11 Wartime Safety Measures For Ambazonian Communities and Citizens
We need to say this over and over, multiply calls to ground zero, use social media, radio and TV to educate Ambazonians on how to survive during this time of war. Most Ambazonians have never lived in a war zone before. They were not prepared for war before it was declared and imposed on them in November 2017. They lack basic knowledge on what to do during war. Some lives that have been lost so far could have been saved if proper measures were taken. Some valuables could have been salvaged too had they been given some basic guides like these modest ones I would like to share below, even without being a crisis management expert or veteran in warfare.
- A community LRC-Raid Siren: Just like most countries have a war siren, air-raid siren, natural disaster siren, ambulance siren, etc. our communities should have one that signals the arrival of soldiers of La Republique du Cameroun in the village or small town. Since we don’t have the technology to operate a sophisticated siren we can use local tools that we master well such as: Drums, whistles, horns or popular screaming sounds like Wulelelele! Each community will have to agree on one alert sound. Even animals have this method to protect themselves from danger. In villages this can really save lives because while the invaders burn down one compound, other villagers will have some time to go into hiding or prepare for self-defense.
- Community bunkers: A bunker is a protective embankment or dugout. It might not be as technologically advanced as those in developed countries but in some of our villages like in Lebialem, nature has provided us with good bunkers fortified with solid rocks. Caves near streams, under waterfalls, in the mountains are the best. Visit them when the village is peaceful and furnish them with necessary items. Reserve bunkers for the elderly, women and children. Even when the invader will move from using fire to bombs these bunkers will minimize the impact.
- Build a farmhouse now: If you don’t have one build it now. Choose a well-hidden farm, build a hut there and make your trusted family and friends know it and how to get to it. Stock it with necessary items. When there is a raid in town or pending, send the elderly, women and children to live there even before the enemy strikes.
- Escape routes: This is something our people master very well and I don’t need to talk much on it but there is something else known as a decoy route. It is a path that leads the enemy to nowhere or away from those we intend to protect. So if the community bunker is near the village stream for example, during a raid, the invader should be led to a different direction, for example to the Fon’s palace. A decoy route is also used to lead an enemy into a trap.
- Blocking or slowing down reinforcements: This is not a duty reserved only for restoration fighters. Any civilian can do it especially those living in very enclave areas. We all know when reinforcements from La Republique du Cameroun are on the way. It’s usually when one of their men is injured, trapped, taken hostage or dead. Once any of that happens, expect reinforcements in the next 24hours. Examples of such techniques: road speed bumps, speed bumps with sharp nails, trenches across roads, trees felled across roads, boulders rolled onto the roads. Choose the spot carefully making sure there is no way around it and set up an ambush around the blockade.
- Emergency travel bag: Keep an emergency travel bag already packed throughout this time of war. Such a bag is usually not too big and should be convenient to carry like a backpack. Pack extremely necessary items such as: a lighter, flashlight, a knife, water, some cash, passport or ID card, originals of certificates and other important documents, a First Aid box, a twine, dried food and other items as considered fit. Keep the bag as light as possible. You can have several of these bags in a way that every grown up in the family has one. Keep your emergency travel bag at a safe and trusted place other than your home if you can. Remember when the enemy strikes, it might be directly at your home while you are away.
- Dress for adverse conditions: Choose your clothing carefully as you prepare to flee. Raincoats, sweaters, jeans, boots or sports shoes are highly recommended and avoid flashy colorful clothing. Green brown and dark are recommended colors for hiding in the bushes. Ladies avoid clothing that makes you weak and vulnerable to the invader. Don’t have a mini skirt and high heels on when you have to run. Dress preventively.
- Keep money handy: In wartime you don’t keep your money in any bank, credit union or njangi group because you don’t know the future. Keep your money in cash with you. You will need it. When the invader strikes, be it on a Sunday or on a working day, you don’t need to be trapped because you need to go somewhere to withdraw cash. You should be ready to go whether it means hiring a bike, car or leaving the country. If you want to hide money away from home make sure it is in plastic bags.
- Move your valuable items now: We all know that the enemy is using the scorched earth war tactics. Don’t wait to cry over your belongings. You can move them to a save location now. These valuable items include: Expensive appliances, electronics, jewelry, furniture, livestock and cash. If you have a trusted chief, move your items to his palace. If you don’t move them to the bunker or another safe location. This will minimize the loss when soldiers of La Republique du Cameroun burn down the village.
- Your cellphone could get you killed: Many of our people don’t know that the cellphones they have are traceable. Your cellphone or laptop is traceable especially when it is on. Every picture or video you upload online has a digital footprint. In fact it is on that basis that Issa Tchiroma declared recently that La Republique du Cameroun knew all the hideouts of Ambazonians and it was only a matter of time before they were attacked. Clean up or reset your social media profiles. La Republique du Cameroun agents are on facebook, twitter, instagram etc. If you are a restoration fighter, be cautious. When you are in total hiding, turn off your cellphone or laptop. It is more difficult to trace a device that is turned off than one that is on. In as much as you want to stay online, be careful.
- Be your neighbor’s keeper: If you know and practice all the tips above one last thing you have to do is educate your family, friends and neighbors. It’s a collective thing. Individually it won’t work. So, tell your family, friends and neighbors about your plans, your bunker, your escape routes, etc. You could be saving their lives too or that could help them save your life.
Hopefully these tips will be helpful to you reading and you will understand that warfare is a unique context very few have experienced. I also hope that activists of the revolution and media in Ambazonia like SCBC and SCAN Radio can include these tips in some of their programs so that the people of Ambazonia can learn how to live during war. Prevention is better than cure. We don’t have to all leave Ambazonia because the invader is there. If we all leave Ambazonia as they wish, the invader wins. We have to stay in Ambazonia and rather make the invader leave. The tips above can help us stay in win while staying in Ambazonia.
Written by
Ndoh Emmanuel
17 comments
Also, get used to drinking only water, to rid yourself of any craving for alcoholic beverages, juices or soft drinks.
Cut the bridges when they enter town. The thing is, now they will be coming by air. We need a solution for those helicopters.
You can bring in only a limited number of soldiers and material by helicopter. But to make it difficult for them “prepare” the landing spots. Roads need to be “prepared” too. If LRC terrorists approach attack them by any means. Prepare Molotov cocktails. They are even more effective if you dissolve rubber material in fuel.
It’s very funny how all of u r suddenly war strategists? I guess all of u r from West points right Facebook 😂😂😂😂 well l suggest u come on gz to implement ur west point Facebook strategy on the ground if u want it to be effective cowards.
America don dash LRC jet plane for come kill we. We need da apg weapon for shoot am. Russia go enter this war abi.
Na no need for Russia. Plenty RPG and AK in Nija.
True talk George. If Russia comes in that will turn Ambazonia into another Aleppo.
13 Wise Wartime Measures.
1-Never close the door to dialogue with your brother, only dialogue can secure lasting peace.
2-Leave personal ideologies aside if that could be a solution in solving problems.
3-Know that force (no matter who is using it) cannot be a lasting solution.
4-Be aware that politicians are politicians(those sending pple to fight are politicians too), they all have honey on their lips.
5-Never keep yourself at bay and advise others who are affected to be intransigent.
6-Be conscious of the fact that your brother must not speak your language to feel your suffering.
7-Always bear in mind that war is not a matter of one day, and a gov’t army cannot be brought down on its knees by amateurs in a matter of decades.
8-Know that any insincere tactics you prescribe to innocent people, would be the same tactics that would be used against you.
9-Find out from poor pple who are now refugees if given a second chance to return to their homes they will prefer peace or war?
10-Have no illusions, there can only be losers(poor populace) when all parties are war-hungry.
11-Learn to forgive your neighbor in your own country and move on, those sending pple to die forgive theirs in the countries where they live everyday.
12-Be ready to sacrifice by accepting reality, no need to fight first before accepting. What is past can never be brought back as we may wish.
13-Be ready to accept any reasonable solution before asking for more. One cannot have solutions to any problem within a faction of seconds.
My take.
Monkey your points are surely right but you should address the right side for dialogue. It is obvious that all stakeholders except of la Republique have an interest to bring the issues on the table. The problem is LRC cannot gain anything from dialogue. They know their situation and they know that according international law the union between the Cameroons is at least questionable if not illegal. As a politician and especially before election you need to win voters and support. You cannot come out with true facts such our army has got heavy casualties. Or we need to discuss the form of the state. Have we failed to form a state? Yes we have. The reckless assimilation policy of the Biya administration has brought us Southern Cameroonians to a point of no return. For a union it takes two. One of them is not willing anymore.
What an educated man you are. You speak well. those ambazozo so called reverend this pastor this but who are there preaching war and seek no place in their heart for the word forgiveness. But you hear them saying GOD is the one guiding our fight and helping the beheading of people. You Amba are devil
Who beheaded Mr. Sam Soya? You speak about an effect by forgetting the cause. The army of la Republique is now doing everything to divide that union. They kill the last group of people who were backing the regime. Why? Because they know already that we separate from East Cameroun. The destruction will be our burden after gaining independence.
Sam soya kill a pregnant gendarme therefore he deserved what he got. U guy can say what ever u want but the situation on gz in not in ur advantage. Change course or bring more suffering to the people. It’s up to u. Just ask ur general george, did u see the the 2nd video? It’s so enjoyable, All of u r next.just don’t hide behind ur keyboard. Come on gz n u will taste our weakness as u kvoted it.
Na lie. Sam could not even walk after army shot his leg on October 1st. But you Beti people will invent everything just to keep the Southern Cameroons under your economic control. You will fail in the same way you failed in any aspects to build up a country. Those terrorists seen in that video will face the same fate like their victim. Like I stated before. We Ambazonians are not like our neighbours the Bassa or Bamileke. They were part of your country. We know that this land Ambazonia belongs to us. You might kill one but ten will rise. A luta continua. The victory is ours.
It’s very funny how all of u r suddenly war strategists? I guess all of u r from West points right Facebook generals 😂😂😂😂 well l suggest u come on gz to implement ur west point Facebook strategy on the ground if u want it to be effective cowards.
Keep telling urself a luta continua so long as u hide behing ur keyboard n send others to die for u. I will see who rise after we kill the 10 that rose up mister West point strategist. It’s funny how u guy refere to the Vietnam war without context. U guys forgot that China n Russia were the base line for supply in both material n men for the Vietcong? How many Chinese died during that war? How many Russian commanders. So for u who talk cheap talk equating ur nonesense to the Vietnam war, who support u? Nigeria rejected u, so where is ur base line of retreat n supply? Ignorance is the worst disease of man kind n u ambazozo r sick men. Why do u think the biafrans lost, it’s cz Cameroon refuse to be their base line making it impossible for them to get supply from France. The rest we all know. Diseases n malnutrition is the only thing u ambazozo will achieve for the people of sw n nw.
they say they are a fighting a cause..their cause because them dey Europe so they are fighting their cause!lol.. u all are not different from your LRC leaders bc u don’t want to dialogue except they accept they grant your wish… and in the back of your thick skull they will just grant u independence bc wuna over bad!! ur mothers,fathers,brothers,sisters etc..have no future anymore and u still say u are fighting for their future..God punish u mark.
u were a terrorist since for UB and u have just escalated your madness to another level. u sit in the land of ur real colonial masters “whites” and want to fight another “local colonial masters” what and irony… now they have given them new war planes to deal with us and u think your local delta boyz will win the fight for you or u think we no know say na naija them dey fight? did they succeed to gain independence from the FR of Nigeria?its now a breeding ground for terrorist and the worst robbers you can know on earth.
anyways na God go judge u..sure when u lose a family member then u might change ur thick brain!!
ANY LA REPUBLIC STILL FOUND IN AMBALAND AFTER THE 30th MAY DATELINE GIVEN BY THE IG WOULD BE CONSIDERED A SPY AGAINST AMBA PEOPLE.