NW/SW Armed Conflict: Creating more persons with disabilities and putting them at greater risk

Martial Gnoukapasi

Participants and trainers in a group photograph

Since the now termed "Anglophone Crisis" plaguing the two english speaking regions of Cameroon for six years and counting turned bloody in 2017, more and more persons with disabilities have emerged with a majority of them still finding it difficult to survive the political atmosphere.

It's now very common to come across persons who've permanently lost their sights, limbs or legs and other body parts to  bullets in these regions.

Disturbing short and lengthy video clips on several instances have made rounds on social media with footages showing  how people are being rendered disabled for being "blacklegs" or for going against laid down rules enforced by belligerents of the armed conflict.  Fingers  and toes have been chopped off.

In some hospitals in and out of the embattled regions, it's also common to find people who as a result of the shock of loosing love ones or after cheating death in battlefront have become mentally unstable with long term consequences.

journalists in gender inclusive t-shirts pose for group photograph

Instances were men, women and children have been trapped in homes that goes up in flames abound, rendering majority who survived with disabilities and the list is long.

Majority of these stories have gone untold and even the efforts being made by victims and survivors of war haven't been given adequate spotlight by the Media.

While https://jhumanitarianaction.springeropen.com/ puts the number of displaced persons as a result of the crisis in the two troubled regions at over 900,000 people in the February report,

Researcher and consultant Nestor Ndjozefe

Dr Monique Kwachou facilitating her module

those with physical impairments most often find it difficult to run or even displaced themselves to different destinations because of their disability.

Actions taken by women to create local solutions to some of these challenges have also been neglected.

 It is for this reason and more that sisterspeak237.com a non governmental organisation with objective to amplify the voices of women and minority group together with the Swiss Embassy in Cameroon rallied and schooled a total of 30 journalists practicing in  these conflict zones on how to best tell these underreported stories.

Dubbed "Gender and Disability Inclusive Reporting of the Armed Conflict in NW/SW Regions of Cameroon" the Buea workshop also provided insights on some of the terminologies to use in commissioning reports on Gender and Disability.

Sisterspeak237 founder and promoter Comfort Musa

Comfort Musa is founder of Sisterspeak. She said" For the past couple of years that we've had this conflict, we have noticed the lack of stories that mainstream the peculiar needs of women and persons with disabilities. So we organized this training to help the journalists understand more about the gendered elements of the armed conflict and also how they can include the voice, the perspectives, the solutions of women to peace building in their reporting.. "

Understanding disability and the situation of persons with disability (PWD), the gender dimensions of conflict, role of journalists in promoting the Women Peace and Security agenda, framing of disability in the media, gender sensitive reporting on conflicts are some of the topics the media professionals received lessons under, detailed to them by a cream of experts and researchers who facilitated the workshop

Bafon Collete is an intern rendering media services to Ndefcam radio in Bamenda. She's visually impaired and was one of the participants. On the lessons learned she said" I even learn that referring to myself as a blind girl is not correct. Have also learn to look for different angles in every news story and how to pitch these stories".

Before leaving the 2 days workshop the media professionals took a commitment to commissioned more stories on gender and disability inclusive reporting.