Prince Nasser Raoul Kemajou: Protecting Human Rights and Nature in Cameroon (In Bassa)
Today’s
Good People, Good Works
will be presented in Bassa,
English and French,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Korean,
Malay, Mongolian,
Persian, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish
and Thai.
The organization I’m
head of delivers (results)
because since
we have popularized
environmental issues
in Cameroon,
Cameroonians
have become aware of
protecting
their environment
and to paying attention to
their daily activities.
Welcome, green viewers,
to this week’s edition of
Good People, Good Works,
featuring Prince
Nasser Raoul Kemajou,
founder and president
of the Organization
of Human Rights
and Citizens’ Protection,
a non-profit group based
in Douala, Cameroon.
Now let’s meet
Prince Kemajou
and find out more
about the Organization’s
fine work, which,
besides citizen advocacy,
includes building awareness
of environmental issues
among communities
in Cameroon.
Our main goal is firstly
to promote human rights;
that is, to inform,
to involve citizens
in respecting
the fundamental rights,
as defined by
the United Nations
since 1948,
in its 30 Articles (of
the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights).
And also, with regards
to different conventions,
we have more than 300
international conventions
regarding the protection
of nature; that is to say,
the environment.
We have taken action
to be able to sensitize
this population
to get a lot more involved,
with the respect
for nature and
the preservation of nature,
of the environment.
And we get involved
directly in the fight
for the protection
of the environment
and the promotion
of human rights within
a universal framework
to inform, to sensitize
and to always
organize conferences
so as to involve everyone
in the respect
for human life and
the respect for humanity.
For decades,
our biosphere has been
abused in many ways.
Practicing environmental
conservation is crucial
to helping ensure
the continued existence
of all species,
including our own.
And as I say very well,
the time is so short
that really everything
can disappear because
everything in nature
that breathes
is bound to disappear.
We try to instill,
to sensitize, to inform
the entire population
to become aware of
the preservation
of the environment and
also of our animal species
on the brink of extinction.
The challenge is vast.
As I say, my first priority
is to fight against the
destruction of mangroves
and also encouraging
the population
to get involved
in afforestation,
be it in humid zones,
or arid zones, especially
arid and semi-arid areas.
Climate change is
drastically changing life
in Cameroon in many ways.
Water is precious
and like many nations
in Africa, Cameroon is
facing drought conditions
that are leading to
food shortages, particularly
in Northern Cameroon.
Given the extremes
caused by
an increasingly hot planet,
flooding and
other natural catastrophes
are becoming
more commonplace
in the country.
The red (danger) zones
with respect
to climate change
in Cameroon
are the northern
and the western regions.
And the western region
has many problems,
(such as) soil instability
and also dryness.
And the north has
two problems, hurricanes
and tornadoes,
plus dryness as well.
Already,
the agricultural fields
will be very much affected.
And if you also look at
what can happen
in the month of August,
the water levels increase
nowadays in our rivers,
and also in the sea.
That is to say
that we can experience
really very severe flooding
in the months
of the rainy season.
And that’s why I say,
as a wakeup call,
that the government
should evacuate
these populations
in indigenous zones
like Manoka, Swelaba
and Tonde and so on
and in Bonaléa,
which I visited,
because every day
when we go to the sea,
we observe that
the water has advanced
more than 20 meters,
so it’s very serious.
And I think that those are
the multiple signs
of climate change.
And global warming is
a global mutation like
tornadoes, winds, storms
and all those catastrophes
have taken a different turn
since 1987
and it’s getting worse.
When we speak of
ice melting, glacial melting,
it is a phenomenon
that we, who are
in the coastal zone,
very near the
Atlantic Ocean (see)…
If you go to
certain islands today,
many islands
in the coastal areas
are about to disappear.
Increasing the number
of trees has been
identified as
one of the important steps
to mitigating
global warming.
The benefits
of having more trees
is practically endless
and include helping
to maintain biodiversity,
lessening the chances
of flooding,
and providing shade
on hot days.
I think that every citizen
of the world
should respect trees,
knowing that trees are
health, trees are life.
I think that
if every citizen on Earth,
seven billion people,
everyone planted a tree,
it should maximize
the reduction
of global warming
and also maintain the soil
in eroded areas.
We have to get
the population involved
in the development
and the awareness
of where to plant trees,
such as what you have seen
on the table,
because here we have
the seeds of the plant
called the China Tree.
The China Tree has
a fast growth rate
whereby in one year,
it can grow and become
more than two meters high
in less than two years.
We have already
put in place
an educational program
in schools; that is,
“One Child, One Tree,
Double Present
for Children.”
And every year we offer,
in all of Cameroon and
also in Africa in general;
that is to say,
we have already gone to
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast),
to Gabon, to Chad
and also to Senegal,
to establish the concept
of plant distribution
in schools.
We have diverse activities;
firstly with regards
to the environment,
we fight against
the destruction
of the marine ecosystems;
that is, the mangroves.
Today, we don’t even have
1,500 kilometers
of mangroves
due to their destruction.
And when we talk about
mangroves,
it’s a humid zone
that has to be preserved
because that is
where fish reproduce.
And that is also where
other animals reproduce
like birds, etc., etc.
There are species today
that can no longer be found,
for example, the eagle.
You know
that the eagle often lives
in the mangroves’ trees.
For today’s generation,
rare are those
who experience (seeing)
the eagle alive.
They only see the eagle
in schoolbooks.
I’m Mr. Manish Parihar.
I’m a member
of this organization,
and my job is to sensitize
the people about
environmental protection
and human rights
in Cameroon.
This year, we are going
to give 60,000 seeds
to the schools for planting.
So they are going
to plant these seeds
and hopefully, we will be
having a lot of trees in,
in the country,
and this will be good
for the environment.
It was in 2008
that this tree that you see
in front of you was planted.
At the time, it was not
more than 45 centimeters.
Look at the height
of the tree.
It’s already more than
three meters high.
You see this little girl?
She participated
in the 2008 ceremony.
And now, today,
she grows with the tree,
and the tree is taller
than she is.
Trees also absorb CO2
from the atmosphere.
In just one year,
a tree can take in
all the carbon
emitted by a car
that has traveled
nearly 42,000 kilometers.
We should review
the management
of our vehicles;
that is to say, if you keep
accepting used vehicles
of an advanced age
and the cargo ships,
it’s not a way
to fight against
global warming
because the coastal zone
has a strong concentration
of CO2 in the atmosphere,
more that 80%,
contrary to the south,
which does not even
have 15%.
The north and the west,
the center of the west,
is at the summit
of Bamiléké Mountain.
It’s true that they also
have a problem
with unbalanced soil
and also pockets of gas.
The amount of CO2 released
into the atmosphere
by a single motorcycle
exceeds
that of 100 new cars.
Thus, it’s extremely
catastrophic for Douala.
And the population
of Douala will be victim
of many types of illnesses
caused by
those emissions of
sulfurous carbon residues.
This coal can provoke
pneumonia, stress
and memory disruption.
This is the reason
why you see that today
a majority of children
sometimes suffer
from trance states.
Trance states are indeed
signs due to the coal
and sulfur residues that
are too highly concentrated
in those areas where
the vulnerable people
are women
and especially the youths.
Finally, let’s hear from
a local school principal
about the benefits of trees
planted
on the school grounds.
I am flattered, really,
by your presence here
today, by the presence
of Prince Nasser.
It’s almost been two years
since he offered us,
you see, those trees
that you see here,
and already we have
some positive effects.
See now we are not
very far from the shade,
and imagine what
it will be like next year.
It will cool the environment
in the area where
the children go regularly…
to cling to them
sometimes, you see.
When it’s very hot,
it’s necessary for them,
you see,
to get a bit of fresh air,
under all those trees.
So isn’t this
their happiness?
It’s for the future;
it’s not only for those
who are here today.
Some will not be here
next year,
but the trees will remain.
And these trees
will serve a purpose,
you see, to others
and will serve a purpose
for future generations.
I take my hat off
to Prince Kemajou
and I encourage him to
continue on the same wave.
He should not limit his
project to this school only;
other schools
in the whole territory
also need this.
Really, it’s a beneficial act
and we truly thank him.
Thank you.
Our sincere thanks Prince
Nasser Raoul Kemajou,
Manish Parihar
and members
of the Organization
of Human Rights
and Citizens’ Protection
for informing Cameroonians
why environmental
conservation
is so important and
promoting the planting
of trees in communities.
May your healing work
continue to bless
the people of Cameroon
with ever more shade
and comfort.
For more details,
please visit
www.odhpe.org
Wonderful viewers,
thank you
for your company
on today’s program.
Up next is
The World Around Us
after Noteworthy News.
May our beautiful planet
be filled with
love and compassion,
transmitting harmonious,
peaceful energy
to the whole universe.