Life

14, August 2022

Cameroon looks to bright future in film productions ⁰

“Stand by!” shouts the director as actors take their marks. The lighting blinks on. The film crew snaps into action after the order to hurry up.

It’s a sunny day in Tiko, a locality in southwestern Cameroon and a local film crew is gathered to shoot for an action series.

The series which spotlights the ills of drugs and human trafficking is called “Boss Daughters” and it’s expected to be premiered in November.

“We have been filming for like four days now and truly this one is a wonderful experience because I love the story line,” said 32-year-old Jackson Stephanor, director of the show.

Stephanor hopes that “Boss Daughters” will provide new impetus to Collywood, the affectionate nickname for Cameroon’s film industry.

Cameroon’s cultural diversity, tree-lined suburbs and sweeping landscapes, deserts and lakes have increasingly dotted the silver screen in recent years, serving as the backdrop for several popular movies in the country.

“For the last four years, the Cameroon film industry has really evolved. We have moved from the sales of DVDs and CDs to online,” said 31-year-old Montana Peters who has produced and acted in several movies.

The Central African nation has seen considerable growth in its film productions with over 300 movies produced since 2008, said Coach Obi who joined the industry as an actor in 2006.

In recent months, a number of Cameroonian productions have been attracting attention from streaming company Netflix, which has so far purchased four Cameroonian movies.

“We are making some strides,” Obi told Xinhua while shooting an advert in a studio in Buea, chief town of Southwest region which has become the center of film productions in the country.

The growth and popularity of the industry has won the admiration and attention of young Cameroonians like Josiane Shengang, 21, Angel Ntube, 21 and Elyon-Bright Ayuk, 22 who raised funds to produce “Boss Daughters”.

“We are just students who are working so hard to bring themselves up there. I will like to take my career as far as above the sky, as far as I can go,” said Ntube.

“We are trying to hit the limelight. We are all young ladies and we have the talents,” added Ayuk.

There are no official statistics on how much the industry has contributed to the Cameroonian economy, but it has undoubtedly created jobs in a country with an economy that relies mainly on oil and agriculture, said Obi.

“Some persons are cashing out. It might not be that much but really producers are making that effort,” Obi said.

Still, Peters said the industry has a long way to go before its actors and directors have a chance to make millions of dollars.

“We don’t actually have platforms where we can sell our movies. That is where the big problem is. That is where Nigeria is ahead of us,” Peters said, adding that a team was working on a platform that will soon air Cameroonian movies online for Cameroonians to stream.

Fueled by low budgets, whirlwind production schedules and little professional collaboration, the industry is still young but has great potentials, said film editor and producer, Musi Gakehmi.

“As it’s growing, as people are trusting production, more money is going to come in and we are going to have better equipment. Our equipment is not the Hollywood kind of equipment as of now, so whatever we have we make sure that we maximize its use,” Gakehmi said.

“In the next ten years, I see Cameroon film industry like one of the biggest film industries in Africa. It is going to be really big because they are working and achieving a lot,” said Shengang. ■

File photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the scene of film shooting of Boss Daughters in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the scene of film shooting of Boss Daughters in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows Jackson Stephanor (1st L), director of Boss Daughters, giving instructions to actresses while shooting the film in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows Jackson Stephanor (1st L, Front), director of Boss Daughters, giving instructions to his cameraman while shooting the film in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows the scene of film shooting of Boss Daughters in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows Jackson Stephanor (1st R), director of Boss Daughters, giving instructions to his cameraman while shooting the film in the Southwest region, Cameroon.

Culled from Xinhuanet

12, August 2022

Biya regime launches HIV/AIDS awareness campaign for young holidaymakers ⁰

Cameroon on Wednesday launched a campaign dubbed AIDS-Free Holiday to create awareness of the epidemic among students on holiday.

Cameroon was resolute to combat sexually transmitted infections especially HIV/AIDS among young people, the country’s Minister of Youth affairs and Civic education, Mounouna Foutsou said while officially launching the campaign in the capital Yaounde.

“Holiday is a period of strong mobilization of young people. We want to keep them safe during this period,” Foutsou said.

As part of the campaign which will run till August 31, over 600 young peer educators will be dispatched to 10 regions of the country to sensitize holidaymakers on the dangers of irresponsible sexual behavior.

Officials said, youths between 14-24 years are the key target of the campaign which will be guided by the theme “HIV or COVID-19, you can protect yourself, stay safe”.

According to the Ministry of Public Health, six out of 10 infections in the Central African nation are among young people with girls being the most vulnerable.

AIDS-Free Holidays has sensitized over 11 million young people, screened over 300,000, and distributed close to three million male and female condoms since it was launched in 2003, according to statistics provided by Synergies Africaines, a non-governmental organization run by Chantal Biya that organizes the sensitization annually.

About 2.9 percent of Cameroonians aged 15-49 are infected with HIV and only 39.1 percent of young Cameroonians aged 15-24 know about HIV prevention, according to a 2021 annual report published by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS.

Source: Xinhuanet

7, August 2022

French Cameroun: Nurse killed in Boko Haram attack in Far North ⁰

Militants of the Boko Haram group have killed a health worker in Cameroon’s Far North region, according to local and security sources.

The militants attacked a small medical store of the nurse overnight into Saturday in Tchika locality of the region, killing him and making away with some medical products, an army official in the region familiar with the attack told Xinhua.

The militants, who had targeted health workers for abduction in the region in the past, probably failed to kidnap him and decided to kill him, the officer who asked not to be named said.

Locals said, the deceased provided basic vital medical assistance to the community.

Cameroon army is stepping up offensives against the group following repeated attacks on civilians by the militants.

On Thursday, the army killed six militants in a repelled attack in Nguetchewe locality of the region, according to security reports.

Source: Xinhuanet

7, August 2022

Biya regime says 200 dead in 10 months after resurgence of cholera ⁰

A resurgence of cholera has killed 200 people since October 2021 in Cameroon, where more than 10,300 cases of the disease have been reported, the health minister said on Thursday (August 4).

Cholera, an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated, periodically appears in Cameroon, a central African country with a population of more than 25 million.

Since the start of the cholera epidemic in late October 2021, 200 people have died out of a total of 10,322 cases, Cameroon’s health minister, Manaouda Malachie, announced in a tweet.

Five of Cameroon’s ten regions, including the Littoral, which includes the economic capital Douala, and the Centre region, which includes the capital Yaoundé, are affected by the epidemic, according to the health minister.

“Beware!!! Let us observe hygiene measures,” Malachie urged.

The previous outbreak of cholera killed 66 people in Cameroon between January and August 2020.

In early 2021, the WHO estimated that there were 1.3 to 4 million cases of cholera and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths from the disease worldwide each year.

Source: AFP

4, August 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Doctors Without Borders withdraws from the South West ⁰

Charity group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Monday announced its withdrawal from two towns in Cameroon’s English-speaking South-West region.

It said the decision follows the arrest of four members of its local team and the suspension of its activities by the government.

The charity said a small team and adequate resources will still be maintained in Kumba and Mamfe towns.

MSF said it would also continue to work for the release of its staff and engage with the authorities for a safe and secure environment for its operations.

The demand for medical care is high in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, which have been plagued by a separatist conflict since 2017.

Several hospitals have been burned there – depriving locals of proper healthcare.

In December 2021, the spokesperson of the defence ministry, Colonel Cyrille Atonfack accused MSF of supporting the separatists after they helped a wounded rebel leader.

MSF denied the accusation, saying it treats people regardless of their ethnic, political or religious background.

Source: BBC

21, July 2022

Cameroon mega star, Ekambi Brillant in poor medical condition, needs help ⁰

Veteran Cameroonian musician Ekambi Brillant is down with an unknown illness as new reports from Douala suggest.

Elvis Kemayo recently paid him a visit, raising awareness of his condition.

Ekambi Brillant was popular in the 70s, 80s and early 90s and remains one of the greatest song writer and composer Cameroon as a nation has ever known.

Ekambi recorded a sea of greatest hits including Minya ma bobe, Moussoloki, Elongi, Cameroon Airlines and Yeye Yeah Massoma.

Cameroon Concord News senior entertainment correspondent Diamond Esoh commenting on the Ekambi situation opined that “It appears the story of riches to rags has become a major issue in the Cameroon music industry as Ekambi is yet another musician in dire need of medical and financial assistance.”

Unconfirmed reports in Douala say the renowned artist may have suffered some sort of paralysis.

By Rita Akana in Douala

18, July 2022

Biometric vaccination cards available for Cameroonians ⁰

Cameroon has introduced biometric vaccination cards to facilitate entry requirements for international travellers.

The head of the International Vaccination Center in Yaoundé, a structure under the Ministry of Public Health of Cameroon, Dr Ntsobe Njoh Bolo Bolo Yanne Emmanuel, says that biometric vaccination and health cards have been introduced for Cameroonian travelers in order to facilitate the process of verifying their vaccination status when entering or leaving the country.

This initiative is a novelty intended to keep Cameroon at the same level as other nations in terms of delivering modern and secure vaccines and digital health cards.

“It’s not just a (biometric) COVID-19 vaccination card,” says Dr Ntsobe.

“The biometric card also applies to vaccines against other diseases like yellow fever, cholera, typhoid fever and meningitis which are often required for international travel. All information regarding these vaccines can be stored in this card”.

The new biometric vaccination card can be obtained at all international vaccination centers in the country, including vaccination centers in Yaoundé, Douala, Bafoussam, Maroua and Garoua.

These cards contain a unique and secure QR code which, when scanned, reveals a directory of all vaccines a traveler may have taken. The maps are also stored digitally.

Source: OICanadian

16, July 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Doctors Without Borders to close projects in Mamfe and Kumba ⁰

After suspending activities in March 2022 to focus on securing the release of four detained staff members, MSF will close projects in Kumba and Mamfe on August 1.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has made the difficult decision to close our projects—which were suspended in March— in Kumba and Mamfe, in the South-West region of Cameroon.

This closure will take effect on August 1, 2022, and will result in the termination of contracts of the majority of MSF’s staff. The closure follows the suspension of MSF activities in the region three months ago.

MSF has been working to secure the release of four colleagues who were unjustly detained in December 2021 and January 2022 while carrying out medical humanitarian activities in in the South-West region. While two of our four colleagues were conditionally released in May, two remain in prison, and all are set to face trial.

A small team will remain in the South-West region to support the release and resolution of the cases, as well as to continue dialogue with the authorities as MSF seeks to re-establish conditions that will enable our teams to carry out medical activities in a safe environment. MSF made this decision as are unable to indefinitely maintain our teams with no clear vision of when we may be able to restart our activities, or when our staff will be able to work without being prosecuted for providing medical assistance to those in need.

MSF will consider reviewing this decision following the trial and based on our exchanges with Cameroon’s government. We continue to seek to improve the humanitarian notification system, so that staff can hopefully return to their jobs in confidence that their lifesaving work will not put them at risk of legal prosecution. MSF remains hopeful that we will be able to find an understanding with the authorities that could enable MSF to support the local health system and deliver medical assistance to local people.

As an international medical humanitarian organization, MSF provides impartial medical support to every patient in need, in line with medical ethics and international humanitarian law.

For almost five years, South-West Cameroon has been impacted by violence between separatist armed groups and state armed forces. MSF provided free health care to people in the region until March 29, 2022, when we made the difficult decision to focus on obtaining the safe release of our colleagues. MSF has specified that, as a neutral and impartial medical organization, it has supported wounded patients from both sides of the conflict in South-West Cameroon, including those from the state armed forces. MSF always provides free medical to those who need it most, based solely on need.

Culled from MSF

9, July 2022

University of Buea lecturer kidnapped ⁰

The Department of Engineering and Technology of the University of Buea was yesterday visited by gunmen who disrupted the writing of exams in that department and kidnapped a lecturer who was invigilating the exam.

The gunmen, suspected to be amba boys, came with the intention of disrupting exams and they succeeded in doing that, a student at the Univetsity of Buea told the Cameroon Concord News correspondent in Buea.

“Amba boys came in while we were writing our exams. This is unfortunate. How are they going run their country when they are against education,” the student said.

“Amba boys have made life very hard for students in the two English-speaking regions of the country. In rural parts of the country, children are still denied access to education by these so-called fighters,” he added.

Meanwhile, the kidnapped lecturer has not been heard from and the University community is really concerned.

No group has taken responsibility for the reckless behavior but many observers are already concluding that the revolution has lost its way.

More will be yours as we get it.

By Stephen Mokake

6, July 2022

King of Pop: Three disputed Michael Jackson songs pulled from streaming sites ⁰

Three Michael Jackson songs have been removed from streaming sites following longstanding claims that they are sung by someone else, Sony and the late singer’s estate said Wednesday.

“Breaking News,” “Monster” and “Keep Your Head Up” appear on the 2010 compilation album “Michael,” released a year after Jackson’s death from a drug-induced cardiac arrest.

Some fans have long argued that the vocals on the tracks actually belong to an American session singer by the name of Jason Malachi, claims Sony has denied.

The record company and Jackson’s estate said, however, that they had decided to remove the songs “as the simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all.”

They added in their joint statement that the removal had nothing to do with whether the songs were authentic.

“Nothing should be read into this action concerning the authenticity of the tracks — it is just time to move beyond the distraction surrounding them,” they said.

Sony and Jackson’s estate added that the seven other tracks on “Michael” would remain available.

On its release in December 2010, “Michael” was billed as containing unreleased songs that were “recently completed using music from the original vocal tracks and music created by the credited producers.”

Jackson is supposed to have written and recorded them with producers Edward Cascio and James Porte in 2007.

But ardent fans and even some Jackson family members expressed skepticism and Sony was forced to release a statement saying it had “complete confidence” that the vocals belonged to Jackson.

Skeptics said the songs were actually sung by Malachi who, according to TMZ, admitted in a 2011 Facebook post that that was the case.

His manager later denied it, claiming the post was faked, reports said.

In 2014, fan Vera Serova launched a class-action lawsuit in California against Sony, Jackson’s estate, Cascio and Porte accusing them of lying to consumers.

An appeals court ruled in favor of Sony and the estate in 2018, removing them from the suit. Serova then appealed to California’s supreme court, according to TMZ.

The judges did not take a stance on whether Jackson had actually sung the songs, and the controversy has not gone away.

Source: AFP