on by them alone. In Guinea-Bissau the
basic mass organisation cell is the 'tabanca
committee', which consists of five elected
members, it being compulsory that two
of them are women. The committee
concerns itself with all local matters,
especially births, marriages and deaths,
social and cultural affairs and supplying
the armed forces.
But it seemed to us that, as in our own
case, apart from the social revolution
this means, the most profound transformations are in the new generation.
One need only see the difference between
the children in the liberated regions and
those coming from areas under colonial
rule. For this reason, the PAIGC gives
very special attention to the youth in
the schools. In the village primary schools,
the General Boarding School in the north,
the nursery schools and the Pilot School
we were able to visit later in Conakry,
in each case a new Guinea, mastering
modern knowledge and shaping new social
relations, was being forged. The elderly
leader of a local committee who proudly
showed us the photo of his son who
learned to read in the Party school and
was studying in a foreign country, was
very conscious of this profound transformation.
This work is not without its problems,
both from the point of view of cadres-
teachers often being needed for the armed
forces, where technical development requires increasingly skilled cadres—and because of the repression. Tambico is an
oft-repeated example and the PAIGC was
obliged to raise the minimum school age,
because the most frequent victims of
bombing raids were the youngest children.
It was in these particular conditions experienced under repression that we found
the most specific factor of the struggle
in Guinea; indeed, although the PAIGC
controls about two-thirds of the country,
the size of the territory permits the
colonial army to make its repressive
presence felt almost everywhere, owing
to its planes and cannons. During the
period we spent in the Sara area, for
two weeks on end Fiat G91 jets and
PV2's dropped bombs on a rather small
region.
All the Portuguese planes and helicopters
take off from Bissalanca airport (10 km.
from Bissau). Under cover of the foliage
at Nhacra, we watched the incessant
coming and going of aircraft leaving for
the north, south and east to drop their
criminal load or to land troops. All
activity has to involve careful consideration of this aspect-the proximity of
enemy positions. The Sara hospital surprised us not only because of its capacity
to perform big surgical operations, but
also because its equipment was so very
uncumbersome, making it extremely mobile.
The helicopter war inspired by the example of the Americans (before their crushing defeat in Laos) is the latest find of
the Portuguese strategists, with the amiable cooperation of the manufacturers of
the Alouette and the PUMA SA 330.
But it has not been their only find. As
in our country, Portugal is attempting
massive psychological warfare and subversion within the nationalist ranks. Then-
latter efforts having proved a miserable
failure, the Portuguese administration is
now devoting itself to trying to stir up
tribal hatred and to win the allegiance
of religious groups, especially the Muslims.
During our stay, we were able to hear on
the radio about General Spinola, Governor of Guinea, taking part officially in
the   public   celebration   of the  Maulid
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festival in the streets of Bissau. This is a
measure of the efforts being made by an
administration and army which have always claimed to have a 'Christianising
mission'.
Although relatively small,  the territory
of Guinea is inhabited by innumerable
ethnic groups whose social, cultural and
religious traditions seemed to us to have
withstood colonisation. This means that
in carrying out the Party's policy, the
way of life of each region has to be taken
into account. This was the field in which
we felt that the PAIGC had registered
the greatest success. Indeed, experience
has taught us that in the conditions of
our countries and of our struggle, it is
impossible to foresee everything and direct
everything from just one decision-making
centre. The part played by the cadres
is fundamental. In other words, flexible
coordination,   which  is a fundamental
problem in the activity of any mass party,
is essential in our countries. The PAIGC
has always paid great attention to the
training and political education of cadres.
The most important aspect of our visit,
and  the one which made the greatest
impression on us, was the discussions we
had with the leaders on the Northern
Front, headed by Chico Mendes, and later
with Luis Cabral. We reviewed developments in Portuguese tactics, various methods used in ambushes, protection against bombing raids and the best ways of
ensuring the effectiveness of attacks against fortified camps. We gave special attention  to  the  problems  facing guerrillas
close   to  urban   centres.   While   taking
into account-Guinea has no big towns
and   in   Mozambique   there   is  a  clear
distinction between the white and black
towns. Comrade Anselmo Anaiva, a member   of  our  High  Command,  had  the
opportunity to describe the Portuguese
'big offensive' against the liberated regions in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique,
and the reasons for its failure.
((There are many things which unite us,
comrades,))   we  told  our  comrades  of
Guinea-Bissau on leaving. «We have taken
up arms and we are fighting against the
same enemy, who is assisted by the same
allies.   Since  our arrival we have been
struck by many similarities. But what
unites us even more is the aim for which
we are fighting, building a new and progressive country. We have seen your army,
your schools, your hospitals, your people's
shops, the production brigades, the tabanca committees. We leave encouraged by
your victories, proud of your successes.
Confronted  with  the determination of
our peoples in Angola, Guinea and Mozambique, Portuguese colonialism cannot
continue much longer. The signs of its
collapse are already clear. Let us continue
our fight, united, until the total independence of our countries.))