US extends TPS for Cameroonians
Cameroonians living in the United States as asylum seekers and those on student visas (F1 status) have been identified and helped. The Temporary Protected Status for Cameroonians which was supposed to expire on December 8, 2023, has been extended to June 7, 2025. This is good news for Cameroonians without legal status in the United States.
“The United States will continue to offer safety and protection to Cameroonian nationals who are currently unable to safely return home due to ongoing armed conflict, and extraordinary and temporary conditions including human rights abuses,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “We will offer our support to Cameroonian nationals through this temporary form of humanitarian relief.”
The recent extension is applauded by Cameroonians because of the ongoing crisis in Anglophone Cameroon, notably in the English regions of the South West and North West.
Conditions are still unstable in these regions. The people living in these areas have faced insecurity throughout the year since 2016. Recently some teachers in a remote village in Kembong were shot. A Catholic priest and three teachers of the Catholic School Kembong were shot by Separatists. These three are receiving treatment in Bamenda-Cameroon.
The movement of people and goods in these Anglophone regions is a nightmare. Ghost Town in recent months has taken more than three weeks. People can’t move nor are they allowed to go about their businesses. Activities are in a stalemate throughout the South West and North West regions.
School resumption for the 2023/2024 academic year is timid. Parents are afraid to send their children to school due to the insecurity state of the environment. It’s therefore a relief for Cameroonians who fear going back home to face the dance together with those who are there. It’s indeed a welcome gesture from the Home Land Security boss.
By Joseph Besong*
