Language issues explored in Yaounde, Cameroon
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON--It's interesting, and instructive, to fall prey
to the very media practices that I'm here to combat.
Examining a story: Is it PJ? |
To set the stage, Cameroon is officially a bilingual French and
English country, though, in practice, this is a matter of contention. There has
been an ongoing dispute (or as they call it here, “crisis”) involving the
Anglophone (English speaking) community. Seven were killed and dozens injured
in Anglophone protests that led to violence in northwestern Cameroon late last
year. The protesters were rallying against what VOA News called "the
overbearing influence of French in the bilingual country." According to
those attending my peace journalism seminar this week, the English speakers
feel marginalized by a government that doesn't recognize their rights or serve
their needs.
As I read about this, before I came, the international media
framed this story in a way that pitted Cameroonian Anglophones vs.
Francophones--a framing that made me mistakenly believe that these two groups
were at odds, even violently battling. However, according to both the French
and English speakers in my workshop, this framing is incorrect. Instead, they
insist that the proper framing, and the real conflict, is between Anglophones
and the government. In fact, many Francophones understand the conflict, and
even sympathize with the protesters.
At the Ebert Foundation, host of the PJ seminar |
With a more correct framing now in focus, the 20 journalists
and I talked about how they might cover the crisis using peace
journalism principles, beginning with the correct framing, and
including reporting contextually, reporting counternarratives,
and reporting in an unbiased fashion.
We also discussed how their reporting might assist
in reconciliation in Cameroon. Toward that end, the reporters
ventured out to do some reconciliation themed reporting.
The journalist/participants divided themselves into seven
groups, and produced seven excellent stories. Perhaps the most interesting was
a TV story titled, “Bilingualism as a tool for reconciliation.” The story
featured interviews with many everyday citizens, as well as footage of the
signage at the reunification monument celebrating rapprochement between Anglophone
and Francophone Cameroon. Ironically, all the signs at the monument site were
only in French.
Another fine story was one about food as a form of
unity…about how restaurant patrons who love the food from the “other” language
community had to learn to communicate with one another across languages and
cultures.
The best discussion was about a story highlighting how
Christians and Muslims are living together “sans probleme” in Yaounde. One
participant challenged the story’s use of the phrase “learning to live
together,” which may imply that they haven’t gotten along well in the past. She
suggested instead framing the story as a fight, joining Christians and Muslims together,
against the Boko Haram terrorist group.
Our work continues in western and southwestern regions in
Cameroon later this week. Since these are Anglophone regions, it will be
interesting to see how these sensitive issues of language and culture are
perceived differently there.
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