OUR PEOPLE ARE OUR MOUNTAINS

We want independence for our country. But that means, for us, much more than acquiring a flag to wave and an anthem to sing. Independence, for us, means the liberation of our motherland and the liberation of our people.

We have to ask what does 'liberation of the people' mean? It is the liberation of the productive forces of our country, the liquidation of all kinds of imperialist or colonial domination in our country, and the taking of every measure to avoid any new exploitation of our people. We don't confuse exploitation with the colour of one's skin. We want equality, social justice and freedom. I don't need to remind you that the problem of liberation is also one of culture. In the beginning it's culture, and in the end it's also culture. The colonialists have a habit of telling us that when they arrived in Africa they put us into history. You are well aware that it's the contrary — when they arrived they took us out of our own history. Liberation for us is to take back our destiny and our history.

Amilcar Cabral (secretary-general of the Guiné liberation movement, PAIGC)