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Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the different meanings and expressions of traumatic memories of Portuguese soldiers who fought in the liberation wars in Lusophone Africa, exploring the afterlives of war in contemporary Portugal.

Paper long abstract:

Portugal’s late colonial wars have been silenced in national public memory until recently, but in individual memory they remain central. Between 1961 and 1974 Portugal was engaged in three theatres of war in Lusophone Africa: Angola, Guinea Bissau, and Mozambique. Nearly one million Portuguese young men were mobilized to fight a war they did not understand and/or agree with. Upon returning home, especially in the aftermath of the 1974 revolution and the rapid political and social changes taking place in Portugal, the experiences of these young men, and the impact of the war experience on their mental health were silenced or left unacknowledged. New research on the anti-colonial wars in Lusophone Africa (1961-1974) has revealed the range of changes brought at the political, social, and cultural levels in Portuguese society, moving from silenced war experiences to a close examination of its effects and memories.

This paper explores the legacies of war in Portugal, focusing on the returning Portuguese soldiers’ war experiences, trauma, and memories. I will address one central question: how the health and reintegration of military veterans, and the representation and memorialization of war mutually affect each other, specifically focusing on the changing meaning of war related illness and disability. Drawing upon ethnographic research in Portugal, I will explore the enduring links between war, mental health, and memory (collective and personal) through an analysis of meaning, practice, and representation.