#01 Newsletter ‘I Have Something to Tell You’
In the Labyrinth of Freedom
Welcome to Newsletter #01
(Prefer to read this bilingual publication in Portuguese? Click this link om Substack.com: https://open.substack.com/pub/professorantniofrancisco/p/01-newsletter-tenho-uma-coisa-para?r=1khqf2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true)
1. Context and Purpose
Our journey begins on June 10, 2024, a date that not only marks the birthday of Evo João Camões Fernandes (EJCF) but also symbolically coincides with the day of Luís de Camões (1524–1580), the great Portuguese poet who this year commemorates 500 years since his birth. In Portugal, June 10 is annually celebrated as Portugal Day, Camões Day, and the Day of the Portuguese Communities.
This coincidence motivated Evo’s parents to include Camões in his name, leading to his peers often calling him Evo Camões during his adolescence, establishing a precedent for a potential connection between his life trajectory and Portuguese literary tradition and history. 📚✨🌍🖋️
Evo was born in Beira, Mozambique, to Goan-descendant parents and merchants in the same city. Attended primary school at the Marists in Beira. At the age of 14, his parents sent him to Portugal as a boarding student at the Colégio de Lamego in Portugal, where he completed the 5th year of high school in 1960.
In 1961, he entered Colégio São João de Brito in Lisbon and left in 1963. He graduated in Law from the University of Lisbon in 1969. He then returned to Mozambique to perform military service and became an inspector of the Judiciary Police. In 1974, he was appointed Editorial Director of the newspaper Notícias da Beira.
On August 26, 1976, he arrived in Lisbon following his arrest in December 1975 in Beira, accused of being the lawyer of Jorge Jardim, described by historian José Freire Antunes in his book “Jorge Jardim: Secret Agent” as “a man of seven trades and seven faces… an adventurer of a thousand adventures.”
After Mozambique’s independence in 1975, in coordination with Orlando Cristina, who lived in Salisbury/Rhodesia, now Harare/Zimbabwe, and Mozambicans like André Matsangaíssa, who opposed the capture of Mozambican independence by extremist and authoritarian radicalism, he co-founded the National Resistance Movement, later known as RENAMO.
In 1976, as a result of extensive regional and international support to form an opposition party, on November 21, they received financial approval from Rhodesia to form an armed movement — RNM — Mozambican National Resistance. It was also at this time that André Matadi Matsangaíssa became the first leader of the armed guerrilla until his death on November 17, 1979.
From 1976 to 1983, he was the RNM Delegate for Europe. Between June 1983 and 1986, he served as Secretary-General of RENAMO, succeeding the first Secretary-General of RNM, Orlando Cristina, who was assassinated on April 17, 1983. Five years later, he was kidnapped on April 17, 1988, in Cascais. His body was found on April 21, in Moinho da Malveira da Serra, Cascais, Lisbon. He was married twice and had six children.
Although Evo Fernandes’ controversial and challenging life trajectory did not arise from being born on the same day as Camões, throughout the editions of this publication, his unpublished poetic works will be shared.
We hope this publication will continue for a year, with bi-weekly editions, until June 10, 2025. Instead of a chronological and systematic biography, we will aim to sketch an interactive and comprehensive biographical mosaic that brings to light his poetic incursions compiled in two volumes by his wife Ivette Fernandes, still unpublished.
Additionally, political texts and relevant documents will be shared about his critical inquiries into the meaning and destiny of life, testimonies of his journey of resistance and struggle for freedom, his political action against political authoritarianism, as well as his internal questioning, the competition of forces between fate and chance, and evidence of his multiple challenges in the labyrinth of freedom, including the archive dossier on his assassination in 1988 and the controversial trial process until May 28, 1989.
In this context, the subtitle “In the Labyrinth of Freedom” will provide the analytical framework for episodes of life, challenges, controversies, obstacles, achievements, and failures faced by Evo, personally and together with his life partner, as well as other companions in the struggle for democracy and pluralist freedom.
2. Why Subscribe to This Publication?
- Discovering an Overlooked Hero:
Evo Fernandes was a tireless advocate for pluralistic freedom, for which he gave his life. His actions, controversial choices, and the challenges he faced deserve public dissemination, critical and intelligent debate, recognition, and celebration.
2. Access Exclusive Content:
We will publish part of an unpublished collection of Evo Fernandes’ poems, along with analysis articles, interviews, archival photos, and historical documents.
3. Clarify Mysteries:
We will unveil some of the mysteries surrounding his assassination, providing new insights and perspectives on this significant chapter of Mozambican history, useful for contemporary historiography researchers.
3. A Paid Subscription Aims to:
- Support Logistics:
Cover the costs of creating and maintaining the publication.
2. Fund Publications:
Mobilize funds to publish Evo Fernandes’ unpublished collection of poems.
3. Create a Digital Archive:
Prepare a digital archive of relevant documents for studying RENAMO’s history and Evo Fernandes’ assassination.
4. Benefits and Requirements of Paid Subscription:
This subscriber-only publication/newsletter will have a 7-day free trial period. To activate access, follow these steps:
- Go to the publication’s Settings page.
- Click on Payments in the left navigation bar.
- Check the box next to “Enable 7 day free trials on all my paywalls” and select “Save”.
Readers need to select a subscription plan and enter their card payment details to redeem the free trial.
5. Celebrating the 80th Anniversary
Join our bilingual tribute on Substack and Medium to rediscover the thought and life actions of Evo Fernandes. Through his unpublished poetry, articles, and documentary testimonies, we invite you to celebrate a legacy of resistance and freedom. Like Luís de Camões, Evo Fernandes was a tireless inquirer whose work and life should not be forgotten.
6. Subscribe Now
Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of this unique celebration. The publication will be sent directly to your inbox, providing an enriching and ad-free experience. By subscribing, you will support the preservation and dissemination of a vital legacy for the history and culture of Mozambique.
Subscribe on Medium.com.
Join us on this journey through the “Labyrinth of Freedom” and discover the depth and relevance of Evo João Camões Fernandes’ life and work.
