First, we need a basic understanding of the country of Cameroon.
On December 2018, the United States assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Tibor Nagy, raised the issue of Cameroon as among the world’s most dire conflicts, stating: “I fear that [the crisis] could get much, much worse.”
The United Nations conservatively estimates that the ongoing conflict has killed more than 3 000 people and displaced nearly 700 000 more in the Anglophone regions, a staggering number that comprises about 20% of our country’s population. Most recently, on February 14, about two dozen villagers, including 14 children and a pregnant woman, were massacred in the village in the northwest region.
Reference:
https://mg.co.za/article/2020-03-17-cameroon-can-achieve-peace-but-first-it-needs-a-ceasefire/
In fact, this is a really difficult problem. How many people died, and why did they die? The difference between ideology and thought… The resentment and anger of it do not go away. 🙁
We don’t need Violence and Weapons
So what the hell should we do? Should we just stay still? Should we turn away because we don’t know anything? What should never be done is the attitude of maintaining the status quo.
If you look at the reference article, I agree with Maurice Kamto, the president of the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement and a former political prisoner in Cameroon, in part.
His second plan is that the violence on both sides must end today. I totally agree with this. Talks cannot begin without the elimination of violence and weapons. Other than that, his arguments include building infrastructure like hospital schools, setting the stage for dialogue and reforming the election system.
It is a proposal that seems to be effective. But I thought this was not enough. I think “civil society” is the key. The bottom-up approach is more effective than the top-down one. And that power is incredibly powerful.
It was a international peace NGO called HWPL that showed me this powerful force. I thought it was impossible to achieve peace.
Imagine if you were a little girl in a town in Cameroon. Can we expect peace to be achieved? No, we live in anxiety every day. Then, we find a little happiness, and we will feel satisfied. We thought this was life. This is so tragic. But peace was not difficult, and furthermore it was not impossible.
HWPL brings people from all over the world together as ‘ONE.’ They shout from time to time, “WE ARE ONE! WE ARE ONE!” As if a powerful hurricane had passed, they establish a strong peace in the place that had passed. Voice of one is not enough to achieve peace, but voice as one is enough to do so.
Their plans are concrete and feasible. You can feel that it is the answer to peace. I recommend you to check for yourself.
I sincerely hope that peace will come to Cameroon.
HWPL FAQ : http://www.hwpl.kr/en/whoweare/faq
your friends,
Ming Talyor
Peace is up to you :0 Good luck!
The DPCW desperately needs to be implemented.
I’ll go send me
Yes, with DPCW implemented!
” Talks cannot begin without the elimination of violence and weapons. ”
This is exactly what is keeping war alive. You can’t stop the violence without TALKING FIRST. Because there is NO TRUST that dropping weapons on either side – the government of Cameroon or the ‘Amba Boys’ – that talks will happen AT ALL. To achieve peace, you need a PLAN. A plan that will take time to broker. A plan that says ‘here’s how we will achieve peace’. A plan that involves ALL the stakeholders. To be clear, the plan will not itself solve the crisis or end the conflict today – no. The plan is a set of conditions and steps that ALL sides agree to, that leads ALL sides to the real talking, the dialogue, the negotiations, – or whatever name you chose- that brings forth long-term peace.
“Dropping weapons” today without talking is what the government of Cameroon has already tried to do. The government held a National Dialogue in 2018 that didn’t involve talking to ALL stakeholders; it set up a disarmament process and marketed the idea that ‘Amba Boys’ were turning in their weapons (some did for sure, but not many). Now the government is launching infrastructure reconstruction – all without TALKING. What underlies such an approach is contempt and mistrust, both of which inflame rather than douce the fire, and that is why a peace process must be initiated first, that ultimately leads to the eradication of violence.
As MLK Jr once said, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.’
May Cameroon head towards peace & justice with trust and good faith.
Thank you for your opinion. It will be of great help. 🙂