As Terrorism Spikes in Cameroon, Locals Feel Ignored by International Community

BAMENDA, CAMEROON – “What do you stand for?” Melvin Songwe Shuye, a youth empowerment activist, shouts as he walks into a hall full of students at Full Gospel High School in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s North West region.

“I stand for peace and security,” the students shout back in unison.

Songwe, the chief executive officer of United Youths Organization , a local NGO, then tells the students that they can help fight terrorism by reporting suspicious people and activities to the police.

In the second half of 2015, Cameroon endured a wave of suicide bombings carried out by terror group Boko Haram, but Cameroonians say the world has paid little attention to these attacks, even as world leaders gathered to condemn terror attacks that happened in Paris on Nov. 13.

There were more than a dozen attacks in northern Cameroon between July and December 2015, according to the United Nations.

During that time period, an estimated 438 people died and 221 others were injured in the suicide bombings, most of which were carried out by women and girls, according to a public security official for Cameroon’s North West region who asked that he not be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Another attack was reported on Jan. 13 at a mosque in the Far North region. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack within hours. At least a dozen people, including the mosque’s imam, died, according to the UN.

The Far North region borders Chad and Nigeria, where Boko Haram has long carried out attacks. The armed group has also targeted nearby Niger. Cameroon and neighboring countries have combined forces to wage war against Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is the deadliest group of its kind in the world, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2015 from the Institute for Economics and Peace. In 2014, Cameroon became one of eleven countries where the number of deaths due to terrorism was over 500. Less than one percent of all deaths due to terrorism, excluding Sept. 11, have occurred in Western countries in the past 15 years, the report states.

In Bamenda, residents say the attacks in northern Cameroon would stop if world leaders paid attention and offered more support in the fight against Boko Haram.

“Bomb blasts have become a regular occurrence in Cameroon, but nobody seems to care,” says Franclin Tendongmo, a sports instructor in Bamenda.

He says he sometimes wonders if racism is to blame for the lack of global interest.

“Are black lives important at all?” he says, his voice cracking.

A series of attacks occurred in Paris, the French capital, on the night of Nov. 13. Some 130 people were killed and over 300 others injured in the attacks executed by the group ISIS. Tendongmo says the solidarity shown to the French after the attacks is an indication that the West is more important than Africa.

World leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Pope Francis, condemned the attacks and declared solidarity with the French people.

Tendongmo says he was amazed at the world’s spontaneous reaction to the Paris attacks, which included Facebook’s activation of its Safety Check feature, which allows people to alert friends and family that they are safe. According to a Facebook post by Facebook’s vice president of growth, this was the first use of the feature for something besides a natural disaster.

“Talk about the French flag filter, ah, that was some spontaneous action that has never been applied to Cameroon and other African countries in their countless terror attacks,” Tendongmo says.

Tendongmo says the international media covered the Paris attacks in a way never seen after attacks in Cameroon or any other parts of Africa.

Every terror attack should be given equal attention, he says.

“One life lost in Cameroon or Nigeria is equal to one life lost in France or in the United States,” he says. “All lives matter.”

Tendongmo says he wondered why Cameroonians expressed solidarity with France yet the country does not bother about what is happening in their country.

French President François Hollande sent a message of condolence to Cameroon after an attack in the Far North.

Even so, Didier Songfack, a driver, says he is disappointed by the way the world treats the terrorism problem in Africa.

“If the West doesn’t consider terror attacks in Cameroon as important as those of France, then Africa too should close its eyes to what is happening in the West,” he says. “Enough is enough. We are not animals.”

Some people blame the lack of attention to politics that create an information vacuum on the continent.

African governments downplay situations in their countries and censure their media so they don’t present the real situation, says Nelson Njouny Mokun, the station manager of Foundation Radio, a private radio station in Bamenda.

“The truth is that there is a lot of censorship by African governments,” he says. “What goes out to the world is what they want the world to believe. Even serious happenings are treated casually here. You don’t expect the outside world to take the events seriously.”

Njouny says if African governments presented things as they are, the rest of the world would come in to help.

“Recently, President Biya’s international outcry has been yielding support. France, Russia and above all the U.S. are now in Cameroon helping to fight against the terrorists,” he says.

The U.S. began deploying troops to Cameroon in October while Russia pledged to donate military equipment. France has also pledged to support Cameroon in the war against Boko Haram.

“Until you say you are hungry, then can you be served food,” Njouny says.

Songwe, the activist, says Cameroonians should find local solutions to terrorism before looking at what the world has to offer.

Since July, Songwe and a team of volunteers working for United Youths Organization have been going to schools and churches in the North West region to talk to the youth about terrorism.

His organization also reaches out to the youth through the radio, asking them to form vigilante groups in their neighborhoods to combat terror.

“Cameroonians should concentrate on what is happening in their country rather than try to divert their attention on how the world is treating their problem,” he says.

 

Nakinti Nofuru, GPJ, translated some interviews from French.