Guinea-Bissau

I mentioned that I like to have my ignorance remedied, right? Well, today is Guinea-Bissau’s Independence Day (hurrah!) and I have to admit that until today I knew nothing about the country except that it’s on the West coast of Africa. Granted, I’ve just learned that it’s one of the smallest nations in continental Africa, so I’m guessing that we don’t hear much about it on the world stage, but I didn’t even know that it was a Portuguese colony. Independence was declared on 24 September 1973, and formally recognised almost a year later, 10 September 1974. “Bissau” was added to the name to distinguish this country from the country of Guinea (previously a French territory) as Guinea-Bissau had been known as Portuguese Guinea. Why Bissau? It’s the name of the capital.

So Guinea-Bissau was part of the kingdom of Gabu, once—and the kingdom of Gabu was itself part of the Mali Empire. Even though the Portuguese first started colonising in the 16th century, parts of the Gabu kingdom survived into the 18th century—it wasn’t until the 19th century that the interior of the country was explored by Europeans. And, yes, the slave trading was roaring in this area.

The movement for independence started in 1956—both here and in Cape Verde. The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde had support from Cuba, China, the USSR as well as other African countries—the support included weaponry, and a guerrilla-like war ensued. It took close to twenty years, but in the end the movement won out.

Unfortunately, independence didn’t end the bloodshed. The winners slaughtered their former enemies, soldiers who fought alongside the Portuguese—thousands of them died, while some managed to escape either to Portugal or elsewhere in Africa. Many of the slaughtered were buried in unmarked mass graves.

It took until 1994 for multi-party elections to take place—and they were followed 4 years later by an army uprising, kicking the president João Bernardo Vieira out. The next elections were in 2000, and a new president (Kamba Ialá) was elected—followed, three years later by (you guessed it) a military coup. In 2005, Guinea-Bissau held elections again, two years after the coup. Ialá ran again, but Vieira (yes, the president deposed in 1998) was the winner in a runoff election.

So, the official language of the country is still Portuguese—but you know what? Apparently only 14 percent of the population speaks it.


I found this poem by Amílcar Cabral online here. http://www.vidaslusofonas.pt/amilcar_cabral_2.htm Enjoy.

Island

            - A poem by Amílcar Cabral – Praia, Cabo Verde, 1945 -
 
Mother, in your perennial sleep,
You live naked and forgotten
and barren,
thrashed by the winds,
at the sound of songs without music
sung by the waters that confine us...
 
Island:
Your hills and valleys
haven’t felt the passage of time.
They remain in your dreams
–  your children’s dreams –
crying out your woes
to the passing winds
and to the carefree birds flying by.
 
Island :
Red earth shaped like a hill that never ends
– rocky earth –
ragged cliffs blocking all horizons
while tying all our troubles to the winds!

—Amílcar Cabral
Translated by John D Godinho