Regimekritik am Beispiel der guienischen Literatur

The contemporary literature of Guinea-Bissau ist very worth reading und without any doubt an expression of the aspirations and tensions of the urban intellectual elite, which carries considerable weight in regard to decisive questions of the country and the formation of a national identity. The present contribution deals with the role of literature in Guinea-Bissau, especially with its function as an instrument of reflection and critique of the social situation. It presents as examples three contemporary authors: the songwriter and poet José Carlos Schwarz and the novelists Abdulai Sila and Filinto de Barros. They are commited participants of the social and political events of their country and identify themselves as speakers of underprivileged people against the hegemonic power dominance, the status quo of existing conditions in society and the dependency from foreign countries. They expose corruption, lies, rapacity and injustice and insist on abolishing them. The values which they represent give them legitimacy and the teleological certainty to indicate the aimed objectives and to define the destinations and directions with the intention to contribute towards the construction of a just and harmonic society.