Internally Displaced Persons In Bamenda Decry The Quality Of Goods Received From government

July 30, 2019

By Raymond Dingana.

Internally displaced persons in Bamenda,North West Region of Cameroon have decried what they say is the poor quality goods received from the Bamenda Regional Center For Humanitarian Assistance. The internally displaced persons were speaking to DRAY INFO on Tuesday July 23, 2019 at the Bamenda II DO, s office during the distribution of Basic Humanitarian Needs to internally displaced persons, in Bamenda II subdivision of the North West Region Of Cameroon.

According to this internally displaced person from Benakuma resident in Bamenda II sub division, the quality of some of the goods especially the mattress he received is of very poor quality: “I am very disappointed with the quality of the mattress I have just received. I doubt if it can even take me for two weeks. This cannot be compared to what men dressed in military attires burnt in my house in Benakuma in Menchum division of the North West Region Of Cameroon. But since there is nothing I can do about it, I don’t have a choice but to collect and be managing for the main time while praying for better days ahead”.

Another internally displaced person still from Benakuma does not only have a problem with what she says is the poor quality mattress she received but the packets of sugar given her.: “The mattress is too soft. I doubt if it can take me and my two children for up to a month. For the packets of sugar, I can’t tell if what has been given to us is powdered sugar of what. Taking a look at it, it looks like vegetable oil has been poured on it even though there is no sign that water or any liquid substance has touched it. Even though we are thankful for the gesture, what we need most is not the low quality goods we have been given but our homes that have been destroyed. Even if they can’t rebuild our houses, let them create an enabling environment for us to go back home and rebuild our houses, the suffering is too much and we can’t bear anymore”.

Yet,another internally displaced person is a family head of 8 children from Bafut, he says, this is not the first time he is collecting mattresses from the Bamenda Regional Center For Humanitarian Assistance but that,the blast two are not usable again just barely months after receiving. “I have received these mattresses for the second time now. Without being ungrateful, the first one I collected does not resemble a mattress again. Sleeping on it is not different from someone sleeping on bare floor. I am not happy with the quality of the goods but the truth is that, it’s better than nothing. We can only manage and wait for the day something positive will happen so that I can go back home try to put in place all what have been destroyed by this senseless war. Even the distribution its self is a problem. While some cannot boost of one mattress, others are carrying six just because of those working at the DO’s office is from their place who actually informed them that distribution was going to take place on Tuesday”.

In as much as the quality of some of the basic needs from the Bamenda Regional center for humanitarian assistance have come under fire from some of the beneficiaries, they are those who still think that, the quality of the basic needs should not be a problem. According to this young internally displaced person from mile VIII in Mankon-Bamenda who preferred to go by the name Tse, there are many in the bushes who are in dire need of mattresses whose quality are even far below what they have been given. “When our house was burnt and my elder brother shot and killed in mile VIII Mankon by armed men in military attires, we all ran into the bushes. While in the bushes, we were sleeping on the ground. Those with farm houses were and are still sleeping on bamboo beds with nothing on them to call a mattress. Give them these mattresses and see how they will celebrate. I want to thank all those who thought it wise to contribute their resources so that we have these items and ease the pain we are passing through”.

It should be noted that, the ongoing war in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon has given birth to thousands of refugees whose living conditions are little or nothing to write home about. They now survive thanks to gestures from people of good will. They are also being supported by NGO,s, churches and even the government of Cameroon. Many of the internally displaced persons have on several occasions called on the warring parties to stop the war and start talking in order that the killings and the destructions can be put to a halt so that they can return home. Unfortunately, their plea seems to be falling on deaf ears. This is because as the days go by, the crises continue to escalate with little or no signs that it will end any time soon. As the war is continuing, the number of internally displace persons continue to rise meaning more hardship as many continue to flee their communities leaving almost everything behind to other areas where they are subjected to a lot of hardship especially in communities where they are not welcomed.