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In this book I examine mother love in a setting characterized by poverty and high child mortality. The work is based on anthropological fieldwork conducted from 1993 to 1998 in the Biombo region in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Sadly, child death is a common event in Biombo, and about onethird of all children born alive are likely to die before they reach the age of five. Most of these deaths are preventable. I have written this book to illuminate the added burden these unnecessary deaths are on the life of their mothers. Through narratives of individual women, general ethnographic descriptions, and theoretical considerations I want to shed light on mothers’ struggles to save the lives of their children. By this approach I intend to inspire scholars, professionals, students, activists, and others who are concerned with the plight of disadvantaged populations in a world of plenty. In the Biombo region I am deeply indebted to the mothers who participated in my work. I hope the book rightly reflects their common concern to give birth to many children, girls and boys, who all survive. Odete Felix, my friend, assistant, and translator, was crucial for my work. I am grateful for her seriousness and skilful translation. My youngest son, Ólafur Páll, when he was two years of age, rejected all collaboration with nannies, but Walter, Odete’s son, caught his confidence, rapidly taught him to speak Kriol, and introduced him to life in Quinhamel village. Quinhamel is a small village where I felt at home from the first day; I found myself surrounded with good neighbors and friends. In particular, my thoughts go to Dulce and Alberto Passa and their children Bruno, Sanqueia , and Alaquedna (Roquita) who became best of friends with my sons. Alberto tragically passed away on April 29, 2001, at the age of forty-four. I will remember his dedication to the people he served as a regional head xi Preface and Acknowledgments nurse for fifteen years, as well as his happy mood and endless, amusing stories . The regional medical officer, Dr. Paulo Djatá, his wife Zinha, and their children, as well as Bacar Demba Embalo and family all made this a pleasant neighborhood to live in. I thank Rosa, Sábado, Aduladja, Teresinha, Braima, and Edok for all help and enjoyable companionship. I am also grateful to the health workers in the Biombo region for all their help while sharing common interests, friendship , and joyful times. I think of Samba and his daughter Bailo, who both died in the rainy season in midsummer 2002, as sharing their lives in gloria. I am indebted to Hólmfrí†ur and Björk for making the Icelandic School in Quinhamel a reality using my sons’ bedroom as a classroom, and Salvör for being a pupil in the school and a good “sister.” Christina de Carvalho was also a welcome addition to my extended family during her two research periods on measles. During the last three years in Quinhamel my sons attended the Swedish School in Bissau under the skillful leadership of Nina Michelgård and staff. Anna and Bengt Sandkull were kind to open up their house for me in Bissau to give me time to rethink my field notes, and Bill Turpin was always close at hand as djumbaidur and fixer of any problem . The DCA staff that worked in Guinea-Bissau was important to me during my entire stay. In particular, my gratitude goes to Ing–Marie, Aase, Lorenz, Removille, Mariama, and João for their warm friendship and fruitful collaboration. This book is a revision of my doctoral dissertation, defended in June 2000 at the Department of Social Anthropology at Stockholm University. I want to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Don Kulick, currently Professor of Anthropology at New York University. I greatly benefited from Don’s ability to focus on the main arguments while remaining interested in the details. Don created a productive and stimulating environment for his group of doctoral students, which allowed us to share experiences and thoughts about each others’ work. I was privileged to be part of that group with Sigrun Helmfrid, Anna Gavanas, Ann Elsburg-Frisell, Fanny Ambjörnsson, Thais Borges Machado, Lena Gemsöe, Åse Ottosson, and Örjan Bartholdsson. I am also grateful to Britt–Marie Thurén, my supervisor during part of my fieldwork. Collectively, I owe thanks to all the colleagues and other staff at the department headed by Professor Ulf Hannerz and Professor...

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