Enoh Meyomesse

Enoh Meyomesse:

– The Writer, the Prison and the Pen of Steel!

In most political imprisonments of an artist, musician, writer, poet or intellectual, the incarcerated does not claim their freedom directly to the head of state. After Mr. Enoh Meyomesse spent 40 months in prison for his ideas and politically opposing Paul Biya, president of Cameroon in power since November 06, 1982, Enoh wrote an open letter to Paul Biya asking for his release. This writer and historian had a very little chance winning against the president but he won the historic battle of Freedom for journalists and artists in one of the most repressive regimes in the African continent.

According to PEN Internatinal London, one of the organizations that has been active on the case of the Cameroonian writer and the global campaign “Free Enoh”, an open letter was wrote by Enoh Meyomesse to President Biya before his release in April 2015, in these terms: “President of the Republic – once again I am coming with humility to request your intervention to ensure that I can finally recover my Liberty. Forty months in Kondengui’s prison, you cannot imagine what it does to a person. Your life stops functioning.”

Enoh was born in the town of Ebolowa in 1954 in South Cameroon. He graduated from the Institute of Political Sciences in Strasbourg, France. After failing to realize his dream of living in the U.S., Enoh returned to his native Cameroon to change the society through his ideas and writings. Enoh is a multimedia writer, poet, play-writer and essayist and has published over 35 books. Enoh writes in both French and Bulu, his native language, and was a member of ADELF (Association des Ecrivains de Langue Française in Paris.)

Enoh Meyomesse is the most well known writer in Cameroon today. In the country where over 40% of children under 10 today will have a little opportunity to read a book, Enoh Meyomesse through his courage has made a huge impact in the mind of his fellow citizens in order to positively affect the Culture. “I cannot walk 15 steps without someone stopping me to congratulate me… Sometimes I take a cab and end up not paying for the ride because of my fame.” Confessed Enoh to me during an interview.

The Future generations of readers and writers Enoh is struggling for.
Photo by Nathalie Beaty©

In November 22nd, 2011, while returning from a trip in Singapore, Enoh Meyomesse was arrested at the Nsimalen airport in Yaoundé by the Gendarmerie and brought to S.E.D. He was charged with robbery and accused of attempting a “coup d’état” in order to overthrow the government of Cameroon. In the October before his arrest, Enoh Meyomesse had run against President Paul Biya during the presidential election. In addition, many of his publications criticized the authorities and method of governance in Cameroon.

He was relocated to Bertoua, in the East of the country where he spent 30 days in solitary confinement in the draconian conditions — he slept on the cement floor next to his excrements and took only 3 baths. This arrest was also during the important 30-day mourning period after the death of his father. He was then relocated to Kodendui prison in Yaoundé. A decree was signed not to provide food, paper, pen and daylight to the writer. However, his popularity in the country brought attention and compassion of the guards in the jail, who sporadically provided him with unofficial dishes.

Enoh Meyomesse during an interview with Issa Nyaphaga in Yaoundé in July 2015.
photo by O. Mebouack

A female activist, Bergeline Doumo, blew the whistle and alerted the local newspapers and the international community about the incarceration of Enoh. Various human rights organizations and the African diaspora quickly became aware of the violation of his rights and the inhumane conditions Mister Enoh was being held in. However, the next month a judge ordered a six-month extension of his detention, and in December 2012 the writer was charged afresh, found guilty of armed robbery and the illegal sale of gold, and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The international writer’s organization PEN International, led by CODE and Amnesty International carried out massive campaigns denouncing the marginalization of the writer. During one of his visit in Europe, the Cameroonian president Paul Biya was embarrassed and confronted by Diasporas members exhibiting “Free Enoh” posters at the hotel where the Biya was staying.

According to the writer, even though the military justice system was following his case, he believes the charges against him were politically motivated. As the intellectual was held for in Kodengui prison, an episode of legal battles went on for other 39 months.

Along with judiciary appeals and campaigns of lobbying by PEN, CODE and other writers such as Alain Mabankou (Congo) and Patrice Nganang (Cameroon), the hard work of the resistance against unequal justice to Enoh finally paid off. Enoh Meyomesse Dieudonné was finally freed in April 2015. The Tribunal of Foundi in Yaoundé considered Enoh’s term to have been served. The poet, who has now left Kodengui prison and is now enjoying his new Freedom, will return to the supreme court of Cameroon with his lawyers for an appeal to clear his record completely.

As Enoh folds a printed article from the local paper, I couldn’t hesitate to snap him with my iPhone. These are the two mediums (paper & ink) have always been part of Enoh’s life.
Photo by Ixx@ Nyaphaga©2015

In an article published earlier this year in the Guardian in London, it appeared that:
The author has been a major focus for the Writers at Risk programme at English PEN, with supporters sending him books and writing material, lobbying authorities and publishing his work. In an open letter to Meyomesse, published late last year, the acclaimed Congolese author Alain Mabanckou wrote: “We will never cease to speak your name and to denounce, from every rooftop of the world, the injustice that befell you and the contempt shown by the justice system towards you.”

When I spoke to him during an interview in his hometown in Yaoundé, he admitted that the government of Cameroon has made some progess in the country, “but not enough to improve the lives Cameroonians,” he said.

As the African proverb says: – “If you want to get the mangoes, shake the trunk of the mango tree.” It was worth for Enoh try and gain little freedom for his people. A courageous sacrifice, that will remain forever in the annals of history of Cameroon.
Free Enoh and Vive Enoh!

Issa N. Nyaphaga
Artist, Cartoonist & Human Rights Activist
Professor of Contemporary African Art, Social Justice & Cultural Diversity
Santa Fe, New Mexico – USA – January 25, 2015.
– “If You Don’t Stand For Somethings, You’ll Fall For Anything!”
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VIDEO INTERVIEW IN ENGLISH

Issa Nyaphaga

About Issa Nyaphaga’s Biography. Issa Nyaphaga was born in Douala, Cameroon (central Africa) in 1967 and grew up in the small village of the Tikar tribe, called Nditam, in the very heart of Cameroon’’s equatorial forest. The Tikar are primarily farmers and as a child of the fields, Issa spent his time in close contact with earth and nature. Like other Tikar children, Issa was introduced to traditional painting in his early childhood. His father is an herbalist and a calligrapher, and Issa grew up next to shaman pygmy women deep in the region of “Mbam and Kim” in Cameroon. As a child, Issa didn’t like his last name Nyaphaga. “My son, you’ll only be successful in life if you like your name,” his mother said. He was raised in a Muslim family and went to a French school- the only one in the village- where the Bible was the main teaching subject. After school, in the evening, he studied the Koran before calling upon ancestral spirits during Animist ceremonies. “Today, my thought is close to Buddhism. I wake up every morning with a different feeling.” As a young artist he began to feel restless. “I needed to do more, get involved in something significant and crazy,” says Issa. After high school, Issa started working as a political cartoonist, illustrator and reporter in a weekly satirical newspaper, Le Messager Popoli. His opposition to the political regime in Cameroon led him to several trips to jail in 1994. In 1996 he escaped from his country to seek asylum in France. There he began collaborating with the famous photographer Jacqueline Hyde, a former assistant to Man Ray, also known for her work with Botero, Zao Wou Ki (Nobel Prize in Literature), Nicolas de Stael and the two iconic North American painters Riopelle and Joan Mitchell. Issa has worked with many other photographers as well and has been the subject of several documentaries focusing on his life and journey. And has illustrated and co-authored several books published in the United States and France. Issa has developed a unique painting technique, known as “Capillarism”, which uses human hair as a first layer on his canvases (paper, canvas, wood and hardboard) prior to applying color. He also experiments with different textures such as sand, mud, feathers, recycled material and leather. He is said to be the “ragman of painting” because he rummages in garbage cans, picking up and collecting all kind of objects. He primarily works with salvaged objects. ““I turn disused objects away from their first use and give them a new birth”,” he says. Since 1999, Issa has taught his painting and drawing techniques in universities, cultural centers and Social institutions. His artwork has inspired the human spirit of thousands of people in dozens of countries. As an art educator, Issa engages in innovative art projects and he conducts the therapeutic workshops for at-risk and highly vulnerable communities, including children with disabilities, at-risk youth, immigrant families, teen suicide survivors, and child soldiers from Africa. Issa Nyaphaga is convinced that the power of art can save lives. He knows that art as a process of resilience did not only saved his life but also enabled him to transform his life. Issa’s artwork and teaching philosophy has inspired countless individuals to create limitless possibilities for themselves through their own creativity and freedom of expression. Issa was the first African to bring Anita Woodley, the first African American with Tikar DNA back to his small village in Cameroon: http://tikarcameroon.blogspot.com/ Issa divides his time between Cameroon, France, China and the United States where he shares his work with young artists. Issa also has been working on the development of a philosophical concept called “Urban Way,” in which he paints his body and stages live performances that include music. Issa travels worldwide performing the Urban Way at artists residency programs, museum exhibitions, biennials, and universities. He also partners with schools, cultural centers, community organizations, and foundations to share his artwork and raise awareness about the challenges that his community is facing. Several thousand people have viewed Issa’s artwork and have experienced the Urban Way. As a way of remaining in contact with his native country, Mr. Nyaphaga has founded Hope International for Tikar People (HITIP) www.hitip.org a non-profit, community-based organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for Tikar and Bedzan villagers and individuals with disabilities in the equatorial rain-forest of Cameroon. HITIP implements sustainable projects focusing on health, education, community organizing, and creating opportunities for villagers with disabilities. Every Summer, HITIP hosts volunteers from around the world to support the ongoing community-based projects in the marginalized villages. In partnership with the Rotary Foundation, Water For Social Peace a project created by HITIP, provided potable water to more than 20.000 people in 2012. Water for Social Peace received the Global Rotary Peace Award 2012 in Berlin, Germany. Since early 2011, Issa has been featured for “Radio Taboo”, a documentary project by Sophie Rousmaniere and Jay Minton. In 2013 Issa is returning to his small village Nditam in West Africa to build a community radio station to educate villagers about Public health, environmental issues, women’s issues and HIV infected people. Issa speaks seven languages and holds an MFA in French Literature. Mr. Nyaphaga teaches art, social justice and cultural diversity at the community college in Santa Fe New Mexico.