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| Young IDP girls hawking at the Mile 17 Motorpark in Buea |
The Anglophone Crisis which has degenerated into an armed
conflict causing untold suffering to the people of the South West and North
West Regions, has forced thousands of
Anglophones to flee their homes, towns and village, forcing thousands to
relocate to Buea, the capital of the South West regions.
Many
children who have fled gun battle torn areas like Muyenge, Muyuka, Ekona, and
other far off places like Kwa-Kwa, Kembong and other towns in the Manyu and
Libialem Divisions and have sought safe haven in Buea doing menial jobs and
petite trading to survive.
Visiting the Mile 17 Motor Park Buea, the entire Motor Park
is teeming with children between the ages of 6 to 15 years-old. Many of the
children are hawking all kinds of goods in order to earn a living.
Some of
the children interviewed by The National Times reporter revealed that the
ongoing crisis has subjected them to hardship and most of their parents were
caught in the crossfire between the pro-independence fighters and the military.
Some are being raised by a single parent as a result of the conflict.
There
are an increasing number of these children at the Mile 17 Motor Park and to
them hawking at the Park is better than their places of origin.
The
Median spoke to some of the children who narrated their ordeal staying in the
bushes and engaging in hawking at Mile 17 Motor Park is far better than staying
in battle towns.
Talking
to Bessong, 10 year-old who sells snail barbecue, she said revealed that he is
happy with what he does.
“I toil every day, from 9:00am till 6:00pm, I
prefer doing this because am sure I will be alive than staying in Muyenge where
gunshots are heard on the daily basis. Here at the Mile 17 Motor Park, I see
many people and interacts with many. I make money for myself and my aunt,”
Bessong narrated.
When
asked if hawking from 9:00am to 6:00pm isn’t stressful, Bessong said he is very
comfortable and wish to continue till 9:00pm, “but for security reasons, I am
compelled to stop at 6:00pm.
“To me,
staying alive is a blessing. I have seen uncountable dead bodies of the old and
young in Muyenge. I am willing to do anything here in Buea to survive than
going back to the warzone. There is life
in Buea, I wanted to hawk till 9:00pm but my aunt with whom I stay with
refused. My parents were all shot in front of me and our house burnt to ashes”.
Another
hawker asserted that it is preferable to hawk in Buea which is relatively than
to spend a night in Ekona.
“Buea
is very calm even though I hear gun shots here, but it’s preferable to stay
here than Ekona. I came to Mile 17 Motor Park in November 2018, after our house
was razed to ashes. I trekked from Ekona through Lysoka village to Muea then I
got to this place. I don’t know where my parents are. Since the invasion of our
quarter, my parents and I separated, we all ran to different direction”,
Shallot Itoe, a nine year-old girl narrated.
Shallot
continues; “when I arrived this park, I met this woman and I pleaded with her
for bread to eat and I later explained my situation to her. She sympathised
with me and I decided to become a hawker for her. I hawk Kwa-co-co made by her.
I live with her, she clothes and feeds me daily. I am extremely very happy to
be a hawker”.
Asked
if she is not scared of hawking at her age and the challenges that come with
it, she said what she has gone through in Ekona since the crisis escalated is
worse than her current situation.
The
Median spoke to Shallot’s new found Good Samaritan (Madam Immaculate Ndang) a
Kwacoco vendor, who decided to help her with accommodation after she found out
that she was stranded.
She
revealed that her heart bled when the nine-year-old narrated her ordeal and
feeling emotional she decided to extend a helping hand.
“This little girl came to me and told me her sufferings,
after listening to her; I told her that I can only offer her food and shelter
for the night. The next day she assisted me in preparing the Kwacoco then
accepted to hawk with me at the Mile 17 Motor Park. She joins me now to hawk
Kwacoco and she does it well. I have taken her as my child until the day that
her parents will show up for her. She is very hard working and intelligent”,
Madam Ndang added.
The
above cases are among the many children The Median spoke to who have fled from
the gun battle towns and are now involve in hawking at Mile 17 Motor Park as
the only source of livelihood.
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