'Muscle exodus' a symbol of Cameroon's despondent youth

The disappearance of seven Cameroon athletes at the London Olympics reflects young people's lack of hope in a country that is failing to give them any return on their efforts, analysts said.

The five boxers, one swimmer and one footballer were reported missing Thursday and are thought to have "defected", according to the head of Cameroon's Olympics delegation, David Ojong.

Though Games organisers say the athletes' visas are valid until November, Ojong's statement has fuelled speculation that the Cameroonians used their sports clubs as "immigration gateways" to Europe.

Their story is symptomatic of Cameroonian "youth that does not have faith, doesn't believe in its country and is doubtful of its future," said political analyst Mathias Eric Nguini Owona.

He called the defections a "muscle exodus", or "sports immigration linked to the massive lack of sports policy".

"These athletes think that nothing is being done to help them in society so they choose immigration through sport because in a lot of sports you can change nationality easily," he said.

Cameroon, classed by the World Bank as a lower-middle income economy with a nearly 40-percent poverty rate, struggles to meet the basic needs of its people.

A third of the west African country's 20-million-strong population do not have access to drinking water or electricity, and one in four people lives on less than 1.1 euros a day.

Experts put the unemployment rate at 30 percent in the capital Yaounde and Cameroon's biggest city Douala.

Many graduates, initially optimistic about their future, find themselves working as taxi drivers or running telephone cabins. Some simply work as street hawkers, trying to sell whatever they can.

Opposition politicians blame the misery on President Paul Biya and say the policies of his 30-year reign have failed young people.

Jean de Dieu Momo, a member of a minority opposition party, said Biya "has no policies in favour of young people. Before, the best (students) were able to enter the civil service. But it's no longer possible. Most of the time you have to pull strings or pay your way into a place."

The leader of Cameroon's Social Democratic Front opposition party, Evariste Fopoussi, echoed that criticism.

"When a young person finds even the smallest opportunity to leave this hell, he's out," Fopoussi said.

"He doesn't ask himself where he'll go. Everyone flees. That's decline. Young people see no future."

After he was re-elected for another seven-year mandate in 2011, Biya did launch a recruitment drive to get 25,000 young people into the civil service. He got an overwhelming response -- over 300,000 applied.

Defections by poor athletes at sports competitions are not uncommon, said Bertrand Magloire Mendouga, president of Cameroon's boxing federation -- and this is not the first time that Cameroonians have done it.

"Sixteen years ago, our athletes defected during the Games (in Atlanta). It happened again 12 years ago, eight years ago, four years ago and again now. If nothing is done, we'll be seeing the same thing in four years' time," he said.

"Sport is sick in Cameroon," said Herve Emmanuel Nkom, a politician and the former director of Douala football club. "These disappearances are proof that there is a problem."

Now a number of directors of sports clubs fear that Cameroonian athletes will be denied visas for future competitions and even for training abroad, making the situation even worse.

"The boxers have given everything for Cameroon, and have made the country famous in Africa for their achievements," said Mendouga.

"What have they got in return? What is Cameroon doing to ensure a future for its athletes?"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/muscle-exodus-symbol-cameroons-despondent-youth-171845629--oly.html

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