Random Thoughts: Elections, Rain and Marriage

Elections are approaching (October 9) and it’s interesting to listen to discussions people have about the various candidates. Paul Biya, the current president (and has been for almost 30 years) is clearly going to win because that’s just how things are. However, there are over 20 other candidates running for office and there were originally over 50. I asked my aunt if all the other candidates sincerely think they have a chance at beating Biya and she said they don’t but they hope for positions in the presidential cabinet after elections (which is better than nothing). When I talked to one of my cousins about the election and all the debates going on, he said that the debates on TV are just for show, to prove to the world that this is a “democratic” process.

            Each candidate received 60 million FCFA (about $ 120,000) for their campaigns. So far though, I haven’t seen any of the candidates’ (except for the incumbent) campaigning. A lot of people I have talked to (family and co-workers) really want someone other than Biya, but they know that is impossible…he’ll be in office till death. Cameroon is a stable country in terms of internal conflict (there are WAY too many tribes to start conflict among them) so there most likely won’t be any violence surrounding the election.

            On a random note, I will never understand why cabinets are placed high up in houses here…there are cabinets in my bedroom and bathroom that are completely useless because I can’t reach them, in fact you would have to be 7 feet tall for them to seem at a normal height.

            At the time I wrote this post (I write it down in a journal or on Word and then upload it online later), I was writing from work and it had been raining all morning. It was almost 9:30 and no one except a medical student was there with me. Because of the rain, life stops. People have an increasingly hard time getting to work in the rain when they have to rely on walking, taxis and/or bad roads. There wasn’t any traffic that morning and usually we get stuck in traffic jams most of the way to the lab. I ended up waiting for about an hour and a half until the technicians showed up (after the rain). I need to start operating by a Cameroonian mentality (that day I was 15 minutes late which was still too early). The only thing is that the more I lollygag at home, the more I feel like I’m wasting my time.

            I had a really interesting conversation with the girls in the lab the other day. We started talking about dating, marriage and divorce and the differences between practices in the United States and Cameroon.  I told them about the insanely high divorce rate and they were shocked to hear it. We came to the conclusion that in Cameroon (and a lot of African countries) the two people getting married are also getting married to each other’s families; both families not only meet but also become one cohesive unit through the dowry ceremony and various family events leading up to the marriage. This allows for an almost inseparable bond to form between the families. For example, my cousin's grandmother (on the other side of the family so not blood-related to me) is essentially my grandmother too; she is close with all of us and it is as if she is my biological grandmother, there is really no distinction. Therefore getting a divorce is very difficult because it is not just two people getting divorced, but two whole families. Whereas, in the United States, though the two families meet, they don’t (as often) become one family. Instead, it’s just the two people getting married that have a contract, making it easier to break. I had never really considered this difference between the two cultures, but it does make sense to me. There is more pressure here to stay together, whether it is religious, cultural or familial than in the United States (even though those pressures do exist in the States). Something to consider. Let me know what you think about this.

Until next time!