Chinese businesses on Friday said armed Angolan gangs were staging “mafia-style” attacks on their workers, but police downplayed the concerns, insisting criminals were not singling out the Chinese community.
A string of gang robberies has targeted Chinese companies and housing compounds in recent months, said Eddie Zhang (張焰), head of Shanghai Urban Construction Group, the company building Luanda’s new soccer stadium for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
“These are not just normal robberies ... They are planned, like mafia-style attacks. The gangs go first to inspect premises and then they go back with AK-47s,” Zhang said.
Zhang said his staff had not had any problems, but he had warned his workers to take extra care.
“We have a lot of security at the site and also I think that Angolans know how important this project is for the country, but elsewhere things are getting bad and people are talking about wanting to go back home,” he said.
He added that the Chinese embassy had advised nationals against going out alone at night.
More than 40,000 Chinese workers are employed in Angola, around 90 percent on construction sites.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Luanda said that they were aware of incidents against Chinese nationals and were working with Angolan authorities to resolve the problem.
Police chief superintendent Jorge Bengue, from the Luanda Police Command, said that Chinese workers were not a special target for criminals.
“These type of incidents could happen anywhere to anyone — to Angolans, to Portuguese, to Chinese, to anyone,” Bengue said. “The crime situation is a reality, but the problem in Luanda is not specific to Chinese people. I don’t have statistics to hand from the last week, but I don’t have a recollection of there being a high number of crimes against Chinese nationals and certainly there are more crimes against Angolans.”
Nonetheless, Xu Ning (�?, the head of the Chinese Business Council in Luanda, said Chinese living in Angola were increasingly afraid.
“Things have got worse in the last few months. Just last night, someone I was due to have dinner with did not turn up because he had been robbed and last week a man was shot dead in Viana,” Xu said. “He had been working here for a year and was due to leave, so had all his year’s salary in his rucksack when he was approached by an armed gang. He fought back so they shot him, first in the foot, and when he fought more, they shot him twice in the stomach. He went to hospital and then died.”
Chinese firms have several key post-war reconstruction contracts in Angola, including new roads, airports and government buildings, as well as four soccer stadiums. Chinese credit lines to Angola are believed to exceed US$5 billion.
“This county has a lot of future, but people won’t stay to work here if they’re afraid,” said Ning, who has been in Angola for 11 years and represents 40 companies. “We are hearing about two or three attacks a day and people are talking about leaving. Some small companies have already gone back. The police need to do something about this, if they don’t, it will just encourage more gangs.”
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