Request For An Audience With Paul Biya: Cameroonian Women Are Fed Up

This is the substance of the communiqué of the movement Femmes Debout for Cameroon received to our editorial office of which we publish the entirety. 

 This March 8, we, Cameroonian women do not celebrate. We have a heart ache, we feel bad for our children, bad for our families and bad for ourselves. We are in pain for our country. We have pain. We, Cameroonian women, are in pain and we are fed up. Fed up with a war that kills our children, civilians and soldiers; of a war that has made us refugees. Fed up with a regime that does not respect the most basic rights of its citizens. 

Tired of a government that does not provide access to the most basic services: water, electricity, roads, schools, hospitals; we need to do kilometers, gymnastics, excessive sacrifices. Just to give the water to drink to our children. 

Request For An Audience With Paul Biya: Cameroonian Women Are Fed Up

We Cameroonian women, we say STOP! STOP! STOP! Mr. the Head of State, We Cameroonian women say STOP! We do not want to know anything about your appointments, your institutions that you set up wrongly and without success for the people. We do not want to know anything about the rigged elections you are organizing for the umpteenth time.

Mr. the Head of State, We Cameroonian women, mothers and nannies who support this society, we say STOP! Mr. President, we have to talk to each other. Talk to us before it's too late for our country. We are seeking an appointment with you to discuss three issues: How can we end the war you started so that our children stop killing each other? How can we organize the refoundation of our country? We women want respect for fundamental rights, national unity, democracy. 

In addition we want electricity, water, schools and roads. Only appointments, elections and other administrative actions that lead to these results are of interest to us. How together will we facilitate the non-violent political transition for Cameroon? Mr. President, we are asking for an appointment by March 16, 2018. We invite all Cameroonian and Cameroonian to join us for this appointment. 

We ask all political leaders and presidential candidates to join us for this meeting. We ask all leaders of civil society: associations, religious organizations and the private sector to join us for this meeting. Mr. President, we can not take it anymore. 

We must take our country out of the chasm in which it is. We, Cameroonian women, are standing up for Cameroon. We will only sit when you have given us an audience and answered our questions. By order and for Women Stand up for Cameroon.

Kah Walla