ac{ast nev/ palace in Bata.

Some import.ant distinctions should be made in rhis context. The

Liberation movements have talked about slavery. This is debatable. "S1avery"

implies a propertyelementand conjules up images of auctions and trading posts'

The National irtorkers are State property, not to be traded, only used for the

benefif of the nation. They are m.tch I¡/orse off than people once in the "corvésystem" who had to spend 15 obligatory days on public works in French ltlest

Africa until Lg46. They are better off than the Sklavenarbeiter in Nazi

Germany \^/ho \^rere, on the wholer regarded as an expendable piece of property'They are somewhat \,ùorse off than the serfs in Tsarist Russia who, undeT for-tunate circumstances, could produce a surplus and accumulate reserves of theirown, giving them a certain security and independence'

It is interesting to note that in 1953 the UN ad hoc Cormnittee ofThree exposed certain conditions in the corrective labour camps in the USSR and

that this eventually led to the rnitigation of some of the severer sides of the

Soviet labour system; in particular to about one-Ehird of the camps beingconverted in 1965 to relatively milder labour colonies' In the case of the

present conditions inside Equatorial Guinea, both the UN and the USSR close

ifr.ir eyes. Irrhile the attitude of the latter may be understood, that of the

uN and, more recently, that of the EEC inspire grave \^/orries.

For the regime, the National \^Iorkers represent an asset and a hope

to get the country ouL of bankruptcy in order to preserve the current system'

However, they are not treated as a valuaL¡le commodity. Abuse is frequent and

aecepted by the Government, as v¡itnessed by numerous incidents' In one partic-ular camp, the guards, after confining the male labourers to their quarters'raped many of the women. A fifteen year o1d girl tried to bite off the ear

of the guard who was raping her. Ilis companions then held her pinned to the

3t

groundwhílethebleedingmanpulledabrandoutofthefireandburntouchervagina-slowly.Hewasnotreprimanded,possiblybecausethedeadgír1 was noE a 'ori.,

and possiuly also because the law enforcers are a

1a\,runtothemselves.other'moreroutine'Sanctionsaredescribedinthefollowing Pages

3.4. LAI^I AND LAI^J ENFORCE}ßNT

"An independenË and secure judiciary is guaranteed by the

Constitution. The Supreme Tribunaf al Malabo is the highest court of

appeal. " (f)

AcomprehensionofthelawenforcementsysteminEquatorialGuineais important for the understanding or rtry people wànt to leave the country and'

therefore, deserves to be descriuãd at some length. A further reason is that

returnees tend to get into.tor" contact with it, particularly those who have

been expelled frorn other countries'

Penaltyclausesinthenationallegislationarekeentostateimprisonment. r,, la' LlLgTI' it is the punishment for such a serious crime

as insulring rhe president (O-ti y""ttl.' Foreigners in Equatorial Guinea

working "against the terrirorial i"ttgrity" get the same punishment as

nationals, i.e.,20-30 years of prisoã, or death. The distinction is academic'

Lately'therangeofpunisha¡teoftenceshasbeengreatlyexpanded.Itnowincludesgivingofferingstomissions'nott'urningupformanifestationsofpraise and joy on national t"""tl¿rys and being "descontento". rt is again

academic. Almost anybody can be arrested for almost anything'

Inmostcasestheprocessleadingtoarrestbeginsatthebottomof the ladder. There, at village 1evel, the Jefe del Seguridad dominates'

The local chief of Security is irequently a young and militant student' with

thepowertosuperviseandcontrolhistwocolleaguesintheComitédeBase.His information is, to a great extent, derived from youngsters in the village

who are erlcouraged to inform on anybody: family' neighbours and others'

AccusationsandallegationsareforwardedbytheChiefofSecuritytotheDelegadodelaMiliciaatthedistrictlevel.TheniilitiaDelegatehas'-as his only function, to forward reports to the President' If no acknor^¡1edge-

ment from the Office of the Presidlnt comes back to the Jefe' he will contact

Macías directly, to make sure Ëhat the accusatíon has not been forgotten'

ThereportsaddresseddirectlytothePresidentarebriefaccusationsin telegraphic style. There is no pto"Ldrrtu whatsoever',to verify if the

aceusation is true or fa1se. Normaily, it leads to a Presidential order for

punishme4t; and an abundance or t"potls will lead to promotion for the Jefe'

asinthecaseofAntonioSeguro,.,,ittiteratemilitantfromEbebeyin.

Theimportantthingtonoteinthiscontextiswhatmaybethemosttragicaspectofwhathashappenedinthecountry:thedestructionofthetraditional social system. The villages, once democratic and based on

mutual assistance and respect, have bãen made into political instruments

for the regíme. The chiefs and elders have been replaced by political nominees'

I

(1) Africa South of the Sahara, L9l6-11 '

often despised by the population and always dependent upon l{aclas for theirpo\^ier and promotion. In this system' syrnpâthy becomes \'üeakness, old loyaltiesLetrayal of the Party. One can only guess lhe amount of strain many ofrhe new officials are under in a situation which makes ruthless and ambitious

exposure of potential enemies of the State a matter of personal survival '

Orders for arrests can also origínate from the top, from Ëhe Presidenthimself or from the circle around him. Previously, this would sometimes

lead to a trial, especially in the case of a teal- or alleged attempt tooppose the regime. There have even been occasions where the accused have

Uåàr r.ptesented by defense lawyers, although there are strong indicationsthat these latter were under instructions not to defend their clients,only to plead for clemency. The "defenders" wouLd then be over-ruled by

the will of the peoplei expressed in shouts of "No mercy for the enemieè

of Equatorial Guinea". Death sentences , a foregone conclusion if theaccusation came f rom Macfas, T,{ere carried out by public executions withobligatory cheering attendance from all the population within reach.Methods have varied. In 1969, the victims "vlere unski1lfully hanged ...to the strains of Mary Hopkins singing 'Those hlere the Daysf over the

loudspeaker system".(l) The background music !üas not used later, possiblybecause of breakdowns in the electrical sysLem. On Christmas Eve of the

same year Ì4alabo prisoners were publicly shot but later executions have

usually not involved firearms. Instead prisoners have been beheaded'

with their heads left to rot on poles, slrangled or beatentodeath' Inthe case of the Director of the National Bank in I'Ialabo, Mr. Buendy, hishair and eyes l{ere burnt before he was killed in a spectacular event inBata in Lg76. Subsequently, his village v¡as detroyed and the remainingvillagers beaten to death.

Information that Macías enjoys being present at executions isincorrect. On the contrary, he usually signs the death sentence and leaves

for Mongomo even before the trial has begun and, in any case, public execu-

Eions have now all but disappeared. l4ost of what happens takes placeinside the prisons. Former MinisËer of Health, Pedro Ekong Andeme,

personally witnessed the beating to death of 157 prisoners during hisoro "."y

in jail from 1971 to Igl5. (2) Other wholesale killings have

occurred in villages connected to some offender andt at times, when theactual prison \,/as too small for expediency. This occurred in Bata, tn t974,

when thirty-six prisoners !/ere taken out of the jail and ordered to dig a

ditch. They were then forced to move into it and the earth was filledin, leaving only their heads above ground. The next day witnesses saw

that all but two were dead with their eyes missing and their faces partlyeaLen by insects.

There rshas alLeviated lawdo it wi.thout r,luchnot really rltant tothan what happensforced labour.

some feeling among the refugees that the Cuban presenceenforcement practices. "Idhen they shoot people theyof the usual brutality and oflen it seems that they do

clo !t." Also their treatment of girls ís much belterto the girls in prisons or the ones attached to those in

(1)

(2)

Financial Timqs, L7 February 1970.

L97B "B.B.C., 27 August

33

one spectacle which still takes place is knovrn as El Baile,the Dance. Expatriates àre not invited but there can be little doubt thatthe Chinese medical staff at the nearby hospital have seen the results of

it. An ex-participant gives the following account:

I'On Saturday evening a dance Ëakes place at Blackbich.sixteen üen come ouE of a lov¡ building. Most of them are naked

but they cover themselves by tying banana leaves around theirr¿aists with a piece of string. Then, around sunset, theybegin Èo dance around a burning fire. Three other men stand

in the background, singing and keeping the rhythm by clappingtheir hands and encouraging the dancers to join in the clappingand the song. The words are simple and repeaËed incessantly'Usually, there are only a few spectators at the beginning, butlater soldiers will turn up from the army c¿tmp' fifty meters&wa:yt often bringing their wives and children to watch the

dance. Eventually the dancers begin to Ëire. Sweat glistensin the firelight on the lean bodies. Some of thern will stumble,but the dance goes on because if one of them fa1ls ' one of the

onlookers will reach for one of the iron rods which have been

heated until they are as red as the embers. careful not toburn his hands, he will aim a stroke, sometimes missing some-

times scoring. The fallen man gets to his feet and continuesmoving around the fire, clapping and repeating the endlesssong. Not until most are !/eary beyond exhaustion does it end.

Then, with the dancers staggeling around \^/ithout sense ofdirection, is the scene broken up. The onlookers move in withAbaca sticks in their hands, hitting those who fall or crawlunEil they eventual 1y find their \^ray in through the door theycame out of some five or six hours earlier. Once inside the

building they are prodded and manhandled into their ce1ls."

This is a description of one saturday evening in Blackbich (known

as "Blábich" which is pidgín for Black Beach), the prison in l'lalabo' Ithas been confirmed by independent sources, and there are no grounds fordoubt, that it goes on every week of the year. Similar scenes have been

witnessed in Bata.

My question hIHY received different ans\¡Iers. Three informantsmentioned lrâcias' Lg73 campaign for "Authenticity" saying that the dressingup in grass skirts \^/as.intended to irnitare certain tladitional dances'

Orre srrggested that fot a long time there had been a severe lack of every-thing, including enteltainment, for bored soldiers. Qne shrugged' Qne

said nothiog, orrly mentioning the name of lfacías' nephew, Daniel Oyono

Ayingano, rio is ônief of National Security. He is also the author of a

pamphlet abouL the 1974 tti.aL of large numbers of political suspects'

ånritfe¿ "El Baile de los Malditos" - The Dance of the Damned.

Blackbich is surrounded by a four-to-five meter high concrete

wa1l. It is quite smal1, only some 35 X 40 meters but the area is used

effectively. To the left of the entrance is a building with two doors which

lead into th" "nav.s". The big ha11 is windowless. Two electric bulbs burn

day and night and there are latrines at one end. There are nolmally around

180 prisoners, all men.

The prisoners aïe divided into groups, according to the reasonsfor their arrest. There are invisible lines of demarcation between theparts of the hall where the political prisoners are and those of peopleãccused of ordinary criminality. In actual facL, the latter receivepreferential treatment and constitute a privileged c1ass. The "subversivos"are controlled by a kapo system similar to that of concentration camps inEurope, wiËh three criminals ín the key position of bringing food and

drinking \^/ater. It is also the three kapos who keep the pace of the weeklydance sessions.

On the other side of the open court is a somer¡haE smaller building.Its far end is a t'nave" reserved for female prisoners. At the other end

of the building is the prison office and the room where executíons arecarried out. In between are sixteen cells for solitary confinement. Each

cell is 160 cms long and 60 cms. wide, makíng it impossible to lie down

in a straight position. There are no windows and no light and scant vent-ilation Ëhrough holes below the roof. In the daytime the heat is stifling.There is no \,rater and no latrine. Urine andexcreta go oll the floor. Cel1

prísoners are kept naked or sometimes allowed a paít of underpanLs. They

are never allowed out, except for interrogatíons, the ceremony called"raising and lowering the flag" and Saturday evening dances. Food may or may

not be brought by the guards; one ex-prisoner says that he received nothingto eat for two r¡eeks. The "f1ag ceremony" is prison slang for daily beatings.

Inlhen a prisoner is taken out for interrogation he is invariably made

to run the gauntlet between the guards r¿ho are present. He is beaten withtruncheons until he has made his \,¡ay to the door of the prison of f ice.There he is tied with his hands behind his back, thrown on his stomach on

the floor and has his legs bent backr¿ards until his feet can be tied to hiselbows. The position is referred to as Ethiopia in memory of the Ethiopiansr¿ho worked with President l"lacíast security system in L972-74.

The actual interrogation goes on while the prisoner is lying on

his face and stomach. It is ínvariably accompanied by beafing and althoughroutine questioning only goes on for fifteen to thirty minutes on accountof the number of prisoners who have to be heard, informanLs who have beenthrough it say that time seems long.

Interrogations are conducted by Sergeant Ondo Ela. Ile is fromMongomo, old, but strong and vigorous. Allegations that his strength comes

froà feeding on human ftesh are impossible t.o confirm, but his reputaËion foruncommon brutality seems well-founded. Ile has been decorated for his fervourand diligence by the President. Trvo clerks assist with the typing of theprotocol, if one it taken, and with manhandling the prisoners. Usually atleast two of the three key persons of the judiciary system on the islandwill be present: Comandante Teodoro Nguema Mba NtZogo, Jefe de 1a Casa

Militar de Su Excelencia, Bonifacio Nguema Esono, ex Vice-Minister forForeign Affairs and now Vice-President, and Carmelo Bicó, Teniente de 1apolicia Armada. In case of executions or interesting interrogationsnormally a1l three will attend.

35

Nighttime is usually preferred for interrogations and always

for executions. Killing takes place in the room adjoining the prisonoffice. In the past prisoners vrere often shot or garrotted but nor¿ the common

method is crushing the head. The prisoner has his feet untied and is ledór dragged into the inner room. There he is forced down on the floor and

held, face down, while the sku1l is-broken with iron bars. The body orbodies are left on the spot and fetched in the morning. The three kapocrimínals have the task of washing away blood, vomit and brain substance.

Fairly often a corpse is brought the 500 meters to the hospitalwhere death is declared to be natural. The body is very rarely given out,although, on a couple of occasions, the family of a particularly importantperson has been able to retrieve it. The usual way of body dísposal is Ëo

ãrop it into an open pit, locally knovm as Toma' behind the cemetery'The vehicle used for transporting corpses from Blackbich is well known and

its registration, which carries the Presidentts initials, MNB 8740, is feared'

Among the ce11 prisoners news gets around fast by wal1-tapping.Bet\nreen certain cells it is even possible to talk. The sounds of inter-rogations and killings can be heard quite clearly from the ce1ls closestto the wa1ls of the prison office and the execution room. Generally, allprisoners here know each other but, because of the turnover and mortalityrate, the names of those in the cellb1ock are eventually forgotten' However'

sometimes there are telltale signs. In the light from the elecÈric bulb inthe corridor, one prisoner entering Cell 6 saw the name Ondo Edu written low

on the wal1, apparentlY with b1ood.

Apart from routine interrogations, torture is used to break a

prisonerts resistance. It can also be added to normal questioning methods

on the order from a Gobernador Civil ' or a captain of the armed forces ' The

reasons may be anyËhing from a personal dislike of a prisoner to the Presidenthaving had one of his supernatural visions. The most commonly used instru-ments are:

A Club made from a coffee-tree branch, carefully selected and

\,rorked, some 65 cm. long and elasÈic. It is normally used by the

National Guards and the Milicianos enÈrusted with the transport-ation of política1 prisoners on their way to forced labour. "Itis used for all t.yPes of continuous blows and makes the flesh and

the muscles so painful that iE is impossible to touch the part ofthe body which has suffered the blows because if is so sl'/o11en.rt

A rubber truncheon made from lorry tyres, about 3 cm' thick and

45 cm. long. "It is used for all fypes of continuous blows and

leaves swollen \^/eal s' particularly on the buttocks' Some threehundred blows are given daily at each session.''

Abaca stick, made from an elastic root which is very corìmon on

Fernando Po, particularly in Moka. It is used to give blows across

all parts of the back, feet, buttocks, etc. "Because it is veryelastic it bends to the forrn of the body and leaves thíck 1nIeals

.tt)

Eorture:

which are painful as the club strikes a large area of Ëhe

body all the time. It is about 55 cms. long." The l{elongoclub is used in the same way.

An initiate into the system has listed fíve current methods of

E1 Balanceo (The Swing): The prisoner is tied by his feet andhung above the ground and beaten mercilessly about the ribs,lower part of the back, the buttocks, etc'. He is sr/üung from sideto side and around in circles to make him dízzy and síck and tocreate a feelíng of terror within him. The pain from the metallinks or rope binding his ankles is intense and the prisonerrapidly loses consciousness.

La Colgadura (Hanging): The prisoner is hung from the roof bya rope attached to his handcuffs. This makes the handcuffs cutinto his wrísts right to the bone. The resulting pain is made

increasingly unbearable by the prisoner being beaten by clubsand pulled downwards. Inlhen suspended by the wrists the prisonerrapidly loses consciousness. The pain is extremely brutal and ifthis form of torture is continued for more than 15 minutes, thevictim is unabte to use his hands for several days and the painstays wíth him for more than three months. In addition, there isthe possibility that he may suffer permanent injury to the bone

or tendon. On occasion, the National Guard or the Mílitia leaveprisoners hanging for a considerable time as though they were colpses

Las Tablillas (The Planks): Planks of wood are pressed on bothsides of the ca1f, ankle and the under part of the foot. At theend of the planks are notches over which ropes are passed andprogressívely tightened so that the feet are so contracted andpainful that the least movement is unbearable. This form oftorture is employed for hours at a stretch and, on occasions, theprisoner is left in this position in the ce1l.

Los Grilletes (the Shackles): Metal fetters are tightened aroundthe wrists as hard as possible so that there is no circulationin the hands. This causes a very intense pain which is furtherincreased whenever the shackles are moved or pulled or struck, and

make the metal cut inËo the bone. Prisoners are sometimes made

to undergo this form of torture for days at a time and there aremany who are left with deep scars on the wrisls.

El Rombo (the Quadrangle): The eLbows are forced behind theprisonerts back until they rneet and are tied in this position.His wrists are bound in front of his body. The prisoner is leftin this state for a considerable period of time until he collapses.He is then repeatedly forced onto his feet and beaten until he isno longer atrle to stand and then is brutally kicked where he hasfallen. The pain is such that loss of consciousness followsrapidly and so to avoid this the pressure is decreased from timeto time. This form of torture generally lasts for 3 or 4 hours

11

IHÌ

IiI tli;

llil,r

IH

ilìl

lii:l:-lli!l;i

ii

regardedconfirmedmore than

a .day .

scarredThe wrists and elbows are subsequenÈly left permanentlyand injured, often they remain raw to the bone'

?he same ex-prísoner has also given a personal account of what he

as the ri/orsË experience, the feeling of going ínsane' It has been

by one more person with a similar experience' I have met no

Ëhese who have been in a position to tell the story'

"The cell is a room which is permanently damp and foul-smelling,justlargeenoughforoneperson.Thereisnolighting,naÈura1or arÈificial and almost no ventilation. The prisoner is deprived

of everything (cigaretËes, visits and even food on occasions) and

kept in the most ãbsolute solitude. The prisoner is forced torerair, standing the whole day and the guards watch to see whether

he leans against the wall, in which case he is beaten'

,,The reãson for prisoners beíng put in these cells are varied' It

suffices that one of the camp pärsonnel takes a díslíke to a

prísoner for him to be escorted off to the ce11. On other occasions

ã prison.r is put.in the ce11 without any explanation whatsoever'

Allernatively prisoners may be punished collectively for an act

carried out by one individual. Many of those who have undergone

lorture have come out with theír nerves shattered, in a sËate of

madness, with their health and sight impaired, such as the former

MinisËer of Economy and finances, Mr' Braulio Ichinda'

"For the unfortunate prisoner-assigned to the punishment cel1s'life turns into the most brutal sort of exísÈence. I^líthin a short

timeblackelouds,likedarkmarshypatches,descendintothebrain and ímpair his mental lucidity. The situation becomes one

incessant martyrdom in which all thinking and reasoning is blocked

and nothing is envisaged other than nightmare, pain, suffering and

despair.' A batË1e cornmences within him. The superhuman efforts he

makes to rid himself of these evil nightmares are as vain as shadows'

The very wa11s are hung with the remembrances of past prisonerswhich haunt the' newcomer.

,,His nerves are on edge, a spark of madness seems to .trant to take

hold of him, his hands become tense, a dry svieat' as cold as the

cell walls, breaks from his body. The minutes are slow and hang

ín the air and he weeps in anger and helplessness. The more fortunateones cry out loud, brãaking the silence, letting their tears escape

behindthebars.Thosewhoareabletoreleaseatorrent'ofrearsknow a brief moment of relief and hope which soon disappears again'

,,The night comes r,¡ithout his seeing it. The Guard gives the order

to líe dovm on the dirty floor and sleep and so he lies down,

anxiously seeking, like a star of hope, the oblivion of sleep' But

sleep tetrays niã, insomnia invades the body and tosses it from side

to side on the hard floor. The bugs and mosquitoes crawl out, sad-

istic and bloodthirsly, stabbing and stinging at his skin so thatwhat he had hoped for as rest turns itself into a sufferance a

3B

thousand Ëimes r¡/orse. Solitude pervades and, like a lost soul ,

he heaves a sigh that he might leave this threefold hell of body'soul and mind. If he is released, he is marked, infírm, unhingedto the point of madness.

"Hatred, disrespect for human Life, a desire to break a mants

will - these are the only qualitíes with r¿hich Maclas'People'sMilitía are endowed."

The aecounts add certain overtones to the words of rhe Saturday

evening song:

Maclas is a serious man'The population adores him,LeË us enjoy ourselves in Independence

l,lork and remain quietAnd the Lord of Guinea will take careOf you for a long time. "

3.5. RELATIONS I^IITH FOREIGN POWERS

The picture is not easy to díscern. On numerous occasions it has

been mis-represented and deliberately confused by partisan interests.

A good starting point for clarification can be found at the

embassies in Malabo. The biggest are those of the USSR, Cuba and thepeoplets Republic of China. Of more modexate size are Ëhose of the German

Demãcratic Republic, Libya and Nigeria, but the Nigerian Embassy is under

a condition of siege with a number of Nigerian nationals confined to theEmbassy compound and not allowed to leave it. The Ambassador is ín Lagos

indef initely.

The Spanish Embassy ís open, but no Spanish A¡nbassador has been

there since 1975 and presently there is only clerical staff. The US

Embassy was elosed in Mareh 1976. Gabon and Cameroon have embassies but the

ambassadors stay in their respectíve countries. The French Ernbassy is the

only one from the I'Iestern bloc. It appears Ëo be the smallest in Ehe tofnrn

and, at the time of writing, the Arnbassador wí1l be leaving shortly'

Other countries with díplomatic relations with Equatorial Guinea

are the Central African Empire, whose ruler has always been admired byMacías, and Ghana. Diplomatic relatíons with Sekou Touréts Guinea-Conakrycame to an abrupt end when a citizen of that country had a relationship withone of Macíasr místresses. The diplomatic contacts which remaín withambassadors accredited in Malabo, but stationed elsewhere, are Czechoslovakia,Hungary, the Democratic People's Republíc of Korea, Romania, vietnam and

Yugoslavia.

39

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Of intergovernmental organisations, only the United Nations Develop-ment Progrartrne (mqOp) has an office in Malabo, wíth a minímal staff and a

budget r¡hich has been reduced from US$ 800,000.-- in L977 to US$ 500,000.--in 1978. UNESCO diseontinued its activities in the country ín L976. I^IHO

has a represenfative stationed in Yaoundé who visits Malabo once or twice a

yeax, but after Macíasf refusal to a1low LrrHO, or anyone else, to relieve thecholera victims in Annobón, the practíca1 results of the visíts appearnegligible. The OrganísaËion of African Unity (OAU) closed its office inMalabo ín L977. On the other hand, theEuropeanEconomic Conrnunity (EEC)

is planníng to provide aid in accordance ¡¡ith the l-omé Convention. Itíntends to give financial and technical assistance for building sÈorage tanksfor fuel for the fishing ships, road ímprovement between BaÈa and Mongomo

and harbour improvement in Bata.

The Papal Nunzio representing the úatican in Yaoundé is accreditedin Malabo, buË has not been Èhere for several years. The Cardinal fromBenin has made one visit. The Spanish Catholíc Church appears to have with-dra¡,¡n completely.

The presence of índividual foreigners is very limited. In 1960

there r¡ere 7,068 Spaniards, 4,222 of Èhem on Ïernando Po. At the time ofwriting, there are, apart from a skeleton staff of three clerks at the Embassy

and about ten people running the national airline, only Seãores lfontero,Torbay and Touza. The last Spanish schoolteachers, sent by Spain as a partof a cultural assistance scheme, left in March 1978 after considerableharassment. gne Portuguese, married to an Equatorial woman is staying.

The number of Cubans has been reduced to about 500 r+ho are mainlyconcerned r^iith military training and some teaching. Soviet Russians arevery much in evidence in Malaborbut most of them are in the sealed-off sub-marine base at San Carlos and on equally inaccessible radar and radioinstallations in the highlands of Fernando Po. The Chinese are mainly inRio Muni, where they work principally on road improvements. They alsohave a Ëeam of ten para-medicals there and another tearn of eight in l{alabowhere one of their tasks is receiving bodies from Blackbich. In addition,they have built a radio station in Bata, are working on telecommunicationsin Malabo and run a ship named after the President which sails irregularlybet¡¿een Malabo and Bata. The French engineeríng firm DRAGAGE has been

involved in construction of Macíast new palace in Bata.

O¡her French private firms are involved in forestry, at least forthe time being. The prosperous 150,000 ha. forest enterprise in Nyefang,expropriated from Antonio Lopez Sanchez, has been Laken over by Cubans,

a trend which may continue. On the other hand, it is possible that Cuban

embarrassment over the nature ofl4aclas' regime may lead to a withdrawal'

Commercial relations, once dominated by Spain, have now altereddirection. Reduced quantities of cocoa and coffee are exporLed to EastEuropean countries. Some of the timber goes to France. Swiss Plans toget into the timber índustry in Equatorial Guinea came to nothing and thereare no known relations with Llest Germany. Trade with Spain has stoppedaltogegher', unless one includes the presence of Trevijano as rePresentative

40

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oi Spanish interests. Howe-ver, this would be farfetched, as Trevijano has

now been deprived of his Spanish passport and lravels on an EquatorialGuinean díplornatíc passport-when he makes arrangements for Macíast foreigntrade.

There are no other foreigners ín Equatorial Guinea. More than that'there is a legal ban on any conversation or other cormunication between

na¡ionals and expat.riates, with the usual consequences in case of detection.The índications are that this situation is likely to remain. But a reactionhas begun and, on 23 February Lg7B, the Secretary General of the UN made an

at¡enpÈ to esÈablish dírect conËact, on a confídential basis, with thenepublic of Equatorial Guinea. As direct contact with the Government ofEquatorial Guinea did not result ín achieving the desired objective, due totúe refusal of the Government of EquatoEial Guinea, a majority of'theI^IorkingGroup (three members: the tqro other members of the i,lorking Group

abstained) recournended that the Commission, before taking a final decísionon this matter, undertake, accordíng to the procedure laid dovm in paragraph

6 (a) of Economic and Social Council resolution 1503 (XLVIII), a thoroughstudy of the human rights siËuation in Equatoríal Guinea, taking ínto account

the economic, social and cultural conditions in that country.

Macfast political anrbitions are confusing. Although his main

support comes from the USSR and Cuba, and his main trading partners are Ëhe

East European countries, he made violent attacks against the USSR durínghis visir to Peking in L977. His attacks against imperialism and colonialismhave been very consistent, but somewhat lose ín their concentration when

they include Switzerland and organisations 1íke the Inlorld Council ofChurches (l,fCC). (1) As far as his general attitudes are corì.cerned, some

indications can be found in the political affinities he has claimed withHitler (see Appendix 1), Franco, President Amin and President, now Emperor,

Bokassa I. But these hardly seem relevant, rather another sign of hispolitical immaturity. At the time of Emperor Haile Selassie?s death,Macías declared that he wanted to cror,m himself King, partly to gain "prestígewithin the Organisation of Afrícan Unítyl'. He r^¡as strongly advísed againstsuch a move by flabbergasted counsellors. The fact that he did noË renouncethe Kingdom because of personal modesty is clear from the list of forty-sixofficial honorary titles he has assumed, only a couple of which. are mentionedin this report.

The intensity of the opposition against Macías' regime has expresseditself in a number of Liberarion movements; all in agreement about theabsolute necessity,to install a democratic rule, but often disunited becauseof differing political views, and because of the lack of traditional coherencebetween tribal groups and sub-groups. The lack of unity is in part theIegacy of colonial divide-and-rule policy later reinforced by Macías. Thereare also indications that Trevijano directly and indirectly creates dissentand distrust bet\^/een the Liberation movements, partícularly in Spain. Theresult is a bewílderíng number of acronyms, dominated by ANRD, ASODAGE,

CAHIS, FAM, MOLIFUGE,OMGE, URGE and several others. At present a1l of themoperate under formidable constraints, without support and at besË barelytolerated. For obvious reasons the Governments of Gabon and Cameroon areunable to recognise them and the OAU is forbidden by its ol^n statutes toacknowledge a Liberation movement directed towards an independent membercountry.(1) Recorded intervier¡ with l'tacfas, B.B.C., 30 July T975. 4l

Nevertheless, the despaír of the refugees has taken the form of

action. fn L976, a smal1 group of exiles made its I^7ay through the jungle at

night to the Ëovm of Evinêyong. I,ùiEh bare hands and a few bushknives they

attacked the nilitia Uarratts, in an attempt to get arms and a¡munitíon and

start a popular uprising. They r'ron Ëhe fíght and found the weapo::'-::t.n:}T-,t.,attempt faíLeð, because there wàs no ammunitíon there' According to The-.T.imes\ri

they kil1ed or wounded eight membe-rs of the militia and two soldiers of the

national guard before they were foiced to ïetreat. The brutality of the

subsequenE reprisals in and around Evinayong is an indication of Maclas t

dread of the extraordinary courage of Ëhe raiders and his fear that fur¡herattacks will be more successful'

(1)

42

18 Decembex L976

4. MACIAS, ''THE UNIQUE }ÍIRACLEII

Accounts of post-Independent Equatorial Guinea imply a number ofcontradicrions. To clarify some of them it is necessary to make an attemptat understanding the role of President Macfas in the events of the last tenyears. His official title "E1 unico miraclo" hints at his tremendousimportance and the way his personality inter-relates r+ith what has happened

in his country. However, whaL has so far been said and i,¡ritten about himhas been in Ëhe vein of convenËiona1 European political and social concepts.This is far from the whole picture. There are other aspects; an Africanreality, profound, at Eimes difficult to perceive, but perhaps even more

important.

Maclas belongs to a Fang clan cal1ed Angui or Esengui, meaning

"Father of the Goril1a" and is said to have been born ín the víllage ofNsangayong in Mongomo District on l January 1920 or L924. Irrhile the dateis uncertain, it is clear that he r^ras rrot born in Equatorial Guinea, but inthe small Ëown of Oyen in the Fang-dominated Woleu Ntem Province in the northof Gabon. People from Oyem point out his birth place, sometimes with pridernixed with fear. His father, Biyogo, known as "Su Santo Padre" (His SaintlyFather) \^ras a well-knovm man, famous for his sorcery and infamous for thecasual killing of one of his o\,ün young sorls.

There is no mention of Maclasr birth in any of the official registersin Equatorial Guinea. The first tirne his name appears is in the RegistroCivit in Bara in 1935. The entry sirnply states his name v¡ith the coûunent

"a boy of approximaEely 15 years". In the records his fiame rtas then writtenMasié. He later changed it to the Spanish form Macías to honour a Spaniardwho had helped him to become "emancípado".

A highly complimentary biography of Macías, published in the Catholicmonthly La Guinea Iqu,atol:.ia1 in October L96B described him as "A man r¡ho knor¡s

ti" peopt. atrd all their psychological artifice, subterfuge and reticence.The administrators obtained a true and exact understanding of the situationthrough the faithfulness of these traits'r. The statement shows lack of under-standing both of l{acfas and his people but it gives an indication of how

Maclas \,,/as regarded by Ëhe colonialists. While the militants for Independence

were imprisoned, detaíned or in exi1e, Macfas stayed on the job and was seeri:

by the Spaniards as a trustworthy collaborator, always eager. to please, and

easy to handle because of his intellecLual shortcomings. He was rewardedacctrdingly with the "Order of Africa" and the "Merito Civil", and with theconfidence of Ëhe authorities.

In reality, he went througtr his basic education in Catholic schoolsas a shy boy dominated by his elder brother and with no apparent talent forstudy. 0n three occasions, in 1940, I94L and L942, he failed crucial exam-

inations at the now closerl Escuela Superior Indigena in Santa Isabel whichwould have.qualified him for the beginning of a career in the civil service.In 1943 he was hired as an "ordenanza" (orderly), with the Forest Serviceand Public Inlorks Department of the Sub-gobierno de Bata.

43

AfterStrongpersonalrecommendationsfromtwoofhisSpanishsuperiors he was allowed to sit for the examination a fourth time and

passed it in Lg44. This 1ed to his becoming "emancipado" and to a posting

as t,auxiliar administrador" first in Rio Benito DisCrict, then with the

public tr^lorks Department in Bata. Ile remained in this job until L962'

Then, after a long illness and a year spent in cameroon' he became assistant

interpreter in the remote Mongomo District, an equally 1ow posting in the

eivil service but with certain opportunities for a shrewd man wiËhout

scruples. He used his key positioo tittt Spanish officials who were ignorant

of the language and the customs by twisting his translations for or against

people, particularly in court. Â f".ro.rrite method of his was to confid-

entially tell a man accused of some minor offense that he was facing a stiff

sentence ¡,rt trrri he, lt""f.s, would use his influence to have it reduced'

If the re\^/ards r"ru rro, up to hís expectations, subsequent translations in

the courtroom tended to cause problems for relatives of the ungrateful'

The colonial authorities noted the respect people seemed to show him and

made him "a1ca1de" (mayor) of l"longomo fto* tgO: to 1968' Maclas lived up

ro their conf idence in him trrd agãio his ef forts \^/ere rer¡arded ' Tn L964

he was made vice-President of thã "consejo del Gobierno Autonomo" and

,,Consejero de Obras Publicas"' t\^7o posts which he held until the Constitutional

Conference in June 1968. In spite of these prominent posts he kept a 1ow

political profile, present but largely inactive in most of the Independence

movements.

fn Lg67 he became friends with a spanish legal expert named señor

Antonio Garcia Trevijano y ToÏte, referred to as Trevijano in this report

r,¡herehis name appears of ten' Tråt'ijano recognised the potential of Macfas

and took him under his wing, paying for at least part of the costs of a

visit which Macías made to tt" unitud Nations in New York in 1968 in order

to be groomed for greater things. It \,/as neces sa1.y, as shor^m by the recorded

"n"ã"nã"-il;i"; made in late 1967. (1) They are rambling and incoherent'

interspersed wirh appeals to the President of the conference not to interrupt

him, to al1or¿ trim to finish, not to cut him short. They defy analysis of

his political thought and leave the teader as confused as Maclas sometimes

declared himself to be. BuË, full of sound and fury as they are' they also

haveasignificance.Thereisapowerofexpression,atalentformovingan audience and an unmistakable element of tradition Bantu el0quence '

precisely what l1acías v¡anted may not have been very clear to the Conference

but it was evident that he wanted it very strongly'

Trevijano r^/as awa'e of this. Ile financed Maclas in the approaching

campaign witfr påseras 50 million (2), making it clear tha. he r^ras behind

him, writing his speeches' masterminding much of what was Ëo come' and

obviously regarded Macías as the ideal ¡tunt instrunent for his or'¡n ambitions'

Maclas ran an excellent eampaign' He had to' His opponents !üere

more popular, more experienced, .much ù.tlur educated. But they were all in

favour of close collaboration iit¡ spain and Macfas presented himself as the

only real nationalist, the only true anti-colonialist' If this did not ta11y

with his speeches during the Cånference, it went home in the villages' He

Eucional sobre Guinea Ecuatorial,6-Lr, 8-11, 9-11, Lî-IL - L961,(1)

(2)

44

Actas de la Conferencia ConstíDiscursos 31-10, z-IL, 3-11,

Ndongo BidYogo, P. 14L.

travelled extensively, concentrating on the rural people that his more

sophisticated competitors neglected; especially on village chiefs and

their counsellors r¿ho, in turn, used their considerable influence over Ëhe

other villages to make them pay heed to the potenrial President:

People who remember him from that period have said:

"At that time Macfas !¡as a good speaker. He could really rousehis audience. He would start off with his slogan - Unity, Peace,

Prosperity. He would speak f"or a very long tíme, much of it inFang because his Spanish \^/as not very good. Then he would breakoff and point aË a plantation or a house orrmed by a l^/hite and

shout 'Do you want that?r and people would shout back fYesl'.

Then he would say tlf you voËe for me I will give it to Your

and the younger people would be for him"'

Still, Maclas may have lost if Spain had not intervened elumsily inthe internal politics of the country. In particular, the activities of Sr.carrero Blanco, Miníster of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, did irresponsibledamage to the reputation of Bonifacio Ondo Edu, leader of the mosE importantpolitical group, MUNGErand a man generally respected by the people.

Later Trevi j ano \4ras to say that "Ar the time of Independence the

only person with the necessary force of character' strength, energy and

priâe-was Macfas. He was the only leader capable of uniting the countryLehind him". (f) The last sentence has some truËh in it. The first does

not. The other major candidates possessed the same virtues and it seems

¡airly certain that, if no other aspecÈs had been involved' one of them

would have become Presídenl. But there were other sides to Maclaslpersonality and the support he received r¿as less blatantly colonialistic.

Backed and prompted by Trevijano he appeared on television, then

relatively wide-spread. Those who watched saw a serious and concerned

politician, with internarional experience gained during his journey -toNew York and the UN lleadquarters. (It was only much later that Maclas

said publicly fhat, because of language problems, he had only been abLe

to coamunicate wit.h very few people. It seems that a major encounter \^7as

with two puerto Rican janitors in a corridor who told hirn that they were

being oppressed. some of Maclasf strong feelíngs about the u.s.A. may date

back to-lni" episode.) But his populist genius worked best in the vil1ages.His limited education and antipathy for things he did not understand was

accompanied by a syrnpathy for certain old traditions whích r,rere shunned by

his cãmperitors and completely ignored by the colonialists. Hís fatherrsreputation helped ¿rmong some sections of the Fang tribe and his o\^irl T^/as

beginning to grornr along similar 1ines.

He r¡on the first ballot r¿ith 36,716 votes against 3Lr94I for Ondo

Edu on 22 September 1968. The margin was sma11 buE sufficíent. One r^reek

later he won the second ballot and his \,üay to the Presidency was open' The

( 1) Dominguez , L977 , p. 26,

45

voEes \¡iere honestly counted under UN supervision and the outcome \^las

perfecrly clear;- itre people had made their choice. Bur judging from

spanish ne!üs reports at that time, nobody \^ras ahlare of one interesting facl:

the only mainland district \,fhere the vote went against him was Mongomo'

dominated by his own clansmen, where he had been mayoî fox five years and

wheîe.he was bett.er knornm than anywhere else in the country'

The rest is history and has already been outlined' I'rIhaL remains

for this report is to try to elucidate the extraordinary character of Macías

who is one of the enigmas of eontemporary history. It is very difficult'I have talked with hundreds of puop1" r¿ho have met him, seen him, listenedto him and, in some cases, knovrn him as r,¡e1l as anybody can' Yet he remains

elusive and with him, the future of Equatorial Guinea'

4.L TilE PERSONALITY OF PAPA MACIAS

The personality of Maclas appears to be inseparable from hispolitical thinking and, at first' seems to be just as obscure and

incomprehensible. Partisan accounts do not contribute Lo one's understand-

ing. Trevijano refers to him as: "Passionately given to the noble cause

of the Independence of his people, incapable of dissimulation or intrigue'

sternly upright in his objectives and actions". The Spanish writer' Ramon

Garcia Dominguez, who knew him personally from Lg72-74, describes hischaracter as: "unbalancedrinconsistent and unpredictable, wiËh a path-

o.logically psychic incongruency which provokes his outbursts of unusual

violence, interrupted by påriods of equilibrium and lucidity and which

must be related tà a sense of bifteï resentment arising out of a latent

inferiority comPlex".

Equatorial Guineans in exile habitually refer to him as "medio

loco,, (half rnad). If asked to elaborate they will mention his fear, boEh

of people who may be a threat to hirn and of his dead victims, his irrational

behavíour and obsessions, and the way he is influenced by the phases of the

moon, indicating lunacy in the literal sense of the word'

None of these stereotypes are veryaboùt mental instability remain weak if theyevidence. This may exíst but is inaceessibleists of medicine and psychíatty in Spain'

illuminating and statementsaïe not corroborated bY medicalin the hands of certain sPecial-

"For a long time l"lacías has been having trouble with his hearing'

It was aLready evident during his election compaign and his deafness has

increased since." In fact he went Ëo the Clínica Ruber in Pladrid before

the elections, for examination and treatment. However, the diagnosis

revealed s)mptoms beyond the purely physiological and he was remitted to

Dr. Lopez Ibor ín Barcelona fot a pty"tti"atic examinltiol: Tht outcome of

this examination has not been revealed for reasons of medical ethics but'

three years later, Maclas went clandestinely to Barcelona for further consult-

ations with Dr. Ibor.

46

If the effectiveness of the psychiatric aid remains unknovm, itis clear that his deafness has increased. This could explain some of thepeculiarities of his behaviour, such as his screaming and shouting' Itmight also conËribute to his tendency to suspect virtually everybody'

Macfas \,üas also treated by Dr. Manuel Duran Sacristan at theHospital Clinico, Ciudad Universitario in Madrid. Again, medical ethicstor¡i¿ revelations about the patient but rumour has it that he was suffer-ing from a brain Ëumour. However, mâfly refugees who were once in a

position to observe him closely confirm each others I ímpressions of some ofthe more noticeable traiËs

"He is physically strong and in good health but badly co-ordinated,wittr jerky movements. He has no tribal scars and has forbidden allscarrification after he had a vision in which he sar¿ himselfattacked by visitors with scars. His eyes and ears are bad

but he uses no hearing-aid. He only accepts food cooked bymembers of his own family and it is all imported from Spain.He never drinks alcohol, only mineral 't^later, buL he drinksIboga and smokes Bhang and this shows in his pupils.''

Bhang is a loca1 form of hash-hish, relatively widely spread.Iboga is a little-knovrn derivative from a local tree. The drug can be taken

both by smoking and by drinkíng, and is said to resemble LSD ín íts effects.It is also regarded as an aphrodisiac and plays an important role intraditional religion. It may be assumed that the effecËs of systematic and

prolonged use are less than healthy. Its hallucinagenic effects are potentand may explain certain of Macíast peculiarities

"Maclas is very frightened (tiene mucho miedo). He has beenheard, publicly, to cry out the names of his victims. tOndo Edu,

Atanasio, why do you search for me? I have done nothing to you,you have killed yourselfl t. He once ordered the table laid foreight peop|e, then sat dor,¡n alone and kept up a conversationwith the dead persons for whom the table had been set. The

servants qrere mute. Maclas is guided by voices. Nobody knows

quite whose but sometimes he will stop himself in the middleof a speech, listen quietly for a moment and then talk about

' ondo Edu and Atanasio."

Some things can be inferred from his recorded speeches and fromhis public behavior. Anecd.otes abound but some are confirmed beyond doubtand appear to be indicative and inspired by a sense of pity, perhaps partlybecause as a public speaker, Macfas is a long way from the usual calmdignity of his countr)rmen. tr^Ihere the latter use guiet measured eloquence,Macfas shouts and rants. Thére is much of HiLlerts hysteria in his more

rabble-rousing deliveries but !,/ithout the calculated build-up and carefullyorchestrated response. Maclas improvises, swilches from Fang to Spanish and

back again in mid-sentence, and rushes on, heedless of the shouts from thecrowd, repeating himself or changing subject as the mood takes him. Some

of his mannerisms are undoubtedly caused by his deafness, bul the ramblingincoherence and length of his speeches (r¡hich often go on for hours) is

41

partly due to his use of Iboga and Bhang'

illustraEion:An eyewitness account may serve as an

,,In 1975 Maclas had ordered his picture to be put up everywhere'

InDecemberthatyearhewasinvitedtoEheUniondouanièreetéconomique de ltAfrique centrale (UDEAC) meeting in cameroon'

trrlhen he r^¡as there he was urgently informed over the telephone

that one of the pictures, on the door of the house of the ex-vice-President, had been torn. He inrnediately left for Malabo where Lhe

first thing he did \,úas to order a big meeting, a Congreso Popular,

for the Seccion Feminina de PUNT in the hiorkerst Recreation Centre'

ByS.00inthemorningeverybodyhadarrivedandwaswaiting.uâcías arrived at 13.00 hours' very exciËed and intoxicated from

Bhang and went right into a violent speech: 'r have been toldthat my picture has been destroyed' .1 cannot tolerate this'Nobody is allowed to point his fingei at it' Now' I ask you

what shall I do with the person who has destroyed my image?'

,,The women shouted 'Kii1 him'. Macfas then began to talk about

Atanasio and the coup d'état. He then changed again' to say that\^/omen were allowed to come to his closed palace and that they

were all free to sel1 whatever they wanted at any price they

liked.Afterthat'hebegantotellthemthatiftheyeverhadtrouble with their husbands he would receive them and the meeting

endedinlaughter.Laterinrhedayheorderedameetingofallthe teachers and students in Malabo in the Collegio Nacional forthe next morning'

"Macfas arrived in his Mercedes' He \"¡as very excited' He

begantoinsulttheMinistersandtheaudience,wipingthes\./eatfromhisforeheadanddroppingthemicrophonefromhistrernbling hands. He began talking about the destroyed pictureand said that if an ímage of him \^/as ever harmed in the College'

everybodytherewouldbethrov¡nintotheseawithastonetiedaround his neck. 'From today, the }linistry of Education r¿illbe closed and all the teaching stopped. I r,ri11 create politicalcorrnissars to take over aLl the posts held by spaniards and throw

awayallcopiesofthebookFormaciondeEspírituNacionaland write a ne\d book ca1led Formacion politico de Guinea EcuatorialTwo days later the president actually made a list of eight people

r¡ho were to co-author the book. Llhen it eventually appeared itscontents were limited to a biography of the Prdsident, a list of

his forty-six titles and an attack on Spain'

"Maclas never returned to the Conference in Cameroon' The ex-Vice

President,BosioDidco,hadbeenunderarrestsincethetornphotograph had be"o ruiorted,and was killed shortly after."

Maclas can sound quite normal on the radio and during the period

when the country sti1l had a TV station, he is said to have been impressive

on the screen. Those who know him r¿e1l say that there are days when he can

bequitepleasant.Atotherlimesheiscompletelysilentortalksto

4ì5

himself. irlhen he starts to grind his teeth he is regarded as very dangerous

and fear of him mounts during the period from November to January, particularlyat the time of the ne\^l moon.

His excentricities can sometimes have a happy ending. During one

of his difficult periods, in early L975, Maclas rushed out of hís palace aË

rnidnighË in a tantrr¡n. Armed with a machine pistol and accompanied

by the Governor of Bata, he picked a Landrover and In/ent to Okucuc Bianba

Mba, a 1ocal drinking place. l{aclas kicked the door open' waved the gun

and ordered everybody present to 1ie flat on their faces on the floor.Lrhen he found thaE there \¡/ere several soldiers present his rage mounted and

he beat their faces, screaming that they should stay in their camp toguard their President, and then he 1eft. He went to the military camp some

200 meters from the Old Palace and emptied his gun into the ceiling."Laughing like a madman" he screamed that Lhe duty of the soldiers \,ras notto rest but to guard their President and then he returned Lo his palace.The next day he promoted all the soldiers he had beaten to the rank ofLieutenant.

gther incidents would appear mainly humouristic if it were notfor their sinister connotations. He has' on occasion, picked up a stickand begun dancing before the crowd, rather stiffly. The ominous thing about

an other\,rise harmless exhibition is Macías' preoccupation with cults thatdemand human sacrifice, accompanied by dancing. Thís subject vill reappearin the context of the Bieri and Bwiti cults.

His inferiority complex is constantly mentioned by those who have

knovm him. The reason most conrnonly mentioned is his lack of formaleducation, but as that is compensated, to a large exLent, by his shrewd

intelligence, it would seem that there are other more relevant factors.These are probably more in accordance with the traditional background. One

has to take into account that for a Fang, the family, and especially theprocreation of the family, is of Paramount importance. A man can be richand powerful, but if he does not have wives and childrerl' he is considereda non-entity, a nobody, an object. of condescension and ridicule. The

importance of the family is also shown in the concept that a man has to breakthe sacred kinship ties and sacrifice a relative, the closer the better, inorder to obtain potent magical po\¡/ers. Rumours that Maclas has done so

abound but are, so far, unconfirmed.

The President is frequently referred to as Papa Macías but as a

pater familias, he has had his hardships. During his Mongomo period he

look the Bujeba girl,Ada,as his first wife in a Catholic marriage. Aftershe became the mistress of a Spaniard named Roman he wanted to divorce herbut the Bishop, Monseigneur Raphael Nzé Abuy, refused. They had a civilseparation in 1965 and she sti1l lives in l{ongomo, childless. In L972,

he married C1ara, mulatto daughter of Santiago Osa, in a traditional tribalmarriage. It is unkown who is the fatkrer of a boy, born in L972. Clara,who had some nursing training, held the post cf Director of Pharmacies, but

has escaped to Gabon. Things were better with Frieda Krohnert, the mulattodaughter of a German and with Monica, the mulatto daughter of a Spanish

Guardia Civil. The latter has þeen his consort since L964. Maclas

49

patiently had most of her previous lovers killed: Luis Nguema Nsué'

FredericoandsimonNgomo,'AgapitoNmvo,AntonioEljoandAntonioMane.How.everrhe contented himself with expelling her cameroonian lover Tancho

Osseni.HeadoptedhersonwithOsseni'Teonesto'whoisnowinCubafor rnilitary training. He also adopted l'Iaribel, her daughter with a

Guardia Civi1, and paão and Moniqrrità, her children r'¡ith the Deputy Director

ofsecurityforBata.ThelatterdiedinBataprisoninlgT3.Monicawas extensively mentioned in the international press in early I97B where

it r¡as stated that she had escaped from Maclas, after having emptied his

Swiss bank account (said Ëo have contained pesetas 50 million) ' This is

incorrect. The illiterate but colourful lady went on a grand shoppping

tour, via Moscow, Paris, Las Palmas, where she acted as Maclast business

representativeindeatingswithaLebanese,JuanSesinJuan.Shethenvisited Tripoli from where she returned, with Aeroflot to Malabo' Both

Frieda and Moniea no\,/ live in Mongomo. Maclas' other relationships with

lromen have been of short duration. "Macfas is very attracted to \^7omen

of mixed race. In order to live with them he kills their husbands' during

hisperiodsofmentalcrises.ThiswasthecaseoftheDirectorofSocialS"curity, FeliPe Pedro Esono.''

Thetediousdetaílsalepresentedinanattempttoshowthreeimportant f"".t, ãf u""í"' t p"t'o"älity; his sexual impotence which makes

him a laughingstock, his strong loyalty to those closest to him and his

disregard for the lives 'of others. Thl picture then begins to emerge of

a person who is victim as ¡¡el1 as perpetratoÏ of his deeds, unlearned but

shrewd, dynamic but without direction, ruthless but not sadistic' sensitive'

lonelyandhaunted.Heisamanwhoisnotregardedasamanbyhisownpeople ¿rnd whose desíre for recognition and love takes on the preposterous

expression of his mania for titles and the personality cult he has created'

Hispersonalitycombinesintelligenceandhumour,albeitoftenbitterandSarcastic,withaneedforthegrossestflatteryimaginableandcoupledwith amazing megalomania. Against this background it is oddly moving

to recall his siatement on 16 January L969 with its ring of a hope which

,/üas not to be fulfilled. "I have beln considered as mad' ¡Ihen have I

suffered from madness? The only madness I have shown has been the madness

for freedom and since freedom tá, ,ror been achieved my madness is over and

done vrithI" (1)

MACIAS AND RELIGION

TheCatholicChurchbuiltastrongnetv/orkthatwasamplifiedbytheeducationalsystem.Christianity,saidtohave,beenadoptedby957"ofthepopu1ation,ilâYhavebeenthinlyspreadincertainpartsofRioMuni, but there is no doubt that it was widely spread' It \^tas an important

power which was closely interwoven with Lhe colonial goverÛnent' Training

ofindigenousclergywasoneoftheslowestinAfricabutalsooneofthemosr thorough and Ii," aro indigenous bishops who were installed during the

Autonomyperiodr¿erechurchmenofgreatstanding.Theyalsohadtheirornm;t;;; ;irrr. ol".í"". In a pastoral letter in April 1968, Monseigneur

Raphael Nzué Abuy-\^rrote, i'Th. preoccupation of some Catholics about the

attitude of the political leaders of Rio I'luni have been brought home to us'

(1)

50

Dominguez, P. 37

Inle warn you against messengers of tribalism, hate and false promises, as

well as egoism. fie also !¡arn you against anti-religious rabble-rousers.He who does no! fear God will not respect the laws of Human Rights'l.

Lrrhat followed r¿as a long story of escalating anLagonism on bothsides. The Church, whose bishops (considered by many as imporËant as thepresident) showed little willingness to co-operate. Maclas hamstrung theChurch by expelling the two bíshops and began a slor¿ but fairly systematiccampaign of humiliation and harassment. From L972, the year in which he

made himself Life President, Party officials were increasingly prone tostate "No hay mas Dios que Macfas" (there is no other God than Macías).pUNT catechism, which r¡as taught everywhere, compared him to the Messiah,an obvious wordplay in Spanish._ Its slogan "God created Equatorial Guinea

thanks to Macfas. I^lithout Macfas, Equatoría1 Guinea would not exist" bëcame

an obligatory part of Church services. Unwillingness to comply led totemporary arrests of priests, monks and nuns. A few were killed, for instanceFather José Esono, but, on the whole, imprisonment was milder than usua1.

In November I974, PUNT, upori Macfast order, prohibited all religiousmeetings and encouraged popular supervisiog.gf "the subversive activitiesof the Catholic and oiher missionaries". ( r, In March and April the fo11ow-

ing year, the tone hardened. Christian names were forbidden' so \.fere

Christian funerals. The funeral ceremonies should be "carried out accordingto the African Lradition". Sermons r^/ere to be censored and alms or offeringsto missions became prohibired. Private Catholic teaching institutions, theonly ones sti11 providing a semblance of educatíon, \^rere to be closed (see

Appendix 2, paragraphs 2 ro 5 - the Decree is typical and well worth study).On 10 February |916, another Decree had one single artícle: No Guinean shall'as from this day, be called by the names by which he r¿as baptized in Church.Neither shall the mispronunciation of Afrícan names and particularly with'European intonation', be permitted. Any person failing to observe this law

shall be sanctioned r¿ith a fine of Bipwera one millíon".

trrlhen I r¿as in Malabo a small Church near the market place was

kept open, as well as a very small Seventh Day Adventist Mission ChapelCathedral is inside what has become the Presidential enclosure, whichsealed off. It is now used ag an arsenal to store a:rns provided by theSoviet Union. I did manage to get into one other Church. It had beenvandalised. Everything inside was broken and lying in shambles on the

stil 1

. Theis

total lyfloor.

The reaction of the Vatican has been one of discreet silence. Lettersto the Pope have been answered by the State Secretariat which "takes note ofthe contenLs". Cardinal Pantin fromBeninwent to Equatorial Guinea ín L974

and apparently informed the Holy See that the situation r^ias not serious. He

also advised Equatorial Guinean seminarists abroad to return to their country.The returnees who did not manage to escape were imprisoned. The Papal NunzioinYaoundé in Cameroon has recommended the Vatican to remain silent' so as

no¡ to endanger the rnissionaries still in the country" There is a great dealof information about the conditions available to the Catholic Church both inCameroon and Gabon but, either it is noL passed on to Rome, or the Vaticansuppresses it. hlhat is astounding is that no action has so far been taken todo anyÈhing for the spiritual welfare of the refugees ' not to menlion theirmaterial welfare.

(1) Unidad de Guinea Ecuatorial, 22 November L974.-1JI

In May 11971, Maclas declared his country to be an "atheistic staterr

and shortly afterwards he expelled seven of the last Spanish missionaries

from the ordine de los claretianos. Their average age \¡/as 66 and they had

SPent an averag e of 32 years in,Equatorial Guinea before they were accused

or iuiog inËeliiguot" agents' (1) The only one to remain was Father

Leandro Fuente, aged 85, who had married Maclas and Ada and then had been

kept in Mongomo as a kind of house chaplain, often used as evidence that

Uaàías,"" ir good Catholic". This phrase, used in my presence by an

agent provocaEeur in Gabon would """* qt"'tionable in view of Maclas t

rather blatant violations of the Ten Commandments'

In reality, the evasive action taken both by t{acfas, _pretendingatheism of a vaguety t"tarxist kind, and by the Vatican, pretending that

christianity is sti11 observed riit-, r modicum.of normality, are both highly

misleading.ReligionisplayingaveryimportantpartinwhatgoesonandEhe situation amoig the equalorial Guineans, both inside the country and in

neighbouring staËes, cannot be understood unless this is taken into accoun!'

Macías t ability to suppress an entire nation with the support of only a

smal1 fraction of it is only partly the result of political terror and

the strength of arms. Equally important. are the subjective factors;the feeling of fear thal he inspires is so sLrong that it causes almost

rotal apathy and polítical impotence'

The question of beliefs outside the main established religionsis a sensítive issue. There is a tendency Èo r¡rite them off as primitive

superstítions, something to be regarded with regret or condescension, but

certainly not to be taken seriously'

This atritude of superiority rnight have some foundation if applied

to current Western beliefs in astrology. It is inexcusably superficial when

applied to rraditional belíefs in a tribal community' A r¿ell-knov¡n African

scientist elucidates:

,,l,lany of those who live in developing countries exist in cultures.inwhichthesupernaturalisveryrealindeed.Theyascribe

naturally o"".rtiing phenomena to the whims and capriees of gods who

mustbepropítiated.InNigeria,Ogunisthegodoflronandmanyvehicle ãri.rut, believe that they can neglect v/orshipping him

onty at their own peril. ogun drinks blood and, every few days'

his devotees have to find a live animal to saerifice to him'

This sacrifice is much more important to many'dlivers than the

regularmainLenanceofËheirvehiclesandanaccident,insteadof being due to careless driving or mechanical failure of a vehicle'is ascribed to the anger of the god!" (2)

The Bantu world of beliefs is bursting with vitality and steaming

with fecundity, fertility and the power of virginity. Fer¿ deaths are consid-

ered natural and magic permeates most aspects of 1ife. It can cause success

and failure, it afiects childbirth and crops, and the outcome of r^¡ar' I'Jhat

(1)(2)

E1 Pais, 7 JulY L978.Arnre, O. r"Development Problems in the Teaching

and Telecommunications", TelecomJnulric.ationof ElecËromagnetlcs

Journal, Vo1. 44,

October 1977, P' 495

the British, French and Spanish colonialists disregarded as pagan super-

stition remaíns a reality in the villages and sti1l influences life profoundly

Maclas uses traditional beliefs systematically. At an early stage

hechangedhis emblem from the vigilant rooster Ëo E1 Tígre, an animal which

does not exist in Africa, mystical, immortal, 1etha1, feeding on blood and

flesh. His political opponents had a gazel-iLe as an emblem' Inevitably, they

lost in the villages.

Shortly after he became President, he revived the Biéri cult of

ancestor worship and collected powerful skulls from all over the country' He

is presumed to have created sanctuaries for these skulls in his víllage atMongomo, where nobody outside his inrnediate group is allowed to go.

He collected all the sorcerers and Mvet singers he could get'holdof and learnt their Malàn (magic). Most important of all, he learnË the

differenÈ kinds of magic practised by the different tribes and is nor¡ ina position rvhere he always has a surplus of countermâgic' to the extent thathe is invulnerable - within the context. of traditional religion. His fearof and very active campaigning against Christianity had a 1ot more to do

with this than with affegations that missionaries were imperialists. Christ-ianity, and I'Iestern technique and science are po!r'erful enough in their owrì'

right to be able to resist or even neutralise his magic.

Tomakehispowerknovrn,heusedtheMvetsingers.Theyareitinerant musicians who sing a kind of chronicle and running comment oir

current events and are important disseminators of ne\^ls. Inihat I had not realisedwhen listening to them in the villages was that they are also in possession ofdangerous *"gi" and are performers of sacred dances' Some new dances Seem

to h".ru originated fairly recently in connection wirh the Bwiti cult and were

possibly created by Macías himself.

It became knornm that the Tiger \^7as a legacy from Macíasr grandfather,to serve him in defence and attack. If a group of people would gather toassault him, Macías would only have to "speak with the voice of the Tiger"to make ít appear instantaneously in his defence. "It serves him as a guide'.

I{hen he intends to go somewhere, if he sees the Tiger go before him he says

that \^ray is the right one and, if he sees the Tiger turn back, he says thaÉ

way is Lad." It also remains invulnerable and immortal as long as it gets

it" pr.y. "Inlhen it stays in the forest it eats animals. In the villagesit eats men and feeds on human flesh every two or three weeks ' "

With rhat "knowledge of his people and all their psychologicalartifice, subterfuge and reticence" so highly appreciated by the colonialists'Macfas placed his totem animal on Ehe PUNT rnembership card' The signifieance\^7as clearly understood by everybody. It contributed to his success thatMacfas had come from Gabon where the secretive Bwiti had been more powerful

than in Equatorial Guinea but where it was more feared"

The cults of Biéri and Bwiti are difficult to approach and even

more difficult tounderstand to most readers from industríalised countries'They are mentioned by writers such as Balandier, Trilles and hlalker. They

are seen through " gi."s darkly and expressed in sociological terms. People

53

in the villages put il more b1unt1y, although their terms may also be veiled',,you may le against Maclas as long as the sun shines but in the night you have

to be fár hi;. " These were the terrns used by one old man and Ëhey sum up

one explanaËion for the otherwise inexplícable contradiction between the

feeblemilitarypovrerandpopularsuPportforoneoftheworld'smost,rnrtrrt"d pt."iâ"r,t", and his powerful hold over a reluctarit people'

Fundamentally, it is a question of regression to tradition, mueh in line

with a well-knor,rn o""."ion in Hitlerf s Germany, when G'ciring talked about

the deceased General Ludendorff as going off to Valhall, the paradise of

the Norse gods one thousand years earlier. But it is difficulr to think

of another paralle1 with the Unique Miracle'

54

5. THE REFUGEES

TherefugeesfromEquatorialGuineamayrepresentthelargestproportion of any nation ever to have gone into exile. NeverËheless,

little has been heard about them. They remain in obscurity, a silentembarassment to Gabon, Cameroon and Spain, a refugee problem forgottenby almosE everybody but themselves.

Inevitably, there have been exagge1 ated statements about them'

A PUNT spokesman t.pfi"a to a critical article in "Africa Magazine" in"Unidad de Ia Cuineà Ecuatorial" on B June 1974 under the headline "Our

Country is a Cradle of Liberty for Everybody". He made it clear that out

of 6,0ô0 atteged refugees in Spain, Gabon and cameroon most had left theircountry long before Independence. One thousand had left for personal

reasons but many had returned to their country r¿here t'they live normal1y"'

"To speak about refugees from Equatorial Guinea is.a falsehood, a fantasyand a myth."

This ca1ls for comment. Equatorial Guinea has had little of the

violence and bloodshed which has taken place for instance in Amin's uganda,

but to refer to life there as normal is grotesque. There is no doubt thatthe terror and oppression have been made systematic in a way which is unique

on the continent. It is a statement of fact to refer to the country as "theconcentfation camp of Africa"; not an Auschwitz built for the exterminationof a people, but a cottage-industry Dachau'

On the other hand some of the information from refugees in exileis misleading as far as figures are concerned. There are explanations'In one case dubious population guesstimates made by the present Government

have been compared with more prá"i"u demographic data. l{acfas has then

been given the blame for the difference and been accused of having caused

50,000 deaths and 15,000 disappearance, and forced 150'000 people into exile'Other inflated figures are caused by extrapolation and by adding presumed annual

growth to known data ¡¡ithout having the means to check whether this has anyLhing

to do with reality.

Evidently the truth lies betr¡een the t!üo extremes. The followingbrief description of the current situation is based on conservative estimatesof numbers and sub.ject to methods of cross-checking all data described inttSources" below.

5.1. OUTFLUX

There are certain conditíons which facilitate escape' The tropicalrain forest in Rio Muni is extremely dense and easy to hide in' The border

is a line on the map and there are no natural obstacles apart from the thickness

of the vegetation. The soldiers or milicianos who guard roads and strategicpoints are badly trained and frequently not issued with bullets' There are

no dog Þatro1s, machine-gun posts or land mines but allegedly there have been

"r*orrIl*ged pits with sharpened poles made like the traditional hunting traps '

55

Leaving Fernando Po is next to impossible since all the local boats

have been confiscated to prevent eslcape by sea. The \'{aves of refugees from

the island.came at the 'time of the repatríation of 45,000 Nígerian plantationworkers, escaping with them in Ehe general confusion. If anybody manages

to leave now it is usually by having sufficient pretexÈs and connections to

be permicted to go to Bata, from whel:e he may be able to make his way through

the .iungle.

I^Iith very strict measures imposed on all internal movement, travellingleagally in Equatori"t crrinea is very difficult. However, travel permits are

stamped only at the points of depaïture and arrival, not at each checkpoint'This makes it possible to by-pass certain checkpoints and thus reduce the ever-

present risk of arbitrary arrest. Also a fast runner may stand a chance even

if apprehended by the authorities, since few members of the armed forces have

been enlrusted rith rr*nrrnition. several people have done exactly that; taken

to their heels and run off, hearing behind. them ever fainter cries of "Stop,or I'll shoot" from a frustrated soldier waving an emply rif1e.

A ma.j or problem is that it is very dangerous to carry anylhing thatmight indicate rhat one is trying to leave; that is, personal papers, school

certificates or any documentation other than the PUNT membership card' Carry-

ing personal beloniingr is very suspect in the border areas, carrying small

children even more so.

qt INFLlTX

Differences betrreen the situations in which the refugees findrhemselves in Africa and in Europe will be made clear on the following pages

after mention of common denominators and general characteristics'

First, however, the influence of Spanish colonialism must be

emphasised. It had different impacÈs on Fernando Po, colonised for fourcenturies, and the maínlarrd province of Rio Muni, which was partly unexplored

as late as 1920.. Fernando Po vüas comparatively stable as fat as ethnicminorities \,üere concerned, but Rio }funi was..just settling dov'rn from a large-scale population movement when colonialism began to make itself felt' I^lhile

the dynamics of Fang migration were s1owly ebbíng out, inter-tribal politicswere st.ill confused and uncertain. This affected the attitudes of spanish

settlers there, who felt uncertain with the more independent Fang fribesmen'

Spontaneous Spanish sympathy for the more docile tribes on Fernando Po and

on rhe coastal strip tf-nio Muni later changed into a deliberate divide-and-rule policy airned at maintaining Spanish economic interests after Independence

Subsequentiy tribalism, rarely a minor issue' \^/as increased and aggravated

Uy ttre colonísing power. It still remains important' even among Lhe refugees

in Eurgpe

Spanish attitudes towards the indigenous population appear already

in the official terminology: "menores" and "emancipadostt. On the whole,

natives were regarded as ì;primitivos". Lrhile Britain and France \^7ere making

serious efforts to understand at least certain communities in their colonies

by sendin g f.írst-rate anthropologists into the field and making use of theiranalyses of the peoples involved, Sp"itt maintained a deeply ethno-centric

s6

philosophy r¡hich can at best be described as paternalistic. The superiorityãf spanish cultural and religious models was never in doubt, and it was

automatically taken for granted that acculturation r,¡as strictly a one-vr'ay

process. Those who adopted Spanish ways were classed as "emancipadost' and

gi.r.tr considerable assistance to advance further within the colonial system'Those who were not remained t'menores", but it wa.s confidently expected thatthey r,rould eventually mend their ways and ín the course of ti.me'vrant tobectme Spaniards too. This class system, unknov¡n in the traditionaldemocracy, caused considerable damage in terms of social tensions and

confusion of value systems. The effects are still very much in evidence

among Equatorial Guineans. Spanish unquestioning assumptions of complete

",-,p.iioiity have given rise to a corresponding cultural inferiority complex

and a fixation on things Spanish. In fairness it must be stated thatSpanish racism remained on the whole benevolent and coloured by a definitesynpathy for Ëhe PeoPle.

As far as development in Equatorial Guinea is concerned the factsare c1ear. Spain, partly for reasons concerned with the international image

during the Franco regime and with debates over the Gibraltar question and withtouchy relations with other countries, \n/anted to make a model colony out ofEquatorial Guinea. They succeeded in the economic sense. At the time ofIndependence Equatorial Guinea \^/as prosperous. Education progrannnes had

raised the degree of literacy to a high level. Human and animal healthproblems were well under control. Economic administrative infrastructure\^/as more Lhan adequate, and the country v/as \¡rell on its \tay tortards advancingeven further.

Inevitably this has affected the present situation of the refugees.I,Jhen they arrive in Gabon, Cameroon or Nigeria they automatically find them-

selves in conditions way below the standard of living they have been used

to in their own country before Independence. When arriving in Spain theyhave been influenced by the inbred inferiority feelings originating from the

colonialists. Throughout they have been in a situation where physically. and mental scars from the oppression of the present Government affect lheirdaily lives, as do fear and anxiety for relatives and frlends left behind.political and economic uncertainties in the countries of asylum aggravatetheir situation and the inevitable stïain of belonging to an exiled minoritywith dím prospects does not ease the psychological pressures

I,,Iith rheir varied skills and their energy and will towards helpingthemselves, the refugee groups certainly have a potential which, in the viewof the countries of asylum, would make them assets rather than liabilities.

The question is then,which are the main constraints which must be

overcome if r:heir potential is to be given a chance?

The first is the uncertaínty and ambiguity surrounding the presenceof the refugees. In the eyes of the local indigenous population they aresomewhat suspect characters out of favour with the Government, people whose

obligations and rights are not c1ear. Hospitals and clinics refuse them

because it is unclear whether they have the right to benefit from subsídised

57

lreatment.staËe-SupportedschoolsdotheSame,leavingexpensiveprivateteaching institution"- of sometímes dubious standards as the o¡r1y alternative

Employershesitatetogivethemiobs'ordosoatwagesfarbelowthelegalminimum. rn other *orã", . *irotity proletariat is being created' The

irnplicatíons of this are those contrnon to most underprivileged groups in

minoritysituations:lackofoppo'..,,'ityleadingtoviciouscirclesofpoverty and marginality which peipetuate themselves; as well as lack of

the recognition'ãna t""p"ct which are cruci aL fot the acceptance which is

required before "rr"""""1"1 integration can take place'

also the contradictive elements built into the social

have brought rriith them' These have confused the issue

asylum and rnade it difficult for their governments to

decisions. Foremost, is the fact that a considerable

There aresystem the refugeesfor Èhe countries ofcome to firm PolicYnumber of refugees r@'

To understand the situation five different categories of Equatorial

Guineans have to be identified:

ical refugees' remaining in the country of

it is impossible for them to retLlrn'I. Bona fide Politasylum because

2. "Economic refugees"' who leave Equatorial Guinea to look

for work abroad, ,no,tly with the intention of going back

tá-al"ttorial Guinea once they have made enough money'

3. ,,Va-et-viens" - people who cross the border for short-term

trips, mostly for trading purposes'

4. People who stay voluntarily in Equatorial Guinea'

5. People who stay in Equatorial Guinea against their will'

NoappropiiatecensuseshavebeenmadeofthefirstcategoryanditisuncerLain'h.tt'"'existingfiguresarecorrect'exaggerat'edorunder-stated. As rff u" the composition of the group of genuine political refugees

is concerned, extensive contacLs ú/ith different communities indicate that they

a,:e a cross-section of Ëhe population. There are enough educated and trained

peopleamongthemtogive",,¡"t^,,""tothesuspicionthatmostofthecadreshave left the country, but there are also large groups of farmers and

fishermen from Ehe villages'

The ,,economic refugees,, constitute a confusing elemenL, ín the

SensethattheyarenotcoveredbythelJNorOAUmandateswhichgivelegalprotection to recángised politicai refugees. Moreover, their presence in

rhe neighbouring eounrries t,." "u,rr"d.dãubts 1!o"a the entire population

of Equatorial' Cuineans in exile' raisi"g q":?:lons about their reasons for

leavingtheircountÏy.Havetheydonesoprimarilyinordertomakeabetterlivingincountrieswithamorevigorouseconomy?Sinceanumberofexilesapparently ao go back voluntarily'"can the situation in nlua¡1rial Guinea

beasbadasitisrumoured?Iftherumoulsareincorrect'isanysuchrefugee "political" in the senså that he' "owing to well-founded feat o1ii

IiaI'Iit1

Ë¡

!;

58

being persecuted for reasons ofof a particular social grouP orof his nationalitY and is unableavail hirnself of the Protection

race, religion, nationality, membershippolitical opinion, is outside the countryo.rr owing to such f ear, is unwilling to

of that counrrY"?

Superfici aLIy, this and other relevanl- articles in the 1969 OAU

Convention on Refugees make things quite clear' Any refugee who "has

voluntarily re-estáUti"tru¿ himself in the country which he left" is no

longer covered by the convention, and consequently no longer a politicalrefugee. The r.ã1 "itrration

ís more complex and demands a certain under-

stanãing of the background of the ethnic groups involved'

l.Iith a shattered economy, life in Equatorial Guinea no\'n cauFes

hardship which rnras unkno¡,¡n before Independence. Near total absence of

health care and the most basic consumer goods and excessive prices for such

necessities as clothing, combine with fhe system of unpaid forced labour

to create an impossiblá situation. To be able to obtain essentialcommodities it is necessary to obtain money and for all who are not included

in the small privileged grorrps in power, money can be made only outside the

country. Thus, a Large number of people who can and dare lo cross the frontierillegally make theit rry out and try to get employmenl abroad. Gabon, withits iapid economic expansion over the past years, has been a particularlyattractive goal, and Cameroon and Nigeria have also offered some opportunities'with luck, the migrating workers have been able to secure .iobs at the officialminimum salary of Fr. CFA 30,000.-- or about US$ 130.-- per month or evefi

more. In less fortunate circumstances, part.icularLy in rural areas, they

have taken jobs available at half or a third of the payment offered to

nationals or subsisted on money lent to them by relatives or friends'

The explanation of the voluntary repatríation of these workers

is simple and based on the fundamental importance of kinship ties' It isnormally the breadr+inner who goes abroad to make enough money to bring back

to support his family and to make necessary purchases of medicine, clothes'etc. These things are essential, but ít is equally important that he

himself comes back to assist the family he has left behind' He has the

choice between risking his own life or the lives of those who depend on

him. He returns.

The third calegory, the "va-et-viens", those who come and go, isfounded on the same rationale. They are small-time smugglers, mostlycrossing the border at night, buying things like salt' soap, kerosene forlamps and other necessary commodities, and carrying their goods on theirba.ks. sometimes they stay a short- tirne in a village in Gabon or cameroon

ro raise a litrle *only by doing odd iobs or cutting and selling firewood

along the roadside in order to be able to make their purchases ' Sometimes

they can bring and sell small loads of cocoa. Their traffic is not regarded

u"lrury seriou" by the authorities on either side of the frontier and they

can sometimes make a deal wi¡h the soldiers or milicianos' If they are

caught a first arrest normally leads to nothing more than a week in loca1

detention, although a seconcl arrest is likely to mark them as "subversivos"and lead to a prison term under conditions described elsevrhere.

59

The return of the iob seekers in theprecarious. They must anËicipate having some

confiscated as a price for letting them returnand being at the continued mercy of the localseal their fate by branding them "subversivos"

According to many refugees, nobody stays voluntarily in EquatorialGuinea. This is "ã exaggeration. Undoubtedly there are groups which have

gained from Macfas' rrtivat in power and the political system which he has

ãreated, First among these are Macfas' ov,¡n kinsmen from Mongomo who have

been propelled to unprecedented influence and placed in a position in which

almost any use or abuse of power goes unopposed and unpunished: extortion,looting, confiscation, arrest of opponents, rape and manslaughter' Members

of the army and the milicia fill the second rank in the pecking order' Since

most of them are recruited from strata r¿hich úrere previously looked down

upon or even held in contempt, they have certainly improved their position'paradoxically, people from this "ti"goty

do make their way inro neighbouring

countries, usually posing as refugees. These are some of the agents pro-

vo.cateurs who have done much to complicate relations between the realrefugees and their host communities'

The last group is the largest. The rhetorical question, "Inlhat

keeps them from t"r.rirrgi" has many ans\¡/ers: fear of the dangerous flighr'uncertainty about what awaits them in exi1e, unwillingness to leave behind

family members who are too weak to travel, fear that their flight willbeing about reprisals, pride in standing up to their fate, fatalism'

The external intelligence and counter-intelligence activities of

Equatorial Guinea are effective in a number of countries. What goes on

among the refugees in Spain is known to Macfas almost immediately' According

ao ,ãfrrg"es in Madrid the information is collected and forr¿arded both by

the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea and particularly by Trevi.jano, who uses

this service to render hirnself an irreplacable al1y.

Rumours that Maclas has had a militant opponent to his reignassassinated in Amsterdam are unconfirmed. The same goes for stories about

as-sassination attempts against Gustavo Mbela, Ambassador to the UN in New York

0ntheotherhand,itisperfectlyclearthathisagentsarepenetrating into Cameroon, in spite of a generally speaking tight security,y"a", there. Ln Gabon the situation is stil1 hTorse. Agents provocateurs

make their lüay into the border areas, under orders to cleate maximum antagonism

against the refugees. The most primitive way ofoPerating is for the agent to

break into.the house of a Gabonese national, steal a box or case and place the

emply box in the ilrmediate vicinity of the house of a refugee' The miliciano

sent out to do this is normally without remuneration from those who give him

his orders, his only compensatlon being what he can collect for himself during

his mission.

are t\,ro kinds of agents operating' One is more

those in the villages; untrained rnilitants r¡ho

and ¡¿hose main remuneration is advancement

second category ls moreof their goods and moneY

to live with their familiesauthorities which can easilY

In Libreville rhereor less on the same leve1 as

spread confusion and dissent

60

I

of their careers in the party hierarchy once they make their v¡ay back home '

These, as well as the ugãrra" in the villages , atre sometimes apprehended by

the Gabonese authorities. Bgt there is also another kind, trained in the

countries which support '¡qae{as, who are professionals and consequently more

difficulr to identìiy. They have been involved, at least indirectly, in some

of the refoulements which have taken place in Gabon up to November 1971 '

They were almost certainly involved in the stealing of documentation concern-

ing rhe refugees in Gabon in late 1977. In addition, the clansmen of Mac(as

in oyem in the Inleleu Ntem province have a certain polirical and personal

influence whieh extends beyond the purely loca1 interests '

After these general remarks about the exile siËuation, conditionsin the rnaín influx countries will be very briefly outlined' Unfortunately'much of the information cannot, for space reasons and other considerations'be detailed here.

5.2.L GABON

Maps show the Rio Muni province as a rectangle cut out of north-\,/estern Gabon. Except for a short stretch of the Mitemele River there is no

nalural boundary, only some 250 kilometers of border dravm artificallythrough the rain forest, and through the territory of the Fang tribe'I^lith these geographical conditions it is quite natural that Gabon has the

largest nLlmber of refugees. The vast ma.jority have quietly f iltered intoFang areas near the border.and are no\^/ living in and around Bitam, Oyem'

Mtd,zít, Medouen and Cocobeach. Smaller groups have m6vsd as far south as

port Gentil and Lambaréné. An estimated third of the refugees are inLibreville. The exact size of the refugee population is not knov¡n, but

it is officially accepted as 60,000. The impact of this influx must be

seen against the background of the population, politics and economy of

Gabon.

DemograPhic datamore than a million and UN

inhabitants in 1975 and a

other largest cities, Portinhab i tants in L9l 5 . I'Ii thin the ca. 266'000 square

for Gabon vary between the official figure ofestimates of. 715,000. Libreville had 250'000

probably third of a million in 1978' The two

Gencil and Lambaréné, had together 100,000this intensive urbatrisation population density

kilometers of rural area is as low as l-2 per irrr2

of the 52 tribes in the country, by far the most numerous are the

Fang, estimared at 407. of the entire population. since B0z to 90% of the

r"flge." from Rio Muni are also Fang, their arrival is a threat to an

atreãay sensitive elhnic equilibrium. In addition, the "pan-Fang" movements'

the Alar Ayong and the Pahouin Congress, extend latent intertribal tensions

across the borders of cameroon. rhey also complicate Gabonese relations with

Equatorial Guinea

. under a stable goverilnent, Gabon maintains diplomatic relationsr¡ith all ad.jacent countries, although those with Equatorial Guinea were

very strained on two occasions in 1972 arLð' 1-974 because of conflicts over

extension of Gabonese territorial r¡Taters which affected the small islands of

6T

Corisco and El obey' The disputes were quicklv resolvell^i:^::tt through

Lhe acËivities of an OAU speciui-"o**i""iorr, but an uneasiness remalfls

and af fects the Gabonese authotici"r' attitudes tor'¡ards the refugees'

The economy of Gabon has been booming' Per capita íncome tripled

rhe period 1960-70 and rhar ru"'^orrtf-inã u"gittning' Gabon has.since

overEquatorialG"ittttsoldroleofhavingthehighestpercaprtain Black Africa'

duringtakenincome

The present wealth is based primarily on petroleum and important

minerals , patricularly uranium ";;*;;";"nese: The role of labour intensive

production, especi aLly agrtcul¡ure and forest i"ãustry' is declining' This

has combined with rhe very trpiá urbanisation to create a da193rous employ-

men. situation ,ilf"i is .rllner"bt. ao slow-downs of the economic growth'

Moreover,increasingdependenceonimportedgoods,includingfoodstuffs'is raising prices to dangero"rfy irïgf1 ievêls, above all in the urban areas'

At present, heavy expendlt,rtu orr"iåOott, t,'d infrastructure have contributed

to an economt-c,á."rrion with a natìonal debt of about us$ r'7 billion'

The ourcome is an austeriry "."";;;;- aggravated by an inflation roughly

estimated aL 307"

I,trhiletheGovernmentisdoingitsbesttocontrolthesituation,rhe effects are beginning ao ou-iurt.

"Evidently the first categories to be

affected are rhe marginal ,ro.rn"i*-f.opr" who lâck training, people who are

resented for micropolitical t"tlorrr'ar,à peoplt-ttt"' becausã of lack of legal

StatuS'canrrotue,'uritfromtt'elegislationconcerningminimalvJages,freeeducation t"¿ *tai"al care' ff-'i" îs the situation of the ma'iority of the

refugees. ,rr;;;;;, rhey are n""ui"rooed by their ignorance of French'

Attitudestowardstherefugeesareambivalent.GabonisasígnatorytotheUNand.n"oouConventio,,.,"o,,""'ningrefugeesand,inNovemberl9TT,rhe Governmenr requesred rhe u;ï;"ã-Ñ;rions High óommissioner. for Refugees

(UNHCR) ro send a represenrari;;-io tibreville for a six-rnonth mission' A

counterpart from the Government is working oo 'nã

problem of supplying rD-cards

Atthesametime,therearefundamentaldifficultieswhichhaveto be resolved' The biggest Ot"¡ftt is undoubtendly that of lack of

recognised status. At or.rural " t"t.rg"e who is considered bona fide

receivesan"Attestationde:éio"r"whichservesasanidentitypaper'Unfortunately, the docum""t t' i" tt't form of a stencilled sheet of

flimsypaper.Itlookssounofficialthatonemusthaveacertainunder-standingforpolicemenandothersr^¡horefusetoacieptitasavaliddocumen.' not seldom tearing ï;';o ;; ã*pn"'i"å tlei;'ptii:;^ unfortunatelv'

lack.ofalphabetic,chronologi.o'otherSystemsintheregistersofthecentre de DocumenLation..r "r,r".

long delar'-io the issuing of a duplicare

and, ín the *.."ii*., rhe t.f;;;; tá*ãl"t vrithout, vulnerable to arlest'

imprísonmt"t ã"ã t""" ""P"1sion'Thelackofstatusinteractswithotherdifficulties,ofeconomic,

socialandpoliticalnature._Mo'.o.,",,thesituationisfurtheraggravatedby an essenti;i factor, the confusion between-political and economic refugees'

62

The fírst category is in principle covered by the UN and OAU treatiesconcerning refugees and given the same rights and obligations as otheraliens within the country. Above all, its non-refoulement clause protectsthem from being sent back to the country they have escaped from' The

second gronp has a fluid status and is in reality without 1egal protection.

Economic refugees are xegarded in rather vague terms as people

entering another country to improve their econoÍiic situation and livingconditions. Certainly most of the inrnigrants do precisely that, but lhisrnust be seen against the situation in Equatorial Guinea. As one iurnigrantsaid, t'How can one be an economic refugee from a country withour an economy?"

The lack of lega1 status 1ed to a crisis on 16 February 1978 when

increasing concern about agents pïovocateurs and news that a Gabonese-citizenhad been ki1led in Equatorial Guinea made the Government act. The army, thepolice and the gendarmerie launched a ma.ior campaign in Libreville to get

Ih. .ituation under .control. During the whole day, houses' pedestrians and

vehicles \,/ere searched in the course of an operation referred to as "ratissage"or rat-catching.

It had been declared as ttinevitable" because of recent confrontationsbetween inrnigrants and Gabonese nationals which had led to arson and pillage,thus forcing an interventioà. However, the Government had declared thatbona fide refugees had nothing to fear, but that "the recent census of people

coming from Equatorial Guinea has been badly misunderstood by the populationof Libreville. Most of the people actually believed that it \¡/as a questionof systematic refoulement of all the Equatorial Guineans. Acts of vandalism\¡/ere thus carried out in the different quarters inhabited by EquatorialGuineans. People were breaking the doors of houses and looting what they

found inside, Some \,ùent as far as to set the houses on fire and commit

savagie acts of aggression on the refugees." (l)

The ef fects were bad. The refugees realised that there \^/as no

protection for them and the nationals drew the same conclusion' The

experience \^Ias traumatic and, at the time of my visit Ëwo weeks later'there were sti1l hundreds of refugees ¡,¡ho preferred to hide in severe dis-comfort rather than to go back to Ëheir empty houses. Even the prompt

release - thanks to the tímely intervention of the UNHCR representative -of the large number of refugees who had been imprisoned could not lift theatmosphere of anxiety and suspicion which pervaded the slums.

The gold rush ambience of Gabon, and in particular Libreville,has had its definite advantages. It has been a free-for-al1. Anybody

finding an unused 100 m2 of land on the outskirts of the tor^rn ha.s been

able to claim it for himself. The next step, building a house, could be done

in one to tr¡/o months at a cost of FT.CFA 50,000.-- to 100,000.-- or US$ 217.--to 434.--. This sum, and a fair amount of work, provides a shack built \'/ithodd pieces of wood and Oukoumé plywood, with a sheet metal roof and a mud

f1oor. There is no electricity but fresh \^/ater can normally be carried from

a nearby conrnunal tap. The houses I saw were invariable clean and well kept,with goåd latrines dug downhill and dor,wrwind. l{osquitoes \,lere a problem, but

(1) LrUnion, 8 March 1978.

63

The Goverffnent has resistedsend refugees back. For instance, inForeign Minister with a delegation towi ttr itre Yaoundé Government ' ( 1)

the malaria seemed to be under control. In the villages in the rural areas

the sítuation was much less marked by the relative affluence of the capital

but houses I^/ere, on the whole, good, built with mud on very well constructed

wooden frames and with roofs of impenetrable leaves ' BoÈh in tovm and village

there were small fields of manioc grotirrg near the houses, providing food

the year around.

Theothersideofthegoldcoinisthatthereisnoorganisationwhich is active in welfare. Eviãent1y no Church has the resources' nor the

experienee, to take up assistance programmes for the refugees on its own'

As the UNHCR and its counterpart from the Government are fully occupied with

the legat aspects of the refugee problem there is a need for coming up

with unconventional solutions and t.o make up for the organisational gaps

by involving the refugees themselves more than is usual '

5 .2.2. CAI"IEROON

The united Republic of cameroon has the second highest population

ofrefugees,officiallygivenas30,000.Theyarelocatedmainlyinthetribal territory of the Fang, which extends through the sparsely populated

tropical rain forest all the way from the border to Equatorial Guinea up to

Yaoundé

pressures from President-Maclas toDecember :-gl5' when Maciãs sent hisdiscuss ttproblems of coûlmon interest"

,^,ith an estimated seven million inhabitants spread with an average

riensity of L4 ar'^ti-Oãt-mi o.rut an area of 475,000 km2, Cameroon is obviously

much less disturbed by the refugee infl.ux than Gabon' The predominance of

Fang among the exiles is of minor importance in a country where they are one

of. LZ3 tribes and represent only some 3Z of the total population' Since

president Ahidjo led the country to Independence on 1 January 1960' the

á.gr." of poliLicar stabiliry has been relarively high and a national

securiLy system knor,rn to be efficient reduces anxiety caused by the influx'

Hovrever, reports about agentS provocateurs opefating among the refugees

have made the authorities keen to transfer the inmigranLs from the border

areas, in order to settle them at what is considered a safe distance' Two

settlements are already in existence, at Akonolinga and }lband.jock east of

yaoundé but their total population seems at present to be no more than

500 ro 600.

Thema.jorityoftherefugeesisstillintheFangareaneartheborder, mainly in the departments ãf Ntem and Océan' I^lith a 1ow population

densityinesSentiallyfertilecountlythisregionhasahighabsorptivecapacity, in theory. In reality, the underdevelopment of the province which

has only an embryonic infrastructure poses worrying problems'.particularlyin view of the characteristics of much of the refugee population' The

syst.ematic repression of intellectuals in Equatorial Guinea has created

(1) Jeune Afrique, l0 December 1976, p' 34

64

;e

what must be, for its síze, the best educated refugee conrnunity in Africa'The difficulties of these refugees adapting to subsistence farming areobvious. So is the waste of human skil1s if this'b/ere to happen.

Living conditions in urban and rural areas are fairly similarto those in Gabon, although a bigger population density makes land lessavailable and there has been no comparable boom of house construction r^rhich

has permitted extensive use of surplus and waste materials from the buildingsites. For better or for v/orse, the tempo has been calmer. In particular,the security situation has been much more reassuring, with the risk ofrefoulemenr almost non-existent.

The presence of a PapaL Nunzio in Yaoundé seems to have had no

effect whatsoever. Presumably the representative of the Vatican is well-informed about what goes on inside Equatorial Guinea but this has not inany r^/ay affected the Catholic Church, either ín its policy towards a countrywhere it has been effectively substituted by more traditional religions,nor in any manifestations of interest in the material or spiritual welfareof the Children of the Church in exile. The Nunzio has visited EquatorialGuinea on several occasionsl but appears to have reconrnended caution and

an avoidance of anything that could upset Macfas and break the politicalrelations. One refugee commented, "It's rediculous. Macfas does not getupset by what is said in Rome. He gets upset by voices which only he can

heartt.

Recently, the Fédération des Eglises et l{issions Evangéliques au

Cameroun (FEMEC) has responded positively to the need for action. FEMEC seems

to be willing to become the operational counterpart of the IJNHCR and theyaoundé Government. At the time of writing plans for assistance were beingdiscussed ín Yaoundé and Geneva, with priority on the issuing of proper identitycards, health care, educatíon, housing and agriculture.

Further aspects of meeting the needs of the refugees ¡,¡i11 be

mentioned under the section "Solutions", but one peculariarity should be

mentioned here, namely that quit.e a number of the refugees are not farmers,but rather ex-cabinet ministers, defected ambassadors, senior civil servants'ex-managing directors, chief accountants, middle-aged army ma.'i ors, NCOs f rom

ttre Spanish Foreign Legion, travel agents and bank clerks. Finding meaningfuloccupations for them is not going to be easy' but if the task can be

accomplished both Cameroon and Gabon stand Ë.o gain considerable assets oftrained and experienced manpo\,Íer.

In view of this, and of the fact that the main potential in theunder-developed influx areas is in forestry, ir r¿ould seem that the situationcalls for an innovative approach: instead of helping people into agriculture,donor agencies should investigate how the refugees can be assisted to fitin v¡ith Cameroonrs development plans concerning the exploitation of theforestry resources. This would open a wide range of employment opportunities,from labour-intensive road construction, lumbering and reforestation, tospecialised .jobs r¿ith forest utilisation and protection, technical .jobs withproduction of playwood, pulp and Paper' small-scale enterprises' constluction'etc.

v

65

5.2.3. NIGERIA

With verY few excePtl-ons

Fernando Po- l"lost of them managed

or during the confusion which rook

repatrialed in 1975 and early 1916'

s.àttered all over the 12 states'

the refugees in Nigeria are all from

to escapå from the island f ú-rIy early'place when the Nigerian workers- were

Since then, theY are said to have

TheGovernmentofNigeriamaintainsstrainedrelationswithEquatorialGuínea.IttoleratestheexistenceoftheAlianzaNacionalde Resrauracion Democrati.a (aitinn) iiutt"tion Movement but does not recognise

it.Ingeneral,thesituationoftherefugeesiscolouredbysimilarattitudes."Wecangetalong'butitisbetterífitisnotknovmthat\¡/e are refugees." l"tany have used their knor'¡1edge of the pidgin coastal

English as a step t"""tat assimilation and found that once they have been

able to integrate with the economic progreds of Nigeria, regularising of

their formal status has not been a pioulu*. As a result there is a large

numberofexilesinthecountrywhocannolongerberegardedasrefugeesin the lega1 sense'

For many, Nigeria has been a step on the \ray to Spain and they

appeaï to stay o"iy fot as long as it takes to gather enough money to

be on one,s rnray. I^iith the curreflt situation this may become a long time and'

in the meantime, housing "rr¿ "¿tr.ution are serious problems' Remarkably'

praticallyallthelg5refugeeswithwhomtheANRDinLagosisinconractare employed. This is in part because most are young, bachelors and

competent'.Nevertheless,withthepresentrateofunemploymentthroughoutthe country'this must be regarded as a notable achievement'

Generallyspeaking,thesituationappearsfluid'NigerianrelationswithEquatorialGuineahavebeenveryStrainedindeed,tothepointwhere an annexation of Fernando lo tpp"ated inrninent - and perfectly feasible

as long as a military presence could f. ir"tified by the need to protect tens

of thousands of-Nigeriän workers from further violence. However' the Lagos

Government refrained from action, cut its losses by paying ouL compensation

to the repatriated rvorkers and kept an uneasy calm'

Evidentlytherefugeesfeelaffectedbythissituation.Theykeep a 1ow profile and often prefer not to reveal their real origins'

Againstthisu..t.g'o,,,,ditisdifficulttooutlineanyactivitiestoassist them, apart from sugg"'ii"g a smal1 number of scholarships for

higher education'

5.2.4. SPAIN AND OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Itisimpossibletoassesswithprecisionthenumberofexilesin spain. Estimates vary betwu.r ¡,500 anã 8,000, with 6,000 as a probable

figure.However,thankstoastudymadebytheTechnicalCommissionoftheAssociacion de Amigos de euinel-t""tt"tial (ASODAGE) ' the characterisLics

and general situation of the exile conrnunity are r¿ell documented' ASODAGE

isanon-politicalorganisationrecognisedbytheSpanishGovernmentwhich

;l;1

t1

iltl

ililT

iltiliittl

H

rl

+1

q

ff

66

Two things are strikingfemales, 542, and of Young PeoPle,for women. 287" are of school age,arising in this particular contextacculturation.

concerflsitselfwithrefugeewelfareandsocio-culturalaf.faírs.InlateLg77 iË made a survey of 2-?l persons sampled from the estimated 2,500

exiles in Madrid. fi,e study is thorough and has been largely confirmed

by some 45 in-depth interviews conducted in Madrid and Barcelona duringtie fact-finding mission. In the following resumé figures and percentages

refer to the samPle.

about the sample: the large number ofwith average ages of- 27 for men and 25

and. 197" pre-school age. The problem¡¿ill be mentioned in the context of

have beenthat theirhave beenthat they

l"figration to Spain has come in three r^/aves. The f irst began

before 1960 and was made up mainly of girls in domestic service and boys

coming f or their studies. The second \,fave' predominantly students, lastedfrom 1965 to 1970, when the situation in Equatorial Guinea made it verydifficult to leave for Spain. By then, 427" of. the sampled immigrants \^7ere

on the whole absorbed - as students, employees, or children of parents who

were already established in Spain. But in 1969 scholarships for students

were discontinued f or political reasons. Sirnultaneously emplolrrnen| became

problematíc and, in early I970, one "cou1d see Guineans,sleeping in the subway

,tutionr, asking for help at welfare institutions, begging friends for money,

conrnitting petty crimes or prostituting themselves". (1)

The immigrants had become "de facto" refugees long before thatstatus had received any recognition and more were to arrive into the same

predicament. Increasing oPpression raised the number of people trying to

seek political asylum in spain. The survey shows that 287" of the exilesarrived ít 1976 and 1ater.

Inregration is particularly difficult in Spain. The refugees there

Urorrlnt up with assumprions of Spanish superioriLy Lo the pointerh;ic iàenrity appears endangered. Girls from Equatorial Guinea

particularly affected, to such an extent that they will often say

àre Black Americans rather than admit to their African background '

An obvious r¡/oIry is concerned with the next generation, the problem

of children who gro!ü up as Africans in a European country r¿ithout roots of

their own, without much hope of becoming integrated where they are and withdim prospects of going back to where they belong - even if they had been

able to maintain the cultural 1ink.

In all probability, there is less racism in spain than in many

other European countries. Unfortunately, this does not make it easy forsomeone from a different race to live there. tr/e are again up against the

global phenomenon that rracceptance, integration and ad.iustment of foreignersis a function of the openness of the host society, the degree of attachment

fhe immigrants feel for their society of origin and the similarity of culluresof the country of emigration and the country of imurigration". (2)

(r)(2)

Ndongo Bidgoyo, 1977 , P

Rose, A. M., t'Migrants

Ad-ius tmentr' , Univers itY

. 186.in Europe: Problems of Acceptance and

of Minnesota Press, lulinneapolis, t.969

67

Ilrhilethesituationratherpfovesthatthelackofacceptancecanleadtolackofattachmentamongtherefugees,creatingacomplicationunforeseen by Rose, one shoula ''ot--iotget

one of his T"ii"^::::lusions:,,In]hat is imporrrir'ro, integration and ad.justment is Ehe openness of the

innnigrãñt country"' And, lÎ :pi;" of tnt"friendliness and generosity of

theindividualspaniard,whichtherefugeesarekeentopointout,thishas not really Uåe' forihcoming. The ethnocentrism in Spain has put the

African immigrants under a pressurã n"r.r, enough to handicap them severely'

Upon arrival, the exiles-have n"U :::-advantage of having no

difficultyrøith_thelanguage'whichtheysometimesspeakbetterthanmanyprovincial Spaniards, rrrá rittr" tilrt ptátiti"try adaptation to-the culture'

on the other hand, most have suffered from practi"tr-difficulties: lack of

money, high prices on everythi";;-includinq :h" subsistence crops which can

be grown outside a slum house iÏ c.rratrl Rfrica, the need for adequate

clothingandforhousing.Inpu'ti".,t'',thelastpointh,ascreat'ednumerous problems. rven modest housing is expensive and Guineans may

not apply fo, "rr¡"idised t,o,rsing.

-óo""tttit¿ àf tne sampled households

had four or more persons living in one room' The housing and employment

sitr¡.ationhavealsocontributedtoabreakdornmoftheextendedfanily.Familiesaredispersednotorrlyb"treenspainandAfrica,butalsoinsidespain, even in l¿a¿ria. The ""rr;i;;-"rra

trigt cost of housing.in the central

partsforcepeoplefaroutintothesuburbs,withtime-consumingcommunications'making ir hard lo t".p in touch wirh farnily members and fellow Guineans '

Sofar,therehasbeenacertainamountofmutualassistanceandself -help wirhin the groups. it,.- to,rgl'rness of the iob situation has' in a way'

helped to promote thi;' puoplå"*t""o"tn:i:t1:"t around those who have work'

Inthesampledgroup,normallyatleastoneineveryhouseholdwasemployedand the others were livi.g otr ti" (or her) income; but L27" of the households

r.¡ere r^¡ithout any breadwinn"r "rrä,-"oosuq,r.rrtty, in a very díf f icult position'

The solution, neither easy ,ro, ,åti"fying, has been to turn to charity-oriented

organisariorr" ïitu rhe spãnish Red crtss-and caritas' and to the UNHCR'

Surrrningupthesocialandreligioussituation,theAS0DAGEsurveyconcludes that,there ir. g.rr.tãi "o"itl

i,,s""t'rity, causêd to a great extent

by the lack of o;;;;;' uv uãing "o"'ia"red stateless and by having been

abandoned by the spanish Goverãment, although some of rhis has been compensated

for by the friendship tt'd g"o"ï;;i;;:t:nt-:lanish as individuals' All rhe

respondenr, "r"in, ro be chiisrians and tt" *"jotii, *o*t" catholics' but their

religion aour.oa form a,"if;i;;-force as there ut. t'o priests linked to the

cournunity". Nor are there t"y oln"t spiritual authorities which can provide

a viable value sYStem'

I,inally,therearesomesmallscatteredgroupsinothercountriesoutside africa.

" órru i, sritr.ri"nd, where the ¡i¡¿1 control of the information

ofthisrepor.'u"checkedagainstthedatacollectedinthefivecountrlesvisired during rhe facr-fi"di;;;ir"ioo. The refugees in switzerland are in

a situarior, ,îriirr to that in spain, characterised by uncertainty' economrc

hardshiPs and uProoting'

rl

iij

68

6. SOLUTIONS AND RECO}ßIENDATIONS

Like all refugee problems, that of the Equatorial Guineans has trnro

main aspects: the world's problem in dealing wíth its refugees, and therefugeest problem in coping with their o\¡/n situation. The negleet of thefirst aspect has made the second more difficult than it needs to be.

The observations made in this part of the report must necessarily be

regarded as preliminary guidelines, to be reviewed and revised in thecourse of ongoing assistance activities. Unless stated otherwise, theyconcern the situation in Gabon and Cameroon v¡here needs are greater Ëhan

in Nigeria and among the refugees in Europe. The recent austerity economy ofGabon and the constrainËs in Carneroon, in particular the high rate ofunemployment, make assistance necessary within the near future. If thisdoes not materialize ít will be diffícult to avoid a furhter deteriorationof the situaÈion. However, at this sËage it seems that even limitedassistance can go a long wây, provided that it is carefully planned and

co-ordinated. And the time for planning is still there, imposed by thenecessity to postpone implementation of most forms of assistance until thesÈatus of the refugees has been properly recognized in the countries ofasy luru .

Before going into what Ëhe refugees require, one should briefly con-sider what they do not. Fortunately there is no need for relief operations.There are no signs of undernourishment, much less of famine, although a

closer medical scrutiny r¡ould probably reveal deficiencies of protein,vitamins and minerals. Neither are there any alarming signs about thehealth situation in general; but intestinal parasites, tuberculosis,malaría and other diseases which are endemic in the region may requirespecial attention. Since the control of afflictions like leprosy and

sleeping sickness has broken do\,ün in Equatorial Guinea it may be necessary tocam-lraign against them to get some of the refugee groups back to the healthstandards of 1968.

In Ëhe rural areas Ëhe most basic material needs are more or less met.Unemployment is rampant, but r¿ith a 1itt1e help from kin, friends and

neighbours it is not impossible to eke out an existence of sorts. Ttre

main objection to the situation is not the misery, which is less severeEhan in many other refugee situations in the r¿orld; it is Ëhe inexcusable\^/aste of an unusual manpo\^7er capacity.

Before listing the.needs r¡hich do require a certain amount of assis-tance, some general characteristics of the refugees should be summarízed.

On the positive side there is the high degree of literacy and lhelarge proportion of people with professional experience.

On the negative side one must note that during the last ten year thesEandard of education'provided in Equatorial Guinea has declinedfrom very good to dismal.

69

-Thesocialorganj-zaLionisnotconducivetounityamongtherefugees.I^líth the exception of the Bubi, the traditional societíes were highly

decentral ízed,, and Spanish divide-and-rule polícy did nothing to

improve the matLer.

- There is evidence of traumatic reactions to the Èerror in Equatorial

Guinea. This combines r"¡ith the drastic lowering of the general level

oflivingtomakeadaptationtoconditionsinexilemoredifficult.

the only Spanish-speakers in Blackand causes great practical difficulties- The language handicaP of being

Africa sets the refugees apart

.Thecoloniallegacyoffeelingsof'inferiorityvis-à-visSpainappearstohavereducedinitiativea¡rdconsciousness.Theregres-sive fears imposed by Maclas appear to have done the same'

-FromLhepointofvievofbackgroundtherefugeesareaveryhetero_geneous loÈ, ranging from farmãr, arrd fisherrnen to exiled ambassadors

and cabinet ministers'

Therequ_irementscomeunderthemainheadingsoflegalrecognition,rehabilitation and education

6.1. LEGAL RECOGNITION

ThisisbyneeessitythefirstsEep.Ashasbeenmentionedinthecontext of Gabon, uncertainty in this rLspect has led to repeated acts of

refoulement,deepinsecurityamongtherefugeesandanumberofviciouscircles which threaten future attempts at integration'

rn Gabon and cameroon the process of recogn ízíng the refugees is well

underwaythanks.tothegoodwilloftherespectiveGovernmentsandtheUnitedl.IatíonsHighConrmissionerforRefugees.However,whatistrulyimportant is thal Ëhe decision to acknowledge the obligations and the

rightsoftherefugees,inotherr¿ordstoprovidethemr¿ithaclearlydefinedroleinthecorrnunity,penetratesinto-thelor¿erechelonsofthestaÈe apparatus. so far the goàa ir,a.ntions of the higher authorities

have often failed to be implemented by local administrators' police and

securityforces,andotherswhoareindirectcontactwiththerefugees.until thís is achieved there can be no muEual confidence between nationals

and refugees, 'and the situation will remain ambiguous and potentially

dangerous.

Itmustbestressedthatpolicyimplementationandeventswhíchcon-tradict'thestatedintentionsof""""pti''gtherefugeesareindirectlycaused by the ignorance of the internâtional conrnunity' fts lack of interest

has contributed to Ëhe very low príority rating affecting the problems of

therefugees.Nodoubtthiscanberemedied.ReactionsfromtheUNHCRhave alre.dy .",,""d important improvements of. the siEuation in Gabon'

Further at.tention from humanitarirn otgrnizations could help simply in

breaking the silence which so far has provið'eð' l4ac(as r¡ith latítude to

70

operate, and \47ith outside assistance. Moreover, the positive effect ofplain mo.ral support for the refugees should not be underestimated.

The chief manifestation of recognition is official documentation,valid for residence, !üork, medical care, education and travel. In many

cases Lhere is also a need for passports for internatiorial travel in orderto unite wíth onets family, undergo training or find employment.

Provision of lD-cards is under way in Gabon and Cameroon, but most ofthe work remains undone. In Nigeria those who have arrived at a certainincome level have normally been able to obtain official papers. In Spainrhose r¿ho already have residence permits have 1itt1e difficulty in gettingcitizenship, but on the other hand new arrivals find it next to impossibleto get permits for residence and work.

There is thus an acute need to provide help for the documentation pro-cess. Llhile the forms for this help will have to be decided after contactswith the governments and other bodies involved, some possibilities can

already be mentioned:

- financial contributions for support of alteady existing progralnnes'

provision, within the framework of a counsellingEance with registering and keeping of systematic

- dissemination, also through a counselling servrceinformation to the refugees in order to alleviate

service, of assis-files, and

or refugee bureau, offear and suspicions.

Especially in Spain there is also the need for moral support and en-couragement of a gleater openness tov¡ards the refugees. This can be

provided by increased public attention Ëowards the problem.

6.2. REHABILITATION

The tergr suffers from a certain vagueness and needs specification. Ithas been used in the past,normally to signify eicl'rer getting a group of victims of

a natural or man-made disaster back to where they were before they werevictimized, or to establish them on the same level as their neighbours among

the nationals in an influx area.

The posítion of the EquaËorial Guineans is too complex for these prin-ciples to be applicable. Considering the previous prosperity of theircountry, it would be unrealistic to aim at restoring them to such a level inview of the high cost and of the intra-eor¡nnunal jealousies which wouldensue. On the other hand, the present general leve1 of life in the ruralareas is clearly too low. t"lany of the refugees are greatly overqualifiedfor village farming. I,rlhat is more important is that the handicaps oflanguage and of belonging to a minority prolelariat require that the refugeesreach a level which would a11ow them to compensate for the inbuilt weaknessof their situation.

7L

The heterogenity of the refugee groups could be a weakness' It could

alternatively become a strong point. trühat is essential is Èhat the Ûlanpo!üer

poLential be used as fully as possible, the solution being obviously

intesrated community developmenJ aimed at making different groups üore

""prb1"-æ-t"tegrating wi th nationals'

The srarring point is the allocation of suitable land at a distance

from rhe border lilr, nq,t"torial Guinea which minimizes the risk of agents

provocateurs. Close aitention must be paid to micro-political "o'iditiott"in order that hosLile reactions from naËionals in the area be avoided and

possibilíties for collaboration be ensured. Fortunately, the forest areas

still comprise plenty of unused land and the heat and humidity result in a

hothouse fertility ttti"tt makes even indifferenL soíls give rich harvests '

Agriculturally almost anything grol¡ls. Allocated land can be cleared by

burning and planted irmediately with available food crops' ordinary

staples will presumably be available buË it mlry be necessary to provide

ceriain seeds, particularly for pulses and legumes which are necessary to

supplemenr rhe ii*ir"¿ nuÈritional value of manioc and other foodstuffs

consisting mainly of starch. Fruits and vegeÈables which are rich invitamins should be introduced as early as possible as these improvements to

the diet can be counted uPon to be beneficial for the general health status'

In addition there are numerous possibilities to provide a good supply

of animal protein: poultry farming (chickens, ducks and turkeys); fish-pondsmadebydamningsmallforestbrooks;pig-andgoat-keeping'ltisworth mentioning thai the rain-forest is one of the few ecosystems in which

the much malignãd goat can show all its qualities, such as fast growth'

rapid reproduction, hardiness and resistance to disease, and for once be

subordinated to the envirorunent rather than the other way around' As a

secondary activity the possibilíties of apiculture should be investigated' If

prornising they might provide a sizeabLe cash incorne and a valuable nutrition-al supplement for the ethnic groups whieh include honey anong their accept-

able foodstuffs.

AdequateplanningisneeessarytoestablishproportionsbetweenfoodcÏopsandcashcrops.Thiswillentailmorethanasimpleassessmentoffood habits and taboos, the need for fertíLízers and pesticides as well as

for seed varieties, improved tools and farming techniques, etc' rt is

equally important to take the marketing aspect into aceount: supplies'

demands, absorption capacity, tîa"sp"it' storage' prices and price fluc-tuations, etc. In this contexÈ it åay Ue worthwhile to study the feasi-

bilityofintroducingmulti-purposego-opef?çivesocietles:-?artlyforproduction, partly for the pt"po"" oîlã"iai"g credit facilitíes' and

partlytopromotecollaborationbetweenmembers.Co_operativescallforknow-how and training rather than large outside financial support' rt is

likelythattherelativelyhighnumbersofpeoplewithadministrativeexperience v¡ould make the setting-up of co-operatives less problematic

than is often the case

The planning for co-operatives should also include feasibility studies

for smal1-scale ilrduslries- at differenË technological levels' An obvious

opening night b"-fr""d l" forestry, which is actually being given priority

72

in Cameroonían national planning. Ideally Ehis should begin right fromthe settling-in period, in order to provide building materials and furniture,etc. An additional benefit to be found in 1t¡mbering is that the necessaryreforestation can be done by unskilled adults and children. A survey ofexisting needs in adjacent rural areas will give furËher indications forviable village enterprises: workshops for making and maintaining tools and

machinery, for cars, carts and bicycles, for carpenters, tailorsr potters,brickmakers, Èanners and shoemakers.

The concept of organised settlement has been raised in most refugeesituaEions. It seems inapplicable to Ëhe Equatorial Guineans for thefollowing reasons. In order Ëo have any chance of success the settlementmust be aimed at the restoration or re-creation of a social system' notablythat of the settlers, not that of the planners. Therefore its size mustcorrespond with thar of the political unit which is accepted by the settlers.Secondly, the settlerst or,,rn leaders must be given enough leeway to make theiro!ün groups funcËion as a community rather than as a number of disorganisedindividuals. Thirdly, Ëhere must be both the felt need and Lhe opportunityfor the settlers to activate a maximum of self-help initiatives. The alter-native is draL¡nout assistance to non-viable communities and support ofprofessíona1 charity cases.

Since ¿rmong most of the refugees the political unit is a small clusterof villages, the choice is between hundreds of small setllements or noorganised settlements at all. Everything points in the direction of mini-mum organisation: the decentralised micro-political system; the democraticsysEem ¡^¡hich would work against any imposed leadership (unless the manage-ment of the settlement came up with a strong ma1ãnn); the amibitio-os of proudpeople, independent and individualíst. Last but not least, organised settle-ments require heavy investment, donors with enough staying po\,üer to carrythe scheme through the inevirable delays and prolongations, and skilledadministrators in numbers v¡hich are no! usually available. 0n Ëhe otherhand, under present conditions the refugees cannot be expected to manageentirely on their ovrn. There is evidently a need for assistance; first toinitiate the aut.o-rehabilitation by providing know-how, crediË and in some

cases basic inputs of seeds, fertilizers, tools and machinery; secondly, todíscuss ¡¿ith authorities in the countries of asylum as well as with repres-entatives of the refugees, how and where the refugees fit in with long-termplans, and to see how assistance can be beneficial both to them and to thenationals in the neighbourhood; thirdly to provide financial aid, aftercareful planning, f.ot Ëhe purpose of education.

Ideally, a well orgati.zed receptígn cenEre would do much to help boththe refugees still coming in, and lheir country of asylum. In reality itcould be counter-productive. If the flow-through cannot be ascertained,such a centre is like1y to cause new problems without solving the old ones.A reception centre where people get stuck for prolonged periods of time isr^rorse than no centre at all.

The perpetual problem of this kínd of centre is rhat, in addition tonotbeing sure that there is an outflow, one can never be certain about what

73

wilt haPPen to theswell into a flood'maximum flexibilitY

inflow. It may become a trickle or even stop' or it may

consequently "";;;;t" nt' to.have a rarely achieved

in its ability Èo render servlces'

certain of its functions will have t: b:, nt:::i:1^:t::tï-:i:å:.':

" ,"":;::ï".::.1:""iÏ:::"'ì'i'n'räll:' l:^:l:.,nî:":;lî",?'rl?;i:iî;;"'i": :: ;l::'Tt "iÏilÏ ";

;"i;;"' I -'

o" "ond pri o r :'ï - :.î,,:n' :.:t "#F'ï:T:"T:;":: ïå-:äï;ä'' i-'nã,:"::tï ::.":il:îl'i:"i:î;"i:i::ï::,ïili:"i:,"Hi:ä:ïi ;l:l_:: :1".1":::.:;::'; ":il:i-,::":::1"

"':i:::::å:",;",'J;*ä:';lT;;i,,r",,o,,,,d rhe counrrv on a search for non-

.;,1 o,7 on erleouatg and:li: ::ii' j :i "' i:"f i *i'i' äil:';;; ;;;' i;'', :::"i1:1 "':^îî:ï:';'iil;ä i:i::.' ::;;i,:liÏä' ïä.;ã;;-;:; *' îït1 : ::: :,. :::':,':"iiiil'1,3åi::ï:Ï'i:Ë':::i::iË 1 il;iiit".i: ii:.;:*:.'ïiï';:":"ï::;:å ï:i;3"ffi'i"ä'"ä-iå'u-'"'th"*"ft.rtheyhavefinishedtherrstudies.

6.3. EDUCATION

Thisis,aftetlegalrecognition'ËhemosturgentissueandisalsoËhe part of an assistanc. progr"rlt. . túi"h can be mãst rapidly initaited'

However'itintroducesan"q.,'tioo'itr,considerablymorethanoneunknown.hlhat has to be taken into account are manpo\rer requirements and job oppor-

tunítiesbothintheeventthattherefugeesareabletorepatriate,andinthe event that they have to remain in the country of asylum' Planning for

botheventualiliesisnotimpossiblebuthastobedoneincollaboratlonwith, for insrance, the t"linístrr-ãi Educationr.Minístry of the Interior'

the national planning commi""ioí,-.r"., as well as those among the refugees

who can anticipat" ,ã" needs ^ttlt an eventual return' As a result it is

highlyhypothetical.Thereforetheimplementationofaneducationalprog_raûme demands adequate and conti;;;"; Lvaluation to enable rapid correctr-ons

in order to adapt to changing situations'

ThemoreobviousaspectsofrhepresentsiËuationarethelanguagepro_blem,thesinkingstandardofeducatiàninEquatorialGuinea,thelackofdocuments giving evidence 'f ';;;;ii;s' i:i^ilt

obvious difficulties of the

countries of asylum to accommodate proportionally large numbers of immigrant

students.

Theseconstraintswillhavetobetackledatdifferentlevelsandindif ferent \^rays. It. is ,r""""""t; io "ttt"gt.lot

basic instruction for people

vrhose ignorance of French rr u"ätirh mateã-it hard for them to earn a living'

Attemptsinthisdirectionhave"beenmadebycertainmissiongbutonatorally insufficient scale. Probably the most efficient way of helping the

job-seeker" I{o.riã be to give financial supporË for a low-cost adult education

prosramme ,i.t ii*i-rea aãuirtr;;";;;ãrá¿'mainlv or entirelv bv the refugees

Èhemselves '

ThesystematicelirninationofteachersandotherintellectualsinEqua-rorial Guinea mentioned in tt,e s."o,,d p''t of the report affects the situaEion

of srudenrs requiring second";y";;;;ot'trtining' rt is not yet known to what

extent they may need extr. "rrppott to compenraî" for the decreased qualiçy of

74

teaching, Absence of books and teaching m4terialsn spending much of theschool daypracticingrnilitary dxíII, etc. It may be that the best way is toidentify teachets in exíle and employ them to assist thei.r ovm people' pro-vided thaÈ the îespective ministríes of Labour and education can acceptthis.

The lack of school certificate and diplomas should not pose insur-mountable problems. Moreover there is a need for testíng and screeningstudenËs in any case. Again, thís has to do with the uneven and decliningstandard of teaching in Equatorial Guinea, and with many students havingbeen out of toueh with school for years. Once there is an agreement withthe Ministry of Education, testing can be done quickly and cheaply, butnevertheless with sufficient accuracy to show what stage the sLudent shouldbe admitted to.

The problem of accormnodating inrnigrant students is strongly felt insome areas, because of already existing shortages of teachers, classrooms,and Ëeaching materials. Until now the reaction has often been to excludethose r¿ithout valíd lD-cards. Once the documentation problem has been

solved the situation should improve, but there may sti1l be a need for fin-ancial assistance in order to cope with the shortages.

The needs for vocational and technical training depend to a greatextenË on the planning for rehabilitation of the large refugee groups. Pre-sumably there will be quite a number of refugees with valuable technical and

professional experience for r¡hom the problem is not further training, but a

possibility to make use of whaË they already know for the benefit of thecouununity.

As for post-secondary training, the need is great. Macias's systema-tic elimination of the educated elite in Equatorial Guinea means that in theevent the refugees will be able to return to their country there will be gaps

everywhere and at all levels. In the event their exile will be prolongedthey will need higher education in order to compensate for the handicap ofbeing refugees, ãnd to be able to contribute to the further developmentof the countries of asYlum

6.4. SUGGESTIONS

These observationslead to some concrete suggestions. Both in Gabon

and in Cameroon Lhere is a need for counselling services. However, in viewof the very large numbers of refugees, it would be nearly impossible for an

organi-za1ion of the kind previously set up in other countries to concenËrateon individual cases. Moreover, past experience of the difficullies encoun-

tered in this context is rather discouraging. I¡Ihat seems more appropriateis a refugee bureau with the objectives of maintaining 1íaison between theanthorities, donor agencies and tecogntzed represenLatives of the refugees;and of promoting education according to planned priorities and the possi-bilities for placement.

75

possibitities f.or a similar arrangement appear to be gradually under

way in Spain, where ASODAGE is in fact already doing

some of the work, alttrougtr it is badly hampered by lack of money' This ini-tiative tor¿ards self-helt should be noted, and eficouraged also in Gabon'

Cameroon and Nigeria. fi it can be accepted or at least tolerated by the

authorities it is rikely to inãrease the efficiency of assistance prograÍmes

r¿hi1e keeping the costs down'

Planning for education progrartrnes in Gabon and cameroon r¿i11 undoubt-

qdly reveal that there are refug"ã" tho can be employed as teachers in crash

course language training. In *áty """"s those who speak I'rench well enough

to be capable of teaehiog rr" a]Jeady employed, but would be willing to

teach in evening classes

The suggested number of teachers would be 20 in Gabon, 10 in Libre_

vi1le and 2 each in Bitam, Oyem, Mídzit, Medouen and cocobeach; and 10 in

cameïoon, 4 in Yaoundé and 6 in the border afeas. costs for amenities should

be kept at a rninimum, and it would be advisable ro suggesË that the students

pay at least a nominal fee. The teaching should come under the direct or

indírect supetvision of the Refugee Bureãu. Salaries could be paid through

an interesting and highly efficiãnt system' used by the Peasants' Associations

in Ethiopia, in which they received the money to hire teachers, and retained

the responsibilíty for daily supervision of the teacherst performance' and

incidentally also of the studentsr attendance'

Hopefully,theproblemsofprimaryeducationwillbesolvedmoreorless automaticaiiy oncl the ambiguity of the status of the refugees has

disappeared. et ttre present timá, it seems premature for donor agencies to

begin planning in Ehis context.. on the oËher hand, the Refugee Bureau could

ptobably assist in identifying unemployed refugees who might, local labour-

laws permitting, relieve some of thå tLacher shortages' The Bureau should

also be irrvolved in the testing and screening of studenÈs applying forseconda.ry etlucation, and in policy evaluaËion concerníng the needs and

possibilities for vocational trairiing'

However'aSStaledabove,theneedsforhighereducationaÍecrucialandthisisanareawheretheIUEFshouldplayamajorrole.A larger scholarship prograrmre in both Europe and Africa ís clearly ealled

for and should be irnplemented as quickly as possible'

InEurope,theprograÍmeshouldobviouslybeconcentratedinSpainwhere there are no language problems and where normal IUEF selection criteriaand administration of scholarships can be followed'

In Africa, the programe should be based in three countries: Gabon,

Crmeroon and Nigária. -However,

Ëhe problem is and will continue to be forsometime, despite the measures suggested above, that of language' Yt::^ :.^students will probably have to undertake a 6 to 12-rnonth language course l-n

French or Englísh before staÎ'ting the normal courses at the post=secondary

education institutions'

76

In addition, particular attention should be paid to the subjects of

study to avoid sit,r"tiorrs like. that in Libreville where 13 of the 15

university sËudents are attending classes in Spanish, the only subject open

to them. Needless to say this is hardly in accordance with trainingpriorities.

Again,theRefugeeBureaushouldbeinvolvedintheselectionandacceDtance of students, partly to avoid the very real risk that represent-

ativls of Macfas benefit from the progranrne'

Althoughtheneedismuchgreater,the.followingscholarshipprograflmes can be considered as an absolute mlnl-mum:

Spaín

Gabon

Cameroon

Nigeria

TOTAL

100 scholarshiPs

100ft

300

70

30

Finally,thereiseveryindicationthatasmuchaspossibleofthehandling of the assistance should be entrusted.to the refugees themselves'

This self-hetp appraoch has not really been tried before in Africa' but itwould seem that the time is ripe for it. rn spain the non-politicalorgantzatiors among both the latin American refugees and the Equatorial

Guineansappeartohavethecapacityandthesupportt'otakecareofsomeofthehumanitarianwork¿rmofigtheirownpeople.InAfricathetrustinwhat can be done by the dispossessed has already been stated in a reconrnend-

ation made by the Refugee Bureau of the organízation of African unity in

December 1973: "As refugees can provide valuable assistance to theirfellow refugees, efforts should be made to associate them in the complementary

services which are usually required wherever the scope of counselling services

is enlarged to cover aA¿iiional areas of refugee adjustment ' "

An illustration of the assistance which refugees can provide to theircomparriots in exile is provided in che previously mêntioned ASODAGE survey

which concludes with the following solutions and projects:

77

)

A major scholarshiP Progranrne'

Given that one main problem is the cohesion of the Guinean

community' to create the means for it Eo develop would be:

i. to enable the associations already existing' such as

ASODAGE' to Promote cohesion

ii. to envisage the escablishment of a Council which

represents a1l the Guineans

iii.tocreateacentrewhereGuineanscouldmeettofostera connnunity sPiritto appoint a chaplain to promore religious gatherings

and further mutual aid']-V.

-). Tosolvetheproblemsofthechildpopulationnurseriesmustbeestablishedandplacesinschoolsbereservedingoodtimeforchildren

AGuineanStudentHouseshouldbeestablishedintheinterestsof those undertaking further studies' Courses and lectures on

Africa and Equatorial Guinea should be given there'

The creation of a savings and investment cooperative should be

promoEed in order that lhe Guineans themselves benefit from

their caPital.

A reasonably priced dining-room should be set up which offers

typicalAfricandishesinordertoalleviateËhefoodproblem.

Such problems as unemploymenÈ, housing shortage' etc' should be

studied by a conrnír"ior,'r¿ithin an association such as ASODAGE

and prepare projects' such as the crealion of businesses' where

necessaryrequestingassistancefromnationalandinternationalvoluntarY agencies'

E

'ti1ilÊ:lil

rl

uH

H

fl

il

I

6.

7B

I. Individual and Cournunity Promotion Projects

a) RELIGIOUS1. Conrnunity Chapel2. Chaplain' s Office

b) socrA]-3. MeeËing room4. Council room

c) CULTURAL5. Guinean Cultural Centre6. Monthly bulletinl. Twice-yearly review

d) CHILD I^TELFARE

B. Nurseries

e) STUDENT ACTIVITIES9. Guinean Student House

f) I^¡OMENIS ACTIV]TIES10. Guinean [,lomenr s Hostel

II. Economic

11. Savings and investment cooperative12. Bar - Cafe13. Guinean Restaurant1.4. Shop - Hispanic-African goods15. Grocery

III. Social l{elfare

16. Social welfare offrce17. Assistance fund

Without going into detailed comments on these issues, the conclusionwould be that the characteristics of the groups of refugees from EquatorialGuinea strongly suggest that assistance to them should as far as ever ispossible be based on refugee parLicipation and self-help'

In view of the capability and maturity of many of the refugee grouPs'

in all Lhe different countries of asylum, there is little doubÈ that they can

contribute greatly, both towards helping their compatriots and by becomingassets to their respective host communities, provided that assistance Ëo them

is neither too little' nor t.oo late.

79

SOURCES

This repor¡ differs from what has so far been written about EquatorialGuinea. It is a fírst-hand account, based on the writer's personal obser-vations and on meticulously cross-checked accounls from eye-witnesses.It is also produced by an organisation and an individual without any vesÈed

interests in the area. The material, of r¡hich this paper represents onlya sma1l part, v/as gathered in six different countries: Cameroon, Gabon,

Nigeria, Spain, Switzerland and, most important, in Equatorial Guinea itself.

The inforrnants are government officials, representatives of internationalorganisations, non-goverrìmental organisations, churches, missionsr voluntåryagencies, and individuals with relevant personal experience. Most of theinformacion comes from the people of Equatorial Guinea. Some talked in relativecomfort, many in misery and many took great risks in having anything to do

with a foreigner. Some provided interesting information about conditionsin Equatorial Guinea without any intention whatsoever to helpi the every-day behaviour of officials, soldiers, policemen and urilicianosthere revealed a

great dea1.

As informants, the Equatorial Guineans are special. A large number ofthe refugees are r¿e1l-educated persons who express Ehemselves with clarityand unusual exactitude in their reca11 of numbers and dates. Due Ëo thesmallness of the country their experience usually covers most or all ofthe regions, and much of what has happened. The cont.inued exodus also per-mits the up-dating of events.

A grear deal has been published about Equatorial Guinea before f968.However, most of the relevant literature mirrors various aspects of colonial-ism and on occasion anti-colonialism and 1itt1e of it penetrates below thesurface. Recent books give interesting descriptions of certain aspects ofthe political history of the posl-independence period but always from a

strictly European point of view. It is hoped that Ëhis report will comple-ment the pictureby bringing some economíc, social and cultural aspects up todate.

Written sources as well as tapes of radio broadcasts, etc. have been

used mainly to check verbal evidence. Official writings from the Macías

regime have been searched as far as possible for credible evidence thaLthere are positive elements fo balance the negative, but without success.Some published \^rritten sources are given in a short list of backgroundreading. Quotations withouÈ specific reference are confirmed verbatimaccounts v¡hose sources cannot be revealed for securiEy reasons. For thebenefit of eventual readers in Equatorial Guinea it should be stressed thatis some cases details irrelevant to the general contenÈ have been changed tomake id,entification of a source inpossible. Confirrned statements frompeople with first-hand experience as well as any other statement which isnot explicitly mentioned as unconfirmed, probable or with similar reserva-tions are given as facts. Every one of Ëhese items has been checked and

cross-checked with .õi'r""" independent of each other. Contradictions have

been pursued until they were either explained av/ay, or-the item dropped fromthe list of accepted facts. Items r¿hich have not been confirmed in at leastfive of the six countries visited are presented r¿ith reservations.

80

During hundreds of interviews with Equatorial Guineans it beqame clear

that much of the information \^/as potentially dangerous for informants

r¡ithin reach of l"Iacíasl agents anã particularly for people still inside the

country vrho eould face unpredictablã reprisals. I made ít standard procedure

to bring up this poínt and to ask my informant if tre or she r^¡as willing to

go aherã, io "pità of the obvious risk of Macfas' fur' and his long arm'

An overwhelming number reacted in a way which perhaps says as much about

presiãent Macíast rãgime as the rest of this reporÈ. "I am a\¡¡are of the

dangers and I have much fear, especially for those of my family r¡ho are

srill inside my counËry. But thLy could easily be killed even if I keep

silent. The situation is so bad that it cannot get much hTorse íf I tell you

r,¡hat I have seen. The truth about our country must be told so Lhat the

v¡orld rn¡il1 understand and no longer give Maclas the protection of silence'"

81

o SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Gomez, ValenÈin Matilla:IEA, Madrid, 1968'

Govantes, Luis Saez de:

social

II IEA (InstiËuto de

Guinée Equatoriale: ses ressource€

r"iUifitas de--4évelo ementr Berne,

A56DAGE (Associacion de Arnigos de Guinea Ecuatoriaiìj', +*Hï L97 B.

L),iilliåi-åä"r"" *"i;.r¡.,r" s"_ ""u"u, (srencil), Madrid,

Amândio, césar: Presença jlo arquiPélagg-de-9t-Toné e 3rincipe na

moderna cultural po:ttgue t "' reuret L/vv'

Aynnæi, Antonío: Los bubis en-J'erla+dg-P99t^l:1t"t"ton 'de los articulos

publicado" "rr@ española", Madrid' 1942'

Balandier,Georges:TheSociologyof.BlackAfrica,Prader,NewYork,19T0.

DominguezrRamonGarcia:Macías'laleydelsilencio'Plaza&Janes'Barcelona, L977 '

Echegaray, Carlos Gonsalez: Esttldig9-Guineos' Vol'"ssrldios Africanos)' Maãrid' L964'

Fernandez,Rafael'SedmayEdiciones'l"ladrid'L976'E1 pasado-y presente de la sanidad -en-

Guinea'

Kobel, Armin Eric: La RéPuÞlique de

ootentielles et virtuelles et P

r976.

Mitogo:Guinea:'decoloniaadictadura'EditorialCuadernosparaelDialogo, Edm

Ndongo Bídyogo, Donato: Hislofia )'-llagedia de Guinea Ecuatorial'

Editorial Cambio 16' luladrid' L977 '

Tessmann, Günrer: Die Bubi auf Tern?ndg Po:: -,Yölkerkund,lil!:-Tinzer-' Herausg' von

Panyella, AugusËo: uema de etnologia de 1os Fan Nt.umu de la Gui.nea

' EsPañola' IEA' Madrid' L959'

Pujadas, Tomas L' & P-erez' l"lanue1 : Geografi-a e historia dS la Guinea

Españo1a, IEA' Madrid' 1959'

Teran. .l'tanuel de: sintesis_ geograf icjr de Fernando Poo' rEA' Madrid' L962'

nãffi-Eñ-staat, L923 '

valenrin Marirla, D.D.: progre-soq s-eniggrlas en la Guinea Espaãola'

Archivos aei run', uol-55' Madrid' 1960'

lniood, G. A. R., Cocoa, Longman' Whitstable' f975 '

ó¿

0.

HANDBOOKS

Africa South of the Sahara, Europa Publications' London

UN Statistical Yearbook

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

La Educacion en .1a region ecuatorial de E-spaña' IEA' Iladrid' L96L'

España en e1 Afric?-ec9?!9ria1, Edíciones del servicio informativo

espafol, Madrid, 1964'

Labor sanitaría en 1as provincias de 1a regi ' IEA' Madrid'

L963.

ElplandedesarollodelaGuineaEcuatoría]-,Oficinaderelaciones--- pubtf"as, Madrid, 7963'

La region ecuatoríal esPañ-ola al ' IEA' Madrid' 1963'

Resumenes Estadisticos del Gobierno General de 10s territo

--- d"l crTf. de-dlf.a; rEA, Iladrid, 1957 '

PERIOP.ICALS

Africa, August L976.

C,ocoa. Sl.atistics, Gil1s & Duf fus, London, I976'

Counroditv Yearbook Lg77, Couunodity Research Inc" New York'

Jeune.-Afrique, 72L - 2 November L974; 831 - I Decembet L976'

Trop ical Prodt.ts -Qta.rJ=:JJ,

Cotunonwealth Secretariat' London'

La Yoz del Pueblo, Alianza Nacional de Restauracion Democratica

recent edrtrons.

L976.

(ANRD),

83

APPEN.DIX I

Extract from a speech by Maclas at the constitutional conference'

3 November 1967:

"Hitler provoked the Second l^/orld I'{ar vihich cost

lives and Germany todty is on friendly terms once more rnrith

of Europe, Asia ând ernlrica, and of the whole world'

Everybodydeclared\"/aronAfricaandlwishtosayonething:Iconsider Hitler to be the saviour of Africa. HiLler made mistakes because

he was human. Hitlerrs intention was to end colonialism throughout the world'

AlthoughitissaidthathepersecutedtheJews,whathewantedlÁIastocombatcolonialism but he got confused and then he wanted to cofnmand all the peoples

of Europe and so thã peoples of Europe and America united and attacked Germany

and destroyed her. Sut äff tttis has been forgotten' The colonial problem we

consider as over. Today te wish to build a stable Guinea which can be equal

to Spain and can count tn Spain both internally and externally'

I will tell you why Hitler liberated Africa in the following sense'

even though his conf,,sion r^¡hich was human, for all men are human theologians,

those who make atom bombs, \,Ie are all human and we all decay' Knowledge is not

importanttome,whatisimportantismanandwhatmypeoplewishisthatmanbe given dignitY.

GeneralRorrnnelV/enttoAfrica,tothedesert,wheretherewasfightingand where English officers \^Iere together \'ùith African of ficers' An African

officer felc a bond between himseli and an English officer and the English

officer said to him, ,lnle are going to destroy Germany because she wishes to

command over all our peop1es,. Tãe African said to him, 'rs Hitler bad?''

The English office',"i¿, lNo, but a German should command over Germans' an

Italianltalians,aSpaniardspaniards,aFrenchmanFrenchmen...'.TheEnglish officer did not say that the English should command over the English'

because the United Kingdom still had a ão1onia1 empire throughout the world'

And so the African officer realised'

FollowingtheSecondl^/orldlnlar,whenGermanyhadbeenfoughtagainstanddestroyed,AfricabegantoevolveandrequestedEnglandtogranttotalindependence to the African countries' England maintained a very firm position

againstindependence.Nkrumah,Lumumba,sekuTouréandXnumberofAfricanpãtiti"ittts will remain in our hearts'

AndtheAfrieansaid,'Englanddoesnot\^/anttogiveindependence.you said that a German should command over Germans ' an Englishman should command

overEnglishmenandsowhydoyounotv/anttheAfricanstocommandoverAfricanor¡? r . For this reason r say that Hitler saved Africa. Inlhat he wanted was

to abolish colonialisrn and totk- aoguther' And I have finished on this aspect.t'

over fortY millionall the peoPles

B4

APPENDIX 2

Doculrent issued. by th.e. Civil .Govgrnnsnt of Rio Muni in 1-975

SECRET

During the session held in this Capital on 23 March, present atwhich were H. E. Life President of the Republic and the Central Committeeof PUNT Honourable and creat ComradeMACIAS NGUEMA BIYOGO NEGUE and the tr^/omenf s

Revolutionary Section the following counsel was included in that offered tothe above mentioned Organisation and hereby brought to the notice of theGovernmental Delegates :

l. The afore mentioned Supreme Authority has abolished totally theill-treatment of \^romen except in cases of subversion. tr^lhere such exceptionis made a detailed investigation of the faets shall be made beforehand.

2. AË fuËure baptisms the names given to those baptised shal1 be Africannames, such as Nguema, Mba, Ndong, etc., and never names imported by thecolonialists, such as Luís, Anselm, Benito, etc., as used to be given.

3. The contribution ofprohibited and the activitiesthroughout the territory shalsubversive education which iswith Decrero-Ley No. 6lls ot

alms or offerings to the Missions shall remainof private Catholic educational institutions

1 be suppressed in order to put an end to theimparted in such establishments and in accordance

18 l"farch.

4. It remains forbidden for those in religious orders to move freelyfrom one place to another. As regards funeral ceremonies, these shall becarried out according to the African tradition.

5. The preachings and sermons of Priests shal1 be censored and listenedto attentively for subsequent analysís.

6. The National Anthem shall be actively encouraged within the WomenrsRevolutionary Section at all official ceremonies as shall the idea that politicalknowledge for the v/oman is obtained through the Party r¿hich is directed byH. E. Macías, etc., as is the doctrine to the revolutionary people thatEquatorial Guinea must be commanded and guided by the Guineans themselvesand not by aliens.

l. Daily work sha1l be recommended to the revolutionary people so thatthe people should never consider it as an activity of slavery but ralher asthe basis of man's life.

B. For work in the fields the Great Master and Father of our Revolutionrecommends that \^/omerì. v/ear trousers to a11ow free movement and to protect thebody.

o The Liberator of our Great People, l{acías, ete., in his never-ceasingdetermination to place the woman at the summit of progress, once more invitesher to prepare herself politically in the way he has outlined and considersinvalid any type of meeting or association in which she has not participated.

B5

10. Both the Governmental Delegates and those

iÏ'.n. oi"iti.t" shall be obliged to.make f":T:11an LIie urÞ Lt "":-- , . _ ,--^ ^., I- ghich*endations at all the discussions and meetulgs r'

People.

To acknowledge receiPt

responsible for the,PartYthese counsels and recom-

they maY have with the

May God KeeP You for l"lanY Years

Bata, 17 APril 1975

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE OFFICE

APPENDIX 3+

AMNE.srr TNTERNA',TJONAL ê.P3gALS. r0 0êu

TO HE-LP END HUMAN. RIG.HTS VIOLATIONS IN EQUATORIAL GUINE¡..

AmnesËy International today (Tuesday, lO October f97B) appealedro the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to Lake aetion Ëo prevent furtherviolations of human rights in Equatorial Guinea, which ís celebrating the10th anniversary of its independence on 12 October.

In cables to the Chairman of OAU, President Jaafar el-Nimeiri ofSudan, and the OAU Secretary-General, Edem Kodjo of Togo, Amnesty Internationalsaid that the 10 years. of Equatorial Guinear s independence had been marked

by a succession of arbitrary arrests, deaths from torture and summary

executions. AI said that the grave and longstanding record of serioushuman rights violations in EquaÊorial Guinea has shown little sign ofimproving, despite international appeals.

The 1963 Charter of the OAU affirms that its member states vüilladhere to the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, and AI said it hoped that the OAU's Chairman and Secretary-General would be able to encourage fundamental improvements in the human

rights situation in Equatorial Guinea.

Amnesty International has also urged other African heads of stateto endorse this appeal and Èo influence the government of Equatorial Guineaby exerting diplomatic pressure.

10 0crober 1978

B7