As the 2025/2026 school year kicks off across Cameroon, renewed lockdowns in the North West and South West regions are once again threatening to keep classrooms shut. For Omam Esther Eringo Cha Ekombo, Global Peace Champion and Executive Director of Reach Out Cameroon, the situation represents a direct assault on the future of children.
“Each new school year should be a season of hope, not fear,” Omam Esther told Laarry Times. “But year after year, these lockdowns deny children their right to education and families their right to peace.”
Beyond the Classroom
According to Omam Esther, the effects of the repeated shutdowns stretch far beyond education. She explained that healthcare services are disrupted, local economies are paralyzed, and families are stripped of their income. “Parents who cannot afford boarding schools or relocation to francophone towns are left completely powerless to educate their children,” she noted.
The peace advocate described the irony of the situation: “The very children these measures claim to protect are the ones most deprived. Instead of safeguarding them, lockdowns are robbing them of dreams and a future.”
Mental Health at Stake
Omam Esther also drew attention to the silent but heavy psychological toll of the crisis. “Parents watch helplessly as their sacrifices yield nothing, while young people grow up with frustration and hopelessness,” she said.
“This is not only about education. It is about dignity, mental health, and the survival of communities.”
Questioning the Motives
The rights defender did not shy away from questioning those behind the lockdown calls. “We must ask ourselves: who truly benefits from these lockdowns? If some fractions of non-state armed groups disclaim them while others enforce them, then who is who in all of this?” she asked.
For her, the contradictions surrounding the enforcement of lockdowns only deepen the suffering of ordinary people who are left without clarity and without options.
A Call to Conscience
Issuing what she described as a moral appeal, Omam Esther insisted that schools should remain untouched by conflict. “Schools and children should never be a target,” she declared. “While some leaders have the privilege of educating their own children, thousands, if not millions, are left hopeless, stripped of their dreams, and robbed of their future.”
She concluded with a message to those imposing the measures: “If truly the intention is to protect children, then protection must begin with their right to learn, to grow, and to hope again.”
Comments
Post a Comment