Joana P. Becker, Teresa Borges, Ângela Maia, Luísa Sales 

Background

The Colonial War was a conflict between the Portuguese Army and emerging nationalist movements in Portugal’s African colonies between 1961 and 1974. This was a conflict that the Africans called a National Liberation War, and the Portuguese called the Overseas War or the Colonial War, as it became internationally known. Briefly, after World War II, European countries were forced to promote the process of decolonization of different dominated areas. However, the Portuguese government did not accept an end to the colonies. Meanwhile, nationalist movements were organized in several African countries to fight the war. For 13 years, violent conflicts affected the two continents, including deaths, rapes and consequences that marked both sides of the war (Furtado, 2012).

The Colonial War, mainly its consequences on the Portuguese population, has been a focus of interest of researchers from different areas, such as Sociology, History, Law, Medicine and Psychology. Despite that, while the political and social issues are thoroughly explored, studies on trauma in veterans still remains scarce. The few existing studies in this area have pointed out that Portuguese veterans present high rates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as well as more physical complaints (Começanha & Maia, 2011; Ferrajão, 2017). Considering the impact of the Colonial War, and the years that separate the war from the actual suffering of veterans, it is worth discussing the variables that involve this past, and present trauma.