Africans in Canada

Ateh-Afac Fossungu

Description

This book aims at educating parents generally but divorcing or divorced ones specifically. The instruction is that the future and interest of the children, whatever the cause of their separation (or calculations for the non-divorcing others), should always be the prime mover for whatever arrangement (or decision) they make. That the world would be a better place if people generally look at the larger picture of things; larger picture people usually being better suited to give children, without definitional distinctions/exclusions, a better future than what they themselves have, irrespective of the societies they live in. The book�s concern for the future of children also draws from the fact that social work departments, with enormous powers over the making or ruining of children�s future, are often staffed by persons with contrary ideals to those these departments stand for. Africa and Canada are specifically examined but its messages apply across the globe; lessons dished out from both perspectives of a parent and a child who has been through it and seen it all and would not want other children/parents to go through similar experiences simply because of funny definitions of family or of child, classifications often exclusively geared toward making readily available resources for educating children unavailable to some children. There also is much apprehension about some parents� blatant use of children for accomplishing their own selfish agendas to the total disregard of the future of said children who, paradoxically, do not even feature in their new un-African and un-Canadian definition of family.

Sujets

• Anthropology

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 26 juillet 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789956791125
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

ones specifically. The instruction is that the future and interest of the children, whatever the cause of their separation (or calculations for the non-divorcing others), should always be the prime mover for whatever arrangement (or decision) they make. That the world would be a better place if people generally look at the larger picture of things; larger picture people usually being better suited to give children, without definitional distinctions/ exclusions, a better future than what they themselves have, irrespective of the societies they live in. The book’s concern for the future of children also draws from the fact that social work departments, with enormous powers over the making or ruining of children’s future, are often staffed by persons with contrary ideals to those these departments stand for. Africa and Canada are specifically examined but its messages apply across the globe; lessons dished out from both perspectives of a parent and a child who has been through it and seen it all and would not want other children/parents to go through similar experiences simply because of funny definitions of family or of child, classifications often exclusively geared toward making readily available resources for educating children unavailable to some children. There also is much apprehension about some parents’ blatant use of children for accomplishing their own selfish agendas to the total disregard of the future of said children who, paradoxically, do not even feature in their new un-African and un-Canadian definition of family.

Montréal, Canada, He has taught law in Cameroon at the Université de Yaoundé (1989-91) and University of Buea (1994-95). He holds a Docteur en Droit (Université de Montréal, 2000), and two Master of Laws (McGill University, 1997; University of Alberta, 1992). He has published extensively on various aspects of society and life in Cameroon and Africa.

AFRICANS IN CANADA B LENDING C ANADIANAND A FRICAN L IFESTYLES ?

Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu

Africans in Canada: Blending Canadian and African Lifestyles? Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu

L a ng a a R esea rch & P u blishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [e-mail] www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookcollective.com ISBN: 9956-790-44-3 ©Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu 2013

DISCLAIMER

All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG.

Table of Contents

Introduction............................................................................................vii Book’s Driving Forces......................................................................... vii Background and Importance of Story and Its Lessons.................. ix Chapter 1: Progressing Despite African Family Intricacies: Confronting The Truth About Yourself And Understanding The Problem Confronting You.........................................................1 Two Sets Of Parents............................................................................ 2 The De Facto Family........................................................................... 4 Thecla Anangfac Fosungu (née Njumo)……………………….. 5 Emmanuel Nguajong Fosungu (Chief Forbehndia)........................8 The Biological Connexion................................................................... 12 Surviving With Papa’s Religion Across Continents: Backing Academics With Farming.................................................................... 19 The Transfers and Farming/Forest Experience.......................... 20 The Nyanga Man, Yard Boy, and Driver......................................................................................................31 The Market Day Revolution and Children’s Learning Capacity....35 A Bully’s Transformation and the Pepper Incident........................ 39 Missed Learning Opportunities.......................................................... 42 Chapter 2: University Education, With Or Without Money: The Fight For And In Cameroon College Of Arts And Sciences (CCAS) Kumba......................................................................................49 The Challenges of CCAS..................................................................... 50 The CCAS Admission.......................................................................... 52 The Other Earlier Educational Admissions..................................... 54 From Sciences to Arts: The Great Leap to University?..................59 Not Agreeing Just to Avoid Disagreement.......................................60 The Drama in the Inquisition in Arts................................................ 62

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Figaro Cinq, ‘Read this Classic Paper’, and the Blessing of the Football Field Mishap.......................................................................... 64 Chapter 3: The Politics Of African Family Hitches Elongating The Short-Cut: The Bombshell And the Roaming Days..........71 Douala, Garoua, Ngaoundéré, and Yaoundé…….…………….. 75 God Proposes But Man Disposes: The Garoua Guinness Job..... 79 Yaoundé for the First Time: A Nasty Coincidence Coupling with the Train and Bus Tickets from God................................................ 83 Nigeria Via Bamenda and Back to Yoke...........................................88 Money Is Not All There Is to Success: The Interviews and the BIROCOL (and Other) Money Affairs.............................................89 The Philosophy of Gifts: Defying African and Canadian Definitions of Family................................................................................................ 101 Chapter 4: Idealizing Marriage And Family: The Manjo Year, The Yaoundé-Montréal Effects, And Age Politics In Education In Cameroon..........................................................................................117 The Manjo Duel and Strategies: The Information from God....... 117 Mr. Bangwa-man and Other Backstabbers.......................................119 Positive from Negative: Cameroon Goodwill Association of Montreal (CGAM)................................................................................ 122 The Unexpected Dividends of Teaching Excellence: Divine Intervention?..........................................................................................132 Knowing and Mastering the Problem............................................... 134 Some Methods Employed for Diagnosis: Teaching English in English....................................................................................................136 Chapter 5: Boldness, Truthfulness, And The Marriage Decision In Africa: Intriguing Responses From A Bangwa Royal Family.......................................................................................................141 Boldness, Truthfulness, and ‘Ground-Breaking Unions’............... 141 Marrying in America.............................................................................142 First Tradition-Breakers and Success from Tragedy....................... 146 The Peter-Scholastica Marriage Decision......................................... 151 Declaration at Previous Spouse Quest.............................................. 153 iv

Marriage Style and Close-Knit Relations...........................................158 ‘Marrying Within the House’ and ‘Ground-Breaking Marriage’....158 The Paradoxes of ‘a Whiteman Marriage’.........................................165 Conclusion..............................................................................................167 References...............................................................................................171

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vi

Introduction Book’s Driving Forces I write this book solely because of my concern for the future of children and social work departments that have enormous powers over the making or ruining of the future of children (whatever the definition attached). I talk of Africa and Canada specifically but I think the message applies around the globe. I write from the perspective of a child that has been through it and seen it all and would not want other children to have to go through what I have had to go through. No child should have to go through all what I went through simply because of some particular individual’s selective definition of family or child; a designation, moreover, that would be exclusively geared toward making readily available resources for educating children unavailable to some children. A child must not be considered a child by the parents only insofar as the child’s services are concerned but regarded not as a child when it comes to the education and other needs of that child. I was able to surmount some of these ill-conceived definitions and other road-blocking devices largely because of some inborn powers. Not every child has those. And, even in regard of the survival strategies I learnt or quickly developed, that capacity to learn and adapt too can never be the same with all children, as is amply evidenced in the numerous cases in the book. I also write from the viewpoint of a parent who is concerned about the way some parents are using children as mere means of acquiring revenue from or tools of punishing the other parent; and they persist in doing so to the total disregard of the future of said children who paradoxically do not even feature in their un-African and un-Canadian definition of family. Social work departments are also enjoined to ensure that, in addition to having the academic qualifications, people working for them do satisfy some basic minimum attributes incidental to what their job is all about.

vii

Family is defined variously by some experts as (1) a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not:the traditional family;or a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for:a single-parent family;(2)the children of one person or one couple collectively:We want a large family;(3)the spouse and children of one person:We're taking the family on vacation next week;(4)any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins:to marry into a socially prominent family; and(5)all those 1 persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor.In human context, afamily (from Latin:familia) is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children. Anthropologists most generally classify family organization as matrilocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a husband, his wife, and children; also called nuclear family); and consanguineal (also called an extended family) in which parents and children co-reside 2 with other members of one parent's family. Two types of family units dominate in this book, namely, the nuclear that is predominant in Canada and other Western societies and the extended that is most prominent in Africa. This book’s story cuts across continents (Africa and North America) though being heavily set in Cameroon, yet, with far-flung consequences for and in Canada. Its whole essence is pitched on how children’s life and future are seriously affected by the way family (and marriage) would be defined especially by parents and other relations. The book’s “principles” are of general application although its story is personal and true, revolving around the author and his “family”. The story is worth the telling because of its potentials, inter alia, for motivating and helping many people who might learn from the author’s intriguing experiences. It is not so much about the story, captivating (with some parts of it perhaps unbelievable to Canadians)

1 See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/family. 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family. viii