Report on my tour in Cameroon

by Philbert Bagilimana

June 9-17, 2023, Philbert Bagilimana, a Canadian citizen born in Rwanda and representative of the Louis Even Institute for Africa, visited Cameroon at the invitation of ACERAC (Association of Episcopal Conferences of the Central African Region), which comprises six countries—Cameroon, Chad, Central Africa, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo (also known as Congo-Brazzaville, to distinguish it from the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose capital is Kinshasa).

At their plenary assembly held in July, 2022 in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, the bishops of ACERAC made a firm commitment to fight effectively against the phenomenon of migration among young people from their six countries. This phenomenon has become a social malaise, depriving these countries of their rising generations, and giving false hope to these young people, who often die in their efforts to leave the African continent in search of better economic conditions in Europe and other continents.

To tackle this burning issue head-on, the bishops appointed Most Rev. Samuel Kleda, Archbishop of Douala in Cameroon and head of the ACERAC Migrants Commission, to organize an international conference in Douala, with a view to drawing up a pastoral guide on the phenomenon of migration in Central Africa. The conference, held June 12-17, focused on the theme: "Challenges and prospects for migration with a human face". Archbishop Kleda, who has come to Rougemont several times to attend our study sessions on economic democracy, had entrusted the scientific organization of this conference to Father Clement Aboudi Nola, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences at the Catholic University of Central Africa (located in Cameroon), himself a long-standing friend of the Louis Even Institute and responsible for teaching our study sessions on economic democracy at this university.

Fr. Clement therefore suggested to Archbishop Kleda to invite the Louis Even Institute from Canada to take part in the presentations at this conference, and it was decided that Mr. Philbert Bagilimana would represent the Institute at this conference, in addition to a video presentation by the Directors  of MICHAEL— Marcelle Caya and Alain Pilote.

Mr. Bagilimana was welcomed on his arrival at Yaounde Airport on June 9 at around 11 p.m. by Fr. Clement, and spent the night at the Bishops' Conference. The following day, Fr. Clement introduced Mr. Bagilimana to the Secretary General of the CENC (Cameroon National Episcopal Conference), Most Rev. Jervis Kebei Kewi. This meeting allowed the ideal of the Louis Even Institute to be presented and relationships to be networked for the advancement of the Work, with the Secretary General opening the doors to possible collaboration with the Louis Even Institute in Canada.

Mr. Bagilimana then gave a presentation on economic democracy to the students gathered in the amphitheatre of the Catholic University of Central Africa, followed by a question-and-answer period and a time for sharing. The students already had a good idea of what economic democracy is, having followed Alain Pilote's video lessons on the internet.

At the end of the meeting with the students, we were very pleased with their ability to learn and  to the fact that they had made their own our battle for social justice, being Mr. Alain Pilote's lessons demonstrated the injustices they suffer on a daily basis.

After a meeting with the Pilgrims of Saint Michael from Cameroon, the day ended with a press conference attended by Cameroon's written press, radio and television stations, so that the message conveyed by the Louis Even Institute could reach as many people as possible.

Before the press conference, I was allowed to distribute the printed material of the Louis Even Institute; the cartoon defining the true masters of the world (see below) was particularly popular.

I arrived in Douala on June 10. Before the conference began, we had to prepare the deployment of the Louis Even Institute and its members (a team from Yaoundé who had accompanied me). Activities were planned with a view to identifying the key figures to be met and to establish an agenda with them for future collaboration. It was also a question of defining all the activities to be carried out throughout the conference.

The meetings with the bishops were a time for sharing, exchanging ideas and structuring a strategy to popularize the teachings of the Louis Even Institute. They provided an opportunity to gauge the interest of the ACERAC bishops in economic democracy and in their desire to propagate it in their dioceses. These meetings provided the opportunity to schedule a meeting with the Institute's board of directors. At the same time, meetings were held with people from the academic world to see together how these teachings could be propagated at all academic levels, from primary school to university, because economic democracy is a project for society.

To sum up the meetings, the Louis Even Institute has obtained agreements in principle to collaborate with:

1.    Most Rev. Antonio Mabiala, Secretary General of ACERAC, who opened the door for us in the six countries of the sub-region to spread economic democracy;

2.    Most Rev. Jean Vincent Ondo, President of the Episcopal Conference of Gabon, successor to Most Rev. Mathieu Madega, who has visited Rougemont several times;

3.    Most Rev. Nicolas Nadji Bab, Bishop of Laï (Chad);

4.    Fr. Romain Guelbe, Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Chad;

5.    Fr. Dr. Gustave Mohomye, Deputy Administrator of the Saint Jérome Catholic University in Douala and Director of the Institute of Religious Sciences in Douala;

6.    His Majesty Dr. Emmanuel Pohowe, General Administrator of the St. Jerome Catholic University Institute.

Speech by the Louis Even Institute

The highlight of my visit as the African representative of the Louis Even Institute, was my speech at the conference. I began by introducing the Institute to the audience before presenting an original paper (see text on next page) which showed how the lack of economic democracy in Africa drives young people to put their lives at risk in irregular adventures in search of better living conditions. By popularizing and teaching economic democracy, young people would have the living conditions needed to avoid the risk of exile in search of a better life.

Prior to my departure for the Douala Airport and my return to Canada, Archbishop Samuel Kleda thanked the Directors of the Louis Even Institute in a live video exchange for their great collaboration in these meetings, the aim of which was to present the importance of the monetary issue in the problem of immigration, hence the need to make everyone aware of economic democracy.

                                           Philbert Bagilimana