Reality TV reunites Angolans

The programme has made for emotional TV

By Barnaby Phillips BBC, Luanda

Hundreds of people are queuing up in a square on the edge of the Angolan capital, Luanda.

They wait patiently to get to the end of the line, where they speak into a camera for a few minutes.

It's just amazing, the number of people we see, and the stories we hear

Red Cross's Casper Landolt

They say their name, and they list the family members they have lost touch with.

Sometimes they hold up old tattered photographs.

Each message is recorded, and then shown on Angolan national television.

Dramatic

There are so many messages that the television station has had to extend its broadcasting hours in order to show them all.

Every single person who is queuing up has the most extraordinary and dramatic story to tell.

The Red Cross has been instrumental in the reunions

Suzana Sebastiao came to the square to appeal for news of her brother, Domingos.

She last saw him in 1984, when he was kidnapped by the government army, aged just 15.

She received a letter from him in 1985, but has had no news since then.

But she says she lives in hope, and still prays for news of Domingos. "We are still so worried about him, all the family worries about him."

No news for 30 years

Thousands of messages have been broadcast on television in recent months.

In some cases people are appealing for news of family members whom they have not seen for 30 years.

I'm happy because with this programme I can do my best to join the Angolan people together

TV presenter Jorge Madeira

During Angola's civil war the MPLA government and Unita rebels abducted men to fight in their rival armies.

Families were also moved by force, or fled into cities for protection.

Now a society is trying to put itself back together.

Also in the square is the Red Cross, which is working all over Angola to reunite families.

There is a crowd around their stall, and laid out on the pavement are photos of dozens and dozens of children, put here in the hope that someone will recognise them.

"It's just amazing, the number of people we see, and the stories we hear," says Casper Landolt, a spokesman for the Red Cross.

"Old people, young children, and once they manage to find their loved ones, it's fantastic to see the reunification."

Extraordinary scenes

The TV broadcasts have brought many families back together again.

The reunions are shown on an extended programme every Monday night.

With the help of a Brazilian production team, every opportunity is taken to maximise the drama.

Father and daughter will learn to live together again

Millions of Angolans have watched extraordinary scenes.

A mother fainting at the sight of a long-lost son, a young boy collapsing in tears after discovering that the mother he was searching for is in fact dead.

Angolan television presenter Jorge Madeira says the reunions are a contribution to the peace process.

"I was sad when my people were separated by war, but now that we are in peace I'm happy because with this programme I can do my best to join the Angolan people together."

Some Angolans have complained that personal, and highly emotional moments should be treated with respect, and the families involved in the reunions should have privacy.

Others point out that Angolan state television, tightly controlled by the authorities, shies away from asking awkward questions about how so many families became separated in the first place.

But in a country that has seen such suffering as Angola, any good news is welcome, and this particular form of reality TV is a huge hit.