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Compiled by Sama Mildred
The statement “if you can live in Bamenda then you can live anywhere in the world” is common to hear from people living in the Anglophone city, Bamenda which for the past five years has been facing a crisis that has led to the destruction of properties, internally displaced people from their homes and the dead of many.
Sharing her experience, Roseline an inhabitant of Bamenda narrated “I have been living in Bamenda before the crisis and since the crisis started I have been here. I have seen corpses on the streets and also been caught in-between gun exchanges. The lockdown that sometimes goes on for weeks is a crippling factor to my business in which at the end of the month I still have bills to settle if I sell or not. I live in Mankon, Bamenda and it has always been horrible with attacks sometimes daily. Many people transferred from Mankon to Nkwen as this way I stay was experiencing so many gunshots. But recently there are attacks in Nkwen. On Saturday 11th June 2022, there was an attack at Mile 4 Nkwen Junction allegedly by suspected separatist fighters on men in uniform, on Wednesday 15th June 2022, a military man was shot on his arm by suspected militia fighters around New road junction and on 17th June in the evening there was also attack at mile 3, Nkwen. This is to say nowhere is too safe to stay in Bamenda. Sometimes when you think the crisis is slowing down then boom an attack or incident happens which fuel the crisis the more. I have thought about moving out of the town but I do not have the means to live well in other regions, where I have to stay back with the hope that one-day things will get better and all these will end”
