The Internet Refugee that I have Become!

Lately, every weekend, I pack my little back pack, go to the bus station and pay a ticket for a francophone city several kilometers away from Bamenda. Why? You may want to ask! The answer is clear; the government of Cameroon has for two months shut down internet for the whole of English speaking Cameroon. The government is claiming that Anglophone Cameroonians are using social media to fuel anti government protests and threaten national unity. Shutting down internet in Anglophone Cameroon means 1/3 of the population of Cameroon is without internet while their francophone brothers and sisters are enjoying everything that comes with internet access.

The political protests in the Anglophone part of Cameroon started like a joke. One would never have thought that it would be so intense that blood will flow, deaths will be registered, private and public buildings will be reduced to ashes, arrests will be rampant, schools will shut down for months, and internet will be shut down. A situation which started with teachers going on strike; protesting about the dominance of francophone teachers in Anglophone schools who are rather 'un-teaching' students with their limited mastery of English Language, degenerated into massive protests in Anglophone regions of Cameroon on what they referred to as “The Anglophone problem.” It should be noted that Anglophones are a minority in Cameroon and for decades Anglophones have been disgruntled about francophone dominance in all facets of the Cameroon economy.

The strike action, which began in November 2016 is yet to come to an end. The return of internet remains unknown. No one knows when that part of the country will be reconnected, but the truth is, whether we are reconnected or not, we [the victims] can never regain what have lost as a result of the shut down.

I wallow in pain, when I start thinking of the amount of money I spend every weekend for transportation, food, hotel bills, whenever I travel out of Bamenda to a francophone city; I spend close to $100. I am struck by fear any time I think of the risk involved in all those travels. I cry like a baby when I think of all the opportunities I have lost online as a result of the shut down; seeing important emails late and as a result missing response deadlines and also missing out on other online opportunities that spring up every now and then. What have we really done to deserve this?

Every minute I spend in the francophone city, I feel more like a refugee in my own country. Hotel attendants don’t speak English and so they look at you like an idiot. Taxi drivers and commercial bike riders don’t understand a word of English and so they drive off immediately a word of English comes out of your mouth. Restaurant owners can’t even understand your food orders and so they silently abandon you and return to their shelves until you call them back and try out a bit of “franglais” (English mixed with French). And it pains you, when in one of your encounters, they bring up the issue at stake and refer to us as foolish Anglophones who are fighting a lost battle. Again, what have we really-really done to deserve all this?

Every day I spend in Bamenda, I feel like something is missing. Yes, something is actually missing – the internet. I shake, knowing that I may be missing something important in the net, and yes I have missed just a lot and I don’t want to miss anymore. I cry for fellow brothers and sisters, who like me, have missed countless good things online. People, who may not even have enough to eat for a day, talk less of enough to pay their transportation fare and hotel bills in a francophone city. Think about those studying online, those doing research, those involved in online trainings, those working online, those doing business online – just think about anything you can think of and ask yourself whether the government of Cameroon has gone mad.

If I were a magician, I will command the internet to return. But now that I am not, I will painfully remain the internet refugee that I have become. My heart bleeds!

How to Get Involved

We need the international community to add their voice to the #bringbackourinternet campaign online.