Angola doesn't get many visitors. Most foreigners who are here are working, not taking pictures. Police, soldiers, and the average local wonder why someone would travel from all the way around the world to take a photo of a building. Today I found myself in an awkward and somewhat scary situation. I set myself up for a nice walk round Luanda today. My top goal for today was the mausoleum of Dr. Agostinho Neto, the first president of Angola. I've been using my phone more often for photography so that I'm not standing out with my bulky DSLR camera. As I walked toward the mausoleum I noticed a dome that I thought was the presidential palace but turned out it was the the National Assembly. A strikingly beautiful building it is...then a soldier came up to me asking for my ID. My passport was at Defania's home but I had my Australian ID. A Portuguese couple who were also fluent in English happened by and helped translate but they told me not to be scared, even though I was scared. Inside the gate of the National Assembly, approximately 25 police officers surrounded me as they scrutized my phone. I had already deleted the two photos I took of the National Assembly. Whilst I don't speak any Portuguese, I do speak some Spanish so I used that ability as best I could to explain that I'm travelling as a tourist and I was just taking a photo of a beautiful building. When I tried to call Defania, she wasn't answering her phone. A man named Dias spoke reasonable English and he explained that what I did wrong is that I took a photo of the back of the building, and had I taken a photo in front it probably wouldn't have been an issue. After more than 30 minutes and a lot of apologies (and a few sips of water due to my mouth being so dry) I was finally let go. Nervous and relieved, I walked slowly toward the mausoleum. As I approached the mausoleum about 15 minutes later, Dias approached me and apologized for how his colleagues and his boss were treating me. He seemed to appreciate that an intrepid traveller would come here to appreciate his country. He would recommend that I write a letter to the National Assembly asking if I could visit and to call him if I needed any assistance.
It turned out that the mausoleum is closed on Sundays but this experience made me think about it. I don't entirely 100% fault the police and that soldier. Chances are these people have never been outside of Angola and simply don't know why someone would come here to take photos. Peace is still reasonably young here in Angola, and I'm sure many people have the belief that one person's actions can ruin it for the entire country. However, if Angola were to receive more visitors they likely wouldn't even bat an eyelid at someone taking a photo of the National Assembly. Someone has to be a pioneer of tourism here in Angola, and I'm happy to be the one.
The best advice I can offer in a situation like this is to stay calm and let people know you're a tourist and nothing more. If things get heavy, ask to contact your embassy. Eventually I'd go to the mausoleum the following day where I managed a very nice photo of the National Assembly. Certainly worthy of a photo, isn't it?
