In the restless western areas of Cameroon, hundreds of singers are using their voices to demand a cease-fire between the separatist and military forces.
In the restless western areas of Cameroon, hundreds of singers are using their voices to demand a cease-fire between the separatist and military forces. Since 2017, the war has resulted in thousands of deaths and 750,000 displaced persons.
The singers played songs in the courtyard of the Yaounde municipal council that demanded an end to the killings and property destruction in the unrest-plagued Northwest and Southwest areas.
Dieudonne Bitam, a 24-year-old university student, is one of the few hundred civilians listening to the singers. Bitam claimed that the songs appeal to the conscience of the fearful and insecure Cameroonians.
He claimed that the songs by the peace singers appeal to people of all generations and from many social, cultural, religious, and professional backgrounds since their music incorporates traditional rhythms from all over Cameroon.
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Similar gatherings will be held throughout the central African nation's towns and villages, according to the organizers, Cameroonian Artists for Peace.
The musicians implore municipalities in safer areas to accept displaced people in their songs. They also ask combatants and government forces to respect a cease-fire to restore peace.
The musicians declare they won't visit cities and villages where separatist violence is frequent. Instead, they advise singing in public squares whenever possible in western towns and villages where conflicts occur.
According to Ateh Francis, board chair of the Cameroon Musical Art Corporation SONACAM, the singers are sick of the violence, rape, maiming, theft, and kidnapping for ransom in the two western provinces where separatist groups are striving to establish an English-speaking state.
He claimed that SONACAM supported the musicians' peace caravan.
He claimed these songs that call for peace and reconciliation are being released by artists showing concern for the people's sufferings and hoping to touch hearts.
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He also said that artists themselves are living and suffering with the people and decide to put it in song, hoping to touch the hearts of the boys [fighters] and the government [officials] to sit down and solve this problem, which is causing untold suffering to our people.
The Cameroonian music industry's widespread call for peace is the first since the country's 2017 armed conflict that began as a separatist issue. The peace singers claim that to fund the musical peace caravans, they depend on their resources and the help of well-wishers.
The governors of Cameroon's troubled southwest and northwest regions say they support all attempts to bring peace. Still, they are adamant that any fighters who refuse to renounce their cause and lay down their arms will be put to death.