According
to the office of the coordination of human affairs of the UN,
the crisis in the South-West and North-West
Regions of Cameroon has compounded pre-existing vulnerabilities. Since 2016,
political and social instability, exacerbated by sporadic violence, has had a
negative impact on the civilian population of Cameroon’s South-West and North-West
Regions, hosting four million inhabitants (16% of the total population). In
November 2017, the sociopolitical crisis progressively translated into
insecurity and armed violence. Since then, the escalation of tension and
upsurge in hostilities between non-state armed groups and defense and security
forces have triggered humanitarian needs across the two regions, linked to
significant internal displacement.
In recent months, the epicenter of the
crisis has moved from Bamenda in the North-West Region to Mamfe and Kumba in
the South-West Region. All divisions in the South-West region, which host more
than 1.4 million inhabitants, have been seriously affected by the crisis.
The number of households forced to flee
their villages - or the country - in search of safer areas has rapidly and
steadily increased since November 2017. Recent needs assessments report that at
least 160,000 people have been internally displaced in the two affected regions
and would need humanitarian and protection assistance over the next months. In
addition, more than 21,000 Cameroonians have been registered as refugees in
Cross River, Benue and Akwa Ibom States in Nigeria.1 This crisis is taking
place against a backdrop of several other humanitarian emergencies affecting
3.3 million people across Cameroon.
The South-West Region has become the
hub of the crisis as it is home to more than 90% of the 160,000 internally
displaced persons (IDPs) in need of humanitarian assistance; 135,000 are
located in Meme Division and 15,000 in Manyu Division. The remaining 10,000 are
displaced in the North-West Region.
Simultaneously, dozens of villages in
Mbongue and Konye Subdivision (Meme Division) have been emptied of their
populations. The situation is similar in the NorthWest, especially in Boyo
Division.
Many villages have suffered significant
material damage in Mbongue and Konye Subdivision (Meme Division), and in
Eyumodjok and Akwaya Subdivision (Manyu Division).
Clashes between non-state armed groups
and defense and security forces have displaced the civilian population into the
surrounding forests and villages – 80% of the displaced populations have found
refuge in the forest.
People from the two regions have been
affected in different ways. Primarily, it has affected school-age children,
women and the elderly - and a collapse of livelihoods as well as heightened
abuses.
The crisis and subsequent displacement have prevented people from accessing their fields and markets. For most of the affected population who relied upon agriculture or livestock as their main sources of livelihoods before the crisis, dependency on external assistance is inevitable in the short-term.
The crisis and subsequent displacement have prevented people from accessing their fields and markets. For most of the affected population who relied upon agriculture or livestock as their main sources of livelihoods before the crisis, dependency on external assistance is inevitable in the short-term.
Another class of people affected by the
situation includes those who are simply escaping from the fear of being nabbed
by virtue of circumstances surrounding their lives. Some of these circumstances
include escaping from possible arrest due to what you may be in terms of
profession and general political orientation. The best way to see this upfront
is to go through encounters with some who were directly affected by the
skirmishes and arrests.
According to UNICEF Cameroon
Humanitarian Situation Report of April 2018, in
the worst-hit areas of Mamfe and Kumba in the southwest, some 40,000 people are
estimated to have fled their homes. One of such cases that we caught up with is Mezatio Tsakem Broline from Kumba in
the South West region of Cameroon, one of the worse hit areas.
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| Mezatio Tsakem Broline |
Like any refugee or escapee from home, there is always a
long and touching story to tell. In a bid to get his son out of the country for
studies, Mezatio Tsakem Broline’s father got admission for his son at Langston
University in the United States of America to study Biology. He said when his father
saw his frustration emanating from the Anglophone minority marginalization in
terms of language, culture, employment
and others things, he facilitated his admission in order for him to travel
abroad and continue his education.
His dramatic departure from the country in January 2017 was
however not hitch free since according to his beleaguered parents he left with
a warrant hanging over his head certainly due to his tendency to express the
way he felt openly. His parents said they had been poorly treated for failure
to provide their son.
The victim in an earlier chat put it himself in the
following manner; “Many innocent Anglophones around my quarter in Kumba have
been arrested and taken away to Yaoundé. This young Cameroonian graduate in
Biochemistry can certainly not return home but at least his ambitions to pursue
his studies will be satisfied.
He explained that he started experiencing fear sometime in
2016 when shortly after the Anglophone Common law Lawyers took to the streets
in the both Anglophone Regions of Cameroon and were battered and their wigs and
legal robes seized by the brutal forces. Later on, he took part in the all
Anglophone teachers meeting considering that he was a Mathematics teacher at
the Our Lady of Grace College in Muyuka. Like many other young Cameroonians in
the same circumstances like this young man, returning home is out of question.
In refugee camps in
Nigeria similar stories abound. "The situation is very
difficult for us," said Peter Kechi, the village chief of Bashu, which is
some five kilometres (three miles) from the border and whose population has
ballooned from 1,500 to 4,000 in a few months."We are taking refugees into
our homes and our bedrooms, with sometimes 20 people sleeping in the same
room," Kechi said.
Locals say the
refugees cross the border on foot through heavily forested mountainous areas,
making it difficult to record their arrival. Separatists have been blamed for
the torching of schools in the areas, while aid groups and residents also
regularly accuse the army of carrying out abuses against civilians. Early this
month a human rights activist charged that soldiers killed several civilians by
setting fire to their homes. Ben Ojometa, a 75 year old Cameroonian refugee
recounts his ordeal after fleeing from the military in precarious conditions
across the forest to get to Agborkim town, Etung District of Cross Rivers
State, South East Nigeria, on February 2, 2018.
© Pius Utomi Ekpei, AFP | Cameroonian refugee Ben Ojometa, 75, sits to recuperate from injuries sustained fleeing Cameroon’s military.
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