Portugal only managed to remain in Africa until 1974 because thousands of Africans were drafted into the Army. The colonial State pushed these men into the army, at the same time as luring them in with promises of a better life.
Entrar EnterThe Guinean section of Companies of African Commandos started to form in 1970. These companies were the only elite troop of the Portuguese Army entirely composed of black soldiers. Men who took the lead in the most difficult operations and in whom the military chiefs trusted blindly.
Entrar EnterAfter the Portuguese revolution on 25 April 1974, the Portuguese Guinean section of the African Commandos were the main victims of a boiling pot of political and social tensions. Portugal left them behind. The PAIGC saw them as a threat, accused them of treason and hunted them down, often killing them.
Entrar EnterWhen Salazar’s dictatorship ended, Portugal exited its occupied territories in Africa and stopped presenting itself as a multiracial nation. Nearly 50 years later, Africans who fought in the Portuguese Army are still fighting for their rights: they want their Portuguese nationality reinstated and demand that the State pay their death in action, retirement and disability pensions.
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