Society

12, July 2020

Nigeria: Widows in Akwa Ibom drilled on COVID-19 prevention ⁰

The CEO of Theo Light Health Foundation, Mrs Helen Ani, advised widows of Akwa Ibom state to make themselves familiar with the major prevention techniques of the on-going pandemic, COVID-19. Speaking to 150 widows drawn from all works of life during the just celebrated International Widows Day, the health personnel described the pandemic as deadly but cautioned that the disease can be treated if diagnosed early.

The occasion, which held at the Scripture Union Hall Uruan in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, was organised by the Belinda Babila Foundation.

In her presentation, Mrs Ani lectured the women on the necessity of obeying the laid down regulations to combat the disease. She advised them to wash their hands under running water with soap regularly, use hand sanitizers, always wear face masks, and keep social distance. Helen whose foundation caters for female teenagers who are victims of unwanted pregnancies as a result of rape, admonished the women not to brood over their situation but to shun empathy and occupy themselves in socio economic activities. She thanked Belinda Babila Foundation for reaching out to widows and for giving her the opportunity to educate the women on COVID-19.

For her part, Rev. Mrs Relindis Ngum Ojong, BBF representative in Nigeria reminded the women that though their husbsnds have moved to the world beyond, they have a super husband in Jesus Christ. She advised them to trust in him because He never fails.

It should be recalled that the Belinda Babila Foundation BBF which is a nongovernmental organization, celebrated this year’s International Widows day in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon.

By Tina Nene Nganda in Nigeria

21, May 2020

Cameroon COVID-19 survivor battles stigma via social media ⁰

In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, surviving COVID-19 also means fighting stigma. A number of countries from Ghana to Kenya and Nigeria have recorded incidents of survivors being stigmatized.

Over in Cameroon, one such survivor is on a mission to lead the fight against stigma. Ekane Anicet has decided to share his experience to spread awareness about the illness.

“People are scared; people didn’t think COVID-19 could touch them. In fact, what frightens people is the images from the West where they line up corpses, figures like ’8,000 dead’, it’s television that has created this panic among Africans,” he stressed.

Ekane is using social media to try and de-dramatize the pandemic and is at the head of an association for COVID-19 survivors.

A clinical psychologist also explains that the way COVID-19 victims are dramatically handled in the public adds to the stigma.

Dr Erero Njiengwé explained: “The way in which the teams arrive in the homes is a way that adds to the personal drama that people are experiencing, and creates – by attracting the attention of those around them – a further dramatisation of the problem.

“And it confirms or reinforces in the thoughts and minds of those around them the dangerousness of the coronavirus – which before was far away and almost theoretical.”

Source: Africa News

8, May 2020

White man, son in US state of Georgia charged with murder of unarmed black jogger ⁰

A white former police officer and his son were arrested on Thursday in Georgia and charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man, an incident that touched off a furor in the community and among civil rights activists nationwide.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis, 34, were taken into custody by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and charged with aggravated assault as well as murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in the town of Brunswick, the agency said in a statement.

The Feb. 23 shooting death of Arbery, 25, as he ran unarmed through the small town was captured on video by an unnamed witness in a vehicle near the scene. The video’s wide broadcast in recent days ignited outrage among activists, politicians and celebrities who saw the incident as the latest case of white perpetrators killing a black man and going unpunished.

It was not immediately clear on Thursday if the two men had retained attorneys.

A district attorney appointed to handle the high-profile case after two other prosecutors recused themselves said on Wednesday he would ask a county grand jury to decide if the two men should face charges.

The men’s arrest by the GBI, one day after the agency opened an investigation into the case, appears to have sidelined any grand jury probe.

Three shots

The video footage shows Arbery jogging down a narrow two-lane road and around the McMichaels’ white pickup truck, which had stopped in the right lane with its driver’s door open.

As Arbery crosses back in front of the truck, a gunshot is fired. Arbery is then seen struggling with a man holding a long gun as a second man stands in the bed of the truck brandishing a revolver. Two more shots are heard before Arbery stumbles and falls face down onto the asphalt.

The GBI said it was Travis McMichael who fired the fatal round.

According to a police report obtained by the New York Times, Gregory McMichael, a former Glynn County police officer and district attorney’s investigator, told detectives the incident began when he spotted Arbery from his front yard “hauling ass” down the street.

McMichael told police that, because he suspected Arbery in a string of recent neighborhood break-ins, he and his son gave chase in the truck, with Gregory McMichael carrying a .357 Magnum revolver and Travis armed with a shotgun.

Gregory McMichael said Arbery began to “violently attack” his son, fighting him for the shotgun, prompting Travis to open fire.

According to a letter obtained by the Times, the prosecutor in Brunswick argued there was not probable cause to arrest the McMichaels because they were legally carrying firearms, had a right to pursue a burglary suspect and use deadly force to protect themselves.

Source: REUTERS

7, May 2020

Surviving single motherhood in Cameroon ⁰

The death of a husband often means hardship for many single mothers in Central Africa. Often, they show incredible resilience to rise above such difficult circumstances to break the cycle of stigma. Assanatou is just one mother.

She felt desperate after her husband died from a long-term illness. Left alone to care for her teenage son, Malick*, and two nine-year-old twin daughters, Mariama* and Maimouna*, she wondered how she could make ends meet on her own.

“Some women like me were married very young without going to school or having the chance to do certain trainings,” says 37-year-old Assanatou. “Coming back to square one after losing a husband, with no one to support you with the children is tough.”

Despite the difficult circumstances, Assanatou did not give up. “I had to be there for my children,” she says. “Other single mothers like me turn to prostitution to provide for their children. I didn’t want to go down that path.”

High-rate of underemployment

In Cameroon, 39% of the population lives below the poverty line, a rate that rises to 51.1% for women alone, according to UN figures. Like Assanatou, nearly 80% are underemployed.

The reality for widows can be more difficult, as they can find themselves distant from family. A 2016 study on widowhood and women’s rights in Cameroon by Dr. Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta of the University of Gothenburg stated that “while the family has absolute ownership of land, women and widows are considered as non-family members by both their natal groups and the kinship group into which they get married.” Legal gaps in Cameroon negatively impact women’ rights, the study found.

Fighting forward

Unable to pay the rent on her home, Assanatou and her children moved to her family’s crumbling house in Nkong-si, an underserved community located on the outskirts of Mbalmayo, a city in Cameroon’s Centre province. Their new home was one of many ramshackle houses along a dusty road.

Although she struggled to send her children to school, Assanatou endured and found work where she could. Relying on her brother and sister who were already living with their families in the family house, Assanatou was able to kick-start her own little business growing small crops of cassava, corn, okra and sweet potatoes in the yard. This was not much, but it kept her going and allowed her to cover the transport of her children to school and their lunch.

“When I had a bit of money, I would prepare the meals and when I didn’t, my brother’s wife was there,” says Assanatou. “When it came to food, we would first feed the children even if that meant that at times some adults would not eat. We worked things out with the little we had.”

Assanatou joined the SOS Children’s Villages Family Strengthening program in 2016 and has come a long way since then. She set up a boutique in front of her house and makes a living selling household items and firewood, as well as bread and coffee in the morning. She is also the president of a nine-member strong village loans and savings association called “innovation” and recently convinced three members to invest in a chicken farm. So far, they have 15 chicks but have big plans to expand.

“Assanatou is a very resourceful and positive mother,” says SOS community worker Louis Doussam who has been following her family in the past few years.

Most importantly, Assanatou has become a better mother and a member of Nkong-si’s child protection committee that teaches caregivers and families about children’s rights and on the impact of emotional and physical violence against children.

“I learned a lot through the trainings I received from SOS and was particularly interested in the ones on children’s rights as I realized there were things, I would do in the past that were not right. I made many mistakes as a parent,” she confesses. “I would tell myself that since I am the mother of my children, this entitles me to do whatever I want. I could not have been more wrong,” she admits.

“In my community people look at me in a different way today,” says Assanatou. “Now, I feel like I can make a difference”.

*Names changed to protect the privacy of the children

Culled SOS Children Villages Canada

14, March 2020

Western couple seized in Burkina Faso two years ago found in Mali ⁰

A Canadian woman and her Italian partner kidnapped in Burkina Faso in 2018 have been found in good health in the northwest of Mali after fleeing their captors and were set to be repatriated, diplomatic and UN sources said on Saturday.

Tedith Blais and Luca Tacchetto, both in their thirties, managed to escape near the northern city of Kidal on Friday and were taken to the local base of the UN mission in Mali, known by its French acronym MINUSMA.

The pair were then flown out on Saturday afternoon on a special plane to Mali’s capital Bamako.

They appeared in good spirits but seemed taken aback when greeted by the Malian, UN and Canadian officials with extended elbows. The pair were then informed about the coronavirus crisis and the new social etiquette.

A health official sporting a mask and protective gear then took their temperature. The couple, who were wearing white T-shirts, did not speak to reporters.

They were then due to be taken to the presidential palace before being repatriated.

Malian Foreign Minister Tiebile Drame told AFP at the airport that no ransom had been paid.

– No ransom paid –

“I can assure you that nothing was paid,” he said.

MINUSMA mission head Mahamat Saleh Annadif explained some of the details surrounding their reappearance.

“We have good news. Yesterday around three in the afternoon our Kidal staff informed me they had found two hostages — a Canadian and an Italian,” said Annadif.

“We have conducted medical tests. They are keeping really well and we let them rest,” he said.

The pair were dressed like Tuaregs and apparently stopped a passing car and told the driver to take them to the nearest UN post. There was no detailed information on their escape or the identity of the kidnappers.

“From preliminary information they must have managed to escape. They were picked up by a civilian vehicle which drove them to the MINUSMA camp.”

Blais, from Sherbrooke — about 160 kilometres (100 miles) from Montreal — and her partner Tacchetto, from Venice, disappeared in mid-December 2018 while travelling through the west African country.

The couple were driving by car to Ouagadougou from Bobo-Dioulasso, more than 360 kilometres west of the capital, when all trace of them was lost, according to Blais’s family.

They had been planning to go to Togo to work on a humanitarian project.

In April 2019, a Burkina government spokesman said the two had been abducted and probably taken out of the country, but that they were not in any danger.

Burkina Faso, which had been a safe destination for years, has been wracked by jihadist violence since 2015 and several foreigners have been kidnapped.

An Australian and a Romanian national still remain missing.

– Mali ‘stabilising’

It was not immediately clear how the couple were found in the vicinity of Kidal, about 1,500 kilometres northeast of Bamako which was under the control of Tuareg rebels who waged war against the Malian government from 2012 until 2015, when they signed a peace accord.

The violence has since spread from northern Mali to the centre of the country and spilled over to neighbouring states such as Burkina Faso and Niger.

But foreign minister Drame said their escape was the latest bit of “good news” in Mali.

Mali’s neighbouring governments are often wary of former rebel groups, for example, suspecting them of cooperating with jihadists. They view Kidal as a rear base for Islamist militants.

Source: AFP

24, January 2020

How a Southern Cameroons Magistrate, wife, 2 year old son died in gory auto crash in Yaoundé ⁰

Tragedy struck, early today, as the son of a renowned North West CPDM Senator Ignatius Dinga, his wife and 2 year old son died in a fatal auto crash along Mballa II district in Yaoundé.

Cameroon Info.Net reported that Magistrate Alain Dinga, his wife Pelagie Nahbula, Pelagie’s dad and her son died instantly.

The late magistrate and members of his family were said to be travelling in his Toyota Yarris from the Bastos neighborhood via Mballa II when the accident occurred.

Eye witnesses say the crash took place around 3:00 am when a truck driver descending from Mballa II completely lost control of his vehicle and crushed the small Toyota Yarris that was driven by the late Magistrate Alain Dinga.

Police in Yaounde are yet to comment on the incident.

By Oke Akombi Ayukepi Akap with files from Rita Akana

22, October 2019

Cameroon: Vigilance committees’ dilemma in the fight against Boko Haram ⁰

Boko Haram is attacking Cameroon’s Far North Region almost daily – especially the country’s vigilance committees and defence and security forces. On 7 October the group killed a man and a woman and kidnapped four members of the local vigilance committee in Kerawa (see Figure 1).

Civilian-led vigilance committees are informally structured groups made up of community-based volunteers. They emerged in areas affected by Boko Haram, especially in the Far North and North Regions of Cameroon. They vary in size and composition from one village to another. Their main function is to monitor people’s entry and exit into and from their villages, and to inform the authorities about suspicious activities.

Being community members themselves allows vigilance committees to play a critical early warning role – in collaboration with administrative authorities and security forces – to prevent violent extremist attacks. Though seemingly benign, the existence, structure and functioning of the committees inevitably creates new power dynamics within communities. They also serve as a buffer against Boko Haram’s recruitment of new members from the communities they attack.

Security forces work with these committees and traditional authorities on strategies to prevent and combat violent extremism. This role however also makes them vulnerable to targeted attacks by Boko Haram.

Pushed back by the Multinational Joint Task Force’s (MNJTF) counter offensives launched on 21 February along the Komadougou River and on the islands of Lake Chad, Boko Haram is looking for new territories. In response to increased military efforts, the extremist group has resorted to using the cover of darkness to attack villages. They massacre, kidnap, loot, burn houses, shops and granaries, steal cattle and lay landmines.

Most of these assaults target vigilance committees, their communities and traditional authorities. The attacks are meant to discourage these community groups’ collaboration with the security forces, and to deny the military its community-based battlefield advantage.

Vigilance committees are not a long-term security substitute in Cameroon’s border villages

However not all members of vigilance committees are as committed to Cameroon’s stability, and some are suspected of collaborating with Boko Haram. In a deadly attack on 10 June on a security outpost on Darak, a Cameroonian island in Lake Chad, Boko Haram reportedly had the help of locals who worked with scouts sent by the extremist group beforehand. The attack resulted in 37 fatalities – 21 military and 16 civilian – and caused serious material damage.

The attack on Darak could be seen as an attempt by Boko Haram to conquer new territory and gain control over commercial routes between the Logone and Chari Division of Cameroon and the Hadjer-Lamis Province of Chad (see Figure 2 below). Control of these routes would help them generate income through agriculture, pisciculture, cattle rearing, cross-border trade and collecting taxes from civilians.

Some vigilance committee members allegedly provide operational and economic support to Boko Haram. They reportedly give information on army positions and personnel, food reserves, shops and cattle to be looted, or abet the entry of Boko Haram members into Cameroonian territory in exchange for money.

They are also accused of providing cover for the sale of goods and livestock stolen during attacks, bolstering Boko Haram’s economic resilience. Some committee members are former cattle rustlers and highway robbers, which could explain why they are not entirely trusted.

The vigilance committees are thus caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, communities have grown hostile and distrustful towards them, and on the other hand, they are persecuted by Boko Haram through kidnappings and executions.

Resolving the situation is important because of the key role the committees play in the fight against Boko Haram. They alert the defence forces to threats and limit the access of people associated with Boko Haram into their territories, due to their knowledge of the environment.

Cameroon’s government has shown its appreciation of the committees’ efforts and provided them with logistical support. Some committees have also been restructured to maintain the trust of their communities and make them adaptable to the changing threat environment. However this hasn’t protected them from targeted attacks by Boko Haram, let alone from public suspicions of collusion with the extremist group.

There are several ways to make vigilance committees more effective. Committee members need to be trained in their responsibilities, accountability, human rights and due process. Campaigns aimed at making communities aware of the role of their vigilance committees should be a priority. A coherent government policy is also needed to enhance the protection of civilians.

Policies and awareness campaigns clarify the rules that govern roles and responsibilities. This provides some degree of certainty and predictability for all social actors concerned. Without them, it is difficult for communities to continue collaborating with the committees.

Some vigilance committee members allegedly provide operational and economic support to Boko Haram

Vigilance committees should also be provided with both operational training and material support (torches, safety shoes, raincoats, etc.) to enable them to fulfil their role as informal community-based security actors.

Vigilance committees are not a long-term security substitute in Cameroon’s border villages. But with the spate of Boko Haram attacks in the region, they are an important source of information and early warning. Without them, communities would not be safe. But while relying on vigilance committees is necessary in the short term, it isn’t enough for the foreseeable future.

The government’s civil protection capabilities – a combination of police, judicial and administrative figures – need to be improved to properly manage the country’s border regions. This must be accompanied by the gradual demobilisation of vigilance committees in the areas under effective state control.

Source: Reliefweb

15, October 2019

Wales: Bangor Arts black history month show features work by Cameroonian artist ⁰

A WALES-based Cameroonian artist is featuring work depicting key figures from African history in a Bangor gallery.

Painter Jean Samuel Mfikela is showing striking portraits in the Bangor Arts Initiative Black History month show, on from Tuesday, October 14 to Saturday, October 26. The gallery, in the Deiniol Centre, depicts people and events that have crafted the history and experience of African people.

Bangor Arts Initiative’s Maggie Doherty said: “These stunning art pieces demonstrate the long journey through slavery, colonisation, independence in Africa and the progress in the civil rights of people of African descent.

“The exhibition has portraits of renowned African nationalist and freedom fighters like Jomo Kenyatta, Patrice Lumumba, Nelson Mandela, Miriam Makeba, but includes renowned civil rights activist like the great Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, and Mohamed Ali (Cassius Clay), to name a few.”

Source: NorthWalesChronicle

12, October 2019

French Cameroun gendarmerie arrests 20 suspected kidnappers ⁰

Cameroonian gendarmerie has captured 20 suspected kidnappers in Adamawa and North regions of the country since August, a security officer said on Friday.

The suspects are specialized in kidnapping for ransom and armed robbery in the regions, said Brigadier General Divine Eko Ngwese of the Cameroonian Gendarmerie.

“We must make sure that the rural and even the urban areas are secure for our people so that the economic activities are revamped to the maximum,” Ngwese told reporters.

He said some captives were freed during the operation that began in August, adding that the majority of the kidnappers were arrested on the Cameroon-Chad border thanks to the “commitment of the population.”

“We will intensify the arrest of more kidnappers. The population is collaborating more and more so that we serve them better,” Ngwese said.

Some 300 kidnappings and 5,000 cows stolen were reported in Adamawa over a period of three years and at least 2 billion CFA franc (about 3.6 million U.S. dollars) was estimated to have been paid as ransom, security officials said in February.

The situation prompted President Paul Biya to deploy 130 special forces to restore peace and order in a region notorious for highway robbery.

Source: Xinhuanet

10, October 2019

Two students and dad abducted in Southern Cameroons ⁰

Two female students and their father were abducted early Wednesday by armed separatists in Cameroon’s troubled Anglophone region of Southwest, according to local authorities.

Separatists confirmed the abduction on social media, saying they have been “arrested for disrespecting school boycott” imposed by the separatists.

Government officials said, security forces are conducting a search and rescue mission of the captives.

Armed separatists have warned that they will not allow any school to be opened until the release of their leader Juilius Ayuk Tabe and nine of his close followers. They were given life sentences by a military tribunal in August over rebellion and terrorism charges

Separatists in the regions have been clashing with government forces since 2017 in a bid to create and independent nation they call “Ambazonia”. Insecurity has left more than 4,400 schools forcibly closed in the two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, affecting more than 600,000 children, according to a UNICEF report released in August.

A national dialogue to end the separatist conflict held in the country last week and recommended that a special status should be granted to the two regions.

Source: Xinhuanet