Building Bridges: From reflection town hall meetings to footballing for peace 

The journey began with a Diaspora Town Hall Meeting in Berlin, held at Makenene Restaurant, where the initiative was introduced to the local Cameroonian community. The event aimed to raise awareness about the ongoing conflict in Cameroon and brainstorm potential roles for the diaspora in contributing to peacebuilding efforts. Participants from various backgrounds and perspectives exchanged their thoughts on advocacy, peace, and possible collaborations. The discussion provided valuable insights into how the diaspora could use its influence to help mitigate the crisis.

  ‘On est fou de foot’ is a popular Cameroonian statement meaning ‘ we are crazy about football. In 2023, the focus shifted to sports as a unifying platform. The Cameroon Diaspora Football Calendar was created with the goal of  documenting football teams in Berlin. This project helped us engage with the diaspora in a cultural dynamic understanding underlying pinings and dynamics of running football associations as migrant groups in Berlin. Our final output was not just the calendar but the year-long engagement process in this football subject engaged the football community in meaningful discussions about the conflict and the role sports can play in peacebuilding. By bringing together athletes and fans, the calendar became a symbol of unity while sparking conversations about the conflict in Cameroon. The project was a successful example of using a shared passion for football to fuel dialogue and action.

Panel Discussions and Moderated Events: Amplifying Voices

In 2024, the initiative expanded its reach with online panel discussions that included a wide range of voices from the diaspora. These virtual events featured Cameroonians of various ages, genders, and cultural backgrounds, ensuring diverse representation and perspectives. The panels discussed not only the political and social dimensions of the conflict but also the role of the diaspora in contributing to peace efforts. These discussions became a platform for diaspora members worldwide to exchange ideas and reflect on how they could engage in peacebuilding back home. Featuring in these prominently were the subject of online hatespeech and prospective roles the diaspora can play in mitigating misinformation and disinformation. 

In addition to online engagements, the r0g office in Berlin hosted two moderated events titled “Navigating Bamenda”. These events featured special guests from Bamenda, Cameroon, who shared firsthand experiences of living and working in the heart of the conflict. Nduku, a community mobilizer and activist, shared a hopeful and resilient message about the spirit of the people living in Bamenda. Stella Mbuh, a journalist, spoke about the challenges of reporting from within the conflict zone, shedding light on the role of media in peacebuilding. These events provided invaluable perspectives and sparked important conversations on how the diaspora can support the people on the ground.

Expanding Outreach and collaboration : The Osnabrück Town Hall

In November 2024, the initiative took another step forward by organizing a physical town hall event in Osnabrück, Germany. Together with local partner organisation: Bridge builders e.V, the one day event was yet another moment of encountering Cameroonians of all works of life along other Africans living within the Osnabrück area. This event focused on engaging Cameroonians in the city of Osnabrück in dialogue about the conflict in Cameroon. It provided a platform for attendees to share their perspectives on the crisis and explore potential solutions as a community. The event fostered an environment of open discussion and unity, emphasizing the importance of collaboration in addressing the challenges facing Cameroon.

A Continued Commitment to Peacebuilding

While the journey has been full of challenges, including the diverse views within the diaspora logistical hurdles,and a scorching difficulty in mobilisation,  the Cameroon Diaspora Dialogues initiative has made great strides in fostering unity, collaboration, and awareness. By engaging the diaspora through various activities, from town halls to football initiatives and panel discussions, the project has created opportunities for diaspora members to contribute meaningfully to conflict transformation in Cameroon.

The initiative has also provided invaluable opportunities for diaspora members to engage with one another, learn from the experiences of those living in Cameroon, and collaborate on potential solutions for the crisis. The Cameroon Diaspora Dialogues is not just about raising awareness, but also about creating pathways for actionable change. It is about amplifying the voices of those living abroad and ensuring that the diaspora plays an active role in shaping the future of Cameroon. By using online platforms, live streaming and digital tools, we strive to encounter or reach out to Cameroonians living abroad irrespective of geographical location.

Challenges 

In the Defyhatenow Cameroon Diaspora Dialogue Initiative, everything has not been a bed of roses. One of the main challenges we face so far has been mobilizing participants. Many Cameroonians abroad are already juggling numerous responsibilities, from paying bills to sending remittances home, making political engagement a lower priority. On top of this, we face financial constraints. Without a dedicated funding allocation for the diaspora initiative, we had to make the most of a limited budget, which certainly made things more creative than we would have liked. It’s easy to imagine the potential if there were a clear and sustainable fund for this cause.

Cultural differences also presented some challenges, particularly when it came to timekeeping. “Cameroonian time” is a very real phenomenon, and punctuality at events often became a bit… flexible. Collaborating across different time norms required extra patience and understanding. Additionally, the fear of expressing opinions on sensitive political topics remains prevalent, even among those living abroad. Many participants tended to be cautious, and it’s understandable given the delicate nature of these discussions.

With a little more support from Cameroonian embassies abroad, we believe we could overcome some of these challenges and foster a more open and engaging dialogue.

Looking Forward

As the Cameroon Diaspora Dialogues initiative moves forward, there is a continued commitment to fostering unity and collective action within the diaspora. With a focus on expanding outreach, strengthening partnerships, and creating more opportunities for meaningful engagement, the initiative aims to build on the successes of the past two years and continue advocating for peace and stability in Cameroon.

The journey is far from over, and the potential for positive change is immense. Through collaboration, solidarity, and dialogue, the Cameroonian diaspora can make a powerful contribution to the ongoing peacebuilding efforts in their home country. Together, the Cameroon Diaspora Dialogues will continue to pave the way for encounter,dialogue ,exchange and calling to action in view of a long lasting solution to the conflict in Cameroon. 

More information can be found on our website: https://defyhatenow.org/cameroon/diaspora-dialogues/

Cameroon Diaspora Dialogues: Osnabrück! Here we come 

This Saturday in Osnabrück, some Cameroonians living in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen and Lower Saxony will meet for a town hall meeting to reflect on the theme ‘The Cameroonian Diaspora Community as a possible conflict transformer and counter hatespeech actors’. 

 At the offshoot of the current conflicts in Cameroon, several references have designated or sighted Cameroonians living abroad as a plausible conflict influencer. While this information didn’t fall from the sky, it may also have been too hasty given that just like in every community, a single opinion may not represent a collective one. While the city of focus this time will be Osnabruck, it shall not be the first time  this topic finds resurgence within the Cameroon community in  Germany especially within the context of #defyhatenow. Cameroonians most often remain very connected to their home and hence topics of politics and concerns from back home animate almost every meeting. Under the #defyhatenow banner,  defyhatenow, this shall be the second townhall meeting . The first had been in Berlin back in 2021 at the start of the Defyhatenow Diaspora dialogues. 

Who is the Cameroon diaspora? How do they relate with the country?

In local Cameroonian pidgin English, the word ‘bushfaller’ refers to people who have traveled abroad. The term got more and more famous in the early 2000s in English speaking parts of Cameroon as more and more people traveled abroad in search of better opportunities in education, business and academics. The most famous routes for Cameroonian journeys abroad include: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, South Africa, Nigeria and Canada,the United Arab Emirates. Traveling abroad became something many young people looked forward to at the end of their elementary studies in Cameroon hence most countries reputed for  educational opportunities have always been a great attraction for Cameroon. Until now Cameroon has earned quite a good reputation for producing very successful students in most of the countries mentioned above with most of them ending up in very strong professional and alumni associations such as the Cameroon association of Medical Doctors in Germany (CAMFOMEDICS), Association of Cameroonian Engineers in Germany among others .

With another glance, these migration dynamics have also witnessed some changes in the last decade following the rise of political tensions and eminent violent conflicts in Cameroon. The number of Cameroonians seeking asylum in Europe and elsewhere has been on a steady rise, sometimes carving out new routes of migration, new risks and new destinations. For instance, not so long ago Cameroonian refugees on the move were reported in accidents in countries in the Caribbean and also in Latin America while finding a long irregular path to the United States of America. While it is still very difficult to claim asylum as a Cameroonian in most of the countries of the west, this has not been a deterring factor as the numbers rise every given day amidst the growing anti-immigrant sentiments spreading wild across the global North. 

Connection to Home 

As regards the connection to home, Cameroonians living abroad have always had a deep interest in connecting to their roots and continue to reflect on Cameroon as home even after living abroad for several decades already. This  desire to connect back home can be seen in several ways both economically and socially. Most Cameroonians living abroad belong to different socio-cultural organizations that most often are tied to their ethnic roots of origin or their religious affiliations constructed already through growth.Even more so, they   join passtime groups that connect them to their home countries:for instance football groups. There are more than 15 football associations of Cameroonian origin in Berlin alone and more than 100 across Europe sometimes meeting for championships and tournaments across the year. One of the key ways Cameroonians living abroad are noted for connecting with back home is via deporting lots of remittances back home either as business ventures or simply to support families and transfer earnings to their families. This has become quite popular especially as the economy remains stagnant amidst ever rising levels of inflation.  As regarding relations with the government,it is a double sided coin. Acknowledging the contributions of the Cameroonian diaspora to the development of the country, the government created a special department at the Ministry of external relations dedicated to strengthening ties with its citizens living abroad. This department is tasked with reaching out to different Cameroonians abroad, coming to their aid in issues where the embassies cannot directly help, facilitating investments back home for Cameroonians amongst others.  Even political parties in Cameroon have diaspora branches across the world. However there is also the other side. With the growing political tensions in Cameroon and the eminent violent crisis, fingers have profusely pointed to the diaspora as a veritable conflict influencer. From calls for secession from English Cameroonian activists based abroad, to anti regime activists such as Brigade Anti.Sadinard movement and even more dreaded attacks of Cameroonian embassies especially in Germany, France and the United states, the relationship between the government back in Cameroon and its citizens of the diaspora have reached sour heights in the last years with some Cameroonians living in the diaspora being tagged or labeled terrorist or live with the suspicion that they are on wanted lists back home.(some actually got arrested upon arrival for visits). Against this backdrop, dialogue platforms such as the #defyhatenow diaspora dialogue initiative offer rooms for mending the bridges, revisiting the difficult points in the discourse and offer a potential for Cameroonians living out of home to reclaim regency and play a laudable role in conflict transformation and solutions to the issues back in Cameroon. 

Some Remarks from our last town-hall meeting 

What to expect from the Osnabrüch Diaspora Dialogue event

Osnabrück shall offer an opportunity to bring the dialogue a step further . We shall get into some key areas which in our online events have not been covered . Also very important is the fact that we shall organise the event in Osnabruc kin partnership with some Cameroonian diaspora organisations around there. We are looking forward to not just discussing Cameroonians abroad and their possible contributions to peace back home but also on how to ease integration in Germany and making life abroad slightly comfortable . 

For Nyima Jadama, a passionate women’s rights advocate based in Germany, her driving factor is the vision of a world where every woman, regardless of her background, is celebrated for her unique contributions and where equal opportunities are a reality.

Advocating for women’s rights has not been without its challenges, though. Nyima acknowledges that overcoming deeply ingrained societal norms and systemic biases requires persistent effort.

And how can we turn the vision of women’s inclusion into reality? In Nyima’s words, “By advocating for policy changes, challenging stereotypes, and amplifying marginalized voices, I contribute to building a society where women of all backgrounds have equal opportunities to thrive.”

[PART 1: THE MIRROR]

You take a string of my hair and ask to tell me a secret. 

I pull you in closer and whisper, 

Tell me young one,

Tell me of all the stories you’ve kept.

You silently itch closer and hold out your hand. 

I hold my breath in and wait, and wait… 

[PART 2: THE CHILD] 

I was fifteen when I had my first phone. 

Before then, the only faces I knew where the ones that I saw everyday,

And my world was as small as it could be. 

I was sixteen when I learned of social media. 

It was only facebook and telegram back then, 

and all I focused on was how my photos looked,

If my friends liked them,

If my crush liked me,  

and the only form of self expression I knew was 

changing my hairstyles 

and quoting lyrics from songs I barely understood.

Public and Private were only a concept.

As my father sat me down and explained 

of all the wrongs I have yet to encounter, 

The innocent eyes I had for the world were crumbling 

Everything that I ever knew was all unbecoming. 

What was wrong with the photo I took?

Was it my button nose?

Was it my crooked teeth?

Why was I afraid to fight back?

Why was I quick to delete the first thing I released into the wild 

When it was just one man’s voice, voices, screamed…

The creativity of the hate was building!

I felt alone in this battle

I was silenced. 

I stared into mirrors, I asked my mother

I covered my hands when I shared a laughter

A single word was destroying what took years to build.

I wasn’t going to let this stop me!

Was I?

[PART 3: THE MAIDEN]

I was seventeen when I first lost my innocence.

My eyes and ears were exposed to the world 

Louder than anything I ever knew.

I was sucked. 

I was tranced. 

I was falling. 

I wanted to know it all, and speak out about all the wrong I saw. 

Was it ever enough?

Was it the way my eyes were crooked or my nose small? 

Was it the way that I spoke or didn’t speak at all? 

Did I deserve any of it? 

Did I have to believe any of it at all? 

Who is this man to tell me I’m ugly when I had nothing ugly at all!

Was it something I said? Was it something I wrote? 

Was it the awkwardness of my hands when I posed? 

Or was it the fact that you chose to see what’s between my legs 

rather than what’s above my nose? 

I was not born deaf, but I wish I could unhear things.

I was not born blind, but I wish I could unsee this.

I was not born a man, but I wish I was today. 

I could repeat more words that were said to me

I could repeat more phrases that were thrown at me

sticks and stones, sticks and stones

I had better shields for the stones you’ve thrown 

Than to face the words I have known. 

In my own existence, In my own dissertation 

I was more than everything 

I knew I was more than what they were saying. 

[PART 4: THE MIRROR] 

Before there was silence, there was an ambush of noise.

I heard more than your words, 

I saw your heart’s tone. 

I could not deny the truth, I could not deny the hate

You were nothing more than a bird,

YOU WERE NOTHING MORE THAN 

A DAUGHTER, A SON, A MAN, A WOMAN 

YOU WERE NOTHING MORE THAN HUMAN!

You were never the words that were spoken to you

You were never the slurs that were shoved at you

You were a flower that was plucked to soon

You were that garden that filled up the whole room

I see the fresh cut that graces your skin.

I see all the bruises,

I see all the stain,

I see all the tears.

I see what’s behind and all that you carried.

I see you, I see you, I see you, I SEE YOU!

I stand here on the backs of all the words that were said to you,

I speak with all the words that were never given to you!

I see all the grace and beauty and brilliance.

I see your crooked eyes and beautiful smile and all the brain that it hides. 

I see your stolen home and I see your stolen voice. 

I stand here from all the ashes and tears that you were born from.

I see all the battle you have yet to face

I see all the scars you have yet to embrace

I SEE YOU!

I see you and I feel you and now I am not ashamed to say that I AM YOU. 

and you are me.

And I stand WITH you, I stand BY you, I stand FOR you. 

I DENY all the hate that was thrown at you. 

I GIVE you all the love that was hidden from you. 

Stay strong though, this war isn’t over.

We have barely scratched the surface. 

Strengthen your heart my dear

The stronger you get, the louder they become 

Sharpen your pencil,

Wipe your sweaty hands,

Clean your camera lens, 

And pose for me one more time.

Let us show the world, we have barely begun. 

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It is important to acknowledge that any activity can be used to unite people or to divide them. Football in Cameroon is no exception. The intensity of the sport often leads to heightened emotional states that can as easily trigger joy or outrage. There are some people, for example, who look down on the Cameroonian players who have decided to play for another country and voice this in a hateful way that challenges everyone’s identity. There are also moments in football where, when the team loses, fans turn to hate speech by criticizing individual players based on tribal lines. But football is also a sport that allows people to build community, bring different groups together, and if the football clubs support it helps build peace and acceptance of others. Especially in towns and villages, the power of sport to unite the youth in a playful and friendly way holds great promise.

Cameroon is a country crazy about football. It is not just the most famous sport, but is also something that is tied to Cameroonian identity and gives people a feeling of pride. It is not by accident that most meet-ups amongst Cameroonians in the diaspora are anchored around this beautiful game. At #defyhatenow, we believe in the ability of using all tools at our disposal to counter hate speech and support peacebuilding. These tools range from our #defyhatenow Field Guides, that have been translated into French, English, and Pidgin English, to games, #tech4peace, #art4peace and many other initiatives. Supporting the role football can play in promoting a culture of unity, tolerance, reconciliation, and dialogue should not be underestimated.

The #237footBERLIN calendar 2023

Featuring Cameroonian diaspora football clubs based in Berlin in an effort to identify and support the voices in these clubs that can help support peacebuilding efforts in Cameroon.

Download the calendar here.