This week, three students of 3rd year of ESO have had the opportunity to contact Miquel Àngel and Bishop Barthelemy, a citizen of Cameroon who has explained to us what life is like there.
How is the situation of young people in Cameroon? Do they study or work?
The situation is generally one of poverty, although it depends on where they live. In the South, especially in the cities, the majority of young people study until high school. In the North and in rural areas, they leave school early, and many do not finish high school.
Throughout the country, very few students attend university. Either they don’t work or they have low-skilled jobs: street vendors, agriculture, laborers… For many, the only way out they see is to emigrate to other countries, especially to the north (Europe).
What are the main differences that you have seen between education in Cameroon and education here?
In Europe, schools are very well equipped, they have electricity, computers and few students per class (between twenty and thirty). There, the normal thing is to have between eighty and one hundred students in each classroom. At Sant Gervasi each student has a desk, there are well-equipped laboratories and the teachers are very well trained. On the other hand, in Cameroon they do not have laboratories and they are in “bench tables” where the students are placed very close together.
What job opportunities do Cameroonian children have when they finish school?
Generally not many, there are few companies and most work in low-skilled jobs. Many want to be civil servants: teachers, police, customs, military… But it is very difficult and it is necessary to find a position. This makes many think about emigrating.
What do they study in class? A specific topic?
They follow the French educational model, which is very similar to the one we have here, but the level is much lower. Most of them do not have textbooks and they copy everything into notebooks by hand, which they use to study later. Very few have a room to themselves, so doing homework is not easy. In addition, the electricity is often cut off, where it is, and this makes learning difficult. Much importance is attached to health education (drinking clean water, cleaning everything, vaccinations).
Is Yagoua a religious town? What about Cameroon?
The people are very religious and spiritual. There are Christians of different churches, Muslims and animists. There is good coexistence and relationship. It is normal to have friends of different religions, at school they mix with each other. Most go to church on Sunday, Muslims go to Friday prayer. Many concerts are held in churches and they invite each other. It is easy to find Muslims who attend concerts and Christians at Muslim festivals. When Ramadan ends, people invite you to eat, regardless of religion. They have a hard time understanding people who don’t have any religion, they don’t understand life without God.
What are the main needs of the population of Yagoua?
In Yagoua people live from agriculture, livestock, fishing and trade. There are more and more schools and schoolchildren are growing, but not all of them can go, especially in rural areas. Many have a job and live moderately well, but those who do not have a job or have it very precarious have a hard time. There are few hospitals and they are not well equipped, many sick people cannot be cured. Most do not have running water at home, and electricity is only in the cities.
What are the environmental problems in Cameroon? (drought, rain, flood…)
The main problem is the drought, it rains less and less and people are having problems finding water. This causes many people to leave the drier towns and come closer to the river, where there are more and more people. As the herds need water, they get into the fields or villages and this causes a lot of tension.
Floods are another problem, especially the Lake Chad area and we will focus on Blaram. The heavy rains are in the center of Africa, where the Chari river is born and between the months of October and January, it carries a lot of water and floods many lands where people live.
What is the Boko Haram terrorism situation? Do they cause horror for the population?
Now the Boko Haram group is calmer, it has lost strength. People no longer support them. But there are many small groups of terrorists that have remained everywhere and they go to the villages to rob and often kill people. Before, many people thought that they would fight against corruption and make a better society. But the terrorists have done a lot of damage, they have killed a lot of people, they have burned churches and mosques, markets. Nobody trusts them anymore.
What are the consequences of the attacks?
It has been, and still is, terrible. They have provoked many refugees, more than a million and a half are estimated. Trade came to a standstill, fields were not cultivated, people feared going to schools and places where there were a lot of people. This caused a serious economic crisis, there were people who were in great need. Many died or were injured. Now there are still areas, especially the Lake Islands and the Mandara Mountains where they sometimes perform and people are very afraid.
