…também lá havia o companheiro “Curvas” do Pelotão de Morteiros!. Era assim carinhosamente chamado por ser alto e caminhar curvado!. Todos diziam que devia de ser “General”, porque era refilão, com alguma indisciplina e não acatava ordens mas…, era um verdadeiro soldado, combativo e com desprezo pela vida, sempre em favor dos companheiros que sempre protegeu em cenário de combate, sendo agraciado com a “medalha cruz de guerra de segunda classe”, que lhe foi entregue lá no aquartelamento, porque declinou vir a Lisboa, Portugal, recebê-la, dizendo que não tinha lá família, pois a sua família estava ali consigo, que éramos nós!. 

…there was also the companion “Curvas” from the Mortar Platoon there!. He was affectionately called that because he was tall and walked hunched over!. Everyone said that he should be a “General”, because he was rebellious, with some indiscipline and did not follow orders but…, he was a true soldier, combative and with a disregard for life, always in favor of his comrades who he always protected in a combat scenario, being awarded the “second class war cross medal”, which was given to him there in the barracks, because he declined to come to Lisbon, Portugal, to receive it, saying that he had no family there, as his family was there with him, that it was us!. 

…a sua mãe era oriunda duma província do interior montanhoso do centro de Portugal e ele, nunca recebeu qualquer carta ou aerograma durante os seus dois anos de estadia em Mansoa, lá no golfo da Guiné, pela razão já acima mencionada, de não ter família, porque tinha sido abandonado pela mãe ainda criança, que “foi vendida ou talvez de encomenda para servir em Lisboa” e…, infelizmente “andava na vida” (prostituição),e ele, ao “Deus dará”, sem nunca ter tido ninguém que lhe limpasse o ranho do nariz, já tinha visitado por diversas vezes os calabouços da esquadra da polícia por pequenos delitos, sabia roubar uma carteira sem o seu verdadeiro dono o notar, aquilo que era o sofrimento da fome e dormir na rua e…, tendo assim alguma experiência do que “era o bem e o mal”!.

…his mother came from a province in the mountainous interior of central Portugal and he never received any letter or aerogram during his two years of stay in Mansoa, there in the Gulf of Guinea, for the reason already mentioned above, of not having a family, because he had been abandoned by his mother as a child, who “was sold or perhaps ordered to serve in Lisbon” and…, unfortunately “he was living in life” (prostitution), and he, “God will give”, without ever having anyone to help him He could wipe the snot from his nose, he had already visited the police station dungeons several times for petty crimes, he knew how to steal a wallet without its real owner noticing, what it was like to suffer from hunger and sleep on the street and…, thus having some experience of what “good and evil were”!.

…naquela época era normal, as mães mulheres da província que trabalhavam de sol a sol e esperavam a sorte de alguém levar uma das suas filhas para a cidade, “servir” para casa de gente de posses, sempre seria menos uma malga de caldo que se poupava e algum dinheiro que devia chegar pelo correio no final de cada mês, só que…, esta jovem mulher sua mãe, com os braços cansados de dar colo aos irmãos mais novos e de rodilha na cabeça para aguentar o peso dos molhos de erva ou de lenha…, lá na cidade de Lisboa, talvez sentindo-se abandonada, entrou no circulo da “vida fácil”, que…, não devia de ser nada fácil!.

…at that time it was normal, women mothers from the province who worked from sunrise to sunset and waited for someone to take one of their daughters to the city, “serve” in the homes of people of means, there would always be less of a bowl of broth that was saved and some money that should arrive in the mail at the end of each month, but…, this young woman, her mother, with her arms tired of holding her younger brothers and with a wheel on her head to support the weight of bundles of grass or firewood…, there In the city of Lisbon, perhaps feeling abandoned, she entered the circle of the “easy life”, which…, shouldn’t be easy at all!. 

…e ele, o companheiro “Curvas”, quando se distribuía o correio, como nunca mencionavam o seu nome, simplesmente ia sozinho com o púcaro do café cheio de vinho, para de baixo da enorme árvore de manga, junto do pequeno pântano na parte leste do aquartelamento em construção, onde havia as gaiolas dos macacos, e piriquitos e…, não falava com ninguém!.

…and he, the “Curvas” companion, when the mail was distributed, as his name was never mentioned, he simply went alone with the coffee pot full of wine under the huge mango tree, next to the small swamp in the eastern part of the barracks under construction, where there were the monkey cages, and parakeets and…, he didn’t talk to anyone!.

…nós, sempre o ouvimos e o considerávamos um companheiro amigo que dormia debaixo do mesmo cabanal, e ele, sentia alguma confiança em nós ao ponto de quando saía em patrulha ou operações com o seu grupo de combate, normalmente, entregava-nos a saca feita de meia manga, cortada do camuflado em farrapos, com alguns bens, como um “terço” com uma pequena Cruz de Cristo, a fotografia amarelada da avó, o relógio, algum dinheiro e outros objectos, com a recomendação de os guardar!.

…we always listened to him and considered him a friendly companion who slept under the same hut, and he felt some trust in us to the point that when he went out on patrol or operations with his combat group, he would normally give us his bag made from half a sleeve, cut from the camouflage in tatters, with some goods, such as a “chaplet” with a small Cross of Christ, his grandmother’s yellowed photograph, his watch, some money and other objects, with the recommendation to keep them!.

…para nós, o “Curvas”  já não era um companheiro militar, era um GUERREIRO, era um homem de combate, que tinha os seus regulamentos internos porque já conhecia a dor de ver o sangue quente a sair do corpo de um companheiro ferido em combate e…, às vezes, quando haviam pequenas zangas no cabanal, os ânimos exaltavam-se e havia uma barafunda, com alguns a acalmarem outros, no entanto…, quando saíam para o interior das selvas e pântanos em patrulha ou para desactivarem alguma base de guerrilheiros, eram amigos e solidários, protegiam-se, davam a vida uns pelos outros, eram verdadeiros irmãos de sangue!. 

…for us, “Curvas” was no longer a military companion, he was a WARRIOR, he was a man of combat, who had his internal regulations because he already knew the pain of seeing the hot blood leaving the body of a comrade wounded in combat and…, sometimes, when there were small fights in the hut, tempers flared up and there was a commotion, with some calming others, however…, when they went out into the jungles and swamps on patrol or to deactivate Some guerrilla base, they were friends and supportive, they protected each other, they gave their lives for each other, they were true blood brothers!.

Tony Borie.