The first week of school has finally come to an end. While eight of the 10 regions of Cameroon witnessed a turn out en mass of students and pupils, it was never the case in the North West and the South West regions of the country. These two regions recorded a very timid turn out of students and pupils even in areas that were relatively calm. Most parents that the editorial board of Tim's Blog walked up to open;y confessed they feared the safety of their children. To them, the massive presence of the military was a cause for panic instead of calm. In recent times, Cameroonians that make up the two English regions of the Country have always seen the militarization of their regions as a call for insecurity instead of security as it should definitely be.
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| Empty School Campus |
Empty School Campus
Nonetheless, the University of Bamenda and of Buea are currently going on. There was a reschedule of the time in order to catch up with the course outline for the year.
Since the anglophone problem came up, the economic, social and even mental wellbeing of the two regions in question have been so unstable. The put in place of ghost towns too has contributed to the situation, but as it shows, being indoors indoors is the only way to avoid receiving another person's bullet.
Economically, there is a slump in the marketing of commodities in this regions. Since the crises started, the turn out of people to markets has greatly shrinked. The main commodity that remains on top now are food products because their demand is perfectly inelastic. Business men that had invested in other goods like books, school needs and others, are currently facing a tough time as these commodities remain on their shelves.
In the social perspective, public gatherings and ceremonials are no more orchestrated due to the fear of attracting military attention. People no more socialize as they used to. As such, investors in snacks and recreational facilities are also witnessing a drop in their income. Taxi men and Bike riders are not left out. Empty streets imply no customers for them.
Also, the mental state and psychology of the upcoming youths have been hurt by the on going struggle. Almost every little kid sees a military man as the bad guy, which is not right. A drop in the educational level has also been a set back. The absence of school has changed the the intellectual faculty of most of the youths. A good number of them are traumatized as their friends go out of the region to other regions and abroad to continue schooling while they remain in the region.
The extremely poor performance that was recorded in the General Certificate of Education Ordinary and Advanced level can attest to this fact.
Out migration is the talk of the day in the North West and South west regions. All families that can afford a living out of the region do not hesitate to move.
The ultimate solution to this problem lies in dialogue. dialogue not under the terms and principles of a lone camp but of opinions from both camps.
The leaders of the struggle and a faction of the anglophone population declared that the only way to have a round table talk with the government was on the condition that the governments sets free all their brothers and family members that were arrested when the crises was at its peak.
A week ago, the Head of State, His Excellency President Paul Biya ordered the release of "some" of those who were imprisoned during the struggle. This was regarded as a great step towards a peaceful end. But still, it did not fully satisfy the Anglophone population because they still have many of their brothers that are still behind bars. According to the CRTV, those who engaged in the destruction of National symbols and emblems were not released.
According to the present case on the ground, the anglophone population would not adhere to any dialogue without all of their brothers set free.
At the moment, every heart kindly calls upon the government to see into the demands of the population of the North West and South West region.
We all wait hoping that the case will be permanently redressed and calm will reign.
Let us all watch and see what the second week of school has in store for us all.
God Help Cameroon!
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