Harry's Outlook

LA CRISE FRANCOPHONE (Ce texte est une traduction) Récemment, je suis tombé sur un article intitulé « La fausse crise anglophone » par je-ne-sais-qui. J'ai lu l'article et à la fin j'ai réalisé que l'objectif de son auteur était de faire remarquer une indignation sélective (dit-iel) sur deux événements qui lui semblaient pareils. L'article faisait une comparaison entre l'indignation publique qui a suivi le meurtre de Carolouise Ndialle, fillette de 5 ans, par un agent des forces de l'ordre à Buea le 14 octobre 2021 et (ce que l'auteur suggère) l'indifférence du public à l'assassinat par des séparatistes (dit l'auteur) d'Alain Jocker à Bamenda deux semaines plus tard, et conclut sur l'hypocrisie des Camerounais. L'article ne dit rien sur la façon dont les événements décrits auraient contribué à ce qui serait une «fausse crise anglophone» et n'a abordé aucunement la substance ou les causes de la situation au Cameroun. Il y a deu...

Recently, I came across an Article titled “La fausse Crise Anglophone” (loosely translated as “The fake Anglophone Crisis) by I-don’t-know-who . I read the article and by the end I realized that the focus of the writer was on a perceived selective indignation over two events that he held at par. The article compared the public outrage that followed the killing of 5 year old Carolouise Ndialle by a law enforcement officer in Buea on 14th October 2021 with (what the author suggests) was public indifference to the killing by separatists (says the author) of Alain Jocker in Bamenda two weeks later, and concludes on the hypocrisy of Cameroonians. The article did not say in what way the events described contributed to what would be a “fausse crise Anglophone” nor did it address anything even remotely connected to the substance or causes of the situation in Cameroon. There are two possible explanations for this discrepancy. Either the article was published before it was completed or the urge ...

My daughter is growing up. At 19, I'm thinking that she has reached an age where she has (or should have) a certain awareness of her identity and knowledge of the political environment she's growing up into. A few days ago, as we watched the news, there was a report on the PM's visit to the North West Region. Commentaries that followed made reference to 'Ambazonians'. I decided to tease her. Usually, when we chat, we swing almost 50/50 between French and English. I do not know why I chose to ask the question in French, but I did. I asked her: Me : Est-tu Ambazonienne? Her : No Daddy (unhesitantly) Me : C'est quoi l'Ambazonie pour toi? Her : (laughing) C'est la zone d'en bas 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Ehmm... That was an interesting rhyme/twist. I hadn't heard that before... But it stunned me silent. I don't know if the answer would have been different if I had asked the question in English. She had lived most of her teenage years in the French...

For some years now, Cameroonians have witnessed a deepening crisis in the process of identification and production of identification documents. Hundreds of thousands of citizens have requested but have not obtained a valid and permanent identification document for periods stretching over two years.  Recently, a popular outcry arose with the hashtag #IWantMyIDCard which circulated quite widely on social media. For Cameroonians who are characteristically patient with (should be read as resigned to…) government incompetence and approximate service provision, the popular, albeit online, call for a fix in the deliverance of identification documents spoke to the extent of frustration over the matter.  Issues connected to this state of affairs are varied and speak volumes of governance (or lack thereof) in Cameroon in general and of Cameroonians’ (un)preparedness to behold their becoming. These issues cannot possibly all be addressed in a single expression of thought such as this; ho...

Every dictatorship has that mandate that turns out to be "a mandate too many". Only... that mandate tends to be seen only in the rearview mirror... They look at that mirror, and they say to themselves... "I should have stopped after the last mandate... A few years ago... Just a few years ago." They ask... "How have things come to this?" "Why can't they allow me finish just this mandate and go away nicely and gently... I promise... I will go... I may not have said it, but I planned to go" The groaners march the streets... No-one is fighting back... Everyone calling for calm... They ask for respect of rule of law without wishing that the expressed desire comes true. The men in boots say it's not a coup. Everyone knows it is, without obviously acknowledging it. Then the strongman runs away... or is allowed to run. No-one is asking for his return. He becomes an uncomfortable guest wherever he is... Becomes increasingly isolated......

Been a tough week. Thought seriously about attending the Cameroon Vs Comoros game. You know... To change ideas a little. Actually went out to buy an entry ticket. The ticket vendor couldn't find me a ticket presented in English. I refused to take a ticket that I couldn't read without knowledge of a second language. I insisted and I think he underestimated my resolve as my refusal of his French-only ticket was done with utmost politeness and a hint of a smile. He tried to joke his way out of the embarrassment of which he was clearly not the cause but the consequences of which he had to deal with... THERE, and THEN. I thought I should reward his effort at joking. So I chose not to keep a stiff upper lip. I smiled. Almost laughed... Perhaps a chuckle... Not long enough to distract from the matter on the table. "A ticket in English please, Sir" I said. The queue was starting to pile up behind me. Some were just waiting for their turn; Some moved to another t...

UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS EAST OF THE MUNGO Police deployed UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS WEST OF THE MUNGO Military deployed UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS EAST OF THE MUNGO Internet... Business as usual UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS WEST OF THE MUNGO Internet shutdown UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS EAST OF THE MUNGO Catch and release UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS WEST OF THE MUNGO Catch and charge with terrorism UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS EAST OF THE MUNGO Persons arrested: 8 hours detention UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS WEST OF THE MUNGO Persons arrested: 25 months... and counting UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS EAST OF THE MUNGO Shoot to maim UNAUTHORIZED PROTESTS WEST OF THE MUNGO Shoot to kill YET... One and Indivisible. One and Indivisible... Seriously?

  Droll thing life is! We get pushed into the stage, We agitate a little… Usually futile agitation In the hope or illusion that we are making things happen. We hang in there. Sometimes, other actors...(aka disease) Try to push us out of the stage. We struggle back… In hope rather than expectation. Then the time comes. The man’s time. He strikes us out. Gone! Gone! End of story... No, not quite. Others stay on stage. The cynical invisible audience watches in amusement. “They think it depends on them…” “They think they are in control…” “They think that their supplications, (aka 'prayers') matter to us”, the audience say. Ouch! Another just got booted out. At the other end of the stage, a new actor comes on... crying. Rather fragile. Blood and fluids on his body. A patch of tissue is cut off from his belly area. The others hope. “Perhaps he will be the one to change the cycle”, they say. A murmur from the audience s...

Par Harry Fon ACHA Traduction de Nicole Hanffou 19 décembre 2016 QU'EST-CE QUE LE PROBLEME ANGLOPHONE ? Les dernières semaines seront enregistrées dans l'histoire du Cameroun comme une période où certains Camerounais ont décidé de se lever contre ce qu'ils perçoivent comme la marginalisation systématique d'un peuple qui, en vertu de leur patrimoine commun (éducation, culture, mode de vie, etc.) constituent une communauté reconnaissable ; et, en vertu de l'histoire, une entité politique. Ces temps seront connus et on s'en souviendra parmi des chapitres tels que:  1. Le vent du changement par lequel un semblant de démocratie fît une percée et l'apparence du retour de la politique multipartite sur la scène camerounaise en 1990.  2. Les troubles qui ont entourés la modification de la Constitution en 2008. Toutefois, ce qui est propre aux troubles actuels, c'est qu'ils n'ont pas engagé la nation entière de la même manière que ceux de 199...