Reverend Sisters, God bless you!

Reproduced from The Messenger, Vol. 1, No. 008, Thursday, June 17, 1993, p.2

It was only when we arrived at the All Anglophone Conference (AAC) Secretariat that many of us learnt of the new venue for the meeting. It was said that Mrs Njeuma’s bosses in Yaounde had phoned to her, threatening to dismiss her from her job if she were to let us use the Buea University hall as she had previously agreed to do with the convenors of the AAC, and that was said to be the reason she slammed the doors of the University hall in our faces.

I remember someone likening that situation to the story of the Arab and his camel. The Arab took pity on his camel that was standing out in the desert cold, invited it to share the warmth of his tent with him, and before he knew it, the camel had already comfortably ensconced itself in his tent and he was now the one out in the cold.

In the Cameroonian context, the frog came to Buea and we welcomed him as a brother. Today, we cannot even use a hall in our own historic city without his permission; a permission he even refuses to give us! And who can still claim that we don’t have cause to complain in this country?
That is why everyone had glowing words of praise for the Catholic Reverend Sisters who had damned the consequences and allowed us the use of the Mount Mary Maternity Centre.

“What greater prayer could the Catholic Church have said for our cause than to allow us the use of their hall?”, asked Lawyer Charles Taku, beautifully articulating the general feeling of the participants.
Humble surroundings, no doubt; but, as Dr Carlson Anyangwe asked in his tribute to the Catholic authorities, what’s in a building? He pointed out that many a great historic event had indeed been created in even humbler surroundings. What of the British Magna Carta that was written in a field? Did the French, in their revolutionary zeal, and for want of better surroundings, not meet on a tennis court to declare their revolution? Was the American Constitution, to which so many freedom-starved people the world over aspire everyday, not written in some down-to-earth house in Philadelphia?
That is why all freedom-loving Anglophones of this country turned their eyes to the humble precincts of the Mount Mary Maternity hall to admire the emergence of a rainbow of hope that is so beautifully empurpling the sky of their aspirations.

When the authentic history of this nation does come to be written, the positive action of the Catholic Church West of the Mungo in favour of those yearning for freedom and justice in this land would surely be highlighted for justifiable praise. Some people did not fail to recall that had it not been for the Catholic Church, the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party would never have held its convention in Bamenda a few years earlier.

I salute the courageous stand taken by the Reverend Sisters.

Comments

[Amosa]

Great website.

Amosa

[Emmanuel Sanosi]

Hi Tav,
That's not so hard to say actually, so I wonder why I keep planning to address you as such but the moment you walk into L'Effort, "Martin" jumps to the tip of my tongue?
Actually I thought you'd be more comfortable with "Martin", since I often cite you as an epitome of simplicity. Well, I'll try out Tav and see how you carry it. (Just for curiosity sake; how do you speak to the Cardinal in Lamnso? I've never spoken to him in kontri tok, just because I can't figure out how. I guess my always addressing you by your first name also has to do with the fact that we most often speak in English).
The website is great although it could do with some darker colours - just my impression.

[Florence Kimbo]

Tav Jumbam,
Finally you decided to let it out. What with Kenjo wan jumbam and the many tales that we so lovingly and laughing read.I think the Danube is still blue. It was about time.
Looking forward to more.
Good job.
Florence

[francis nyamnjoh]

Hi Martin,
better late than never. I've finally got round to sampling the rich menu on offer at your website, and am very much pleased with most of what I see. It gives a feel of home, especially for me away from home. It is like being bleast, all of a sudden, with roasted fresh corn, after years of making do with popcorn! Thanks for all the efforts.
That said, your website gives the impression of things on fire. Is this intended as a metaphor?
Francis

[Fon Akenji]

Martin,

Thank you for openning my eyes to a lot of good reading. I do not need to go anywhere else to relax after discovering MJ.com. I wish you the best and God's continued guidance and blessings.

FON

[Delilah]

Fantastic website. Plenty of useful information here. I'm sending it to some buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks for your sweat!