In the past year and a half, the political landscape of Cameroon has changed drastically. A protest movement that began in the anglophone regions with a call for equality and better judicial structures by English speaking lawyers; metamorphosed into political turmoil on a scale that has never been seen before in Cameroon; revealing in its fullness the evil, draconian and dictatorial nature of the regime of president Paul Biya; one of Africa’s longest serving dictators.

The cries of the English speaking people who have long suffered marginalization, oppression and all form of injustice tipped over into a full blown political crisis since October/November 2016 and resulted in what is now known as the Southern Cameroons movement (Ambazonia); which is calling for federation or total secession from the Republic of Cameroon.

To say that the Biya regime has handled this crisis poorly is an understatement. It has simply not been addressed at all. While superficial measures such as the creation of a Bilingualism Commission, translation of the full text of OHADA law into English, and  menial calls for/attempts at dialogue have been made; these seem to have been adopted mainly to please an ever watchful international community.

The same regime has adopted brutal measures to quell a protest on which it has no grip. Illegal arrests and detentions without cause; abductions; police/military brutality; murder and blatant human rights abuses; are the preferred tools utilized by this regime.

As concerned citizens, we have watched with horror the abuse meted out on citizens who have done nothing but exercised their rights to freedom of expression and civil protest. We can no longer sit silent while thousands of English speaking Cameroonians flee as refugees to neighbouring Nigeria; and thousands more are abducted, arrested/imprisoned or murdered.

This series is an attempt to publish in pictures the plight of Southern Cameroonians and frankly call for the resignation/arrest of members of the Biya regime. It is high time this dictator left power so peace and proper democratic process can begin in cameroon. Please share these images that portray the human rights abuses suffered by anglophone Cameroonians, so that we achieve justice. We cannot afford to stay silent anymore.

Here is 14 year old Eileen; a resident of Kumbo, North West region; shot in the face at home on October 1 2017 by gendarmes of the Biya regime. This little girl lost an eye, with almost half of her face blown off. Her crime: born anglophone; residing in a region where people were protesting human rights abuses.

Eileen

And here are some more pictures. These are just a tip of the iceberg

****Caution: some are graphic.

Houses and villages burnt to the ground; people made homeless and fleeing to Nigeria as refugees, outright murder; military brutality; all because protesters (peaceful, marching with plants); dare to call out the injustice of the regime of Paul Biya.

“Silence in the face of injustice; is complicity with the oppressor” Ginetta Sagan

We call out the government of Cameroon; we demand justice for all the lives lost and the hundreds of people arrested and jailed without a just cause.