Those who know what Angola was and what Angola is, will agree with us that this is a new African miracle. We are privileged to be witness to a gripping and epoch making contest which assumes many forms and involves many and all layers among the people of Zaire, to give a new birth to their country. As Africans, we have a vision, a hope, a prayer about what will come in the end. We see a new Zaire, perhaps with a new name, a Zaire which shall be democratic, peaceful, prosperous, a defender of human rights, an exemplar of what the new Africa should be, occupying the geographic space that it does, at the heart of our Africa. Much is now written about Zaire.
Daily events assume proportions of permanence.
The confounding ebbs and flows of social conflict are seen as defining moments. And yet, as Africans, we would like to believe that we know that, at the end, what all of us will see, thanks to the wisdom of the people of Zaire themselves, is not the heart of darkness, but the light of a new African star. Once more, out of Africa, out of these towns which have joined the vocabulary of places that are part of our common knowledge, Goma, Kisangani, Lubumbashi and Kinshasa, a new miracle slouches towards its birth. But still, outside of our continent, the perception persist that Africa remains as of old, torn by interminable conflict, unable to solve its problems, condemned to the netherworld. Those who have eyes to see, let them see.