Source – https://linetekeu.substack.com/p/cameroon-through-new-eyes-1-the-long
I was just a child when Paul Biya became President of Cameroon in 1982. By the time I moved to France in 1994, and later to the United States in 2001, he was still in power — and remarkably, he remains so to this day. Over the years, I have returned to Cameroon occasionally, though never for more than two weeks at a time. Yet, even after spending now most of my life in the United States, I continue to proudly identify as Cameroonian. That’s where my roots lie — where my journey began, and where my parents and grandparents are buried.
My recent trip back to Cameroon in February 2025 — during the height of President Trump’s shake-up of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a community I’m a part of — offered me a profound opportunity to reconnect with my roots and reflect on the early years of my life. It also prompted me to take a hard, honest look at some difficult questions: How does today’s Cameroon compare to the one I grew up in? And are Cameroonians better off now than previous generations?
In trying to answer these questions objectively, I have found that the comparison isn’t simple. It requires looking beyond the surface and diving deeper into the enduring themes that have long defined Cameroon —its struggles, its resilience, and its contradictions. The answers are complex, and often uncomfortable, but they are essential to understanding where the country stands today and what its future might hold.
