CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2015:4), in every 113 people worldwide was forced to flee their home either as a refugee, internally displaced person (IDPs), or asylum seeker. With 65.3 million displaced people around the world, global need has outpaced the international community’s ability to respond, logistically and financially, despite great generosity. Violence and instability around the globe, especially in Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia, have led to millions of individuals fleeing for their lives. As many as 400,000 Syrians have been killed in 6 years of civil conflict, and hundreds of thousands more are trapped in besieged cities. Other large-scale humanitarian crises in South Sudan, Yemen and Iraq have added to these numbers. Moreover, natural disasters exacerbated by climate change are also driving displacement. (Atek, 2017).

As of October 2018, OCHA estimated there were 437,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Cameroon, 246,000 of them in the Southwest Region, 105,000 in the Northwest Region, and 86,000 in the Littoral and West Regions. In addition to triggering internal displacement in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, the ongoing conflict has also forced over 35,000 Cameroonians to seek asylum in Nigeria. As the conflict persists in Cameroon, UNHCR anticipates that the influx into Southeast Nigeria will continue, with 20,000 refugees projected to flee in the coming months. This would result in an increase in the overall number of Cameroonian refugees to more than 50,000 by the end of 2019 (OCHA, 2019)

The social integration of displaced persons is one of the most challenging moments for victims of forced migration. Forced displacement as a result of violence conflict like the case in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon have ruined and exposed thousands to intense vulnerability. According to Assessment Report No. 28 by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in February 2021, more than 700.000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been recorded as a result of the socio-political crisis in the Anglophone North West and South West regions(United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,2021) . The report further indicates that out of 700.000 Anglophone IDPs present in Cameroon, 162.000 are homeless and seriously need assistance in the West region of Cameroon, the area studied by this paper. It is worth noting that Cameroon is one of the most neglected displacement crises (Michelle, et,al,. 2020).

The relevance of researching on the social integration of IDPs in Cameroon stems from lack of appropriate structures to house and effectively ensure the social integration of IDPs. Most African countries including Cameroon do not have adequate structures as they do not usually possess pre-planned dispositions for sudden occurrences like forced internal displacement (Michelle, et,al,. 2020).

Internal displacement occurs when there are situations like armed conflict, persecution, situations of widespread violence, natural and human-made disasters and, more recently, large-scale development projects. Forced internal displacement is a direct consequence of insurgency and violent armed conflict as it is the case in the North West and South West regions of the Republic of Cameroon since late 2016. When people are forcefully displaced out of their original homes, they become vulnerable and frustrated. Such persons need to be assisted and protected by the State and humanitarian actors; one of the most urgent actions to take for such people is to facilitate their social integration in host communities (Yannick, 2019).

Cameroon is a party to the Geneva Conventions and its two protocols. Under international humanitarian law, national authorities have the obligation to provide assistance and protection to vulnerable people. In fact, protection and assistance are the two indivisible pillars of humanitarian action. Protection referring to ‘All activities aimed at ensuring full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law’ and assistance ‘seeks to save lives and alleviate suffering of displaced people, including delivering services (such as food, water, health, shelter, education, etc.) (Yannick, 2019).

It is within this perspective that the government of the Republic of Cameroon in collaboration with inter-governmental international humanitarian actors has been engaged in providing humanitarian assistance to IDPs from the Anglophone conflict. The various actions carried towards the social integration of IDPs in the West region have been done through some government institutions such as the Ministry of Social Affairs, The Ministry of Basic Education, the Ministry of Secondary Education and the Ministry of Territorial Administration (Yannick, 2019).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The consequences of forced displacement of Anglophones Cameroonians from their homes as a result of the raging conflict between government security forces and several armed separatist groups has exposed them to vulnerable situations in their host communities. In the West region of Cameroon which is one of the largest host community to Anglophone IDPs, it common to see IDPs being engaged in exploitative house jobs, prostitution, robbery and drug consumption. The government and some local NGOs have spontaneously provided assistance to these IDPs in the West region by offering food items, and some household equipment which at times are not of urgent and necessary use to them. For instance, providing raw food items without a home or utensil with which to prepare does not make assistance sustainable. That is why, the researcher during field investigation discovered that IDPs sold the items they received from government in the form of assistance in a give-away price in the local market to get what is urgent and necessary to them. With this situation, the question of the sustainability of this assistance becomes eminent. The main objective of this work is not only to create awareness of the crisis and to inform national and international humanitarian actors of the situation but also to examine the degree of sustainability of humanitarian assistance provided so far to IDPs in some localities of the West region of Cameroon.

1.3 Research Questions

1.3.1 Main Research Question

To what extent has the government efforts been effective in managing IDPs in Muyuka?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

• What are the socio-economic challenges affecting the wellbeing of IDPs in Muyuka?
• To what extent have the activities of the Cameroon government been effective in managing the socio-economic conditions of IDPs in Muyuka?
• What are the challenges faces by the Cameroon government in managing the socio-economic wellbeing of IDPs in Muyuka?

1.4 Research Objectives

1.4.1 Main Research Objective

To examine the extent to which women are involved in governance in the Buea municipality

1.4.2Specific Research Objectives

• To investigate the socio-economic challenges affecting the wellbeing of IDPs in Muyuka
• To examine the extent to which the activities of the Cameroon government has been effective in managing the socio-economic conditions of IDPs in Muyuka
• To evaluate the challenges faces by the Cameroon government in managing the socio-economic wellbeing of IDPs in Muyuka