One more step to the wrong direction, we will all be refugees. Do something Now!

Growing up in my Fatherland (Cameroon), the stories about refugees use to sound like something very far from reach.  Today, we are not only hosting refugees, but we also have brothers and sisters registered as refugees across the world.

 

The UNHCR’s records indicate that 20,000 Cameroonians and counting, have fled the country’s North West and South West Regions due to what has become known as the Anglophone crisis. Other figures put it at 43,000 since a good number of them are not registered.

Anglophone Cameroonians began fleeing violence in October 2017 and continue to pour into Nigeria’s Cross River, Taraba, Benue and Akwa-Ibom States.

In total, over 20,000 refugees have been registered in the area. Women and children account for four-fifths of the population.

More than 8,000 refugees have been registered in the southeastern State of Cross River alone, said Antonio Jose Canhandula, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) representative in Nigeria, at a briefing in Abuja.

Aikaterini Kitidi, UNHCR spokesperson, said during a press briefing on 20 March 2018 at Palais Des Nations in Geneva, and I quote, "Most asylum seekers say they are having to drink water from streams, ponds and other unsafe sources, because of inadequate or dysfunctional drinking water facilities.

Essential relief items, such as clothing, blankets and plastic sheeting, are available to fewer than 25 per cent of them.
Only five in every 100 Cameroonians have proper or independent shelter. The rest have little or no privacy, squatting in rooms hosting on average 10 to 15 people. Protection from the cold is lacking, increasing health concerns due to the imminent start of the rainy season."

Going by Cameroon's Minister of Communication, the State of Cameroon is yet to give any assistance to the refugees. So far, we have had some political parties (SDF and CPP) and civil society organizations (Mothers of the Nation,   Stand Up For Cameroon and Ayah foundation) canvassing for support for these refugees and other internally displaced persons.

This increasing number of refugees in the world is as a result of persons who are forced to leave their countries in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

In 2017, Cameroon hosted a total population of refugees and asylum seekers of approximately 97,400. Of these, 49,300 were from the Central African Republic (many driven west by war), 41,600 from Chad, and 2,900 from Nigeria. Kidnappings of Cameroonian citizens by Central African bandits have increased since 2005.

Between 2004 and 2013, 92,000 refugees from the Central African Republic fled to Cameroon "to escape rebel groups and bandits in the north of their country."

In 2014, Cameroon had an estimated 44,000 refugees from Nigeria. Internal Cameroonian refugees also began to leave areas bordering Nigeria to escape Boko Haram violence, especially following the December 2014 clashes.

As we commemorate this day (20 June),  ask yourself what you have/can contribute to better their situation.

                                          Ambe Macmillian A.