Friday, July 04, 2008

CAMEROONIAN IN BAREFOOT PROTEST !

A Cameroonian who has just finished a barefoot trek across the UK told the BBC his sore feet were worth it to raise awareness about African issues.
It took Emmanuel Neba Fuh 17 days to complete the 200km (125 mile)- walk from Derby to Downing Street, the residence of the UK prime minister.
He handed in a letter to the British leader urging policies of prevention rather that cure towards Africa.
Along the way he dropped in at schools to educate "future prime ministers".
The walk was part of a project called "Derby for Africa Initiative" which aims to promote good governance and human rights.
'Petitions of blood'
Born in southern Cameroon where English-speaking secessionists have been campaigning for independence, Mr Neba Fuh said the situation in Africa was "shameful".
I"We have a situation where Africans have been forced to flee their continent - a continent which is rich in all its natural resources but remains economically backward," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"I think that the pain that I'm feeling cannot be compared to the pain of a young boy at the age 10 forced by security men to have sex with his own mother because his mother is part of a secessionist movement."
He said he walked barefoot not only to raise awareness in the UK about the plight of Africa but he wanted to appeal to the African diaspora to do more for the continent.
When it came to Africa, the United Nations tended to only take notice of petitions "written in blood", he said.
"Many people are dead before something is done. We need something proactive, we need something that can prevent the situations like genocide from happening," he said.

He added that he saw every young person in Britain as a potential leader.
"If we tell them the things that are happening in Africa... when they become that prime minister, that foreign secretary they'll be able to put in place policies that will pave the way for fair trade.
"Polices that will prevent the flow of arms into the hands of dictators; policies that will prevent corruption."
Next year, Mr Neba Fuh, who sought refuge in the UK in 2003, has also vowed to walk barefoot across Africa.
He then intends to collect one million signatures to urge the African Union to adopt a civil rights charter to prevent African leaders from staying in office from more than two terms.
"We think that when leaders stay in power for too long they run short of ideas," he said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

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