THE KUROP REGION, SOUTH WEST PROVINCE--CAMEROON.
In April 1999, just about 2 months to finish my studies in the University of Buea, I was selected by Dr Kai Schmidt-Soltau, a German teacher then a part-time lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in the said University, to do a socio-economic survey on the impact resettlement of the Kurop project. Before I continue, the Kurop Project had the intention of resettling the six villages found in the Kurop National Park. The test village was to be Ekundu-kundu I, which we were asked to provide theoretical knowledge on how best it could be settled as a model for others to follow in the subsequent years. It was a landmark study and trip in my life. I keep thinking of always going back to the Kurop forest and enjoying its beauty. Before I go into the beauty of the Mundemba area, I would like to comment on the main practical aspect we had in the field.
We went to the region with the intention of studying the socio-economic impact of resettlement. The first assumption was that the resettlement had been done and we were to study the adaptation strategy the people could use or were using in the new environment. This was not the case and we had to change some of our questions to fit the situation. This is one of the misconceptions in the field of research. We go to the field with preknowledge. Secondly, this shows that it is pretty difficult not to do what a research-funding body asks of you. The Kurop Project made us to believe they had already finished with the resettlement of Ekundu-kundu I.
We were four students and two instructors. I was with Charles Eyong, Temah Cletus and Fuh Divine while Mbuagbo Oben and kai Schmidt were as senior research assistant and the main researcher respectively. We took off for Mundemba on the 30th of April 1999 driving for about six hours from Buea through Kumba and Ekondo Titi then to Mundemba. It was one of the most tiring days of my life but this tiredness was somehow dismiss instantly the following day. We virtually knew little of what research entails. I had originally thought it would just mean collecting information. We spent about 9 hours on the 1st of May 1999 reading and arranging for some practicalities of the research per se. Most if not all of us were hungry, very hungry and we were offered coffee which I decline to taste because it was no substitute for food(according to me!) We were told of the big rivers we had to cross in the forest and the possibilities of seeing elephants and many dangerous animals. This was scary enough but injected cautiousness in to me.
The first place was for us to go to the resettlement site which was and is a big contrast to the settlement in the forest. Unlike the forest where neighbours were relatives, the new site allowed people to choose their houses based on the family size and status. The houses were built of bricks and had streets. The site is served by a triangular street with very good houses, but the villagers complained they could not maintain these houses because the technology is not available. Most preferred thatched houses because they could easily weave raffia leaves.
After visiting the resettlement area and staying there for 3 days(not with Kai who came in every morning from Mundemba by car) we set off for a 5-6 hours trek in the Kurop Forest from river Ndian to Ekundu-kundu I. Immediately after crossing the suspension bridge we entered the untouched primary forest as though we were in a tunnel to emerge at the other end by the close of the day.We crossed more than 65 rivers, springs and streams before getting to Ekundu-kundu I. It was the first longest journey I had ever had in my life. I saw the magnificence, mystery and superiority of God's imagination. It is too great to describe. The long journey was fresh all the time for we had no touch of the blazing sun. what we could hear was intermittent interruption of the calm forest by monkies and some other animals who felt our encroachment threatened them (wherever they were).
We had not taken any breakfast, not knowing that we would trek for hours in the forest before getting to our destination. That aside, we finally arrived Ekundu-kundu I, exhausted, tired and hungry and a bit weary. To our amazement, the villagers were really to give us any relieve. They brought us coconuts and we soaked some garri and quenched part of the hunger. We were at the heart of the forest, yes, far off from the homely comforts, far off from information. The only radio stations we got were from Nigeria. We at last had a meal, a very good meal of bush meat and plantains. The next problem was getting a place to sleep. We slept on the mat on the floor and on benches. The Ekundu-Kundus are very kind and welcoming people.
We were in Ekundu-kundu I for 2 days and due to mosquioes and the fact that Kai got sick we hurried over data collection and returned to Mundemba. Ekundu-kundu had a community school that had been taken up by the government but it was just up to class 4. Education after class 4 was got in Ekundu-kundu II or Erat, many kilometres away. What we noticed was that the villagers drank much afofop or a locally brewed strong liquor from palm wine. Many of them were getting blind at a young age because of diseases stemming from mosquito bites.
We spent 2 days in Ekundu-kundu I, did snapshot research and returned to our base in Mundemba. It was still the very long and quiet journey, but this time to destination was known. At last we got to Mundemba again, but finding accomodation was difficult. We had to negotiate with some kind and loving students and school drop-outs to take one of their rooms for free, although we decided to give them money at the end of the 1 and � week to compensate for their goodness and the food and coconut they gave us. We faced the problem of mosquitoes everywhere we went despite having to burn 'moontigers' to scare them off. We still had to bathe in the stream where the women had to be up stream and the men down. It was all exciting.
The next village we visited was Fabe which was to be a new neighbouring village to the resettled Ekundu-kundu I. They were receptive of the opinion but wanted to share in the benefits of the resettlement. We did not sleep there. We returned to Mundemba and still visited another village north of Mundemba. It was in fact a dying village where the population had decreased considerably. This village is called Etuka-about 2 hours trek from Mundemba town. It was somehow connected to the resettlement of the Ekundu-Kundu I.
The next research with the Kurop Project was from November 1999 to December that year. This time, it was aith another German researcher-Ute Roechenthaler. There was a lady this time in our midst in the name of Ann. Mbuagbo was no ,longer with us. It was just the very exciting experience. We started off from the northern part of the park. We took a car from Nguti to Baro and started the one month forest trek whose memories always tell me to go back. We trekked for more than three hours in rain to the first village, BAREKA-BATANGA, a village whose population was decreasing very much. The rain acted at a form of frustration because we had a lot of load to carry. The very first challenge was crossing a bridge that was half bad. If one had to fall, it meant the fast flowing river would take him away. This was a terrible imagination and made me not to see the river while crossing. We were attacked by ants in the night but all ended well and we set off for the next village the following day at noon.
The next village was IKENGE, where our forest guide came from. It was just the old same story-the people welcoming and expecting. We were there for about 4 days and headed to ESUKUTAN, the most troublesome village we met in the park. They were very angry about resettlement especially the fact that their hopes of a better life had been raised by the Kurop Project but has never been fulfilled. The people here trek right north to Manyu Division to sell their produce. Esukutan was potentially most the prosperous village in the park.
We left Esukutan after about 6 days and trekked for less than a hour and a halt to BERA another fast dying village with a population of less than 40. There were no young men in Bera. The forst was fast approaching. It however had a very good river, just like all the villages in the park. The paramount chief of the BAKOKO comes from this village. Bera was the last village in the northern part of the park we visited. We then headed to the Kurop villages in the south. We however could not go directly, so we had to sleep in a village in Manyu Division called Akwa.
We visited the other 2 Kurop villages in the park-EKON I and EKON II (also called ERAT). These villages had greatmties with Nigeria not only in the economic domain but also blood ties. It was common for them to talk much of Nigeria they know well than cameroon they know very little. Some of their children who schooled in Nigeria had Nigeria nationality because part of their ethnic group is in Nigeria. These are areas the Cameroon government know very little about. I believe they would choose to join Nigeria if a referandum was held there.In Ekon I, the villagers saw thir chief a a predator who often arranged with the Gendarmes in Mundemba to come and harrass the poor citizens for money. This is however not uncommon in Cameroon where the village chief are very cative in politics and use their connection with the ruling authorities to torture, humiliate and even kill those who do not conform with them (chief).
We finally returned to Mundemba crossing fast flowing rivers such as Akwasang and some calm strems too. In some, we had to hold hands and cross in a file in order not to be swept away. Divine lost his rubber sandals which was removed by a fast flowing stream between Ikenge and Esukutan. In some parts of the forest, we were able to cross over to Nigeria too. In all the Kurop villages, they have a dual currency-scarce franc CFA(Cameroon)and the popular Nigerian Naira.
I have also done research with the Kurop Project on the IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE KUROP PROJECT (Jan-Feb 2000). In this we carried out a two-week research all around the Kurop project area visiting such villages as EKOK, EYUMOJOCK, NDEBAYA, MBENYA,MBAKEM, AYUKABA, MBINJONG,BAKEBE ASHUM, EBANGA, BARO, NWANGELE, ABAT, TOMBEL, SEKAM, MEKA, NDIAN TOWN, TOKO, LIPENJA, FABE and EKUNDU-KUNDU I(resettled site)
THE AKWAYA REGION, SOUTH WEST PROVINCE, CAMEROON
In addition to the above, we were called to do research with the Project for the Protection of Forest in and Around Akwaya. This was the last in a series of research that we had been carrying out since April 1999. It was as usual a very good area, with good people, whose lives would(I believe)in future face manipulation by the donor agencies for their(donors) own purposes-research, conservation and protection of animals annd plants, low regard for human life and possibly resettlement to give way to plants and animals.
We participated in the first part of the research which was to have about three period with weeks of short breaks. We were in the Akwaya forest from Nov-Dec 2000 and did research in OPKWAMBE, AWURI-MBIAMESU, ASSAM, TAKAMANDA(NKANJE), TAKPWE,KAJIFU I, KAJIFU II, KEKUKISIM I, OBONYI II, OBONYI I, OBONYI III, KEKPANI and MFAKWE.
TO BE CONTINUED