"The children Portuguese soldiers left in the Colonial War

Between 1961 and 1974 Portugal endured a colonial war in three African countries that were then Portuguese colonies (Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique). Around a million young Portuguese men were stationed in these territories during the conflict. The end of this war, after a military coup (25th April 1974), was also the end of a 48 year old dictatorship that led to the independency of the three African countries.

The children some of these men had with local women remained a private subject for more than 40 years. It was only discussed among veterans and known only by some of their families, up until 2013, when I first wrote about it in a reportage (text and vídeo) for the daily national newspaper Público. It was the first time this subject was mentioned in the media. In 2015, I went to Angola with a father that knew he had left an Angolan woman pregnant to meet with his unknown son."

by Catarina Gomes (Original Title: Furriel Não é Nome de Pai)

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