Howard University Homecoming Brings Back Memories

Howard Homecoming 2011 has concluded, yet my wonderful memories continue. At 18, I came to Howard University and experienced a top quality academic education. Also, Howard University was where I met my husband, Chrys. So, I am very grateful for the Howard experience.

"An Eye Opening Experience in Cameroon" Featured In Apinke

My "An Eye Opening Experience in Cameroon" article is featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Apinke, an elegant, new lifestyle magazine. In this article, I reflect on my experiences during my trip to Africa with my family. If you have not read it, I encourage you to do so and to enjoy the summer issue of Apinke. See http://apinke.com/.

A Summer Wedding, African Style

I attended the wedding of a family friend last weekend. A summer Saturday afternoon is often a good day for a lovely and romantic wedding. I've attended, and have been a part of, numerous African (mostly Cameroonian) weddings in the past 25 years. This includes the ceremony of my own wedding, which took place in Cameroon. (I'll tell you about that in an upcoming article, so stay tuned.) I hope that you have some fun summer activities planned for this weekend.
Best Wishes!

First Lady and Daughters in Africa

As you probably know already, our First Lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama, is visiting Africa with her daughters, Sasha and Malia, as well as with her mother, niece, and nephew. On this "good-will" trip to Africa, they've met reknown African leaders, such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

Since I've visited Africa on three occasions, I know the excitement and pride that Mrs. Obama and family felt when embarking on this journey. Memories of my last journey to Africa with my family come to mind. When we returned from our three week trip to Africa in January 2008, our children had an experience of a life time.

Click below to see a quick glimpse of our African experience, first hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVUmcYIxtA&feature=related

Reflecting on the Cruelest Months

By Angeline Bandon-Bibum

"April is the cruellest month,"[1] wrote T.S. Eliot in his poem, The Waste Land. This line seemed to ring true in April of 1994. On April 6, 1994, a cruel course of events would begin in Rwanda. A planned and organized massacre was executed by people across all classes from the poor subsistence farmer, to the middle class schoolmaster, local administrators, and other government officials. There have been genocides throughout human history, in continents all over the world, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. However, the speed and circumstances of this genocide had a chilling uniqueness it seems. For instance, it is estimated that 800,000 people were killed in 100 days during this massacre. That averages to 8,000 people slaughtered per day. This number constituted one tenth of the population of the country at that time. These people (men, women, and children) were killed by their fellow citizens, many with machetes and other crude weapons. This happened in 1994, in a post modern world of technology.

No society is completely immune from crime or violence. A crime committed by a stranger, or the occasional crime of passion between acquaintances or even family members does occur in human societies. Nevertheless, how can one imagine being killed by a local school teacher, farmer, doctor, coworker, or one's neighbor? This happened in Rwanda in 1994.

So as April approaches, I ponder on that cruel month that turned Rwanda, temporarily, into a waste land. I cannot help but to wonder…what is it in human psychology that allows this type of destructive group behavior, on this magnitude, to go unchecked. I have so many questions: During this massacre, where were the ethical codes and moral standards that had previously existed? What type of “group think” mentality, in addition to coercion, made so many otherwise normal people participate in this violence? Where was the analytical thinking on the part of the perpetrators? That is, why did not more people stop to analyze their actions? What were the roots of this massacre? What were the warning signs before it happened? And how can these types of mass acts be prevented in the future, anywhere?

April approaches. It is traditionally a month of plentiful rain and renewal. It is a month that inspires lots of reflection for me. Easter, a sacred Christian holiday, most often occurs in April. April is the month of my birthday. It’s also the month of my father’s birthday and my grandmother’s birthday, both of whom have passed on. My mother passed away in the month of April. So, April has much significance for me.

To my list of things to reflect on in the month of April, I have added those cruel three months in Rwanda in 1994, that started in April and lasted 100 blood-soaked days.

[1] T.S. Eliot (1888–1965). The Waste Land. 1922.


"Reflecting on the Cruelest Months" © Copyright March 2009

Papal Visit Inspired Reflections

My husband and I attended the Papal Mass at the Nationals Stadium in Washington, D.C., this past Thursday. It was an inspiring experience. It was our first time seeing the Pope in person. Approximately, 46,000 people attended the Papal Mass in D.C.

The Pope's visit last week came at the right time for me. My birthday was last week, and I was feeling a little out of sorts. Then I found out that the Pope's birthday was four days after my own birthday. To add to my delight, I was blessed to receive tickets from my parish to attend the Papal Mass in D.C.

I spent my childhood and teenage years in the Baptist Church, the denomination of my grandparents. I converted to Catholicism after I married my husband, who comes from a Catholic family. For me, converting to Catholicism was not a big deal. The way I saw it, we were all Christians.

Converting to Catholicism took me into a Christian world, much different from the one that I had grown up in, in many ways. Both denominations revere and love God and Jesus. However, the rituals were often different.

In the Roman Catholic Church, I had to get used to kneeling a lot, remembering many liturgical responses, and memorizing the Apostles Creed, among many other things. However, as a Christian, I accepted these spiritual rites.

After two decades of being a Catholic, I have come to find some comfort with many of these rituals. For instance, I appreciate the beauty of the architecture of many of the older Catholic Churches, as well as the pageantry of the rituals. The official commitment of the clergy, in the form of a vow of poverty, is admirable. It is a beautiful ideal, even if some people comment that it is too restrictive.

In the Catholic Church that I attend, I have not experienced an emphasis on fashionable attire and social mingling. A bad hair day, is okay, and does not inspire second glances from curious members of the congregation. Clean, pressed, and plain is fine in, as far as clothing was concerned. Although I do like to put on my Sunday best on Easter, I like the freedom from fashion pressure.

There were times when building warm personal friendships posed a challenge for me and my husband in the Catholic Church. However, after many years, we have made some social connections. In the Baptist Church that I grew up in, many of the people in the congregation knew me and my family going back three generations. It was comforting to hear people say, “You look just like your grandmother.”

Sermons in the Baptist Church were often both entertaining and instructive. Likewise, the music was also often the best part of the church experience, and it was not unusual for the congregation to be moved to stand up and clap their hands to the rhythm of those old time religion hymns. Yet, I have grown accustomed to the often subtle and haunting hymns of the Catholic Church. Likewise, I have heard some pretty moving sermons in the Catholic Church as well. I suppose there are pros and cons to both denominations.

When the Pope entered the Nationals Stadium in via his "Pope mobile," as it is affectionately called, I was in awe of seeing the Pope in person, even though our seats were so high up that I felt anxious when I looked down. I was privileged to be there, especially since there are more than 70 million persons who profess to be Catholics in the U.S.A. (Wikipedia), and I was one who was there.

The Papal Mass was a spiritual event, but it was also a historical event, since Pope Benedict XVI is the 265th Pope (Wikipedia) in a long line of Popes.

As I gazed at the 81 year-old Pope, he waved back enthusiastically at the crowd of 46,000 people in the stadium. From him, I sensed affection and appreciation. It was endearing, like a loving grandfather was visiting his adoring grandchildren.

By Angeline Bandon-Bibum

© Copyright April 2008

An Eye Opening Experience in Cameroon

By Angeline Bandon-Bibum

Over the Christmas and New Year holiday season, my husband, our children, and I traveled to Cameroon. Visiting Cameroon was an eye opening experience for me, even though I had traveled there twice before this trip.

The Republic of Cameroon is a country in central and western Africa. Compared to many other African nations, Cameroon has a considerable degree of social stability. The natural landscape of the country of Cameroon is beautiful. It is a fertile land filled with a plethora of banana, palm, and coconut trees. The climate can rage from warm to hot to cool, depending on the location.

One can find many modern, paved roads in Cameroon, and one can also find even more rural, stony, dirt roads there. Cameroon has several modern cities, such as Douala, Yaounde, Limbe, and several others. It also has many rural villages, and small towns.

Cameroon has a growing population of young adults, ages 18-25. They long for better economic opportunities. Many work as taxi drivers, private security guards, domestic help, restaurant and hotel staff, and farmers. Wages are very low compared to American standards. The currency is called C.F.A., Central African Franc. The CFA franc is the currency of six independent states in central Africa, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The struggle for survival is labor intensive for the vast majority of the population, most of whom do not have the access to washing machines, indoor plumbing, or other modern conveniences that we in America take for granted. For example, imagine washing your clothes, and your entire family’s clothes, by hand on a scrub board, or cooking your family a meal over an open fire, while fueling it with wood. Also, imagine that a live chicken, or goat, in the backyard will need to be slaughtered and thoroughly prepared for the evening meal, that is, if you can afford that.

On the other hand, in Cameroon, there are wealthy African people, who have access to the modern conveniences of indoor plumbing, television, and other luxuries. Their homes are individually designed and often surrounded by palm trees. They have house help, people who clean their homes, cook their food, and assist them with the care of their children. However, Cameroon is not entirely a country of haves and have-nots. There is poverty. However, there is a middle class, whose standard of living is more like our working class, or poor. Many of these people may have low level government jobs. (Those with high level government jobs tend to fall in the upper class strata.)

Being in a society where everything is being run by black people was interesting for me. I have not asked my children about this, so I do not know what their take on this is. The Cameroon government, banks, stores, and many other establishments were run by black African people. There, a black person certainly is not a “minority”. However, on the other hand, it seemed that the African people themselves did not see things the way I, an outsider, did. They are aware that they are black. However, to them, being black in a predominately black nation is no notable thing. Nor did they seem to have an affinity toward one another because of this shared “blackness”. Language and cultural affiliation (i.e., tribes) are the main basis for affinity. There’s a broader, official, affinity that is a national identity as a Cameroonians. Cameroonians did not appear to be comforted by and appreciative of their common “blackness”, and I found this interesting. Then, I realized that this was my perspective as an African American. It seems that African people do not commonly share this “blackness” perspective.

In Cameroon, people are not as brusque or busy as they are here, not yet, anyway. People often say “Good Morning” or “Bonjour, Madame”. It seemed like people were almost always staring at us. My kids really noticed this. Sometimes folks just openly gaped at us. I guess it was obvious we were visitors.

The fashions worn by Cameroonians are often similar to what we in the U.S. wear, American and European style clothing are popular there, though some must buy used and cheaper versions. There are many who still wear traditional African clothing that is custom made by local seamstresses. Also, another thing that I noticed in Cameroon is that women and girls, generally, have their hair together, both the rich and poor. Some wear braids and some have relaxers, but most have a good hairstyle.

Cameroon is still a developing nation, so, in terms of infrastructure, it still has a ways to go to catch up with its western counterparts. I for one hope that bathrooms and toilettes become more available to the larger population in Cameroon, and not just as a luxury household feature of the upper middle class and wealthy. The lack of modern toilette facilities is one of the inconveniences that stood out for me. We noticed that even some very good restaurants in the larger cities lack really modern style bathroom facilities, and have instead old, outdated bathrooms.

Christmas Day in Cameroon is a day for attending church service (Cameroon has a large population of Christians.) and visiting family and friends. Many Cameroonian families, those who can afford it, have adopted the practice of putting up a Christmas tree. Most of these trees are artificial, with a few plastic ornaments. However, there were no gifts under the tree. I distributed gifts to my husband, children, and in-laws, gifts I had earlier purchased in the U.S.A.

My mother-in-law announced on Christmas Eve that we would all be attending the 8:00 a.m. mass, which would require us to get up at 6:30a.m. (We normally attend 12noon mass in the U.S.A.) The church was packed full with people for the Christmas mass, and only those who were timely could hope to find a seat. Standard Christian hymns were sung, accompanied by an African beat. The air seemed to get warmer by the minute. The father’s homily was in Pidgin English. On Christmas evening, I heard crowds of young people reveling and walking up and down the streets, or dirt roads, as the case may be. People generally do not spend much time indoors in Cameroon. The exceptions are the wealthy people, who have televisions and cable service. The wealthy, whose homes are surrounded by big concrete walls, or fences, spend more time indoors.

New Years Eve in Cameroon has the same festivity that it does in the U.S.A. In Cameroon, one can hear fire crackers going off and crowds of people outside in the neighborhoods and streets, talking loudly and reveling. New Years Day, like Christmas, is a day for church attendance and family visits.

While in Cameroon, we traveled around from city to city visiting my husband’s family members, attending business matters, and social occasions (a wedding and a funeral). We stayed in several very nice hotels while traveling in Cameroon, Awka Palace, Mont Febe, and Fini Hotel. Mont Febe was our favorite, a lovely resort style hotel with a swimming pool and tennis courts. The cities that we visited were Yaounde, Douala, Kumba, Buea, Muyuka, Limbe, Bamenda, Bafoussam and others. We passed by many small towns, too.

The road that leads to Yaounde, the capital city of Cameroon, is paved and relatively modern, as is the road that leads to Douala, the commercial center of Cameroon. However, there are other roads that are very uncomfortable to drive on, like the ones that lead to Muyuka and Kumba, Cameroon. These are mostly dirt roads that have huge potholes and craters in them. Our driver, my husband, children, and I shook like we are in a blender, when we drove on those roads, like the Tombel road.

My own perspective on Cameroon is that, like many African nations, it is still experiencing the after effects of colonialism, and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. I believe the effects of these historical events, which occurred over the course of several centuries (16th through 19th) affect African populations in so many ways, economically, socially, psychologically, etc. That does not excuse African people themselves from their own problems and role in historical events, but it does make the reason for those problems more complicated than many realize. However, I am digressing.

There were moments when I was afraid that my experiences during this trip would deprive me the vision of Africa that I had as a youth. I had viewed Africa as a continent raped of its natural and human resources by people outside of Africa, a land of mostly good natured, though misguided, people. In some ways that vision was modified and put more into focus, as I accepted that people are people all over the world.

© Copyright January 2008