Bishops in Crisis hit Anglophone Cameroon explain care for IDPs and preparations for resumption after three years of school shutdown

By Jude Abanseka

The Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province which constitutes the North West and the South West regions making the Anglophone part of Cameroon, were in Bamenda the capital of the North West Region for their 67^th Ordinary meeting. As is their tradition, the weeklong meeting, (Friday August 16 through Friday August 23, 2019) had an official opening Mass, concelebrated in one of the parishes of the host diocese. During the Mass, the main celebrant and Vice President of the Bamenda Provincial Episcopal Conference BAPEC; His Lordship Mgr. Andrew Nkea, Bishop of Mamfe, explained the position of the bishops as per school resumptions.

The Bishops strongly advocate for parents to send back children to school and for the belligerents to stay clear so that schools run smoothly. Since the Anglophone crisis metamorphosed into to an armed and violent conflict three years ago, schools in the affected area had remained shut down. AJ Scrolls caught up with each of the bishops of the five different dioceses to find out from them what care was being given to the internally displaced persons IDPs that have flooded their dioceses and what dispositions their particular dioceses had put in place for effective school resumption.

Bishop Agapitus Nfon, Bishop of Kumba Diocese: The Diocese of Kumba since the crisis in its area started with the burning of Kwakwa village immediately through my letter of appeal collected almost 4,000,000FCFA cash to purchase food and clothing and medication to bring to our IDPs taking refuge in the forests. After Kwakwa many more villages were affected and today we can talk of almost 40 affected villages. The effort we made to reach these IDPs with humanitarian assistance although with some obstacles was not enough because the numbers were alarming. By 2018 we had registered more than 45,000 IDPs from.

Bishop Agapitus Nfon

Since Kumbo and Bamenda were not yet affected at the time, we got some support in cash and kind from those dioceses. Even with that we could not meet up with the needs of our people suffering in the bushes. I appealed to Churches and Dioceses abroad especially in Germany and they gave some assistance which has kept us bringing some basic humanitarian assistance to the IDPs.

Recently the UN has through Caritas been of great assistance to supply food and other human needs for the displaced. Even with that we have not been able to reach or satisfy all the hungry and suffering IDPs in our diocese.

Concerning school resumptions, it is important to note that to educate is one of the divine mandates of the Church. As a pastor I will reiterate the fact that education is an inalienable right of every human being and above all children. We cannot therefore deprive them of this right. Keeping them away from school for three years now is too much. We cannot sacrifice the education of our children for the struggle. Tomorrow these children will turn and blame us even if finally we gain independence or two state federation or ten state federation as some political ideologies hold. I am not a politician not a political activist. I am a pastor and on this matter of children going to school, I will always be of the opinion that children should go to school and they should not be involved in political struggles. Instead during war 'child free spaces' are created to let children go to school. I will therefore suggest that the leaders for those fighting for the course see how child free spaces could be created for the children to go to school. They could say which areas are free for children to go school and so instruct the restoration forces, the Amba fighters to avoid fighting around such areas and the governmentt on her part should instruct the military to steer clear from school premises. 

This is my humble opinion and suggestion. We cannot use force but reason to see to the importance of children going to school. But if my humble opinion and suggestion is not considered and violence must be used to the risk of our children and teachers' lives, still as a pastor in such a situation I will advise that although education is a right and important for our children, than that their lives are placed in such extreme danger, I will prefer they live uneducated than to die educated for the sacredness of life is more important than its quality. But I do not think it has come to that. It is possible to create child free spaces for children to go to school while the struggle is going on.

Bishop Immanuel Bushu, Bishop of Buea Diocese: We have been working a lot particularly through the Caritas of the diocese which operates almost 24 hours each day. There are other groups like St. Vincent de Paul, Legion of Mary and several others which are doing a lot. The different parishes too are working hard because there are very many people who have been displaced in their communities. So they look after them for their spiritual, physical and material needs. A lot is being done too as far as education is concerned.

Bishop Immanuel Bushu

As far as schools are concerned, some of them already started functioning since two weeks ago. Wherever the schools have not been destroyed, the children are getting ready to go to school because they are registering. We are just doing our best as we have done the last three years; the truth is that God is looking after us, we cannot say that soldiers or that the Amba boys will protect us. We have been taking a very high risk and so far it has succeeded to a very good extent. So we are hoping that we would just keep doing what we can do with the children, the parents and the communities because we cannot leave the children like this. It is a disaster for the young people, the families and the communities as regards those who have not gone to school because of the turbulence of these past three years. So we intend for children to return to school wherever it is possible to go to school, even in the bushes. It is however more difficult in the bushes because you may not have teachers there and one cannot really do much without those who are instructing the children. So we are just trying to help them come out of their difficulties.

Bishop Andrew Nkea, Bishop of Mamfe Diocese: I think this war practically started in the diocese of Mamfe and the first people to run into the bushes and into Nigeria were the people of Mamfe. I have been to practically every corner where the people are hiding in the bushes. I have been at least five times to the refugee camps in Nigeria to visit them and thanks be to God Caritas of the Diocese of Mamfe has been supported a lot by different organisations so that we can bring relief assistance to the various people; so Caritas is there working hard. We also have child protection programmes supported by UNICEF, because during war situations children suffer a lot. So this is how we are trying to support the people in this difficult time.

Bishop Andrew Nkea

Talking about resumption of schools, we have put in a lot of strategies and it is basically to dialogue with the parties on the ground that are fighting and to make sure we secure environments for our children to study. But we think that we can no longer tolerate children staying in the houses; they need to go back to school and we are doing everything within our powers to dialogue with the Amba boys, to dialogue with the military, to make sure that they keep our schools safe for the children to study. 

Bishop George Nkuo, Bishop of Kumbo Diocese: Well the church continues its mission as we are living in very difficult times. One of the things we are trying to do is that we have stayed close to the people. All the priests of the different parishes are close to the suffering people; except one of them which has a very difficult situation now. The priests are there to guide the people, teach them, bury their dead and to accompany them at this very difficult moment of suffering. But also there are people who have lost their property and so on so one of the missions of the church has been to try and see how we can bring relief to them. Our Caritas offices have been very busy trying to solicit funds and be able to help people who have lost loved ones, lost their property and who are in great difficulty at the moment. 

Bishop George Nkuo

School resumptions is one of the most urgent things at this time. So we are trying to sensitize the parents and the forces that are there to see if they can give our children a chance to go back to school. We are telling them that whatever it is, security or no security, the children have a right to go to school. We intend to look for every means to make sure that the children go back to school this time. That is our plea and that is our concern. The church is very, very involved in this.

So we have had a lot of meetings with all the stakeholders, to try to educate and to sensitize them to see the need for children to go to school. We think we have an opening where we think somehow they begin to reason and to understand that they can continue the fight that they have without jeopardizing the life and the future of the children. I think so far there is a little bit of understanding and we hope that we can explore this little avenue that has been given to us and make it possible for children to go back to school. The different stakeholders in the different parishes are mobilizing so that wherever it is possible, children can go back to school this 2019/2020 academic year.

His Grace Cornelius Esua, Archbishop of Bamenda: I think the Archdiocese of Bamenda is doing its best in order to meet the challenge of the IDPs in the present situation. Actually we formed a mixed commission comprising the Justice and Peace, Social Welfare and the Health Commissions. These three commissions take care of the different aspects of the problems of the IDPs; where they live, what they eat and the rest. Also their health issues where we have to take care of women and children and all those who fall sick since they mostly live under very unhealthy conditions. Many of them have lost their documents and property, their rights have been abused in various ways; so our Justice and Peace Commission takes care of that. We are working together with the Catholic Relief Services from the United States, the World Food Programme, UNICEF and several other international organisations especially the Catholic organisations that are helping us in order to cope with the challenges that we have in our hands.

Archbishop Cornelius Esua

Well, as regards school resumptions, the first thing is that we have been going round to talk about the importance of sending their children to school. I think the families have to change their frame of mind. We have to understand the fact that irrespective of the problem we are living because I think the course is a just one, they are fighting for justice, they are fighting for the truth and the rest; but we should not sacrifice the education of our children which is a fundamental human right. So one of the things we are doing is to educate the parents to understand that, to educate the Amba Boys to understand that. We are educating the Amba Boys especially to know that they should not undercut themselves. They are talking about a better society tomorrow, a better way of handling issues. So let them start by doing that; they should start by respecting the rights of people, educating their children because tomorrow those children will stand without jobs because they are not educated. So if they can understand that, I think the situation would change. It does not mean that they course they are fighting for is not a just one; let them think a little bit more and see how they can sustain their pressure on the government and the powers that be and see how they can continue to put their points through without making innocent people to suffer and to be the victims of the situation. That is what we are doing.

The said opening Mass held at St. John the Baptist’s Church, Foncha Street-Nkwen, Bamenda and grouped all the Bishops’ collaborators/ heads of different provincial commissions.