Escape from Portugal-the Church in Action : The secret flight of 60 African students to France

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harper, C. R. (Charles R.)

Contributor:

Nottingham, William J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Portugal--History.

Portugal--Social conditions.

Portugal--Social policy.

Local Subjects:

Portugal--History.

Portugal--Social conditions.

Portugal--Social policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (117 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : Chalice Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This is the story of the dramatic clandestine escape, in June of 1961, of sixty African students from Portugal across Spain and into France. Most were Angolan intellectuals. Some were from Mozambique and others from Guinea-Bissau, the Cape Verde Islands, and S#65533;o Tom#65533;-and-Principe. Soon after the first anti-colonial armed rebellions broke out in Angola (March 1961), the student community in Portugal suffered increasing harassment by the Portuguese political police. Passports were confiscated and some arrests of suspected student leaders occurred. Many students--men and women--decided to flee Portugal illegally. It was risky business. False passports from friendly African countries had to be found, contacts set up for night border crossings into Franco's Spain, and then overland transportation to France. Some of the students, graduates of North American and British missionary schools in Africa, appealed to the World Council of Churches in Geneva to help them escape. The challenge was accepted by the French Protestant service agency CIMADE. The successful operation makes for exciting reading.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Title""; ""Copyright""; ""Contents""; ""Introduction""; ""1 A call for help from Lisbon""; ""2 The reconnaissance trip to Portugal""; ""3 On the road with Operation Angola""; ""4 The perilous crossing into Spain""; ""5 The race to San Sebastian""; ""6 Five close calls""; ""7 The prison""; ""8 Freedom at last�crossing into France""; ""9 The aftermath�Press reports, new destinations, encounters""; ""10 Fiftieth anniversary reunion in Cape Verde in 2011""; ""Appendix 1 The list of the 60 African students in The Escape""

""Appendix 2 What have some of the students become since 1961?""""Appendix 3 The list of participants at the 50th reunion in Praia, Cape Verde""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

ISBN:

1-60350-058-8

OCLC:

908064650