RAMBLE in the JUNGLE
Peace in the Cameroons?
By Wanaku Verdzekov · · Africa & the Gulf of Guinea
Tags: france, cfa-franc, peace, elysee
Peace in the Cameroons goes through France. If NO ONE in the CAMEROONS can stand TOE to TOE with France (Macron, this time) and talk, man or woman to man, there is nothing Franco-Cameroun is going to do differently.
And for our people, the BEST position is TO BE ALIVE (not dead). But it looks like some (even in the so-called leadership) have made DEATH a common thing, with catchphrases that follow the dead into their graves, just like elsewhere in the world: "Our hearts are with so-and-so…". This is old and stale, and for victims it is devoid of any tangible meaning.
All of the above just to say: saving the lives of our people (we need them ALIVE) is a SERIOUS OBJECTIVE that needs to be front and centre of a DISCUSSION with FRANCE.
PS: Franco-Cameroun has been unable to solve its own problems since 1960. Expecting it to have a clue about how to save or serve the good people of Ambazonia is a non-starter.
Essentially, Ambazonia needs to put forward an individual who can take on France directly. The rest of the activities (at least to the French) look like a sideshow. If you want the MAIN SHOW, you'll have to go through the ÉLYSÉE! Why?
First, that's where the original ACCORDS and AGREEMENTS were made. Second, everyone in the area called "the Cameroons" fondles French CFA francs in their pockets. If that does not tell you how much sway France (and Macron) have over the MONEY MARKET in the Cameroons, then kindly update me with something better, or worse, if you can.
Someone, anyone, needs to go through there and UNBIND AMBAZONIA from something it does not logically belong to.
Ija'iku fɨlasi!
— Wanaku Verdzekov
Reading & grammar
Reading level: Gr 9–11
Understand
- Why does the author say peace goes through France?
- What does the author call "the BEST position" for the people?
- Why does the author think catchphrases after deaths are "old and stale"?
Grammar focus: first… second… in an argument. "First, that's where the original accords were made. Second, everyone… fondles French CFA francs." Numbered reasons make an argument easy to follow and check.
Try it: Write your own paragraph giving two numbered reasons for an opinion.
Discuss: Should peace talks focus first on saving lives, or on settling the political question? Argue.