The Wiriyamu Massacre: An Oral History, 1960–1974

Description

Using interviews as primary sources this book shines a light on the infamous Portuguese massacre of Wiriyamu in colonial Mozambique in 1972. Twenty-four carefully curated testimonies are presented, covering Portugal’s last colonial war in Mozambique, and the nationalist response that led to the massacre. Survivors share with you their escape from Wiriyamu, while data collectors, priests and journalists tell of their struggle to collect evidence and defend the truth about the killings in the international press. The Wiriyamu Massacre contextualizes the unique importance of the oral evidence it contains and reveals the in-depth interview methods used to gather the oral testimonies, and subsequently curate the transcript into readable texts Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Photos List of Maps List of Tables Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Portugal’s Colonial Wars and Mass Violence The Erasure of the Five Villages The Outing Chapter 1: The Colonial War and the Wiriyamu Triangle Tete’s March to the South Cabo Delgado, Malawi, and the Tete Front Political Mobilization and the Church The Wiriyamu Triangle and Raimundo Dalepa The Manica-e-Sofala Front Dissent and the Final Attack Frelimo’s Arrival in the Triangle Spiritual Life and Frelimo’s Arrival Wiriyamu and the End The Loss of Homes and Cattle Operation Marosca and the Aftermath Burning Huts and an Act of Compassion The Night after the Massacre and the Second Cleanup Inquiry, Training, and Reflections on War Violence on Girls and Informants My Family and Their Return to Portugal Chico, the Secret Agent, and His Death How He Went Chapter 2: The Anatomy of the Massacres Chaworha’s Demise We Gathered to Clap When I Woke Up Deliverance Into Exile and Back Today Juawu’s Killing Fields The Premonitions That Went Unheeded Signposts to War The Ending Begins Seeing Is Believing My Escape I Ran from the Wiriyamu Fires In the Morning before the Massacre The Massacre as It Happened The Escape from the Fire An End of Sorts The Flames of War and the Spirit of My Tears The Loud “Woorh . . . Woorh . . . Woorh . . .” The Spirit of My Tears Djemusse’s Lengthy Erasure Chapter 3: Gathering and Surveying the Evidence Family Life, Data Collection, and Torture Wiriyamu—Near Escapes Rescue and the Tortures Evidence Gathering, Cover-Up, and Coercion Chaworha Survivors and Their Stories Lists Are Formed; Concerns Are Expressed The Escape and the Cover-Up Checking Bodies from the Air Surveying the Dead Interrogation and the Mobbing Journalists Not Wiriyamu Again! Chapter 4: The First Public Outing of the Wiriyamu Narrative How I Smuggled the Report The Bulge The Revelations The Wiriyamu Narrative Escapes Undetected! Expulsions Chapter 5: The Final Revelation Development Issues, Father Adrian Hastings, and the Opposition Adrian and the Detractors Wiriyamu and the People of London After the Story Came Out The Final Revelation and Vatican II Caetano and the Wiriyamu Revelation Political Neutrality and the Press To the UN and Back Wiriyamu and the Portuguese Revolution Chapter 6: The British Fact-Checkers Knipe Combats Fake News Experiencing Africa Into the Bush and Back Expulsion and Returns How the Portuguese Foiled One Fact-Checker The Bouncer and Knipe’s Return! Williamo and Departures “The Story Checks Out!” Said Peter Pringle How I Got the Story Out The South African BOSS and the Attempted Blackmail Hastings, Loudon, and Gaster Chapter 7: The Final Act—Witness Protection An Eyewitness Confirms the Place and the Events The Massacre Mixone’s Rendition on a Suzuki Motorbike Contacts with Frelimo—and My Nemeses The Visitor from London and Hiding Mixone The Pendulum Swings To Spain and Back Conclusion Works Cited Archives and Unpublished Papers Web-Based Resources Secondary Literature Periodicals Glossary Index