CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

African continents have always being going through crisis and this has always being leading to major and minor circumstances. Report carried out by the Grono and Kagwanjain on the 10th of November 2004, they came out with some African countries that has undergone deadly conflicts which are countries like, Sudan, Congo, Ruanda, Burundi, Uganda and Cotee D’Ivoire. Cameroon as a country has undergone economic, social and humanitarian problems caused by the un-going crisis in the North West and South West Regions of the country.

The Anglophone crisis begun in 2016 and has caused so many issues in the country such as, killing of so many, burning of houses causing people to be homeless, shorting down of schools in some areas of these two regions and displacement of people from their town to other places. According to Holton (1987), conflicts exist in every country both at the minor and major levels.

Nyiawung 2021 in his work presented a report carried out by the International Crisis Group (ICG) in the year April 2019 where they revealed that for a period of four years(2016-2019), Cameroon has been going through instability in her two English speaking regions in Cameroon (North West and south west).

For Chinye (2017), the nation of Cameroon is caught between forces that are increasingly causing a lot of negative impact on the nation such as; corruption, nepotism, injustice, joblessness, falling standards of health and education, etc.

The Anglophone crisis began in 2016 when government security forces used lethal force to put down peaceful marches by Lawyers and teachers protesting against perceived marginalization.

As the cause of this crisis, so many individuals have left their permanent residents to places in which they will become strangers. Because of this, they may need to develop some coping strategies in order to cope in such areas. For example, IDPs in some areas like Douala has as a means of raising income by selling and engaging in other petit businesses to raise funds for daily living.

The Anglophone crisis counted 712,800 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 334,000 returnees in Cameroon (OCHA), AND OVER 68,000 Cameroonian refugees registered in Nigeria

This chapter begins with the introduction which throws more light on the idea of the Resilience and coping strategies used by internally displaced persons due to the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. It is followed by the following; Background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, Research questions, Research hypotheses, Research methodology, Justification of the study, significance of the study, Assumption of the study, Scope of the study, and Operational definition of terms of the study.

Background of the Study

Over the passed years, with the outbreak of the crisis, many individuals have been displaced from their homes to other areas. Living from one town to another has caused so many individuals to engage themselves in so many activities such as using all kinds of sources to fetch for money, so many due to the fact that they can not cope in other areas have lost their lives in the process. The displaced most of whom are women and children face a grave humanitarian situation in both countries. Having fled with very little, their presence in impoverished host communities is straining food resources and already limited health, education in these areas.

A report was given in 2018 by OCHA where they estimated that there were 437,000 IDPs in Cameroon, 246,000 of them in Southwest Region, 105,000 in the North West Region and 86,000 in the Littoral and West Regions

Cameroon is beset with two violent conflicts but also faces rising ethno-political tensions on and offline. Its main conflict between the Government and Separatists from the English-speaking regions of the country, has killed over 4000 people and displaced 765,000 of whom 60,000 are refugees in Nigeria.

The period of 2016-2019 in Cameroon history especially in the North West and South West Regions has been characterised by dramatic events which has caused social, political, economic and traumatic consequences on individuals, group of people and some communities.

These events have sent shockwaves throughout the national territory, international bodies, local, non Governmental institutions and individuals within the nation. (International Crisis Group 2019). With the outbreak of this crisis, many individuals have been displaced from their residents to a strange place they do not know. The crisis which began in 2016 has now prolonged right up to the extend in which many individuals have dropped out of school.

UNICEF reported that as of Jan 2020, nearly 900,000 children in the NW/SW Regions of Cameroon are impacted by the crisis and in accessing education and other ways of improving living.

Nyiawung 2021 in his work reported that the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has refered to the crisis in Cameroon as one of the most neglected in the world. The crisis has its roots in the colonial heritage of Cameroon and events that date back to the early 1960s. The crisis was prompted by strikes lunched by Lawyers and Teachers in 2016.

The crisis has led to so many things including false alarms and social media misinformation that has led to further disruptions of many acgtivities.

Despite the reported increase in school attendance as of Jan 2020, over 70% of children have been unable to attend school mostly due to parents been scared and hence, causing them to relocate.

The IDPs in the North West and the South West Regions of Cameroon are the people of these two Regions who have been forced to flee from their homes because of  the Anglophone crisis. The following quote by Nyawung (2019:14) gives the impending danger that may come out of the situation in these two Regions of Cameroon.

The situation of the IDPs in the North West and the South West Regions of Cameroon is pathetic because, the present war seems to degenerate into civil war and an increasing rate of criminality and insecurity. Secondly, rather than using appropriate measures in order to address the grievances of these regions, the government has resolved in using force and repression, which have so far been unable to bring about any sustainable solution. Hence, the number of IDPs keep increasing every day, justifying their situation as a contextual issue that necessitates a prompt reaction.

Problem Statement

For the past years since 2016, Cameroon has gone through serious instability in some of its Regions. The instability has been caused by a number of activities and events which keeps on tearing the heart of the nation and also threatening its peaceful functioning of national and regional activities. One of such is the crisis that has been rocking the two English speaking regions of the nation.

From the year 2016, the nation has not been stabled where there have been so many cases of people losing their lives, insecurity, rendering people homeless and above all, causing people to move from one place to another making them IDPs in and out of the Country.

How then do persons who relocate to other areas for daily living cope in this areas?, how do they resist all the obstacles that come their way?  Do they just seat and wait for the Government aids and other supports from NGOs? Or do this persons strive for a living by working hard?  It is a big worry which has to be looked into because it is very difficult for some persons to cope in areas they do not know. Hence, the researcher is out to find out what strategies these persons have put in place in order to cope and resist in such areas they do not know.

Research Question

Main Research Question.

What are some of the resilience and coping strategies used by Internally Displaced Persons in Cameroon in the midst of the Anglophone crisis?

Specific Research Question

1. What are the various problem-solving skills used by Internally Displaced persons in Cameroon during the Anglophone crisis era?
2. Do internally displaced Persons in Cameroon lower their expectations during the period of the Anglophone crisis?
3. How do Internally Displaced Persons strive to maintain normalcy in the midst of the Anglophone crisis?
4. Do Internally Displaced Persons ask others to help them during the crisis period?

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