IN 1980, on the eve of Independence, this small African country was at war with itself, had been under United Nations Sanctions for 14 years and was not in receipt of any aid or assistance from anyone. It was unable to borrow money on the world market and had to smuggle whatever it needed through an international blockade that was amongst the most stringent in history. To compound its difficulties it was totally isolated in geopolitical terms and was physically land locked.