Yet violence here is insignificant compared to Luanda. People here walk in the market wearing gold chains and watches or carrying plastic bags full of diamonds, which would invite mugging in Luanda. Cars and homes are left unlocked. People go to the market with two or three thousand US dollars in their pockets to do the weekly shopping and don't get mugged. For the garimpeiros, finding diamonds worth several hundred dollars each does mean wealth.
Goods are five times more expensive than in Luanda.
And, although the land is lush and green, only a few scattered plots of beans and cassava can be seen from the helicopter. Women tend these while the men feverishly dig for diamonds. Whether Unita or the government controls a diamond area is irrelevant to the welfare of locals and garimpeiros. Traders have a different view. Army, police, commandos, they all do it.