As the new school year approaches in Ambazonia many stake-holders are dusting off their contributions to the situation. The (church) has long sought to intervened albeit hampered by their implication by the LRC’s patronage control mechanisms. The church’s relationship with La Republique du Cameroun’s regime casts a shadow over any initiatives, which is not lifted by the fact that the entirety of the scheme seems to be aimed at influencing on the “Anglophones”.
Apparently Bamenda’ Catholic Arch Bishop, His Grace Andrew Nkea, is looking to embark on a catechism of peace and hope in “the Anglophone regions” of Cameroun.
Many sources refer to the scheme, under which, it implies, a booklet of a hundred questions and answers will help children and youths in “affected by the Anglophone Crisis”, to adapt and to hope.
Actual documentations is scant and Ambazonia News must declare that we have not caught site of the actual documents. However, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN International) details reports on the catechism’s purpose, structure (100 Q&A), and context, pastoral challenges, kidnappings, community responses, and the catechism’s educational aims.
- The Tablet (Catholic international journalism) contextualises the catechism within broader Church efforts to embed Pope Leo XIV’s peace message.
In His Grace’s previous speeches figures of 8,000–10,000 deaths; 800,000–1,000,000 displaced are cited at some stages of the conflict. At the five years stage, school closures were decried to have created a “generation deeply marked by conflict”, enduring kidnappings and other violence towards priests and bishops by local youths.
Ambazonia News searched for evidence of plans to extend the peace catechism to the “whole of Cameroun”, a logical step in a plan to encourage dialogue as a route to peace but there were no resources implying any such ideas had been expressed.
Ambazonia News would humbly request a look at the booklet and notice of any schemes to broaden the scheme, assuming (probably wrongly?) that this catechism of peace is aimed at producing more integrated and empathetic future population either side of the Mungo.
Ambazonia News is of the view that most, if not all of the break-down of the “Independence-by-joining” was due to a lack of synchronised understanding of the process and systems. While the Founding Fathers relied of faith and the good will of the “brother East Cameroun”, East Cameroun had a different intention. Arguably, the catechism of peace could fare better, targetting the formative stages of the two, clearly still-divided peoples. On Ambazonia News’ part, we take it for granted, as might His Grace in issuing the booklets to launch the scheme, that the people either side of the Mungo are inclined to follow that path, and that it would only lead anywhere if uniformly, fairly and faithfully followed on both side.
If it is not being put to both sides then it is actually a call to silence and endurance and turning the other chick, yet again asking “Anglophones” to resort to the faith which proved unfounded over a long time, and which, ten years of brutal repression prove was utterly dangerous and naive.
Ambazonia News accepts His Grace’s vocation and instinct towards peace but would humbly point out that it would be more successful and credible if balance and fair in asking all parties in an inclusive self-reflection rather than attempting to train one side to endure while the other continues the same [errors] schemes of the past.
It is arguable that Catechism of Peace is needed even if it turns out that both sides need to accept the reality that they must accept just being good neighbours rather than shoe-horned by repressive means into an unworkable, because unfair and untenable divided-in-practice, but united-by-unpopular-decree.
Catechism of Peace should expand to all regions for a peaceful future as good neighbours. Peace is peace.
Ambazonia News Briefs 