National Day...

Celebrations in Bamenda... for Cameroon's National Day... just below is the main street in Bamenda... Commercial Street... just full of people... craziness. And some of the marchers... those children must practice that marching at school everyday... they were amazingly in sync!

So, as you can see, yesterday was National Day here in Cameroon. The whole country was celebrating and marching in parades! Cameroon has no single date of independence, as the territory of ‘French Cameroun' achieved independence from France on January 1, 1960 and the British Southern Cameroons changed status from a trusteeship under British rule to a federated state within Cameroon on October 1, 1961. Unifcation came later. So, the government chose May 20th as Cameroon's National Day. It commemorates the abolishment of the federal system of government and the creation of the unitary state of Cameroon in 1972.

So, I arrived a little late and missed the “good stuff” so they say, which would have been the military marching with all their gear (and guns... so really... I think I've seen enough guns in Cameroon... hehe), so instead... I think I saw the rest of the population of Bamenda marching... all the school children representing every school, and so many groups, organizations... and at the end... when it finally came... cause seriously this parade lasted for hours... hours I tell you... in the hot sun... I don’t know how they were just marching like that... swinging their arms, wearing their uniforms... wow... (I was sweating just standing there, eating ice cream)... so anyway... at the end, came the political parties which I found very interesting... all but the main opposition, protesting the march instead. The very last was the Cameroon Social Democratic Movement, the governing party... and yes, check out that stylish wear... that's the President's face on all their clothing!!! In the evening I could hear the sounds of celebrations, amongst a mix of fireworks and thunder in the sky. Another day in Cameroon....