Genocide In Bali? -Bali Nyonga In Its Worst Period In History

It is often said that the soils of Bali Nyonga are most slippery in the dry season than the rainy season.

For over one and a half years, since the anglophone crises started, Bali Nyonga, in Mezam Division, was relatively calm and peaceful.

The people of Bali Nyonga, were often accused of being traitors of the anglophone cause, “for unanimously not supporting the struggle”.

Ever since the wind blew across the town, Bali has been transformed into “anything else but the anglophone struggle; scores-settling, vendetta within and between families, between members of opposing parties and so on.”

“For the past five months, a day will hardly go by without news, that a Bali resident has been slaughtered directly by one of his brothers in a gang or in connection to a gang,” a local in grief explained to Mimi Mefo Info.

Ba Tahnah aka Mangwana, Retired Gendarme Musi, Ba Tavat a lecturer in the University of Bamenda, Manyang, Mr Fosang alias Chop For Your Way, Ba Takapa (who died after he was brutalised)…and the list continues, have been sent to meet their ancestors by the suspected Bali Nyonga Restoration Force.

“Last Thursday a primary school mate to me came for some dresses. He told me that if one just dresses shabily even as result of poverty, the military guns you down. So i gave him some dresses to look abit in order to move around.
He explained to me that there is total anarchy in the village. No authority, no teacher, no student, 60% of the population have left the village.
On the killings:
He said, the boys went and took the soyer seller, Mangwana alias, Nkemkem right at the market buchery on a market day. When they came 2 on a bike the told him > The other people around told him not to resist. He was whisked off, and 30minutes after, they boys called their compound and asked the relatives to come and take his corpse at G.S Bali. They went to a shop keeper at Jamjam and he begged them, offered money, plot, his total bank accounts… But they boys refused and said they are after his life. In front of the people who came to buy, they shot him dead….
They went to Ba Nyamdi’s elder brother at Gungong, cut his 3 toes and cut the leg of 4 other people. Simply on a rumour that there was a ballot box in their keeping…Went to the Bamenda Branch Manager of Bali credit Union, asked him to bring his wife…He said she left the house already…they entered, searched and found her hidden. They pulled her out and shot her dead. Shot the manager on his leg for lying to them. The woman’s crime was because gendarmes ate at her place and that she voted.
Also, the CMF President and shot. That he is black leg.
Even if people vote against their orders, is death what the violators should be punished with? The uprising started eslwhere but we have not heard brothers killing brothers. The enmity that has been sowned in Bali will take generations to be cleared.
My good old friend said when the woman was shot, an oldman in their compound exclaimed in the dialect and said >, that their forefathers never shot women even at the war front because it brings curse.”
A renown scholar from Bali, troubled about the situation recounted.

“My daughter, i am ashamed tobe a Bali man now. We used to be proud people. But am ashamed. Even in the years of conquest, Bali people don’t shot a woman at the war front. Where have those boys kept their dignity. Shooting a woman during war!!!!!!!!!. It’s unheard of in Bali history.
The Military is committing their own atrocities like every where in anglophone Cameroon….the miliary shot Ba Tita Langha and the teacher from cpc bali..and several other cases…But the brutality on the people by their own brothers is too much and unheard of.” He added.

They were killed for allegedly supporting or obstructing the struggle, were considered spies or were framed by unknown persons.

When you meet Rwandans, they will refuse to hear about what happened in 1994, because they came a time where one could eat his/her brother or sister; the gun was imaginarily too distant from the target to the point where the executor wanted to be closer to the flesh.
That is how “genocide” gained grounds in Rwanda.

Sociological theories suggest that every human being is more attached to his family, his village before his country.

“What shall it benefit us if and when we get a new nation in the name of Ambazonia or a United Republic and we have lost Bali Nyonga, the very foundation of our existence? How shall we reconcile these ignominous crimes and genocide between families in Bali? How shall we bring our families scattered over the whole country and Nigeria, some are taking new businesses where they are, some are likely to get married, some of the elderly ones are dieing in their displaced locations.
Heads of extended families are displaced from their family members, Husbands are displaced from their wives. How do we put all these together after the anglophone crises, a crises of political and national character beyond our village competence is resolved?” a Bali Nyonga resident put these unanswered questions to Mimi Mefo Info.

This same wind of change crossed over in Manyu, in Kwakwa, in Lebialem, in Batibo, it did not take the magnitude of internal genocide it is taking in Bali, where the people are unsafe before their own, than the forces, considered as intruders in several parts of English Speaking Cameroon.

“Today, it just suffices to be a neatly dressed person, a successful business man, politician, holder of traditional title and professional titles and your brother or sister who has been jealous of your success for so many years will point you to the amba boys that you are not supporting the struggle, then your life is at stake.
Write ups are just everywhere bearing names of persons from sources only God knows. To avoid danger, victims are busy writing disclaiming messages.
Nobody in opposing or supporting camp is spared. Was this what it was supposed to be? It is possible to proof ignominous actions but not as easy to proof people you suspect as spies or not in support. CRY OUR BELOVED BALI, the land and culture we have so yearned to maintain.” Our source continued to lament.

Mimi Mefo Info was curious to find out how the disturbing situation could be addressed. Our source who opted for anonymity wasted no time in enumerating them.

He rolled out the following recommendations:

“It is not the case here to justify whether the secessionist movement is genuine or not, whether it should stop or not because it is not our competence. It is about crying the existence of a village wherein things have taken the worst genocidal magnitude.”

“It is about telling the boys who all are our family members that the Anglophone crisis is bigger than Bali or our existence, as > in Bali is paramount, they are part of us and we all know how to reach them.
Some of you are sponsors, sympathiser and they can listen to you.” He said.

“1.At the beginning of the struggle, many understood that to instill and maintain Ghost town you had the responsibility of sending atleast 30 messages to all of your family members and friends. You can do same to stop this genocide in Bali. Let the sensitising message get to every household, again, they are all yours.”

“2. There is also need to get all from all opposite camps who radicalised because they lost their loved ones, were hurt or were detained, that no matter where we go, the ideal is to forgive.

This maybe painful to forgive, but no matter where things end, it will end with the ability to forgive and this ability will determine our existence.

No worst has been the case of Rwanda and if reconciliation could happen in Rwanda why not Cameroon?
“Reconciliation was the pathway in South Africa, let that be the watchword here.”

“3.The misunderstanding leading to this genocidal situation in Bali has come to question the very raison d’etre of the existence of the Bali Development and Cultural Associations and others in the diaspora and at home; the BCAs (USA, Europe, France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, China, Thailand, Finland, Norway, Switzerland etc). We need to question whether we can carry out any development in this condition.

Whether we should fold our hands, because it is not cultural or developmental discussion.
It is not about sustaining discussion for or against the struggle in Bali which is where the risk and division is.”

“4. Lastly we need the cooperation of the many political elite, given that our relatives cannot return home in peace, if they are at risk with forces of law and order, let them be at ease with their brothers.
It is arguably said that if there was relative calm, no one killed (though some arrested), it was because of the wit and tact of some elite who made sure they guided the forces of law and order that no blood was spilled in Bali.

There our people can return and live in relative calm.We need all the competences, all hands put together to stop this shameful situation.
No blame games will take us anywhere. For everyone knows the pathway is forgiveness and flexibility.”
“Above all, we need God and the fear of God.”

MMI