Safe Haven

Cameroon is host to more than 600,000 refugees from across the African continent

As a country that has enjoyed social stability for many decades, Cameroon is a frequent destination for refugees from Central Africa. In its report published on January 31, 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that the number of refugees living in Cameroon was 665,947.

These figures, rising steadily, are an indication of the vast numbers of refugees crossing over into the West African country where they see the humanitarian situation as being better than where they are fleeing from. This migration and others like it are the reason the 32nd Ordinary Summit of the African Union held in Addis Ababa in February set its theme as Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Toward Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa.

There are a total of eight refugee camps in Cameroon. Minawao in the Far North Region, Gam and Borgof in Adamaoua, and Gado-badzez, Timangolo, Mbile, Lolo and Ngari-singo in the East Region.

According to the UNHCR, the Gourenguel Transit Center (Far North Region of the country) has continued to see an increasing number of newcomers to Cameroon, due to the resurgence of extremist religious terror group Boko Haram attacks.

On January 31, 2018, the UNHCR also announced the launch of biometric registration at Minawao Camp, which has the highest concentration of Nigerian refugees.

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Program Resident Representative for Cameroon Allegra Baiocchi has launched a $10-million appeal for funds to assist refugees. The refugees and asylum-seekers in Cameroon originate from countries such as the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Since the 1970s, Cameroon has always been open to refugees, and Chadian refugees fleeing civil war between northerners and southerners fled into the country. Given the scale of the phenomenon, a UNHCR camp was created to better manage Chadian arrivals. Then, it was followed by the Rwandan and Burundian crises, the ethno-religious tensions in Sudan, the coups in Sierra Leone, the long war in Liberia, the discrimination in Equatorial Guinea, the Congolese and Central African mutinies and the civil war in Angola, which brought large numbers of refugees to Cameroon.

The Minawao Camp in the Far North Region of the country, located near the border between Cameroon and Nigeria, is a safe haven for fleeing Nigerians escaping the horrors of Boko Haram. At the entrance of the camp is a security post of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, elite unit of the Cameroon Defense Forces, acting as a front line facing Boko Haram. The Rapid Intervention Battalion’s members interview and assess all refugees entering the cantonment.

Close to the checkpoint stands a hospital built by Cameroon, not only to ensure the care of refugees, but also to prevent the outbreak of epidemics. Potable water tanks and ablution facilities are part of the integrated infrastructure vital for the care of the refugees.

As most of the refugees there are women and children, measures have been taken to improve their capacity for future development.

Schools built in the camp ensure that the children of refugees receive an education. As far as the eye can see, neat rows of tents, stamped with the logo of the UNHCR, provide the temporary homes for families who try to reconcile their new lives with those they left behind.

According to Baiocchi, building schools can improve literacy rate among children so that they can have a better future.