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Survival Strategies of Migrants and Internal Displaced Populations in Cameroon: Between Social Protection and Entrepreneurship Responses

The various political crises in the Central African Republic from the mid-1980s pushed thousands of people into exile in Cameroon. Since then, these refugee populations have benefited from social assistance/protection in the form of food rations, housing, medical assistance, food for work, etc. On the other hand, thousands of Cameroonian Anglo-Bamileke and Bakweri populations respectively from the North-West and South-West regions, have become internally displaced as a result of the ongoing bloodshed crisis between the state army and the armed separatists’ groupings. These Internal Displaced peoples (IDPs) live mainly in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé.

To mitigate the effects of displacement on affected populations, several social protection measures have been taken, including rapid humanitarian assistance and a social safety net programme. But due to the enormous needs to be met and the lack of resources from donors and the State, these wandering populations are forced to develop resilience mechanisms in order to survive. Thus, the overall goal of this research is to analyse the migrant’s quests for social esteem and integration in host territories. More specifically, the research objectives are to: (1) analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the social protection mechanisms put in place by humanitarian workers; (2) study the resilience strategies developed by migrants to meet their needs; (2) explore how they envisage their future in the short and long term, especially for internal migrants who are not always welcome in the receiving zones in general and in the cities in particular where exist the already the crisis of belonging between former long term migrants and the autochthonous populations.

As this research is still in progress, our presentation will mainly focus on the intersecting perceptions of migrants and hosts as well as the constraints affecting the processes of seeking social esteem and integration in the host territories.

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