Clara Seabra
Biography
Clara Seabra was born in Portugal in 1948 and at the age of six, she moved to live with her paternal aunt and uncle in Coimbra. She then studied Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts, interrupted due to her participation in the student strike during the 1969 academic crisis.
Through her fellow Cape Verdean, Manuel Delgado, she became involved with the African student community in Lisbon, joining the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). For security reasons, she was only informed of her membership in the PAIGC in 1972 when she ran for a teaching position in Cape Verde, nominated by the party. In Praia, she taught Portuguese, History, and Civic Education. Her duties included monitoring and preventing students from speaking Creole, which she formally refused. She was forced to accept a leadership position at the Mocidade Portuguesa Feminina (Portuguese Women’s Youth).
As part of a PAIGC cell, her task was to mobilize and form new cells in the workplace and disseminate informational materials.
In August 1973, she returned to Lisbon, but quickly left for Paris and then Rotterdam. After her husband was arrested in France and sent to Caxias prison in Portugal, Clara worked at Rádio Libertação in Conakry and in the information department, supporting the development of manuals for the Pilot School.
After the 25th of April, she spent time in Sweden, where she oversaw the publication of textbooks.
She worked in education in Cape Verde until 1988, the year she returned to Portugal.
Date of Collection: 07.08.2023
