By Princely Kesah, Cameroon
Blind people are left confused and wheel chair users motionless. Late on a Sunday afternoon while disabled children in Sajocah, a rehabilitation centre in Bafut, Cameroon’s conflict ravaged Northwest region went about their activities, little did anyone expect a military invasion. A bilingual country in central Africa, Cameroon has been experiencing a brutal conflict for nearly eight years with disabled people among the most affected.
“I was moving on my wheelchair when out of a sudden I saw many soldiers in front of me with loaded guns ready to fire,” reveals Hanna, her voice trembling and her hands dancing. Hanna is a mobility impaired wheelchair user whose real identity we have protected for security purposes. She saw firsthand the invasion of Saint Joseph’s Children and Adult Home (SAJOCAH), by dozens of men in Cameroon military-wears
Reliable sources told DNA that the soldiers arrived the institution about 4 PM GMT plus 1 (5 pm local time) in a mission which has left many traumatised. “They came in and moved around room to room and I just gave up, ready for any outcome because there was nothing I could do. My blind friends were confused not knowing what was going on,” recounts Hanna, her heart pumping fast.
SAJOCAH was founded in 1976 by the Tertiary Sisters of Saint Francis, a congregation of the Roman Catholic mission. The institution has educated hundreds of blind people, and its physiotherapy services have corrected the legs of thousands of persons with varying degrees of mobility impairment from Cameroon and abroad. A Reverend sister with good knowledge of the invasion of the centre by the military described the attack as unfortunate, intimating that the Northwest regional governor, The highest administrative official of the Northwest Region has been informed of the occurrence. “I confirm that government soldiers who came in two trucks stormed our centre on Sunday February 23 and broke in to different sections including the resource room for the blind,” she tells DNA in an interview, her eyes filled with tears.
What we Know about the Attack.
According to reliable sources, the soldiers spent over thirty minutes moving from one department to another. The resource room for the blind, physiotherapy department and the hospital section were broken and looted. Laptops and other valuables were taken from the resource room. Although no human life was lost in the invasion, the psychological trauma suffered by the children and staff does not look like healing any soon.
Among those who have taken turns to sympathise with the children are former trainees. They have qualified the attack as senseless and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. “These people don’t know that tempering with the under-privilege is getting their hands on fire,” laments a mobility impaired man. Another erstwhile student with visual impairment said “This is a huge shock and I don’t know where to start because persons with disabilities and their institutions are protected by international law”.
DNA can confirm that this is not the first time that government forces have raided SAJOCAH since the start of the raging Anglophone conflict. In 2019, dozens of them invaded the centre spraying bullets indiscriminately. “I was at the tap washing my plate after eating when I suddenly heard people around me speaking in an unfamiliar language and seconds later, I heard loud gun shots metres away from me,” recounts a blind student, memories of a previous attack still fresh in his mine. Before the attack, most parents felt their visually impaired children were safe in SAJOCAH since it is a protected area. although most schools in Bafut had shut down due to the conflict, SAJOCAH was on with adapted ICT training which allowed the pupils and students to gain knowledge and skills. However, the training was cut short for many. “I immediately went and took my daughter when I learned of the attack,” a parent says. The reason for the raid remains unknown and efforts to reach out to the region’s governor were abortive. Bafut has been a hotspot since 2017, one year after the conflict erupted. Clashes between state soldiers and separatists fighting for a breakaway republic, Ambazonia have been frequent but many are yet to understand the rationale behind the attack on SAJOCAH.
Despite many calls from human right bodies for government forces and separatist fighters to avoid civilian habitats and respect especially persons with disabilities as stipulated by the Geneva convention and the 2006 UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, attacks on them have multiplied in recent months. Earlier in July 2024, separatist fighters stormed and unroofed a centre which was home to many persons with disabilities and orphans in Ekona, a rural community in the Southwest region of Anglophone Cameroon. Stories of the kidnap and torture of persons with disabilities have equally surfaced as the community of persons with disabilities continue to battle for survival amidst flying bullets. Access to basic services such as health care, education, portable water and food remains challenging with right groups calling for urgent inclusive humanitarian assistance. For Hanna and her peers with disabilities, they long for that day when their rights would be respected.
Njukang Princeley