Dores da Descolonização no Portugal pós-colonial

Abstract

This article starts from the story of Rui, the son of a former African combatant who, after having fought within the Portuguese Armed Forces during the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence, was arrested and disappeared. Comparing the meanings that Rui attributes to his father's disappearance with other narratives transmitted in the public sphere about the colonial war, this analysis reveals that there are pains attributed to decolonization that result not only from the losses that the end of the war caused, but also from the way these losses have been interpreted and managed in post-colonial Portugal.

Keywords

• post-memory
• colonial war
• former african combatants of the portuguese armed forces
• remembrance ceremonies