The Enemy of Peace is Conflict

Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of violence, lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. Peace is a state of psychological or spiritual calm maintained despite the presence of stressors. We all have that inner peace. However, achieving inner peace can be challenging due to our daily life.

The ongoing conflict in my country Cameroon has affected the peace of the entire community. The anglophone crisis has caused a lot of damages and displacement of people especially in the Northwest and Southwest region of Cameroon. Due to this crisis, innocent people are being killed, kidnapped, tortured and harassed violating their right to life. Nearly half a million refugees and asylum seekers from Central African Republic and Nigeria have been living for years in cities or rural areas with no hope for a better future and often without access to minimum income, basic services and legal protection. These type of conflicts mostly have a negative impact on women and girls as they are either being exploited or sexually harassed. Children are also affected because of lack of education as schools are being destroyed. Thereby hindering their right to education.

Communities continue to face restrictions on freedom of movement and frequent lock downs continue to disrupt daily life undermining their socio-economic activities. This has a negative impact on their peace.

Presently, there is a lock down in the Southwest region due to the upcoming election making people wonder how they will provide for their families.

Necessary actions must be taken. Security forces must end extra judicial killings aof unarmed civilians and ensure the rights of all Cameroonians are equally protected.