narratives of francophone camerooniansdurning hall business centre earlham grove e7 9ab tel: 020...

A RUNNYMEDE COMMUNITY STUDY

BY KJARTAN PÁLL SVEINSSON

Bienvenue?– NARRATIVES

OF FRANCOPHONECAMEROONIANS

BIENVENUE? – NARRATIVES OF FRANCOPHONE CAMEROONIANS

Published by Runnymede in March 2007 in electronic version only, this document is copyright © 2007 theRunnymede Trust.

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About Runnymede Community Studies

In reflecting on the changing nature of ethnic diversity in Britain, it becomes increasingly clear that wehave to move beyond binary notions of white and non-white to explain the ways in which racismsoperate, identities are formed and people live out their lives. The societies in which we live arebecoming more diverse and will continue to diversify as migration patterns change, and the impacts ofglobalisation are reflected in labour markets as well as in transnational movement of capital.

This series of community studies aims to promote understanding of the diversity within and betweendifferent ethnic groups. Our intention is to build up a collection of studies which focus oncommunities; their demography, links to civil society, and key political and social issues. We hope thatover time this will provide a rich resource for understanding how diversity is lived and experiencedaway from the necessarily crude ethnic monitoring form, in a vital and dynamic multi-ethnic society.


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Bienvenue? – Narratives ofFrancophone Cameroonians

KJARTAN PÁLL SVEINSSON

Population and Geography • According to the 2001 census, there were

2,021 Cameroonian-born people living inLondon.

• According to the calculations of onecommunity organisation consulted for thisstudy, there were 10,000 Camerooniansliving on London in 2004.

• A large part of Cameroonians in the UK livein London. However, there are relativelylarge congregations of Cameroonians inother parts of Britain as well.

Life in London• Francophone Cameroonians have set up an

abundance of community organisations,catering both specifically for Camerooniansand Francophone Africans generally.

• In addition to formal organisations, manyCameroonians have set up highly effectivesmall scale informal networks, typicallyconsisting of a few dozen people. Thepurpose of these networks is to provideeach other with help and assistance notavailable elsewhere, ranging from financesto babysitting.

• Connections with friends and family back inCameroon are of utmost importance;according to interviewees, mostCameroonians send remittances on aregular basis.

Education• According to a study commissioned by

Southwark Council, the majority ofFrancophone Africans are universityeducated.

• Francophone Cameroonians find it difficultto get their qualifications recognised inBritain, and many are forced to start theireducation from scratch.

Employment • Deskilling is common, with university

educated Cameroonians often finding workwell below their level of education andskill.

• Many interviewees felt discriminated againstin the labour market, partly due to theirbeing African, partly because of languageproblems.

• Language is a barrier to employment, butthis is not confined to language skills,which only become a substantial problemwhen combined with other language relateddifficulties. For example, interviewees statedthat the British public makes an explicitconnection between Francophone Africaand refugees. Given the stigma attached torefugees generally, this default associationcreates a host of problems for economicinclusion.

Immigration and Asylum• Traditionally, Francophone Cameroonians

have emigrated to France, whileAnglophone Cameroonians would find theirway to Britain.

• Since the 1990s, French speakingCameroonians are starting to show apreference for Britain.

• The majority of Francophone Camerooniansin Britain arrived in the 1990s.

• A large part of Cameroonians have claimedasylum in Britain. In the period from 1995to 2003, a total of 3,020 Camerooniansapplied for asylum. In the same period,2,675 Cameroonian applications wererejected.

• Many Cameroonian asylum seekerscomplain that the British government doesnot recognise the gravity of the politicalsituation in Cameroon.

Francophone Cameroonians at a Glance


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BUCA(Burkina Community Association)52 Shrubbery RoadLondon N9 0PAUnited KingdomTel: 020 8887 0716Web: www.bucaproject.org.uk Email: [email protected]

FAWAUK (French African Welfare Association)537 Norwood Road,London,SE27 9DLTel: 020 8766 5849Email: [email protected]

WACAH (West African CommunityAction for Health and Welfare)Unit 106, Weaver House19-21 Chapel RoadSE27 0TPTel.: 020 8670 8882Fax: 020 8670 8008Email: [email protected].

Le Guide LondonienWeb: www.leguide.org.ukEmail: [email protected] CACOWEDA UKP.O. Box 55751E16 3XAEmail: [email protected]

Central African OrganisationRoom 1471 - 72 Nathan WaySE28 0BQTel: 020 8331 4311Email:[email protected]

AFRIC (African FrancophoneResource & Information Centre)19 Burbage HouseSamuel CloseSE14 5RPTel: 020 7635 1765Email: [email protected]

African Francophone CommunityAssociation (AFCA)Third floor, The Irish CentrePretoria RoadN17 8DXTel: 020 8808 0999Fax: 020 808 0249Web: www.francophone.co.uk Email: [email protected]

Cameroon Community WelfareOrganisation258d Gloucester TerraceW2 6HU Tel: 020 7243 1662Email: [email protected]

Cameroon ForumSuite 501, International House 223 Regent Street W1B 2QD Tel: 020 8432 0680 Fax; 020 8805 8773Web: www.cameroon-forum.co.uk Email: [email protected]

Cameroon Asylum SupportAssociation UK (CASA UK)110 Woodvale WalkSE27 0EYTel: 020 8761 6661Fax: 020 8670 0303Web: www.casauk.org.ukEmail: [email protected]

African Community Partnership2 Wildgoose DriveSE14 5LLTel: 020 7635 9000 Email:[email protected]

African Community WelfareAssociation (ACWA)Durning Hall Business CentreEarlham GroveE7 9ABTel: 020 8534 4453 Fax: 020 8534 4453 Web: www.acwa-hafia.org.uk Email: [email protected]

African Families Support Services145a London RoadKT2 6NHTel: 020 8974 9993 Web: www.afss.org Email: [email protected]

Praxis Pott StreetE2 0EFTel: 0207 7297985Email: [email protected]

Cameroon embassyHigh Commission for the Republicof Cameroon84 Holland ParkW11 3SBTel: 020 7727 0771Fax: 020 7792 9353

African Community Link140 New Cross RoadSE14 5BATel: 020 7635 7095Email: [email protected]

African Families FoundationPeckham SettlementGoldsmiths RoadSE15 5TFTel: 020 7635 7788Fax: 020 7635 7788Email: [email protected]

Relevant Organisations and Websites


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IntroductionOne of the groups that have in recent yearsadded themselves to the ethnic repertoire ofLondon is Francophone Africans. Bringing withthem a profusion of new cultural forms andexpressions, their contribution to the city’scomposition is a valuable and enriching additionto the cultural life of Londoners. An excursionthrough parts of London is likely to reveal thegreat diversification of the African presence inthe city, where the names and national flags ofcountries such as Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo andCameroon can increasingly be spotted inrestaurants, food stores, phone shops, clubs andmoney-transferring centres.

This recent shift in the profile of London’sAfrican communities has sparked scarceacademic interest; little is empirically knownabout the settlement of the various FrancophoneAfrican groups in the UK. This is an unfortunatesituation, as it is clear that many of the issuesfaced by French speaking Africans are notnecessarily shared by their English speakingneighbours. However, there are two notableexceptions to this academic indifference towardsFrancophone Africans in London. In ‘La NouvelleVague? Recent Francophone African Settlementin London,’ David Styan attempts to gauge theextent to which “the Francophone presence inLondon is really a new and durable departure,”1

as well as exploring the advantages andshortcomings of ‘Francophone’ as a descriptivecategory. In a less theoretically, and morepractically, oriented manner, SouthwarkCouncil’s Social Policy Unit commissioned astudy in 2005 titled Researching the Needs of theFrench Speaking African Community inSouthwark. The central objectives to the studywere: “to make an assessment of the needs of theFrancophone African community in Southwark;to evaluate the extent to which this communityhas access to mainstream and other serviceprovision; and to enhance the council’sawareness on Francophone community in theborough.”2 The study provides some importantstatistical information, such as on education,employment and access to health services,

providing a point of reference for this report.In spite of these two important studies, many

questions are still left unanswered. Why didFrancophone Africans start to show an increasingpreference for the UK in the 1990s? In whatways do their experiences differ from those ofAnglophone Africans? Even basic data such astotal numbers of Francophone Africans reachingBritain is largely missing or inadequate. Whilethis study does not purport to provide finalanswers to these questions, we hope to provide apoint of departure for further academic researchas well as initiating a dialogue betweencommunity organisations, policy makers, andlocal authority representatives.

The choice of Francophone Cameroonians forthis study largely derives from the unique insightsthey provide into the issues faced byFrancophone Africans in Britain generally.Although the majority of Cameroon is Frenchspeaking, there is a substantial minority ofEnglish speakers as well. While the tensionsbetween the two groups in Cameroon do notappear to translate over to London, most of theinterviewees of this study stated that there is littlecontact between Francophone and AnglophoneCameroonians in London, where Frenchspeaking Cameroonians tend to form links withother Francophone African communities, whileEnglish speaking Cameroonians tend to associatethemselves with other Anglophone Africans, suchas Nigerians and Ghanaians. This may, to acertain extent, reflect certain differences incultural preferences of the two groups; when thequestion of independence was raised inCameroon, the English speaking part debatedwhether to join Nigeria or become part ofCameroon, and a secessionist movement, theSouthern Cameroon National Council (SCNC),emerged in the 1990s. However, and perhapsmore importantly for the theme of this report, thedivide between the two groups also representsdifferent barriers to social and economicinclusion they face in London, largely due todiffering migratory experiences.

1 Styan (2003: 17)

2 Community Involvement and Development Unit (2006: 3)


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Methodology

The aim of this study was to explore interviewees’ experiences of living in London, and whatthey perceived to be the main issues facing Francophone Cameroonians in London generally. Forthis reason, the methodology used was primarily qualitative, which is particularly apt inproviding insight into the complex, subtle, and often contradictory views, experiences,motivations and attitudes of individuals. Data was gathered through in-depth interviews with 16individuals,3 of whom 14 were French speaking and 2 were English speaking, and access tointerviewees was facilitated by community organisations as well as snowballing. Interviews wereconducted in homes, offices, pubs, cafes and restaurants. The small sample size means that theresults should not be read as statistically representative of all Cameroonians in London. Thespecific focus of this study was on Cameroonians from the French speaking part of Cameroon.However, as the majority of interviewees commented on the division between Francophone andAnglophone Cameroonians in London, two Anglophone interviewees were contacted fortriangulation purposes, i.e. to add an extra dimension to the issues of community divisions. Thisdoes not mean that the study is representative of all Francophone Cameroonians either. Apurposive sampling technique – where interviewees are selected specifically a) for their specificexperiences or knowledge, and b) to capture the diversity and breadth of views within thesample group – was adopted in order to get as broad a perspective as possible. In this way, everyeffort was made to have a broad sampling range in terms of gender, age, length of time in theUK, etc. to ensure that the sample was as representative as possible. It must be noted, however,that attempts to contact Francophone Cameroonians achieving in their chosen profession provedunsuccessful, which obviously introduces a certain bias to the sample group. This should be keptin mind; if this report focuses on problems rather than successes, it should be noted that manyinterviewees did give accounts of ‘success stories’ of friends or acquaintances who had workedtheir way to a prominent place in life.

This report does not purport to represent a conclusive ethnographic account of theFrancophone Cameroonian community. While the purpose of the study is to map out the mainissues identified by the participants of the studies, this can only amount to a ‘snapshot.’ It mustalso be stressed that not every issue of importance can be identified or discussed in the report.For example, the small sample size does not allow for a detailed description or analysis of thegreat diversity within the Francophone Cameroonian community. It will be up to later studies tofill in the ethnographical details for a comprehensive understanding of life in London forFrancophone Cameroonians.

3 The names of Interviewees used throughout this report are not actual.They have been changedto maintain anonymity of the participants of this study.

BackgroundAbout CameroonCameroon is sometimes called ‘Africa inminiature.’ Geographically, this western centralAfrican country presents every major type ofclimate, vegetation and geology Africa has tooffer: a coastline on the Bight of Bonny, highvolcanic mountains, deserts, tropical rainforestsand savannah lands can all be found inCameroon. Demographically, it is no lessdiverse, with its population of over 16 million

comprising over 230 linguistic and ethnicgroups, encompassing a vast array of culturalforms and expressions. The official languages areFrench and English, which divide Cameroon intotwo linguistic and, to a certain extent, politicalsections. The English-speaking minority,approximately 20% of the total population,inhabit the Northwest and Southwest provinces.The French speaking majority live in the rest ofthe country.


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Cameroon was initially ‘claimed’ by the Germanempire in 1884, in spite of the predominant roleof the British on the West African coast, and theFrench along the Central African coastline.However, following Germany’s defeat in WorldWar I, the country was split between France andBritain to form French Cameroun and BritishCameroons, respectively, with the latter beingadministered from Nigeria. Although colonialismbrought as much affliction to the population ofFrench Cameroun as it did in other parts of Africa,substantial agricultural as well as infrastructuraldevelopment took place, while British Cameroonswas characterised by neglect and disinterest onthe part of the British colonial authorities. AfterWorld War II, voices demanding independence forFrench Cameroun became increasingly louder,while the debate in British Cameroons revolvedaround whether to join Nigeria or reunify withFrench Cameroun. Independence finally came forFrench Cameroun in 1960, but the British partwas still split over whom to join. In 1961, aplebiscite was held on the issue, which resulted inthe Muslim dominated Northern BritishCameroons opting to join Nigeria, while theSouthern part opted to join Cameroon. Importantly,however, political tensions have run deep betweenthe Anglophone and Francophone parts ofCameroon, where English speaking Camerooniansfeel they have been unfairly treated by the Frenchspeaking government. This situation has resultedin periods of sporadic conflicts and uprisings.

Economically, Cameroon was amongst the mostprosperous African countries followingindependence. The 1970s were a period ofparticularly rapid growth following the discoveryof petroleum. However, during the 1980s theeconomy crumbled, for a combination of differentreasons. The steep fall of prices of principal exportproducts – including petrol, coffee and cocoa4 –were coupled with poor internal political andeconomic management and spiralling householdpoverty induced by a World Bank/IMF structuraladjustment programme.5 The consequences have

been severe for most Cameroonians, whether oneconsiders political, social or economic effects.Cameroonian economist Fondo Sikod hassummarised these as follows: “unemployment ofuniversity and high school graduates, thus creatinga new category of poor people; inequity inregional development investment by the state;gender and sex discrimination; cultural inequalities;political repression; and human rights abuses.”6

The state of democracy in present dayCameroon is similarly defective. However, in spiteof a range of charges – such as lack of politicaltransparency, electoral fraud and intimidation ofpolitical activists – from a number of organisationscriticising the Cameroonian political system, manymembers of the international community eitherignore or silently endorse the political situation inCameroon. Most importantly, perhaps, is thecontinued support the ruling CameroonianPeople’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) receivesfrom the French government.7 Indeed, Takouganghas suggested that the dramatic change from thenear collapse of President Paul Biya’s CPDM in1992 to the dramatic and somewhat unexpectedelectoral victory of the CPDM in 2002 has asmuch to do with France’s support of the party as itdoes with the President’s prowess and skill as apolitician.8 In any case, human rights abuses arewidespread in Cameroon and are often linked topolitical activity, even though this may not alwaysbe internationally recognised – a fact whichseveral interviewees of this study were all toopainfully aware of. In spite of rich governmentalrhetoric to the contrary, little progress has beenmade in the last few years. Cameroon still scoreslow both on ‘Political Rights’ and ‘Civil Liberties’in Freedom House’s annual survey9 – resulting in a‘Not Free’ socio-political status – and AmnestyInternational produced a damning report on thestate of Cameroonian human rights in 2004:

The government held on to power inpresidential elections after using violenceto disrupt peaceful opposition meetings.Political leaders were detained to preventpublic meetings and demonstrations. Onepolitical prisoner died in prison,apparently from medical neglect. Thegovernment failed to investigate reports oftorture, ‘disappearances’ or deaths inpolice custody independently or openly.10

4 Subramanian (1994)

5 Sikod (2001)

6 Sikod (2001: 202-203)

7 Gros (1995)

8 Takougang (2003)

9 Freedom House (2006)

10 Amnesty International (2005)


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Reasons for LeavingJudging from the discussion in the previoussection, a large number of Cameroonians havestrong and instrumental reasons for leavingCameroon. This was certainly the case for themajority of the people interviewed for thisstudy, most of whom came to Britain in the1990s, although some left Cameroon later.Some came as migrants escaping economichardship and seeking a better life, but manyalso had first hand experience of politicalintimidation and human rights abuses. A largepart of the sample was university educatedand had professional careers in Cameroon.Due to the small sample size of this study, thisshould not be interpreted as statisticallyrepresentative in its own right. However,according to the findings of a large scale studyof the French speaking African community inSouthwark, Francophone Africans in Londontend to be well educated.11 Indeed, manyinterviewees said that it was their professionalinvolvement in political activities that haddriven them from Cameroon. As oneinterviewee, Alain, pointed out:

If you see a refugee, someone fleeingfrom their country, they must havebeen someone important there. Even ifhe is young, he must have beenimportant, because if he was notimportant, he wouldn’t have beenpersecuted. Especially those who arefleeing political things. But if there iswar, things like that, yes, everyone canrun away. But if people are fleeingpolitical persecution, that means theymust have been important.

This is true in the case of Cameroon. Civil waris not part of the problem Cameroonians arefacing. Rather, it is the political repression,economic decline and social inequalities thatpeople are escaping. Not everyone came as

asylum seekers, though, and some did notknow that their experiences in Cameroonwould qualify them as asylum seekers in theUK. Victor, who suffered severe physicalmaltreatment by government officials, fled thecountry without knowing anything about theasylum seeker process in Britain:

When I started the university, Icouldn’t finish the academy, becauseafter, we have to stop the class, thepolice, the military, the gendarmerie,12

they all come to the school and catchpeople because of your political view.And the situation was sometimes, ‘OK,maybe next year it will be better.’ Thenext year, the same thing. After, I gotfed up, and thought, ‘OK, I have to goand find my way to somewhere else.’

Importantly, however, none of the intervieweeswanted to leave Cameroon, but felt that theywere forced to do so. As Claude pointed out,during the period of economic growth, notmany Cameroonians wanted to leave theircountry:

So many people were quite happy inCameroon. They couldn’t see thenecessary to go outside Cameroon. Butwhen things started to get tough inCameroon – school not working,hospital, go to hospital, you can’t gettreatment, you can’t go to school, youknow, because no money, and youcan’t get job, you want to leave schoolto go to work, but you haven’t got nojob, what can you do?

In this sense, their decision to leave stemsfrom a ‘reactive necessity’ rather than a‘proactive strategy of choice.’13 Many saw lifein London as a temporary, albeit extended,period away from their home country, towhich they wished to return at some point intheir lives.11 Community Involvement and Development Unit (2006)

12 Gendarmerie is the military police in Cameroon.

13 Cf. McIlwaine (2005)


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Cameroonians in LondonTwo CommunitiesWhen speaking about ‘Cameroonians in London’the first thing that needs to be elucidated is thatthe Cameroonian population in London is in factdivided into two communities: Anglophone andFrancophone. The main focus of this study is onthe experiences of Cameroonians from the Frenchspeaking part of the country. Thus, while the splitbetween the two communities is an importantfactor shaping the Cameroonian presence in London,the discussion below will primarily reflect thethoughts and ideas of Francophone Cameroonians.

According to the interviewees, AnglophoneCameroonians were settling in London wellbefore Francophones started arriving insignificant numbers. Traditionally, FrancophoneCameroonians would emigrate to France, whileAnglophones would find their way to Britain.This reflected wider trends of African migrationto Britain. Indeed, Styan has shown how, up until1991, the largest African groups in the UK “cameoverwhelmingly from the four key former BritishWest African colonies: Nigeria, Ghana, SierraLeone and the far smaller Gambia. The toptwelve sub-Saharan African countries of birthincluded none of the non-Anglophonecountries.”14 However, since the 90s, Frenchspeakers have increasingly seen Britain as apreferable destination.15 As can be seen fromtable 1, the number of asylum applications madeby Cameroonians in the UK rose swiftly to apeak in 2002, and have dropped since. Thereason for the dramatic rise until 2002 is evidentfrom the discussion above. The drop, however, isnot due to an improved situation in Cameroon.Rather, it is the result of reduced opportunities toleave Cameroon, as well as stricter refugee andasylum seeker policy in Britain.16

It is, of course, difficult to say whether this rise inasylum seeker applications is due to an increase

in Francophone or Anglophone Camerooniansseeking asylum. However, given the recentincrease in Francophone Cameroonians settlingin London, one could reasonably assume that alarge part of the asylum claims is made byFrancophones. Still, access to reliable statisticaldata remains a problem; it is difficult enough toestimate the total Cameroonian population inBritain, let alone the number of FrancophoneCameroonians in London. The 2001 censusidentified 2,021 London residents born inCameroon. As with many other African groups,this is likely to be a gross under-estimate. In2004, one community organisation consulted forthis study had undertaken a survey ofCameroonians in Britain, which estimated that10,000 Cameroonians were living in London thatyear; the ratio between Anglophone andFrancophone Cameroonians is unknown. Otherorganisations were of the opinion that thisnumber is now closer to 20,000. In terms ofgeographical distribution, interviewees stated thatFrancophone Cameroonians are widelydistributed throughout the city, but appear to liveprimarily in north London (Edmonton Green,Tottenham and Wood Green), east London(Walthamstow and Barking) and south eastLondon (Thamesmead and Plumsted).

In any case, the volume and variety ofactivities in which Cameroonians are involvedindicate that the Cameroonian community inLondon is substantial. Apart from the vast arrayof community organisations set up and run byFrancophone Cameroonians, there are also fiveCameroonian restaurants in London and anightclub catering specifically to Cameroonians.Furthermore, Cameroonians meet every Sundayin Hackney Marshes for eleven-a-side footballmatches; a ‘Miss Cameroon UK’ contest isorganised every year; and Le Guide Londonien, abimonthly magazine and webzine coveringissues relating to Francophone Africans inLondon, is published by a Cameroonian.

Due to the longer history of London settlementfrom Anglophone Cameroonians and therelatively recent arrival of Francophones, manyinterviewees were of the opinion that theAnglophone Cameroonian community is better

14 Styan (2003)

15 The reasons for this shift in migratory patterns are multifarious, and relate both to diplomaticrelations between Cameroon and Europe, as well as percieved prospects of a decent life in the twocountries.The next chapter will discuss this in greater depth.

16 See Refugee Council (2006). See also Immigration and Nationality Directorate (2007), whereit is concluded that a drop in asylum applications is due to ‘good performance.’Additionally, at thetime of writing, there was a fierce debate on the deportation of Congolese asylum seekers,resulting in MP Rudi Vis introducing an Early Day Motion (EDM) to Parliament on the groundsof the deportations amounting to “a grave violation of their Article 3 human rights as provided forin the Geneva Convention” (EDMDetails, 2007).


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internally organised, and has formed alliancesand associations – both officially and socially –with other Anglophone African countries, such asNigeria and Ghana. There was also widespreadsentiment that the Anglophone community isantagonistic towards the growing presence oftheir Francophone compatriots, and would ratherthey kept on going to France. This is obviouslyconnected to the tensions evident in Cameroonbetween the French and English speaking parts ofthe country. While most of the interviewees didhave Anglophone friends or acquaintances, thiswas more on an individual than collective level,and they generally felt that they did not haveaccess to their networks or association. Still,there was a great sense of pan-Camerooniansentiment, and many lamented this situation, asit was seen as an obstacle for Cameroonians tocome together and fight for improvements, notonly in Britain, but in Cameroon as well.

When you are a Cameroonian, evenwhen you are black, even when you arewhite, even when you are yellow, weare the same person. We come from thesame country. The only difference is thelanguage. But they live together, andtreat us like an enemy. We are Frenchspeaking, so we are part of the peoplewho persecute them. They believe thatwe are not part of the same country.(Claude)

Francophone Cameroonians in LondonEven when narrowing our discussion down tothe ‘Francophone Cameroonian community’ we

run into certain difficulties. Most intervieweescommented on the great diversity within thisbroad category. This should hardly come as asurprise, since Cameroon boasts over 230 ethnicand linguistic groups. Those in London of thesame ethnic origin in Cameroon, it was said,tend to stick together to a great extent, formingsmall and unofficial, but highly effective, socialnetworks. At the same time, however, theFrancophone epithet is useful to a certain extent,because it highlights a common experience ofmigration to and/or seeking asylum in Britain.Indeed, Bernard was of the opinion that thecommon experiences and problems resultingfrom being Francophone Cameroonian in the UKwere forging a greater sense of solidarity: “Weare becoming stronger. Three or four years ago, itwas not like now. But because of these problemswe are facing, Cameroonians started thinkingthat we have to be together to be strong. That’swhat we are doing right now.”

Importantly, however, this solidarity is notconfined to Francophone Cameroonians, butextends to encompass the different FrancophoneAfrican groups as well. Indeed, compared to therelatively small number and recent arrival ofFrancophone Africans in the UK, there is anabundance of community organisations whichcater for Francophone Africans generally,17 manyof which are run by Cameroonians. A largenumber of interviewees were in one way oranother involved in community organisations, asvolunteers, service users, or indeed as directors.This should not be automatically taken to meanthat most Cameroonians are involved incommunity organisations. The majority ofinterviewees were, after all, contacted throughsuch organisations. However, the number oforganisations run by or directly involving

17 This has been noted by Styan as well, who states that community groups “have proliferated inrecent years to provide services for migrants from French-speaking African countries” (Styan,2003:27).

Table 1. Applications received from Cameroonians for asylum in the UK, excluding dependants.(Source: Heath et al., 2006)

Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total

Number of applications 175 95 245 355 380 615 505 360 290 3020

Table 2. Refusals of asylum, exceptional leave, humanitarian protection and discretionary leave toCameroonians, excluding dependants. (Source: Heath et al., 2006)

Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total

Number of applications 155 165 80 230 500 440 525 335 245 2675


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Cameroonians is striking,18 as is the greatemphasis placed on pan-Francophone Africanissues in the work of many of these organisations.

Barriers to ParticipationOne reason for this great variety of communityorganisations is the common feeling ofencumbrance in British society, which is directlyconnected to being Francophone Africans inBritain. A common theme running throughout theinterviews was the expression of FrancophoneCameroonians as both invisible and voiceless inBritish society. Although discrimination andracism featured strongly in this respect, this wasnot the only factor contributing to invisibility andvoicelessness. Lack of confidence resulting fromlanguage difficulties and lack of knowledge ofthe British system was also said to contribute. Inthis respect, five main interconnected barriers tofull participation in British society were identifiedin interviews.

Language SkillsFirst and foremost, none of the Francophoneinterviewees spoke English when they firstarrived. This presented them with problems inthe labour market as well as in education.Language was a particular obstacle in jobinterviews, but was also cited as a generalproblem in terms of integration and acceptance:

Marcelle: At first it was so hard, Icouldn’t hear the language properly. Andyou know, integration is not that easy.

Interviewer: So what was most difficultin terms of integration?

Marcelle: The most difficult was, like,finding a job, you know? I wasunderstanding a few words in English. So finding a job, like when I go for theinterview, sometimes I couldn’t understandat all what any Englishman is saying.

This explicit connection between employmentand integration was central to the interviewees’

narratives. Most interviewees said that their idealsituation in Britain was one in which they couldcontribute to the host society. This reveals astrong desire to be accepted, since acceptancedemands contribution. Acceptance, in turn, leadsto inclusion and increased capacity of economicparticipation. Language skills are central to thisequation, as Bernard explains:

We feel that we are not part of thecommunity. Sometimes because of thelanguage barrier. Most of Cameroonians,when they come in this country, theyfind it very, very hard to socialise withother people, because of the languagebarrier. Because of the culture. BecauseFrancophone culture is very, verydifferent from the English, or from theBritish culture. So when Cameroonianscome from Cameroon, and come in thiscountry, they find it very difficult tointegrate, to socialise with other people.

The problem in this instance is not anunwillingness to adapt to British society, but theobstacles language poses in doing so. On a morepositive note, however, all interviewees placedgreat emphasis on learning English, and spokeexcellent English at the time of interviews.Indeed, this stems from instrumental reasons forwanting to adapt to the majority society. Iflanguage skills lead to acceptance, andacceptance leads to enhanced prospects on thelabour market, the emphasis placed on learningEnglish is understandable.

Administrative SystemsSecondly, and connected to the previous point,many interviewees commented on how theBritish administrative system is different from theCameroonian system, which largely follows theFrench model. This was most apparent in termsof education. A large part of interviewees hadstudied at university in Cameroon, and had ahard time getting their qualifications recognisedin Britain. This was partly because they did notknow how the British education system works,but some also said that references were aproblem. As many people fled persecutionbecause of their political activities, attainingreferences from their home university is

18 Compared to Bolivians, for example, who are of similar size and started arriving at a similartime, the Cameroonian capacity to organise and fight for communal rights is striking.There areprobably structural reasons for this, rather than cultural, as a large part of the Bolivian communityfall under the category ‘irregular migrants’ in the UK which severely limits their ability to organisethemselves (Sveinsson, 2007).The relatively high proportion of asylum seekers amongstCameroonians, however, makes organisation an easier administrative task.


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problematic. As a result, many felt that they weretaking on jobs well below their level of skill.19

Bernard, for instance, who was a journalist inCameroon but only found work as a cleanerupon arrival in the UK, said that his experiencewas commonplace amongst his FrancophoneCameroonian friends:

We have Cameroonians who come inthis country who were doctors inCameroon. Or university lecturers. Youhave people coming here who areintellectuals. But when they come here,the first problem they have is that,because we come from French system,they don’t recognise our diploma here.We have to get into this system in orderfor the British authorities to recogniseour diploma. And that could take 3 or 4years. That means that you have alreadybeen to university in Cameroon, andwhen you come here, they have youstart at the beginning.

DiscriminationThe third barrier to social participation, asoutlined by interviewees, is the discriminationthey have had to endure as FrancophoneAfricans. Their African-ness figured prominentlyin this, as Marcelle made clear when describingBritish attitudes towards Africa: “All the thingscoming from Africa, it’s like it’s the worst things.Why?” Nonetheless, discrimination was alsointricately linked to language. This, many felt, setthem apart from their Anglophone compatriots.Brigitte, who had a hard time finding worksuitable to her skills, said:

Cameroonians in London, they wantbetter jobs. They don’t want to becleaners and doing minor jobs everytime. So they want people, like whitepeople, to trust their capacity. Evenwhen they go for an interview, even ifthey don’t have the English accent, theycan still speak English clearly. They justneed some people to trust what they cando, what they are able to give. This is

difficult, because there’s almost likedouble discrimination, one becauseyou’re black, and second because youdon’t have the English accent.

It should be added that many interviewees feltthat they lacked the proper tools to defendthemselves against this type of discrimination,exactly because of difficulties of communication.

One explanation given for this situation is theconnection British people tend to make betweenFrancophone Africa and refugee issues. Thissomewhat complicates the language barrierdiscussed above. Even when interviewees hadlearned good English, many felt that due to theiraccent, they were identified as refugees bydefault. As there is discrimination againstrefugees generally, their identification as refugeeswould consequently lead to discrimination: “Andwhen you come with your French speakingaccent, they just say, ‘Oh, this is one of them.This is a refugee.’ And you know what the mediathinks about refugees. So this discriminationcomes generally for French African, blackAfrican. This is true” (Alain).

Poverty and Lack of FinanceFourthly, poverty and lack of finance was seen asa fundamentally marginalising element whereparticipation in British society was concerned.Many interviewees said that they had enduredfinancial hardship in London, a view that wasendorsed by the members of communityorganisations as being true of a large section ofthe Francophone Cameroonian population. Lowpay and low skill employment is common, evenamongst those with university degrees. Apartfrom being an affliction in its own right, povertyalso has implications for inclusion. For example,two interviewees said they were not able to sendtheir children to playgroup as this was tooexpensive. Taking part in wider society is alsodifficult on a meagre salary, as Alain explains:

One weekend, I said to my friend’s kids,‘OK, let me take you to London Bridge.’It was like they were discovering a newcity! But they were born in London,they’re nine years old, and have neverbeen to the city centre. They don’t knowwhere London Bridge is. They don’t know

19 This situation is confirmed by the study on the French speaking African community inSouthwark, where “96 people out of 138 that are in employment indicated that the jobs they aredoing do not match their skills” (Community Involvement and Development Unit, 2006: 5).


9

where Westminster is. Because the mum,when they go to school, she takes themon Saturday, they just do the thing, theystay home and maybe visit friends nearthe house. And some people grow uplike that until they’re 17 or 18 years old.

Lack of ConfidenceFifthly, and a direct consequence of the previousfour barriers, interviewees said that a lack ofconfidence was a major problem forFrancophone Cameroonians. This had a wideranging effect on a number of fronts. Forexample, many interviewees complained that inspite of being university educated in Cameroon,their degrees or qualifications were notrecognised in Britain. This led them to takingjobs well below their level of skills, which addsfurther to feelings of marginalisation: “We have alot of skills. But when you get here, it’s useless.You can’t use it. Even if you could, you’re justnot confident. We are not confident. We don’tthink there is a space for us here” (Alexandrine).Claude said that he had all sorts of dreams andplans – in fact, quite feasible business plans – butsimply did not know how to implement them,and lacked the resources and knowledge tofollow them through. As Marcelle put it:

Some Cameroonian, when you go toschool, they just laugh at you. They say,‘Why are you going to school for? Youcan’t even get a better job anyway. Noone can give you a better job, you can’twork in any office. So don’t waste yourtime. Just try to work in any factory, tryto save a little bit of money, because noone will give you a good job.’

This lack of confidence, largely a result of thecombination of language difficulties anddiscrimination, works as an impediment whendealing with situations where they actually haverights. Under these circumstances, the assistanceof organisations is of paramount importance.Marc, who works for a Francophone Africancommunity organisation, described the situationin these terms:

Over here, the first problem peoplehave, and we’re doing a lot in thisorganisation to help them, is to translatetheir certificates into British standard. Ifthey don’t have that support, they will bemissing something. You see someonewith Batchelor in law, doing agencywork or nursing, because he doesn’thave good information. The problem islack of information. Lack of orientation.That’s what we’re trying to do here. Onelady phoned me the other day sayingshe’s doing access to psychology. I said‘No, you have Masters in psychology!You should ask the university to translatethe certificate into the British standard.From there, they will tell you where to go.’And she went to the university and shecalled me and said, ‘Yeah, you’re right!’

The Five Barriers ConsideredTaken together, the five barriers to participationin British society, as identified by the interviewees,illustrate with great clarity how and why manyFrancophone Cameroonians feel both voicelessand invisible. A number of interviewees expresseda feeling of being forgotten and neglected. Oneimportant consequence of this is the lack ofservice provisions that take the distinct problemsof Francophone Africans into account. Due tothe lack of information – or more accurately, thebarriers language and understanding of theBritish system place on accessing information –many Francophone Cameroonians rely oncommunity organisations for advice. However,exactly because of the invisibility andvoicelessness of Francophone Cameroonians, itis hard for organisations to prove to potentialfunders that there is a need for their services.20

Alain expressed his frustration in these terms:

Organisations like us, we don’t evenhave money. Because the community isnot having the voice, they’re not heard.So sometimes you find it difficult tojustify the people you’re working with.And because they’re not there, they’renot visible, you cannot claim money,and say, ‘OK, I’m asking for money forthese people.’ Sometimes they will askyou, ‘How many people do you have?’

20 Studies such as the one commisioned by Southwark Council are critical in this respect. Indeed,as a result of that study, there are now plans to set up a Francophone community centre inSouthwark.


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Even when you come with the statistics,people will not believe you. If I tell youthat in Enfield alone, there are hundredsof Cameroonians living in Enfield alone,sometimes people will not believe.

It would be misleading, however, to portrayFrancophone Cameroonians as victims ofcircumstance with no influence over their ownlives or ability to change their own situation. Inspite of the adversities and setbacks describedabove, Cameroonians show great resourcefulnessin collectively overcoming these difficulties.21

Bruno was very clear on the reasons for this: “It’snot about waiting for others to help us; it’s aboutus being able to do something on our own.” Thestriking number of, and level of participation in,community organisations has already beenmentioned. Indeed, when those who had set uptheir community organisations were probed onwhat had driven them to do so, the typicalanswer was:

When I first came in this country, myexperience was very bad. I had seriousproblems to integrate in this country andto socialise with other people. And alsoall the problem I had as an asylumseeker. And that’s one of the reasons I setup this organisation. To help otherpeople like me, to avoid facing the sameproblem I faced when coming in thiscountry. (Bernard)

The importance of the work of theseorganisations was described as invaluable by anumber of interviewees: “Because the first time,imagine, if they took you to one organisation,you don’t feel alone anymore. And you feel alittle bit safe. Here, you can talk with someone.You can express your feelings to someone whounderstands you” (Brigitte).

However, the extent to which communityorganisations can help is limited. For this reason,many Cameroonians have set up highly effective

small scale social networks. These are of aninformal nature, often comprised of people of thesame ethnic or linguistic background inCameroon, and typically consist of only a fewdozen people. It is exactly here that the diversitywithin the Francophone Camerooniancommunity becomes apparent.22 The purpose ofthese networks is to provide each other with helpand assistance not available elsewhere. Thesocial aspect of these networks is of greatimportance, and through them people felt able toexpress and celebrate their Cameroonian-ness.However, practical aspects of mutual help indifficult situations were of equal significance.This, interviewees explained, is a trait they bringwith them from Cameroon:

For us, Africa is a very warm society;you can have help for any problem. Youcan’t throw people away just becauseyou think they can take care of themselves.If you have food, you have to share it.It’s just a warm society. And we bring ithere in London, we try to help each other,and give each other comfort. (Marcelle)

In this sense, resources are pooled anddistributed when needed. For example, severalinterviewees said that they could not afford topay childcare, but that fellow Cameroonianswould help them with babysitting when needed.Another important example, mentioned by themajority of interviewees, is help to deal withpersonal crises arising either in Britain or backhome. Should someone fall ill, there would becommunal assistance. Should someone die,money would be collected for the body to besent back to Cameroon.23 Furthermore, everyoneplaced great weight on their relations withfriends and family back in Cameroon, as will bediscussed in greater depth in the Connectionswith Cameroon section. This carried with it acertain anxiety, as Bruno explains: “This is whatmost of the travellers dread: they ring from homeand tell you that you’ve lost your parents. Likethe time that they rang me, they rang me up totell me that my father’s gone. This is the kind ofinformation you are dreading the most.” Whenthese situations arise, people generally feelobliged to go back home. However, tightfinances can make this a problematic task, in

21 This was also noted by in the Southwark study, which states that one of its “most interestingfindings was the incredible enterprising culture of this community and their ability to engage inself-help” (Community Involvement and Development Unit, 2006: 5).

22 It must be noted that due to the small sample size of this study, the data can neither adequatelydescribe the structure and extent of this ethnic diversity, nor its dynamics. Suffice it to say here thatinternal diversity is an important feature of the Francophone Cameroonian community in London.

23 Again, this is confirmed by the Community Involvement and Development Unit (2006) whichreports similar findings.


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which case people may rely on their networks toraise the funds:

If one Cameroonian lost maybe hisfather, or mother, in Cameroon, all thepeople will come and assist. That’s ourtradition. If I know you lost maybe yourmother, I have to come and stay withyou all the night. You know, we gotsome ceremony like that. And when wefinish, sometime we can contribute aswell, to help you to buy flight to go backhome. (Victor)

Importantly, there was a general understandingthat collective barriers must be collectivelychallenged. A common goal was to become partof British society through contributing to it. Forthis reason, Francophone Cameroonians join uptheir efforts with other Francophone Africannationals, exactly because they have a commonexperience of marginalisation which they maynot necessarily share with Anglophone Africans.This is not to say that the French language iscentral to Francophone Cameroonians’ identityand sense of self. Indeed, Victor illustrated thisclearly when he expressed his antagonismtowards all things French, including the Frenchlanguage. In a similar vein, Styan has refuted thenotion of a ‘Francophone African’ identity inLondon. While acknowledging the importance ofthe French language as the principal linguafranca in former French and Belgian colonies inAfrica, he also states that, for the Congolese inLondon, “the degree to which the Frenchlanguage is the source of solidarity andcommunication with other Francophone Africansseems far less sure.”24 Styan rightly concludesthat a definitive ‘Francophone’ label ignores thevast diversity within this group. However, theCameroonian presence in London provides aninteresting case in point. Most interviewees saidthat Anglophone Cameroonians associatethemselves more with Nigerians and Ghanaians,while Francophone Cameroonians were more

likely to socialise with and seek support fromtheir French speaking neighbours. While Styanmay be right in doubting the French language asthe source of this solidarity, let alone identity, forFrancophone Cameroonians it is the Frenchlanguage as a shaping factor in the migratoryprocess which compels FrancophoneCameroonians to seek support from others in asimilar position.

Why London and not Paris?Given the problems and barriers whichFrancophone Cameroonians face in the UK, theinevitable question arises why, during the 1990s,they started to show a preference for Britain overFrance. These changing migration patterns reflecta wider trend amongst nationals of former Frenchor Belgian colonies generally, as noted byStyan.25 This issue was discussed at length withinterviewees. While many stated that “Most ofthe time, when people leave their country, theydon’t really know where they are going, becausemost of the time, they just want to escape. Theydon’t worry about where to go” (Henri), mostalso acknowledged that there is a growingpreference for Britain, for which threeexplanations were given: 1) diplomatic andpolitical ties between France and Cameroonwere blamed for much of the current situation inCameroon, which made it both abhorrent anddangerous to live there; 2) Britain was seen asboth more tolerant and less imbued with racismthan France; and 3) in spite of problems faced inthe labour market, the many interviewees feltthat there are more opportunities in Britain thanin France. We shall consider these individually.

Diplomatic and Political TiesMany interviewees stated that France is still aninfluential force in Cameroon, and that theFrench authorities are in control of the politicaland economic situation there. Most wereantithetic to the current Cameroonian president,Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982,allegedly with the backing of the Frenchauthorities. These claims are not unfounded.Takougang has outlined the French support of theBiya regime, ranging from financial support toprevent its collapse to endorsing electionsconsidered dubious at best by many other nationstates.26

24 Styan (2003: 33)

25 Styan (2003)

26 Takougang (2003).Additionally, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) reports that former Canadian president Joe Clark, who led the observers in the 2004elections, stated on behalf of the Commonwealth that “elections were poorly managed and ‘lackedcredibility’” (UNHCR). On the other hand,“the representative of the International Organisationof the Francophonie said that the Cameroon polls were generally ‘well organized’ and had takenplace ‘in accordance with the legal provisions and regulations’” (ibid.)


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A major reason for French support forthe Biya regime was the fear that avictory by the SDF led by Fru Ndi, ananglophone – since the SDF [SocialDemocratic Front] posed the most threatto President Biya and his ruling CPDM –might deprive France of its economicdominance in Cameroon by forging amuch closer relationship with the UnitedStates, Britain, and other Europeannations.27

The interviewees endorsed Takougang’sargument, and many had themselves fled theoppressive Biya regime. Given the associationbetween France and the autocracy that forcedthem to flee their country, it is understandablethat France would not be their first choice ofresidence. Not only would they then be living inand contributing to the country that colludeswith the ruling Cameroonian party, but someconsidered France a dangerous place as well.Victor depicted this dilemma with clarity, and isworth quoting at length:

All this situation in Cameroon, it wasFrance that was behind. But it’s not justCameroon. I start hate France since thisthing happened in Burundi, in Rwanda,because they were behind all this. Sincethat time, I never really liked any Frenchperson. Not individual person, but theFrench government. They’re alwaysbehind all these things in Africa. And Ithink for me, as well, it’s gonna happento Cameroon. There was people whowere living in France, but France was nogood for me. Because the political partyin Cameroon got so many agents inFrance. So if they know that you wereone of the persons who was makingtrouble in Cameroon, they may deportyou, they may catch you and send youback. And when they catch you andsend you back, maybe your family willnot see you again. So for me, it was nota nice country for me. I even started hateto speak French.

In this way, the condemnation of the governmentin France also serves to strengthen pan-Francophone African sentiments amongst Frenchspeaking Cameroonians. Intervieweesempathised and identified with nationals of otherFrancophone African states, such as Ivory Coast,and blamed the French authorities for thesituation there as well. Some said that they werefearful that the tragedies in other former Frenchor Belgian colonies could repeat themselves inCameroon.

Multiculturalism and Human RightsThe second reason given for the growingpreference for Britain are connected to theperception of Britain as a tolerant society whichrespects human rights, both in policy and day today life. France, on the other hand, wasconsidered to be rife with racism. On a policylevel, the declared multiculturalism of Britainwas said to be beneficial to small groups such asCameroonians:

It is a good philosophy for us, a goodpolicy. To help people build, withinthemselves, their culture, theircivilisation. What we love in this countryis, when you come, with your culture oryour civilisation, they don’t wash yourbrain. Like in France. France wash yourbrain. Here, you come with your culture,you come with your personality. BecauseBritish people, British system believe thatthe UK should be a place of exchange,where people come together, andeveryone could give what he has tobuild a better community. (Bernard)

Apart from allowing Cameroonians to foster unityamongst themselves, so important in the fightagainst invisibility and voicelessness, Britain’smulticultural policy translates into a moretolerant and positive attitude amongst the British,who many interviewees felt were open todiversity, especially when juxtaposed to France.Many had friends or family in France whom theyhad visited several times. Each time, some said,they go to France they have bad experiences ofovert racism and supremacism. While mostinterviewees had personal experiences of racismin the UK, whether racist abuse in the street or

27 Takougang (2003: 432)


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prejudice in the workplace, what multiculturalismhas to offer on an individual level, intervieweesexplained, are tools to identify and deal withracist comments or conduct. As Victor explained:“The difference, since I’ve been living here, thelaw in England protect the minority. And becauseyou’ve got a law that punishes, maybe, verbalracism, you’ve got a law that protect that. In somany countries in the world, I don’t thinkthey’ve got the same law.”

Inclusiveness of the Labour MarketThe third reason is directly connected to the

second one, which is the perception that theBritish labour market is more inclusive than theFrench one, which makes it more accessible forAfricans. Although structural discrimination existsin Britain, interviewees believed that it does soon a much smaller scale than in France, wherethey said that an African name can debar peoplefrom even reaching the interview stage. Edmond,who lived in France before moving to London,said that this was a strong factor for wishing tocome to Britain, particularly because of hisobligations to friends and family back home:“You know, in Africa, when one family got oneperson outside Cameroon, that means thatyou’ve got more than 25 people behind you thatyou have to look after.” For this reason, it isimportant to live in a society with employmentprospects. Even considering the severe deskillingcommon amongst Cameroonians in London,there is work available, and some intervieweessaid that London presents opportunities for ethnicminorities to grow and develop their skills: “Sothe word is that this society is one of the moretolerant societies. If you want to make it, you canactually make it, regardless of the colour of yourskin, your background. But black people don’teasily have good jobs over there [in France]”(Bruno).

Nonetheless, life in London is not entirelystraightforward, as has already been discussed.While Britain’s multiculturalism was seen as abeneficial policy for Francophone Cameroonians,it certainly has its limits. As was mentionedabove, all interviewees expressed a clear desireto contribute positively to their host society.Indeed, most conveyed a sense of appreciationfor Britain giving them a chance to contribute.However, most also described difficulties in

trying to do so. Thus, there is prejudice anddiscrimination in Britain, and there was a generalfeeling amongst the interviewees that in thecurrent political climate, Africans would beamongst the first group to lose out if the labourmarket contracted or became saturated. In thisrespect, many said employers show a preferenceto employ people from Eastern Europe, so thateven the lowest paying jobs would become outof their reach:

Yesterday I was speaking with oneCameroonian guy, he’s looking for a job.And he said that, since those 10countries from Europe, since they joinedthe European Union, it’s very hard evento get a cleaning job. For Africans. It’slike they prefer to give the jobs we weredoing before, to those countries. That iswhy I say it’s going to be very hard forus. Black people are complaining,Cameroonian are complaining. Everyoneis looking for jobs, and it seems thatevery little mistake you do, they justsack you. (Marcelle)

This illustrates well the precarious andvulnerable position many FrancophoneCameroonians find themselves in. Thewidespread belief that employers generally preferto give jobs to Eastern European migrants reflectsan uncertain reality. Again, the problem is notexclusive to Cameroonians, but a pan-Africanpredicament. However, many said that the‘Francophone’ aspect in many ways sets themapart from Anglophone Africans, which furtherdemonstrates the advantages of speaking of a‘Francophone’ African unity in a political sense:“Cameroonian is part of the French Africancommunity living in London. This discriminationis not just about Cameroonian. It’s about theFrench speaking African community. We havethe same language problem, we have the sameskin, and we are African” (Bernard).


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Connectionswith CameroonRemittances and Pressures from HomeConnections with friends and family back inCameroon were of utmost importance to allinterviewees. As Edmond explained, a wholehost of people back home depend on membersof the diaspora to send money back home. Thisview was confirmed by others: “There is not asingle Cameroonian who will come to you andsay to you he or she doesn’t send money backhome. There is not a single individual whowould say that to you. It’s a duty, you have tosend money” (Bruno). Indeed, Fleischer hasargued that kinship and family ties are centralinfluential factors in regards to all major decisionmaking in Cameroon. The decision to migrate,she states, is no exception, where “migrationdecisions depend on the decisions taken by theirkin.”28 Migration is therefore expected to benefitthe extended family, and migrants “are subject toperforming many duties and responsibilitiestowards their relatives who enabled them tomigrate.”29 For instance, those who fled politicalpersecution, and therefore were not able toreturn to Cameroon, saw their migratory experienceas an opportunity to help their family back home,who may have made considerable sacrifices tohelp them leave the country. Henri explains:

As I said to you earlier, most of the timewe leave our country because ofpolitical reasons, because of thepersecution. What happens? Sometimewe escape from prison, sometime youjust have to go suddenly. So the familyhas to struggle to pay the ticket for theflight, do this, do that, so we can travel.How could we come over here andforget about them?

All interviewees said that they send remittancesas regularly as they possibly can. Even duringtimes of unemployment or low income, there is immense pressure to send money, as some

people back home are not very understanding ofthe situation many Francophone Camerooniansfind themselves in when in London:

For some, the parents don’t understand.So even if they don’t work, they have todo whatever to try to send money. Someare very, very poor. If you don’t send,maybe £5, they can’t even pay the rent,but you have to do whatever you can tosend the money. And some parents can’tunderstand, ‘Ah, you’re in Europe andyou can’t even send money!’ No onecan believe you. (Marcelle)

Victor felt that this pressure was so overbearingthat he was reluctant to answer his phone intimes of tight finances. He said that he hadeffectively become a resource to his extendedfamily, so even his cousins would call him forassistance: “My cousins always call me, ‘I’ve gotmy 5 year old, he can’t go to school, can yousend me £3.50 to put my baby into the school?’And you cannot send only £3.50, he may callyou back and say, ‘OK, I need a schoolbag,’ soyou have to send £20 to cover all those things.”

Becoming a financial resource did not onlyhave consequences for the interviewees’ life inLondon. The interviewees generally said thatthey did not go back to Cameroon as often asthey would want to. Some were obviously notable to go back, as the political situation barredthem from doing so. For others, however, goingback on a regular basis is simply too expensive.Apart from the price of the plane ticket, therewas immense pressure as well to share thebenefits of living in London. As Marcelle, whowent back to Cameroon for the first time thissummer since she moved to London in 2003,explains:

It was nice, seeing my parents, mybrother. But when you are coming fromhere, everybody is expecting somethingfrom you. And that makes it very hard.So you have to organise yourself before

28 Fleischer (2006: 26)

29 Fleischer (2006: 26)


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going there. And people will come toyou and say that they want a car, ahouse. They think you have all themoney in London.

Remittances were not only considered importantfor individuals; the interviewees were quiteaware of the economic importance ofremittances for Africa as well. Indeed, theeconomic and political situation of Cameroonwas high on the agenda in interviews, andinterviewees generally felt that, as part of thediaspora, their duty to send remittances was alsoconnected to contributing to the development ofCameroon. All were highly alert to the roleremittances play in international development,dwarfing international aid,30 and somecommented on this being an under-rated tool.Echoing Docquier – who states that remittances“should be seen as an explicit component of thedevelopment policy of the rich world”31 – Brunocommented on the lack of interest in makingremittances more cost effective for migrants:

The situation back home is difficult.There is endemic poverty back home.When you talk about development inAfrica, how come you never mentionremittances? Billions of dollars are beingsent back home, every year from thediaspora. Every time you make a report,you don’t want to allude to thoseremittances. It is important. All themoney you’re sending home for smallbusinesses; all the money you’re sendinghome to do this and that. It is massive,it’s more important than what thegovernment is sending through agencies.The people of the diaspora, what they’resending back home is massive money.So how come they don’t want to helppeople here so they can send moremoney back home? That’s a problemtoo. (Bruno)

As has already been stated, many of theinterviewees did not want to leave Cameroon,

but fled because of their political involvement.Thus, it was exactly their aspirations for a betterCameroon, through political activities, thatultimately drove them out of the country. AsBernard explained: “Cameroonians are veryclose to their country. They like their country.They are seriously involved in the politicalsituation in our country, the social situation inour country. But most of them are not allowed togo back home, because of political problem.”However, remittances were not the only avenuefor development; many interviewees wanted toreturn to Cameroon at some point in their lives,and were keen on using skills acquired in Britainfor the good of Cameroon.

Brain Drain, Brain Waste, Deskilling andDevelopmentSocial scientists do not agree on the actualeffects that the phenomenon of ‘brain drain’actually has on developing countries. Whilesome argue that brain drain contributes to furtherimpoverishment of the developing world,32others maintain that a limited rate of skilledmigration from developing countries could resultin a ‘win-win-win’ situation, where migrants,sending country and receiving country allbenefit. Docquier, for example, reasons that:

The emigration of skilled workers isusually blamed for depriving developingcountries of one of their scarcestresources, human capital. Althoughmany studies emphasized positivefeedback effects of the brain drain (in theform of remittances, return migration,diaspora externalities, quality ofgovernance and increasing return toeducation), international agencies andmany scientists often turned a deaf ear tothese effects and considered them asnegligible.33

The question of brain drain was raised by anumber of interviewees, many of whom hadexperienced severe deskilling in Britain. As hasbeen outlined above, this caused frustration bothin terms of loss of capacity for personaldevelopment as well as the reduced opportunityto earn a proper living and thereby increase theremittances sent back home. There was an

30 Sander (2003)

31 Docquier (2006: )

32 Tanner (2006)

33 Docquier (2006:2)


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additional element to deskilling, however, whichwas brought up in a number of interviews. Thiswas the effect deskilling has on the prospects ofone day returning to Cameroon with experiencesand enhanced skills acquired in the UK, or usingthese skills to set up links between Britain andCameroon.

A number of interviewees commented on howEuropean degrees are of high value back home,and how professional development in Britaincould be used to contribute to development inCameroon. Already having a strong base onwhich to build, this should, they felt, be anuncomplicated task. Unfortunately, however, thisis not the case, which not only hampers thedevelopment of human capital within theCameroonian diaspora, but has an adverse effectin Cameroon as well. Claude was painfullyaware of this:

My life, normally, is not in London.Because I want to do good things for mycountry. If everyone in Cameroon left thecountry and came in Europe, who isgoing to do things in Cameroon? Noone. When you got something, you haveto go back and show people the thingthat you learned. Because here, you’vegot so many people, how manyengineers, doctors, some of them hereare doing stupid things like cleaning.

Indeed, Claude had a degree in economics fromCameroon, and after several years of – in hisopinion – menial jobs such as cleaning andfactory work, had started his education inLondon from scratch. He was planning onreturning to Cameroon after finishing hiseducation, “Because I want to do good things formy country.” However, getting to the positionwhere he felt ready and able to do so has takenseveral years more than he deemed necessary. AsBernard said, this can set people back 3 or 4years.

Not everyone had the explicit intention to goback to Cameroon, however. Some intervieweessaid that they have now made their life here.Nonetheless, the link with Cameroon remainedstrong, and a number of interviewees expressed

their aspirations to use their position in the UK tobuild links to Cameroon. Again, the intervieweesboth echoed and contradicted the academicliterature on diaspora business networks.Docquier and Lodigiani, for instance, argue thatby “creating trust, providing market informationand reducing transaction costs, the diasporaabroad acts as promoting trade, investment andtechnology adoption in the origin country.”34

This would indeed be the ideal situation formany interviewees of this study. Bruno, forinstance, was unsure whether he would everreturn to Cameroon, “but what I’m thinkingabout is to be able to build a bridge. Whichmeans, create a structure, use my experiencefrom here, back home. Be the bridge betweenhome and here. Not cutting that link. No. Butenriching that link between the two countries.”

The interviewees had several ideas aboutpossible business ventures, ranging from freightservices and shops selling Cameroonian productsto phone shops and money-transferring centres.The problem, as Edmond explained, is that manypeople lack both the knowledge and confidenceto implement their plans. Many interviewees saidthat they knew very well that business plans areimplementable, and pointed towards thesuccesses of other ethnic minority groups in thisrespect:

If you see the Somali people; Somalis,they’ve got business. Everywhere yousee, phoneshop, to call Africa. You wantto call Africa, you go to the Somalipeople. From Tottenham to StokeNewington, all the shops there areSomali shops. They are specialised inthat area. I think they are moreenterprise than us. They are no moreintelligent, but they have achieved to dothat. But we can do the same thing. Butwe don’t know how to get the funds torun a business like that. That’s my mainproblem. (Victor)

Indeed, building on links with contacts inCameroon was often central to the interviewees’intentions of setting up businesses in the UK.This, some reasoned, would not only bebeneficial for themselves, but for trading partnersin Cameroon as well. One of Victor’s ambitions,

34 Docquier and Lodigiani (2006: 2)


17

for example, was to import coffee grown by hisuncle in Cameroon. Again, however, confidenceand knowledge acted as impediments:

Like I’ve got one of my uncle, he alwayscall me. He grows coffee. There is a lotof coffee in my area, where my father isborn. He’s got a warehouse. He wants tosell coffee, but there are all these foreignpeople who come and say ‘OK, for thisbatch, I will give you £20.’ And he haveno choice, he’s gonna take it. And hecall me here, ‘Have you got no contactwith people in England who want coffee,banana, all those things?’ Phhh, I don’tknow where to find them. I know inmyself I try, like on the internet, but Icouldn’t get the right person. It’s the sortof thing like that. People want to move,but there’s too many barriers.

This account was not unique to Victor; othershad a similar story to tell:

All of us, we have parents or familieswho grow coffee in Cameroon, all ofknow of one person who do this kind ofbusiness. Again, the French people, orBelgium, they will come and buy it forvery little money. Very, very little money.So this kind of link, from here to those inCameroon, could be very beneficial. Buthow to go about it? (Alexandrine)

Docquier and Lodigiani have presentedevidence that diaspora business networks arelargely driven by skilled migration,35 yet the skillsof many Francophone Cameroonians areundermined once in Britain, which hampers theirability to use their skills to set up businessnetworks. Thus, while Docquier’s argument thata “positive rate of skilled migration (say between5 and 10 percent of the native skilled labor force)is very likely to be beneficial for both sendingand receiving countries”36 is valid, the extent towhich brain drain can be turned into the

advantage of developing countries largelydepends on the policies of host countries. As isclear from the discussion of this report, thepolicy landscape in which FrancophoneCameroonians find themselves in Britain is notinducive to turning ‘brain drain’ into ‘brain gain,’neither in the UK nor indeed in Cameroon. Theconditions to generate the potentially positiveeffects Docquier lists – “remittances, returnmigration, diaspora externalities, quality ofgovernance and increasing return to education”37

– do not seem to be present in the UK, neitherfor return migration nor transnational businessnetworks.

ConclusionIt is clear that the presence of FrancophoneCameroonians is not a transient trend. Quite thecontrary, Francophone Cameroonians havepermanently settled in London, thus forming anextensive part of the city’s cultural matrix. This istrue of the entire French speaking Africancommunity. As Styan notes, “UK settlement fromformer Francophone colonies in Africa is nowwell established and likely to be a durablefeature of the African presence in the UK.”38 Forthis reason, it is of utmost importance to get aclear understanding of the issues faced byFrancophone Africans in London. The studyconducted by the Southwark CommunityInvolvement and Development Unit has gonesome way to highlight shortcomings in serviceprovision for this group,39 and Styan has offeredsome theoretical considerations on‘Francophone’ as a descriptive category.However, empirical investigation stops there.This report has attempted to add to this sparseknowledge base by inquiring into the outlookand experiences of one particular FrancophoneAfrican group.

However, the methodological limitations ofthis study should not be underestimated, andmany questions remain unanswered. A moredetailed ethnographic account of the diversitywithin the Francophone African community isneeded for a fuller understanding of thedynamics of intra-community relations. Similarly,the nature and extent of the inter-Francophonealliance alluded to in this report, as well as its

35 Docquier and Lodigiani (2006)

36 Docquier (2006: 3)

37 Docquier (2006: 2)

38 Styan (2003: 18)

39 Community Involvement and Development Unit (2006)


18

limitations, is not fully understood. A clearunderstanding of the solidarity between Frenchspeaking African groups, or lack thereof –whichever may be the case – would give usvaluable insights into the problems and issuesFrancophone Africans face in London.

The findings presented above do give us someclues. The divide between French speaking andEnglish speaking Cameroonians in Londonindicate that linguistic factors play a substantialrole in the migratory experiences of the twogroups. This, however, is not entirely restricted tolanguage itself. Certainly, the language barrierwas cited as a major obstacle to full socialparticipation, but some interviewees said thatlanguage is a barrier that can be overcome.Indeed, all of the interviewees had placed greatimportance on learning English, and were fluentat the time of interview. Language skills onlybecame a substantial problem when combinedwith other language related difficulties. Forexample, interviewees generally felt that theBritish public makes an explicit connectionbetween Francophone Africa and refugees. Giventhe stigma attached to refugees generally, thisdefault association, they said, creates a host ofproblems for social and economic inclusion.Furthermore, having their qualificationsrecognised in Britain was problematic, resultingin many Francophone Cameroonians acceptingjobs that are well below their level of educationand skill. These language related impedimentsconverge in a feeling of uncertainty and lack ofself-confidence which has a wide ranging effecton a number of fronts, and adds further tofeelings of marginalisation. Importantly, however,it would be a grave error to ignore the agencyand great resourcefulness of FrancophoneCameroonians in London, who are not willing tobecome helpless victims of circumstance. Theextensive participation in communityorganisations, as well as the highly effectivesocial networks set up to provide mutual help,illustrate the aptitude of Cameroonians to change– or if change is out of reach, adapt to – theadverse situations they may find themselves in.

Much can be learned from the FrancophoneCameroonian community in London. Thenarratives described above are narratives ofsurvival. Having to cope with often distressingand unfortunate situations, Francophone

Cameroonians show a diligent resilience in theface of adversity, thus clearly demonstrating thepower of unity. Returning to Victor’s admirationfor the enterprising disposition of Somalis,however, it is clear that FrancophoneCameroonians can also learn from theexperiences of other ethnic minority groups inBritain. For this to happen, the need for forumsand networks through which inter-communityguidance and information sharing can befacilitated is becoming increasingly expedient. Inspite of Francophone Cameroonians’ immensecapacity for self help in day to day life, theproblem of self-confidence remains, a problemthat could be challenged through sharingexperiences. Indeed, many interviewees calledfor a deeper cooperation not only betweenFrancophone Cameroonians and other ‘hidden’communities, but between newcomers and thesettled communities – including the British – aswell. In this respect, it is apposite to end onVictor’s considered words:

We’ve got to communicate with othergroups, they’ve got experience in thiscountry. I want to learn their culture.And you may be interested to know myculture as well. It’s why we came here.To get a view of different cultures fromdifferent countries. It’s why we are here.


19

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Realising the Vision: Progress and Further ChallengesThe Report of the CFMEB (2000) revisited in 2004

(Briefing Paper April 2004)

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Ed. Rob Berkeley (2003)

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The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain: The Parekh Report Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (2000, Profile Books)

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