By Sah Terence Animbom
M ore than 30,000 inhabitants of Balikumbat and its neighbouring villages in Ngohketunjia Division of the North West Region of Cameroon have been deprived of access to healthcare services for over eight months, due to the occupation of the Hospital by elements of the Cameroon military deployed to combat separatist fighters in the sub division. Senator Kemende Henry Gamsey, a member of the Upper House of parliament who hails from Balikumbat Spoke to The SUN Newspaper’s Sah Terence Animbom in an exclusive interview in which he x-rays the whole situation and actions so far taken to address it. Read!
Senator, people of your immediate Balikumbat constituency complain of lack of access to the hospital due to military occupation of the hospital. What exactly is the situation that led to the occupation of the hospital by the military?
Well it so happened that the confrontations between the Amba boys and security forces dislodged the gendarmes from their post as well as the police, keeping them away from the sub division for some time. It seems after staying away from the scene for some time, they advised themselves to come back and install themselves forcefully. So upon their return to Balikumbat, we eventually found them installing at the hospital. We initially thought it was going to be just a short stay but rather we saw them reinforcing and suddenly taking over the whole place.
This action sure caused some panic around the hospital, didn’t it?
Yes of course as you would imagine, there must be real panic. Before long, patients could no longer visit the hospital for fear that perhaps if they visit, there could be an attack and they get caught in-between stray bullets from either side. The military was even more reinforced and the environment was no longer conducive even for the hospital staff and that’s how the doctor fled and nurses went into the quarters for safety. That is how Balikumbat hospital became a military barrack.
What does International Humanitarian Law say about hospitals in times of war?
You see, IHL is very clear on the respect of certain public structures during war. The hospital is the most respected of such places. The law forbids the attack or taking over of hospitals, schools, churches, and even sacred places like shrines. It is therefore totally unacceptable that this violation of International Humanitarian Law should be carried out by the Military and not the civilian forces, who, can be said to not be versed with the law. Whatever excuse they give and whatever good intentions they may have, it does not absorb them from the violation of Humanitarian Law.
What is the situation in the sub division at the moment?
The hospital is still militarized and completely taken over by the military. There are daily confrontations between the Amba Boys and the military. You will be surprised that Amba Boys are actually the ones saying they want to get the military away from the hospital so that the staff can return and people have access to their health unit. It is really a paradoxical situation that it is instead the Amba boys who are considered illegal, not trained and not aware of IHL that are fighting for the functioning of the hospital. Patients now manage to get the few nurses they can find around to give them treatment at home and this is often done under very unsafe conditions.
There must have been some unfortunate cases as a result of this action by the military. Are you aware of any?
Ooh yes! There are a few cases that have been reported to me in which people have died. There is the case of Pa Tah Philip, an old man who died while being rushed to Ndop which is much further from Balikumbat. If the Balikumbat hospital were available, he would have been attended to earlier and maybe he wouldn’t have died. Another case is that of a pregnant woman who during child labour could not do without a surgery and the baby suffocated in her womb and died because she was not operated on time. At the end of the day, it was only a struggle to save her own life whereas she would have been saved if she had been attended to earlier. There are many other cases that are not reported.
As a people’s representative, what actions have you taken?
As a people’s representative of the Upper House, I had to file some questions to the Minister of Public Health and before taking to the oral questions I asked him during the March session of Parliament, I had written to him through his delegate of the North West Region and copied him and actually handed it to the Minister myself. I also filed a complaint to the Advocate general of the Northwest but till date, no reply has been given me from anywhere. Even when I posed the question to the minister, it wasn’t answered and has not been programmed either.