THE EFFECTS OF THE ANGLOPHONE CRISIS ON THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS. CASE STUDY: LIMBE 2 MUNICIPALITY

ABSTRACT

This study investigates The Effects of the Anglophone Crisis on the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) case study: Limbe 2 Municipality. Using secondary data within the Framework of Human Needs theory, the study found out that some international bodies like the United Nations and Councils of Limbe 2 have helped in providing some Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) with some basic needs like shelter and food. Thus, the government and the stakeholders such as the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s)should endeavour to meet up with the expectations of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) of the Limbe 2 municipality.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Conflict is as old as mankind. It is a salient feature of the human society. Men must fight even if they do not possess arms or when tools of violence are not within reach; and as (Morgenthau,1948) posits, when there are no arms to fight, men will fight even with their bare fists. From birth, a baby begins the journey of conflict by crying, which is a flash of conflict. As he grows up, he bites with his teeth or scratches with the nails on his tiny fingers when he is upset. This presupposes those men will continue to fight as long as they have emotions that have the potential to love or hate; to be happy or sad; to be pleased or angry. So long as man has other men around him, there will be issues of disagreement, because interest differs and interests do clash, which may lead to disagreement or confrontation. A community or society of men thus creates room for explosive attitudes and relations.

Viewed from an extreme and religious perspective, conflict represents one of the two natures of man: ‘evil’. Cooperation, its opposite, embodies the second, which is the ‘good’ nature of man (St. Augustine, 1950). Conflict thus manifests in disagreement, anger, quarrel, hatred, destruction, killing, or war. Any untoward attitude capable of charging up the political or social environment is likely to culminate in conflict. Greed, covetousness, self-centeredness, discontent, envy, arrogance, rudeness, impunity, among other acts, are capable of producing a breakdown of human relations. In a way, these vices are innate attributes of the ‘conflict nature’ of man. The foregoing does not suggest that there are no specific causes of conflict. Conflict arises for different reasons and there are different types of conflict in human society. This chapter delves into the critical question of types and causes of conflict, with the view to addressing the common patterns of most conflicts in human society.

Conflict is an existing state of disagreement or hostility between two or more people (Nicholson, 1992).

Since October 2016, the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, namely the North West and South West regions have been experiencing increased tensions on the basis of social injustice, educational injustice and gross marginalization by the largely dominated Francophone government. This crisis, triggered by the strike of Anglophone Lawyers in October 2016, then followed by that of Anglophone teachers in November 2016 has now degenerated into what I can describe as “an All-Anglophone struggle.”

The name “Ambazonia” is taken from Ambas Bay and Ambozes, the local name of the mouth of the Wouri River. (Victor Le Vine 2004).  This is where the English language was permanently established for the first time in Southern Cameroons, when missionary Alfred Saker founded a settlement of freed slaves by Ambas Bay in 1858, which was later renamed Victoria (present-day Limbe). In 1884, the area became the British Ambas Bay Protectorate, with Victoria as its capital. Britain ceded the area to the German territory of Kamerun in 1887. Germany had some trouble establishing control over the hinterlands of Victoria, and fought the Bafut HYPERLINK “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bafut_Wars” Wars against local fondoms until 1907(The Cameroon Tribune, 1996 p2)

The Anglophone Crisis (French: Crise anglophone), also known as the Ambazonia War (Ambazonia War’ drowns SDF 28th Anniversary Archived 25 October, 2018) or the Cameroonian Civil War (The New York Times, 6 October 2018) is a conflict in the Southern Cameroons region of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. In September 2017, separatists in the Anglophone territories of Northwest Region and Southwest Region (collectively known as Southern Cameroons) declared the independence of Ambazonia and began fighting against the Government of Cameroon (Journal du Cameroun. 13 March 2018) Starting as a low-scale insurgency, the conflict spread to most parts of the Anglophone regions within a year(Picking a Fight 2018) By the summer of 2019, the government controlled the major cities and parts of the countryside, while the separatists’ held parts of the countryside and regularly appeared in the major cities. A year later, clearly-defined frontlines had emerged, sometimes with a tacit mutual understanding between the belligerents on who controls which areas; while Cameroon would raid separatist-controlled towns and villages, it would not seek to outright recapture them, focusing instead on securing the major urban areas.

The war has killed approximately 3,000 people and forced more than half a million people to flee their homes. Although 2019 saw the first known instance of dialogue between Cameroon and the separatists (Journal du Cameroun, 28 June 2019) as well as a state-organized national dialogue and the granting of a special status to the Anglophone regions(Reuters, 20 December 2019) the war continued to intensify in late 2019 (Voice of America, 24 September 2019) The 2020 Cameroonian parliamentary election brought further escalation, as the separatists became more assertive while Cameroon deployed additional forces. While the COVID-19 pandemic saw one armed group declare a unilateral ceasefire to combat the spread of the virus, other groups and the Cameroonian government ignored calls to follow suit and kept on fighting (Voice of America, 9 April 2020)

Internally displaced people (IDPs) have not crossed a Unlike refugees, they are on the run at home. IDPs stay within border to find safety. their own country and remain under the protection of its government, even if that government is the reason for their displacement. An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country’s borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.

The armed conflict in Cameroon’s North-West and South-West regions (the two English speaking or Anglophone regions of the country) has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of persons.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The process of displacement and the manifestations of physical movement are associated with loss of assets and this creates a situation in which all the symptoms of poverty are manifested. Living conditions of a majority of the IDPs are a great call of concern, as some houses were overcrowded and feeding was a problem to them.

The phenomenon of displacement seriously implicates the affected individuals, shifts patterns and social roles, institutionalizing poverty and damaging the social fabric of a given community. Major problems of IDPs are caused by economic vulnerability. Finding a job in areas of their displacement is difficult particularly for single parents.

A majority of IDPs lack money to feed themselves and other dependents. They are also unable to pay rents for housing, highly dependent, unemployed and also discriminated against because their presence leads to competition for jobs and also increase the burden on host communities and local authorities.

The primary sources of income of IDPs are salary from government and support from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).  There has been noticeable loss of lives, destruction and burning of homes and property, work space and other infrastructures in several parts of Limbe, one of the epicenters of the Anglophone crisis. In response to these traumatic experiences, IDPs have reacted in different ways.

They have also had to cope with physical, socio-economic, mental and emotional problems that may have long lasting effects on their lives if not urgently attended to by the government, NGOs and other stakeholders in the on-going conflict. The problem of internal displacement if not adequately handled could jeopardize the sustainability of peace and development in Limbe. This explains why the main contention in this study is that IDPs have undergone socio-economic and psychological torments in Limbe as a fall out of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. This research is aimed to analyse or evaluate the extent to which IDP’s have been affected by the crisis and the response that has been given to address the problems faced by the IDP’s by the Limbe municipality.

1.3 Research Questions of the study

1.3.1 Main Research Questions of the study

What is the impact of the Anglophone conflict on IDPs in Limbe?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions of the study

• What are the effects of the anglophone conflict on the socioeconomic life of IDPs in Limbe?

• What are the needs of the IDPs and how these have been addressed by stakeholders in Limbe?

• What are the internal and external interventions towards addressing the issue of IDP’s?

1.4 Research objectives of the study

1.4.1 Main Research objective of the study

The main objective of the study is to examine the impact of the Anglophone conflict on IDPs in Limbe.

1.4.2 Specific Research objectives of the study

• To investigate the effects of the anglophone conflict on the socioeconomic life of IDPs in limbe
• To examine the needs of the IDPs and how these have been addressed by stakeholders in Limbe
• To identify some internal and external interventions towards addressing the issue of IDP’s.

FURTHER READING: SIMILAR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PROJECT TOPICS WITH MATERIALS