By Zera Nambu
For residents of Bamenda, the relentless cycle of lockdowns has become an unbearable burden, defining life in a city gripped by an ongoing armed conflict.
As MMI discovered, the economic and emotional consequences are devastating, leaving people struggling to survive and fearing for the future.
“It’s like we’re living in a prison,” said a motorbike riders who preferred to be identified as Joshua.
He told MMI how the constant disruptions are preventing him from providing for his younger siblings’ education in the safer French-speaking zone.
“Just the other day, my colleague was killed and abandoned at Mankon. We are tired. This is not what we bargained for. The leaders are living well and sending their children to school, but we are here indoors, not going anywhere.”
A shop owner, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke to MMI of his agonizing decision to abandon Bamenda.
“I plan to sell my shop and relocate with my family to Bafoussam,” he revealed.
He said relentless extortion and intimidation from security officers have made it impossible to continue.
“They come to me every day, collect money, threaten me, and take things on credit without even paying! … I am just tired and need to leave this town because we are not safe anymore.”
A sense of unease continues even at major markets in Bamenda.
Market women, mostly those selling plantains, tomatoes and perishable goods, spoke of the creeping fear that the persistent economic hardship will doom future generations to poverty.
For them, the current realities are difficult to reconcile with their hopes for a brighter future.
These are the realities of life in Bamenda, where the push of political objectives has come at the expense of human cost.
Lockdowns, which were first introduced in 2017 as a way of pressuring the Cameroon government to look into grievances tabled by Anglophones, have now been instrumentalized by separatists to hurt the population they claim to be fighting for.
Early this week, MMI reported that at least one person was killed on Monday for daring to drive during the lockdown. A vehicle and a motorcycle were also burnt by suspected separatists.