#BringBackOurInternet

March 2, 2017 5:03 AM

Since January 17th, the government of Cameroon has blocked Internet access to two Anglophone regions of the country following a series of protests.

Among the 'Internet refugees' is Nji Collins Gbah, the first person from African to win the Google Code-in contest, who has had to move to the capitol Yaoundé in order to continue his studies. Others have resorted to relying on SMS, and losses in Cameroon's 'Silicon Mountain' are mounting.

The United Nations has weighed in:

A network shutdown of this scale violates international law – it not only suppresses public debate, but also deprives Cameroonians of access to essential services and basic resources,” said Mr. Kaye, urging the government to restore internet facilities immediately.

Life in No-Internet Cameroon:

But recently your government has made it easier to explain that there are two Cameroons. They somehow found that dividing line that no one would acknowledge existed and now it is clear: There is Internet Cameroon and No-Internet Cameroon, that is, La Republic du Cameroun, which gained independence from French rule on 1 January 1960, and former British Southern Cameroons, which gained independence by merging with 'long lost brothers' on 1 October 1961.

posted by metaquarry (3 comments total)

Imbolo Mbue's "With every inch, the challenge multiplies" was a brief, interesting window into the anglophone perspective in Cameroon. Thanks for the post; odd that it seems like a glimpse into future....
posted by progosk at 5:48 AM on March 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

Some discussion last month (at 18:20) on France24's The World This Week. (in English)
posted by XMLicious at 6:41 AM on March 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

“Cameroon’s government says it has blocked the internet to maintain social stability and will not restore it until the current civil unrest is over.” — I can't see that ending badly at all.
posted by scruss at 8:19 AM on March 2, 2017