Up Station Mountain Club

Remembering the West Cameroon Electricity Corporation (POWERCAM)

A 2008 Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV) report on the defunct West Cameroon Electricity Corporation (POWERCAM) featuring the late Mr. Ebai A. Mbiwan, first Manager of the Corporation (1962-1968).

 

Rest Thee Well Bebe - A Poem by Christmas Ebini in Memory of Bebe Manga

The poem "Rest thee Well," written by Christmas Ebini after the death of singer Bebe Manga, was recently turned into song by the self-described Cameroonian folklore artist, Bate Nico. Listen to the song and read the poem below.

 

Rest thee well
Queen of melody
Producer of joy and entertainment
Daughter of the mighty tiger
As we celebrate you great life
And see you off your final journey

[Video] North Cameroon living in shadow of Boko Haram

The people of northern Cameroon have been living in fear of Islamist attacks since a French family was abducted in February by gunmen claiming to work for the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram. Our special correspondent in Cameroon reports (France24).

 

[Video] Exploited and Abandoned: Nightmare for Cameroonian Guest Workers in Sweden

Video documentary on the exploitation of Cameroonian guest workers in Sweden - another sad tale of dashed dreams and modern-day slavery. The documentary is in Swedish but hasenough sections in English to follow the story.

 

Andy Allo Releases Second Album, Superconductor

Cameroonian singer and guitarist Andy Allo has released her eagerly anticipated second album titled Superconductor [available on itunes]. Unlike her first Album, Unfresh, which was an independent  production, her sophomore album was relased under Prince's label and coproduced by The Purple One himself who discovered Andy through the Africa TV channel, and quickly incorporated her into his New Power Generation Band.

 

Afropunk Interview

Funky singer Andy Allo has had about as good a year as it gets. After landing a gig that most people would kill for--guitar and backing vocals in Prince's band--the singer from Cameroon has just released her latest solo record Superconductor. She recently spoke with Afropunk about her musical upbringing, the new record, and of course playing music with Prince.

Click here for complete interview with Nathan Leigh.

Debut Video from Cameroonian Artist Bee Jay

 

[Video] Land Grab: The Herakles Debacle in Cameroon

A documentary by Franck Bieleu whose feature length documentary, Big Banana, was nominated for the jury's prize at the 2012 Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival.

"Environment groups are accusing a New York-based agricultural company, Herakles Farms, of going forward with plans for a 73,000-hectare palm-oil plantation and refinery in southwest Cameroon... in the face of significant community opposition." Inter Press Service.

 

"Given the terms of a 99-year agreement under which Herakles Farms is allowed to establish a plantation of about 70,000 hectares [in Ndian division], it’s not difficult to see why Cameroonian NGOs fear the worst for local people. The agreement does not clarify to what extent – if at all – Cameroonian labour laws will apply, it exempts Herakles Farms from paying any taxes for the first 10 years, and it enables Herakles to rent the land from as little as US $0.5 per hectare, increasing by 2 % per year, contributing almost nothing to the state budget...

Under the agreement, Herakles is even given the right to organize its own protection of the zone using a private police force with the power to “search, apprehend, detain, exclude and evict unauthorized persons”. Click here to read the rest of this article by Greenpeace.

[Video] Striking Tole Tea Workers Block Main Road to Buea

 

More details on the AFRICAphonie and Zofem and Twitpic websites

Ethnic Twist to Clashes between Youths and Motorbike taximen in Cameroon City? (Updated)

*UPDATED with quotes from chief of Deido

There have been clashes between motor-bike taxi riders and residents of Deido neighbourhood for five days leaving at least two people dead in Douala, Cameroon's largest city, media reports said.

This spate of violence erupted on New Year's Eve when Deido residents accused motor-bike taxi riders (known as Benskinneur) of stabbing a Deido native to death. The residents retaliated by attacking benskinneurs and setting their motorcycles on fire.

The violence escalated on Tuesday 3 January, as shown in the report below by Douala-based Equinoxe Television channel, after a woman's home was burnt down in Deido on Monday night. Some Deido residents blamed the benskinneurs for the action leading to further clashes on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

ETHNIC ISSUES

While local media have suggested that the situation is increasingly developing into a tribal conflict between mainly ethnic Bamileke benskinneurs and largely ethnic Duala (Sawa) Deido youth groups, Sawa community leaders refuted such allegations on Equinoxe TV on Wednesday.

"Why do you want to suggest that there is a problem between Deidos (Dualas) and Bamileke or benskinneurs?" Essaka Ekwalla the paramount chief of the Deido asked on Equinoxe TV news on Wednesday night. "Are all benskinneur in Douala Bamileke?" he asked. "Do you know that there are natives of Deido who lost property because they are also benskinneurs?"

 

Government officials and politicians have not directly said the violence is turning to an ethnic issue but they have called for calm and insisted on unity.

"The head of state has repeatedly said that we have only one ethnicity which is the Cameroon nation," Issa Tchiroma, the Minister of Communication said on TV. "Douala has to remain that melting pot that it has always been where all ethnic groups be they Bakoko, Bassa, Bamileke, Duala, Hausa, live in harmony," he said.

A statement by the Provincial Bureau of the country's leading opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), also touched on the issue.

"It should be noted that Douala is a cosmopolitan city. No one has the right to create a state of lawlessness in any of its neighbourhoods or areas. Douala is the common property of all who live there," said the statement signed by Gervais Nintcheu, SDF district chairman for the Littoral Region.

 "If it is clear that we have to respect Douala traditions and values (culture) and those who represent such (traditions and culture), all who live in the city, without exception, must recognise and integrate the notions of a Republic," the SDF added. 

Continue reading "Ethnic Twist to Clashes between Youths and Motorbike taximen in Cameroon City?" »

American Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph Proud of Her Cameroon Ancestry

An American actress, Sheryl Lee Ralph, has praised an initiative to help African-Americans reconnect with their ancestry by visiting the countries, such as Cameroon, where their forefathers originally came from.

Sheryl Lee Ralph and her husband Senator Vincent Hughes are among a group of 90 people visiting Cameroon as part of an ancestry reconnection programme where African-Americans whose origins have been traced to that country via DNA tests are invited back in a tour hosted by ARK Jammers, Inc., accordding to AtlasFamily.org.  

"...that I can sit here in this New Year and say I am a Cameroonian-American is a wonderful thing," Sheryl Lee Ralph, said on Cameroon national television (CRTV).

DNA tests showed that the ancestors of the actress, who was nominated for Broadway's 1982 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Dreamgirls and starred in the movie Sister Act 2, were from the Tikar ethnic group in Cameroon (read more about the Tikar of Cameroon in this article by anthropologist, Francis Nyamnjoh). 

Watch an excerpt of her statement in the video below and click here to read more about the reconnection programme, which is in its 2nd edition.

 

Paul Biya's Re-election: A CRTV Perspective

Paul Biya has been re-elected for another 7-year-term as President of Cameroon, according results published by the Supreme Court (sitting in lieu of the Constitutional Council) on Friday 21 Oct 2011. He won 77.98 percent of the votes cast.

After the proclamation of the results, George Ewane, the correspondent who covers presidential affairs for the country's government-run broadcaster (CRTV), analysed the electoral process for viewers of the national newscast (see video below).

He spoke about the transparency of the poll and the "Yaounde Declaration" by seven opposition candidates who want the poll to be annulled.

 

Jacob Nguni - Tribute to Bebey Manga

Lead guitarist Jacob Nguni performing at the Celebration of the life of the late BEBE MANGA in DC , USA on July 15, 2011.

Perils of Globalization: How Dole Food Co. Impoverished the Mungo Region of Cameroon

Trailer for "Big Banana", a documentary by Franck Bieleu about the impact of a transnational fruit company on the agricultural community of Njombe, in Cameroon...

Big Banana Trailer from Franck on Vimeo.

Video - The Men Who Control Cameroon

These men met to discuss Cameroon's national security on 14 July 2011.

Do schools stifle creativity?

Khan Academy: Using videos to reinvent education

Do you know Khan Academy? You should, for the sake of your children. What is needed is a vast investment in information technology in Cameroon. If that happens, the country will be transformed in less than 20 years into a developed country.

Sugata Mitra's new experiments in self-teaching

 

 

 

 

We must be part of this experiment: all educators take note!

Elliott Krane: The Mystery of chronic pain

Terry Moore: How to tie your shoes

Video: Vital Voices Global Leadership Honoree: Kah Walla

 

Kah Walla is the recipient of the 2011 Vital Voices Global Leadership Award for Leadership in Public Life. The Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards honor and celebrate women leaders who are working to strengthen democracy, increase economic opportunity and protect human rights around the world. Kah is the founder and owner of STRATEGIES!, a consulting firm based in Douala, Cameroon. Elected to City Council, Kah applied her entrepreneurial talents to social change advocacy by organizing women sellers in Douala's Sandaga Market. Now she is making change at the national level - as a presidential candidate in the fall 2011 elections. Vital Voices honored Kah in recognition of her work to create positive change in the lives of women and of all Cameroonians.

A Report on African Migrant Workers Trapped in Libya

Eye witness report about "Cameroonian rastaman" arbitrarily killed.

February 23 Protests: Rapid Intervention Unit Brutalizers Demonstrators

The BIR at work again...

 
More images of police brutality on presidential aspirant Kah Wallah available on The Chia Report.

Cameroon on Twitter - Live Updates

Cameroon: Police Crackdown on Anti-Biya Demonstrators in Douala

 

Issa Tchiroma to Cameroon Diaspora: "You Are Holding The Nation Hostage!"

Cameroon Information Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary reacts to the political activism of the Cameroon Diaspora: "Change will come through the ballot box not through upheaval."