The Silent Complicity of Francophone Opinion or Anglophone Lessons from Ferguson
This post was originally written in November 2014 but recent events have made it more relevant than ever. The goings-on in Ferguson, where the wanton murder by a White policeman of an unarmed Black youth and the establishment’s refusal to indict the White policeman sparked riots in the USA; coupled with the feeling of wonder expressed by the White community there, had me drawing parallels with Cameroon and the cold shoulder our Francophone partners turn to us when massive arbitrary arrests, event disruptions, murders and other human rights abuses go on in Cameroon against “SCNC militants” and we expect them to take up our defence against an oppressive regime. In Ferguson for example, we see some Whites supporting the cause of the Blacks, helping to remind authorities that Black lives matter too, perhaps out of intellectual honesty. But when Anglophones receive such shabby treatment, can we expect any liberty loving Francophone voices to take up their defence? Never, if what we...