THE LOOKOUT | “Former combatants feel very forgotten”

He grew up in a council neighborhood and was a sergeant in the Army until 2015. He believes that association leaders should not be remunerated and that former combatants deserve to be recognized.

I grew up in the Padre Cruz neighborhood, in Lisbon, with my seven brothers. My childhood was marked by games in the street where we would beat the heads of older neighboring ladies. The best memory I remember was when we ran away from the teacher to go to the other side of the school and talk to the girls, as well as setting up stalls in the neighborhood, where we spent the afternoon eating tuna and bread.
Since I was a child, I wanted to be in the military, police or GNR. When I finished high school I applied to the Army Sergeants School, GNR and PSP. I joined the army when I was 19 and joined the Army Sergeants’ School as a recruit in 1987, because my father always told me that becoming a sergeant was better. Nowadays, I don’t know if it was a good option. At 24 I moved to Belas and married the woman I met when I went to teach swimming lessons to the disabled in Lumiar during my free time. I spent two years at the Military School of Electromechanics in Paço de Arcos, where I studied the mechanical specialty of electronic and missile equipment.
I never went to any war. When I finished the course I was placed in Queluz in an artillery group providing training to the military, while I took other courses related to electronics. Then I went back to school in Paço de Arcos where I lived for eight years in a military house, which I still miss a lot today because it had a view of the beach. I have always been linked to the area of ​​army logistics and security operations. In 2005 I came to live in Entroncamento and was placed in the Maintenance Regiment with the same service.
I never liked being bossed around. One of the biggest difficulties I had was the troop hierarchy. On a military level, there were few difficulties. The coexistence of the military in the past was different from that of the military today, which they see as a job. In 2015, I left the army when a law came into force that allowed us to continue with the same rights. It’s complicated being in the military and being married to a military man. When my son was born I was in the army. It saddens me that I didn’t enjoy time with my son when he was younger.
When I came to Entroncamento I started to get involved with sports associations. I was a football coach for teams in the region. I have always enjoyed dealing with the public and getting along with people. In 2016, the opportunity arose to come to the Núcleo da Liga dos Combatentes as a member to occupy my time. I have been president of the Entroncamento and Vila Nova da Barquinha League of Combatants for six years. We recently renewed the leadership for another three years and I appointed a military woman with the aim of assuming the role of president whenever she wants.
We have around 500 members from various municipalities in the central area. The Center for the League of Combatants cannot end because our fighters deserve us to take care of them, because they have miserable pensions. Our objective is to help all our former combatants and widows with everything they need, because the State gives them nothing. Many still have the trauma of war. We have doctors and psychologists, we visit them frequently and organize various gatherings. We want everyone to feel integrated into society, we have even helped with the restoration of houses. Members are entitled to a social pass, we have protocols with various entities, free entry to museums, among others. Our relationship with the local authorities of Entroncamento and Vila Nova da Barquinha is excellent, they have never refused to help us.
Former combatants feel very forgotten, it is not enough to be morally recognized. They have to be recognized on a daily basis with actions, not with statutes in which combatants are not all treated equally. The nucleus has the support of the central management of the League of Combatants, but the status of former combatants differs depending on the combatants’ area of ​​residence. Former combatants are still very uncomfortable talking about the war they were in because they had to kill people. Today, the war is waged by weapons factories that are getting rich, but these wars are completely different from before.
I don’t think that association leaders should be paid, because it’s about doing good and they’re not worried about winning. Member fees, 20 euros per year, must be applied to them. We have no problems with the sustainability of the nucleus, but in a decade we will have few remaining members and if new people don’t join the League of Combatants it will almost disappear. I think it will never end because new soldiers will understand the importance.
Entering politics is a future project. In the last elections I was a candidate for the PS, as an independent, to understand how politics worked. Now, together with other inhabitants of Entroncamento, we have created a Citizens’ Movement to run for election in 2025. We want to change what is bad and improve what is good. Entroncamento, at the moment, is a dead land, but I don’t blame the presidency of the chamber, I blame the central power.
I don’t like being still, in fact I get up every day at 6 am. I value the truth a lot, it takes lies and selfishness away from me. My wife is the person I admire most for the passion she has for her profession as a nurse. I’m a friend of a friend, without wanting anything in return. I still have a lot to travel in my life, I have to go to Africa, see my son get married and maybe have a grandson.