Combating Hate Speech: Poor Civilian-Military Relationship Generating Hate, Xenophobia

By Raymond Dingana

Transporters and other road users have continued to decry instances of Hate Speech and Xenophobic comments made to them at various security check points in Bamenda by uniform officers. They say, hate names like Ambazonie, Anglofools, and Terrorists taximan among others have been used on them countless times. Extortion, sexual and other forms of military harassments have also given birth to a high level of hate in the communities especially between civilians and uniform officers. To many civilians, this is the source of the hatred they have developed for uniform officers which is only insuring that, the circle of hate continues.

One of those who said he has suffered such hate language from uniform officers is this cab driver who only wanted to be referred to his as Gideon. He said, “On my way to Bambili, I was asked to stop by soldiers at the security check at mile six Nkwen, I had one passenger in front and three behind, yet I was asked to settle control, I refused based on the fact that, my car documents were intact. The uniform officer said if I had met but separatist fighters, I would have given them money without resisting and that, I was Amba. I felt like engaging him in a fight but because I hadn’t a gun, I had to calm down my temper,’’ he said adding that, his hatred for uniform officers has only continue to grow as the days go by.

Another driver said, he met gendarmes on his way to Bali and they shouted in French, “ho ho ho Amba Amba, Gare la-bas, Gare la-bas,” loosely translated as, ho ho ho Amba, park there. He said that was hate speech used against him by the uniform officer. 

To him, some of the officers sent to work in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon look at the people as ‘Amba.’

The population of Bamenda has described these actions by soldiers at security checkpoints and the way some civilians have been responding to the hate language against them as a ticking time bomb ready to go off anytime soon if nothing is done and fast. Words like Ambazonie, Anglofools, terrorists taximan among others hate words are common around these check points.

 Extortion, sexual and other forms of military harassments at the security check points have given birth to a high level of hate in the communities especially between civilians and uniform officers.

Failure to heed to the demands of those at the checkpoints has alwaystension and a promoter of hate speech and xenophobia. Victims of such treatments by the forces of law and order have turned to hate them and at the same time, hitting back with hate language.

Last week, the Bilingualism and Multiculturalism Commission was in Bamenda for a Communication Campaign against hate speech. 

The above mentioned worries among others were identified to be some of the root causes of hate speech and xenophobia. 

Their three day stay in Bamenda from the 15 -18 of June 2021 gave the commission members, Barrister Nico Halle and David Abouem A. Tchoye ample time for them to understand the root causes of hate speech and xenophobia and how they can be handled.

The ongoing war rocking the North West and the South West Regions of Cameroon has further compounded the already difficult relationship existing between the Civilian population of the two restive regions of Cameroon and uniform officers.

 This is coming at a time when administrative officials in the region have been begging on the people to collaborate with the government win the war against separatist fighters. 

There are hopes that, this strained relationship between the civilian population of the North West Region and the forces of law and order will be looked in to in order to avert a situation that may further plunge the region in to more chaos.