Appeal for Financial Support for Cameroonian Refugees in Nigeria.

Over the past two years since the beginning of 2016, Cameroon is going through a political crisis. This crisis stem from the non-respect of some constitutional provisions agreed on at reunification in 1961 between the then British Southern Cameroon and French Cameroon. The consequences of this crisis has been devastating and escalating daily in an increasing rate in the North West and South West regions commonly referred to as Anglophone Cameroon. As we write this appeal for support letter, there is presently a war going on in the two Anglophone regions of Cameroon by the Cameroon government and the military. People from Anglophone Cameroon are being indiscriminately arrested and killed. The Cameroon military has been carrying out on a daily basis, huge extrajudicial killings, looting, arson, maiming, raping, destruction of crops and natural resources against the Anglophone Cameroon. The arson has escalated such that entire villages and farm lands have been burned down and still being burned down by the Cameroon military.

 

The Cameroon military is currently carrying out a scorched-earth policy against the Anglophone Cameroon (Southern Cameroon) and hundreds of Anglophone Cameroonians are being incarcerated incommunicado every day without rights to their lawyers, doctors and family members and are being giving false trials and huge imprisonment terms which they do not deserve at all. As such, thousands of the denizens of Anglophone Cameroon, have been forced to flee to nearby bushes and neighboring Nigeria for their safety. The humanitarian situation is worsening by the day. The United Nation High Commission for refugees in Nigeria estimates that there are over 40000 Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria at the moment as a result of this crisis and the number keeps increasing day by day.

 

It is against this backdrop that we the sons and daughters of Manyu division from Southern Cameroon (Anglophone Cameroon) living in Montreal and under the umbrella of our association MECA Montreal, sadly torched by the inhuman condition of our people back home and in Nigeria, have decided to organize this fund raising event on June 23, 2018 to support these our brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, pregnant women, children and youth etc. back home and in Nigeria who due to no fault of their own have been forced to flee their homes and villages to seek refuge in Nigeria in an unfavorable condition. Thus, your presence and kind donation will be greatly appreciated and will go a long way to bring light in the darkness of these dispersed and desperate people in urgent need of your help in any kind. As the Great Martin Luther King Jr. once said "life's most persistent and urgent question is, “what are you doing for others in need?” 

Thank you for your kind support and generosity.

MECA Montreal

 MAMFE

Mamfe (also spelled Mamfé) is a city and capital of the Manyu division of the Southwest Province in Cameroon. It is located 60 km (37 mi) from the border of Nigeria, on the Manyu River. It has a population of 20,300 (2001 estimate). It used to be known for its bad infrastructure, especially the roads, which however were recently tarred and presently are in a good condition, within the city limits. The roads leading in and out, however, remain untarred and are difficult to impassable during the rainy season.

The name "Mamfe" comes from the Bayangui language. When Germans first arrived in the area via the Cross River, the Germans greeted a local man who was carrying sand from the shore and tried interrogating him about where they were. The Bayangui man didn't understand and only said in his dialect, "I'm carrying sand". The Germans heard this as "Mamfe" and named the area so.

The inhabitants speak a Bayangui language as their mother tongue, called Kenyang, although English is the official language spoken along with Pidgin, and several other dialects, including Ejagham. The city is also noteworthy for the high proportion of Nigerians who live there.

Mamfe is too small to possess a university, but the Queen of the Rosary Catholic College was Cameroon's first all-female boarding school. There is also at Teacher's training college, and several vocational schools. Akin to the Manyu division as a whole, people from Mamfe have a reputation throughout Cameroon for being highly intelligent.

Popular local foods in Mamfe include eru and fu-fu, plantains with ndole, and garri and agusi soup.

As Mamfe is in a river valley, humidity can be over 90% and temperatures can exceed 120 F (49°C) during the Dry Season (February - April). During the rest of the year, temperatures remain in the 80-90s (27 to 37°C) and only fall during the Rainy Season, sometimes to 70F (21°C).

The climate is very comfortable for travelers and tourism is beginning in the area, though small. Points of interest are the old German bridge, the Mamfe Cross, the Mamfe River by boat, and the Mamfe Cathedral. Hotels are few, but can and do accommodate western travelers.

Peace Corps has maintained a presence in the Mamfe area since they entered the country in 1962.

Coordinates: 5°46′N 9°17′E