YAUNDE, Cameroon — Jane Ndamei’s dream of becoming a doctor almost ended her life five years ago.
The 20-year-old student from Cameroon’s rebellious south-west was sitting his 12th grade exam when he suddenly heard gunshots. Shortly after, armed men stormed the school, forcing Ndamay and his colleagues to flee the exam hall.
“It was the sound of death, and I really thought I couldn’t make it. I prayed silently for a miracle to happen,” she recalls.
Ndamei, then 15, was one of 2.8 million children in West and Central Africa whose education has been disrupted by violent conflict in recent years, according to the United Nations. As of June, more than 14,000 schools had been closed due to violence and insecurity in 24 countries in West and Central Africa.
According to a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council aid group, 1.4 million school-age children will be without educational assistance in 2023 due to the separatist crisis in western Cameroon and the invasion of Boko Haram in the north. urgently needed. In 2019, when Ndamei’s school was attacked, the United Nations said 855,000 children were out of school in northwestern and southwestern Cameroon, where armed separatist groups targeted schools.
The central African country has been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched an uprising in 2017. The stated goal is to break away from the French-speaking majority and establish an independent English-speaking state.
The government accused separatists of committing atrocities against English-speaking civilians. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 760,000, according to the International Crisis Group.
Since the conflict began, separatist groups have initiated and enforced school boycotts as a means of applying pressure on the government for political recognition.
Human Rights Watch reports that separatist groups opposed to the central government-organized French-speaking education system have killed and kidnapped students and teachers, burned and looted school buildings, and threatened families. They stopped their children from going to school.
“The deliberate targeting of schools and the systematic denial of education in the name of conflict is nothing short of a disaster,” said Hassan Hamadou, NRC’s regional director for West and Central Africa.
“Every day that children are kept out of school is a day that is taken away from their future and the future of their communities,” Hamadou added.
To continue her education, Ndamei had to move to the French-speaking west and stay with relatives. She is currently enrolled in the university’s nursing program.
“I had the opportunity to stay with relatives in an area that was not affected by the crisis, but many of my classmates did not have that opportunity,” Ndamei told The Associated Press.
She says many have become young mothers.
“You have 11- and 12-year-old children sitting in your house and the next thing you know they’re pregnant and their future is shattered,” Ndamei said. “The parents are frustrated, and the children are frustrated, too.”
Nelson Tabwe, from the northwestern town of Batibo, said his three children, aged 10, 12 and 15, have not attended school for nearly seven years because of the separatist conflict.
“My last child, Jude Ngam, dreamed of becoming a mechanical engineer. His older sister Janet always wanted to be a doctor and my eldest daughter Claire always said she wanted to be a teacher. ”Tabwe told The Associated Press.
The 61-year-old and his family fled separatist conflict in his hometown and took refuge in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde. The adjustment was difficult, with the entire family living cramped in one room on little money and Tabwe unable to find steady work in the capital.
“We came here with nothing,” Tabwe said.
He said it has become increasingly difficult to support his family since he was displaced by the violence. Tabwe’s three children are not yet in school but must help their parents earn money.
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