Letter from a war-torn region to a war-torn country – from the Northwest region of Cameroon to Sudan

Dear People of Sudan,

I write to you from Bamenda, Northwest Region of Cameroon. Northwest Region and Southwest Regions of Cameroon have been battered by Anglophone conflict for more than six years. 

The causes, course, and intensity of the Sudan and Anglophone conflicts may not be the same but they have many things in common; both are taking away lives, both are causing physical and psychological pains, both are producing internally displaced persons, both are producing refugees, both are injecting economic hardship, both are injecting fear, both are injecting hate, both are injecting despair, both are exposing bad leadership, both are exposing our spirit of disunity, both are exposing our spirit of self-centredness, both are exposing our reluctance to embrace inclusive dialogue, both are exposing how most African countries do not do enough for one another, both are exposing how some of us would just sit and decide to inflict misery on others. 

There should be other things about the Sudan conflict that I do not know. Generally, news about the Sudan conflict is terrifying. As for Anglophone conflict, other consequences are: schools have not been going in most villages since late 2016, and kidnapping and extortion are common. At the moment, there is a deadlock and ordinary people seem to be tired regarding calling for an end to the conflict. The intensity here is not like that of Sudan but the problem is still deep. 

So, what are we supposed to do? We need to make more efforts regarding living love. It is a source of energy and hope. We need to muster up courage and part ways with regional partiality and ethnic tensions and religious disputes. We must discard them. Unity is still one of the tools we need to use and strengthen our call for an end to the conflicts. Our many efforts not having had a positive impact so far does not mean that we should relent. We must keep calling for inclusive dialogue. It is another important tool to use and kill the conflicts. We must keep giving our all while hoping that the warring parties will stop fanning their egos, and embrace compromise as soon as possible. The toxic days will be over.

Someday we will have leaders who would be concerned about the well-being of the ordinary people. These leaders will come from among us. May what is happening now act as a lesson to us – we must not let heartlessness and greed consume us when we will be in a position of power. 

Sincerely,

Aye Brandon Kiven. 

Peoplesmind