The country blocked the internet & Social media for English speakers

Bamenda is known for its moderate climate, its location among green hills & nature. It is also one of the few cities in Cameroon where English is spoken.

But for months it has been the center of an idiomatic conflict. At least 10 protesters have been killed, schools and shops are closed, streets are deserted and activists using the internet from other regions raising a voices for this city #BringBackOurInternet has been a top trend on their Social medias.

Earlier this year – Jan. 18 – the Cameroonian government issued a controversial order aimed at telecommunication companies in the country: blocking the Internet in Anglophone areas (the Northwest Region and the Southwest Region).

This is the first time the network has been censored in the country. And the measure aims to prevent those affected (about five million people) from using social networks and messaging applications like WhatsApp.

With the restriction of access to the network, the authorities sent text messages to the population, warning that they are exposed to long prison sentences if they spread “false information” through social networks.

Just one day before the censorship, several group leaders were arrested who protested peacefully against the compulsion of French in schools and in the courts, which they consider a marginalization towards those who do not speak the language.

Idiomatic Conflict

Bamenda, the capital of the English-speaking Northwest Region – whose official language is a vestige of its colonial past, first the domination of the Germans and after the British empire – coexists between disputes with the French-speaking majority of the rest of the country.

And the same thing happens in Buea, the capital of the Southwest Region, where much of the country’s digital economy is located, an area that is popularly known as “Silicon Mountain

English-speaking citizens complain that they are discriminated against and excluded from employment.
They also protest because certain official documents are issued only in French and because the legal system is limited to the use of that language.

The language conflict has been increased in recent years by some English-speaking political groups that advocate for the independence of the region.

Although in the African nation more than 200 languages ​​are spoken, the inheritance of colonial Cameroon, which became independent in the early 1960s, is official bilingualism (French and English) that has been tried to promote in schools, althoughIn reality only 20% of the population speak the Anglo-Saxon language . Several cameruns protested on Twitter and on other platforms against the government measure.

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