Tempe pair travel to war-torn Angola to organize elections

Alia Beard Rau
The Arizona Republic
March 10, 2004

Two Tempe natives have traded the comforts of home for armed guards, bed bugs and spotty electric service, all in the name of democracy.

Friends Rob Miller and Christine Wilkins, both 37, have taken on the task of moving the African country of Angola toward its first free election since 1992. They are organizing political parties, conducting the nation's first public opinion polls and planning a 2005 election.

Miller and Wilkins are working for the International Republican Institute. The non-profit organization, chaired by Sen. John McCain, trains politicians and oversees elections in about 50 countries.

"There are really few times when you're asked to give back to your community, your world, in such a way," said Miller, an attorney. "I've been raised with the idea that it was important to do work like this when you get the opportunity."

As a strategic planner and financial consultant, Wilkins has experience developing social programs. She also ran the campaign of her father, Mike Wilkins, a Tempe Justice Court judge.

"Our goal is to hopefully create future leaders for Angola that will strengthen the country," she said. "We want to create some leadership to sustain peace and build a true democracy."

The last Angola election, held in 1992, collapsed the country back into civil war when a losing candidate rejected the results. The International Republican Institute started the Angola program in June after 30 years of civil war ceased. Miller and Wilkins are working with 12 political parties in the Angola national assembly, helping them determine exactly what they stand for and what they want a democratic Angola to look like.

"We're not teaching them what to think or believe, but asking them if they believe in democracy and how do they make that real," Miller said.

The west African country is rich in diamonds and oil. But after so many years of war, much of Angola lacks running water and electrical service is inconsistent. Wilkins said there is no health care system in the country, which is battling malaria, polio and tuberculosis. Because of war, an entire generation of Angolans received little education. An estimated $1 billion in government money goes missing each year because of corruption.

"When we talk to people, there is an understanding that what we're doing is important," Miller said. "But when you have a population still dying of malaria, trying to get food and worrying about access to water, there's not a lot of room for the common person to be engaged in a higher dialogue about the political future of the country."

Wilkins and Miller pay $3,000 a month for a three-bedroom apartment. They face daily electrical outages and chase a water truck through their neighborhood to convince the driver to stop at their house.

"We also have round-the-clock guards," Miller said. "But we feel safe."

They have a balcony that they take advantage of and beautiful beaches nearby. There are nice restaurants, live music and good people.

"The living conditions are not ideal, but they are not terrible," Miller said. "We enjoy being in Angola."

Wilkins' parents, Mike and Eleanor Wilkins, weren't happy when they heard their daughter was planning to go to the war-torn country.

But they've grown used to the idea, especially since they've been able to talk to her daily via instant messaging. They also send care packages stuffed with food, candy, books and movies.

"It's pretty cool that our kid would want to do something that can make such a difference, even though we wish they would do it closer to home," Mike Wilkins said.

Miller's mom, Martha Creasman Miller, is planning to meet them in South Africa this fall.

"I'm not that familiar with Africa, so it was scary,"she said."But he's doing something he loves, and what he's doing is amazing."

Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano went to Macedonia with the International Republican Institute in 2002 as an election observer. He referred Miller to the program. Miller then recruited Wilkins to go with him.

"These two Tempe natives are having a phenomenal impact in a part of the world that is crucial to our future,"Giuliano said. "In the next five to seven years, Angola could be producing up to 20 percent of America's oil."