650,000+ Children in Cameroon Forced Out of School
More Than 650,000 Children in Cameroon Have Not Attended School Since 2016
In 2016, teachers and attorneys from English speaking Cameroon protested to request salary and basic rights reform. A brutal repression from the Cameroon government resulted in the current conflict (also known as the anglophone crisis). According to international organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the US Department of State’s 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cameroon, more than 2000 Cameroonians have died from atrocities and violent confrontations between secessionists, also called Ambazonians, and the Cameroon military. As a result, more than 20,000 Cameroonians from two english speaking regions who escaped this conflict are currently displaced in neighboring regions and in Nigeria. Some have found refuge in forests and thousands are currently internally displaced. Since this crisis began, thousands of children have been forced out of school, in violation of all international conventions and charters of children rights and welfare.
Children and Education in a Time of Crisis
Separatist leaders have continuously threatened the population, pressuring them to stay home. They have scheduled weekly “Ghost town” periods during which everybody, students included, should stay home and no business should be open. When school started in September 2016, some children left for school as usual. They were immediately arrested and severely beaten before being sent back home. Some were killed or kidnapped for ransom requests to their families. Dozens of schools that opened those days were immediately burnt down, with authorities and teachers horribly beaten and killed. Escalating violence and attacks against civilians therefore forced half a million people to flee their homes. Schools, educators and students have been targeted by violence and threats, causing 80 percent of schools to close, according to estimates from UNICEF. More than 650,000 displaced children have been out of school since 2016 in the two crisis-affected regions in Northwest and Southwest Cameroon.
The conditions of women and girls in this situation reveal one of the most neglected and long-lasting crises of post-colonial modern Africa. Thousands of children, girls included, have been raped, abducted, or displaced, if not killed. Most of those who have survived are currently living in “camps” far from their native villages, where separatist militia or military have burnt down homes and traditional food storages. Most of those who escaped ran away with nothing left behind. No more homes, no more schools, no more farms. They are currently fighting for survival in a very dangerous environment they are trying desperately to adjust to.
An amateur photo of displaced women and children in a NW region of Cameroon, affected by violent conflict.
Children’s Survival in Displaced “Camps” in a Time of Crisis
Living in a displaced camp is like finding yourself in the middle of nowhere, disconnected and somehow abandoned or ‘lost in nature’. Most displaced families have lost everything and could not return home without new accommodations and reintegration support. Many displaced children have lost one or both parents and have no one to rely on in their life. 80 % of displaced children, most of whom are girls, are subject to abuse and sexual exploitation, neglect, hunger and poor hygiene conditions in displacement camps. Almost all have been forced to abandon school and been driven to engage in city night prostitution or street vending. Many will eventually become subject to forced / early marriages, unwanted pregnancies or STDs. Many children have been reported dead in these camps due to diseases and lack of access to health care and appropriate medication. This video describes the living conditions for more than 150 displaced families living in a private good Samaritan property, located in a Douala city ghetto area. The local traditional leader expelled his tenants to provide shelter to more than 150 displaced civilians, including children and women. He tried his best to alert and contact national authorities for help, but after three years, he never received support from them. He was left with immense responsibility to lead his community through hardship and has relied only on the local charity of other good Samaritans like himself.
What can local and global philanthropies do for children in times of crisis?
Violent conflicts are highly traumatic. They reveal the worst of our humanity. But our positive actions and the support provided to victims reveal our best. That support is effective and impactful when carried out on local, national and global scales. Providing basic needs like shelter, food, drink, and medical care to vulnerable children and women in times of crisis is vital for their survival. This is why many Cameroonians have opened their homes and arms to welcome these victims of the crisis. On a local level, many Cameroonians living in apparent peaceful areas have provided shelter and basic needs to displaced victims in the cities of Yaoundé, Douala, Dschang and Bafoussam, despite living in poor conditions themselves. A traditional leader, Joseph Mofor from Makepe Missoke locality, has hosted more than 150 victims over almost three years on his personal property. The camp’s neighbors always help with food donations when possible.
Many National organizations like AYAH Foundation in collaboration with Cameroonians living abroad have organized many online fund-raising campaigns to support refugees, displaced communities and incarcerated victims.
Online donations to AYAH Foundation and Food supply to displaced civilians
One of the biggest challenges in times of crisis is providing education access for displaced children. Locally, this remains a huge challenge because education access is costly and unaffordable for many displaced families and their shelter providers. They face trauma and suffering as well as a lack of tuition, school supplies, transportation and meals. All these factors combined prevent almost all displaced children from attending school. This is why for more than three years of crisis 650,000 children have been out of school.
On July 9, 2019, Education Cannot Wait announced a US$2.7 million allocation to support the emergency education response in the area of Northwest Cameroon affected by the crisis. Education Cannot Wait funding was intended to support 18,386 children (of whom 9,505 are girls) of pre-primary, primary and secondary school age in accessing quality formal and informal learning opportunities. This grant has been implemented by many other organizations in the field including PLAN International, UNESCO, Danish Refugee Council, and World Food Program in collaboration with the Cameroon Government and other national education entities. Many other international Organizations like UNICEF have taken significant steps to address this issue and provide timely basic education access to thousands of abandoned and displaced children affected by the crisis.
Final Thoughts
Denying more than 650.000 children access to education for more than three years is a gross violation of all international conventions and the Africa Union Charter on children, women and minority rights. In times of crisis, vulnerable people will always need protection not only from their government but by all hostile parties as well as international organizations. Violators of commonly adopted conventions and treaties should be held accountable. Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon to change the World”. Denying access to education to children on such a huge scale and for many years is resulting in a generation of undereducated citizens. These are groups who may more easily and frequently join existing gangs and terror groups, perpetuating the vicious circle of violence and jeopardizing peace and security locally, nationally and globally.
Paul Claudel Jiogo is an ACESWorld & IREX MWF volunteer, the founder of PYDEVE-Educational, International Education and Resource Network Educator, and a Human Rights, Youth & Peacebuilding Advocate.