MY BROTHER SACRIFICED HIS LIMB AND FINGERS BECAUSE WE FAILED TO END THE ANGLOPHONE CRISIS.

May 2021, my phone is ringing and it is my best friend calling–so I smile as I am about to receive some good news. Hello, little brother I say—how were your results?—I trust you have performed well as usual—I have a gift prepared for you so be on your way already. Silence—complete stillness from the other end of the call. A few moments later, a strange voice emanates from amidst the silence saying, your friend, Ismael has been in a coma since three nights back and he is losing his right limb and fingers. At this moment, I am unable to utter a word—a few seconds later, the call drops.

Fast forward three months later, I visit my friend Ismael to check on his recovery. There I ask Ismael, my brother, how are you feeling? He says, “I feel my body is healing but my soul I feel it is entrapped—my mind keeps taking me to the tragic moments I experienced and I fear I will not be able to heal from the horrors I uncounted.” I, reluctantly ask Ismael to take me through his tragic experience—what is supposed to be the darkest moment he has ever lived;

My friend, my brother—Ismael with whom I grew up in the same household goes thus, “I am returning from my school—GTHS Santa, in uniform. Suddenly in front of me, stands five men holding knives and cutlasses in their hands. I want to run but my legs are trembling—I feel as though my legs are held pinned down by an invincible force—so I begin to shiver as they are closing in on me. Shortly afterward I feel a hard object hit against the back of my head so I fall on my face—as I turn I see hard sharp metals lifted high to be rained on my legs—I send my hands forward to protect my legs, my right hand is grabbed—held down and my fingers chopped off in my witness—what follows is unbearable—unspeakable—and I know this is my end—I know—this is my end.” At this moment my brother results to tears—I result to tears as well and anyone being a fellow human who hears this will definitively result to tears as well. My brother is brutally tortured and left to die but God has his plan—a stranger finds him, takes him to a clinic, and later transfers him to the Bamenda Regional Hospital where his right leg is amputated because of the severity of injuries sustained.

Ismael continues to grapple with the profound disturbance of having lost his leg and fingers at such a tender age. The echoes of his traumatic experience resonate in the quiet moments, a constant reminder of the price he paid for the simple pursuit of education.

 Ismael’s story calls for urgent action from both the government and the community. Steps must be taken to end the relentless Anglophone Crisis that has claimed the innocence of countless children like him. The following recommendations are therefore very important:

• Providing a safe learning environment for students and pupils, while investing in education;
• Providing physiotherapy and mental health support schemes for children;
• Pushing for reconciliation efforts, while allowing for third-party Mediation.

All of the above are essential to heal the wounds inflicted on young minds and bodies. Let this poor child’s tragic moment serve as a rallying cry for compassion, understanding, and collective action. It also serves as an appeal to ensure that no child bears the weight of war on their fragile shoulders and that, the scars of conflict are replaced with the promise of a brighter future.