Scars of a Survivor

The scars of a Survivor. Meet my friend Noah, he and I were the same age and friends growing up. We would see each other a few times each year when our family would come into the city where he and his family lived. His father, Joseph, is a talented Trader, a craftsman who sells his masterpieces of wooden carvings and bronze sculptures around the city. I would often do a lot of trading with him myself haha, I still have many of them to this day! We left when I was 9 years old. Fast forward 21 years later, I met back up with Noah and Joseph when I finally made my return back to Cameroon! They have never left this city even though the region has been plagued with turmoil. The harsh realities facing the country the past decade are fighting, extortion, and senseless violence in a particular region of the country. It wasn’t until I was there, catching back up with Noah in person, that I found out years before he was tracked and abducted by the separatist group who had wrongfully identified him as a Federal Government worker; their opposition in the “crisis.” The scars you see are from two weeks of torture. The details of the torture and the living conditions that he and 4 other prisoners (another man, women and her two children) faced are too vial to talk about here. The story of his time in captivity and the process of their escape is nothing short of what we in the western world would think to “only happen in movies.” I’d love to do his story some real justice somehow— he is an incredible dude, and an amazing testament to choosing love and joy over anger and hatred, in the most challenging of situations. Until then, here are these📸 Mahalo nui loa, Noah! I appreciate you and the example you’re setting 😁 so grateful to reconnect after all these years, and honored to hear your story! I sure am praying for people facing this constant persecution while this “crisis” continues on! God is good!!