(In memory of Christian Cardinal Tumi, the late Emeritus Archbishop of Douala in Cameroon).
“Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish for wherever this water comes, the sea shall be made fresh.” Eze 47:9.
Let the conjoined twins of peace and justice surge forth like a great torrent, from the Nkambe highlands through the winding and twisting hills of my Nsoland onto the immense Ndop plain, where it deposits its nourishing contents, for wherever this torrent flows it brings life, not death.
Let the Siamese twins of peace and justice burst forth like a river from the Bamenda highlands and empty itself into the Manyu and the massive Korup forests of Mundemba. From the twisting tips of the Manenguba hills, may this river of peace and justice flow into the fertile plains below.
From the twisted thighs of the majestic Fako, with its fog-covered head eternally buried in the under belly of the sky above, let fresh waters of justice and peace spurt out; let them carry with them volcanic ashes to fertilize the plains below. Let these fresh waters of justice and peace empty themselves into the Atlantic Ocean; for wherever they flow, there is an abundance of fish and other game for every living creature, man and animal alike, to feed on and multiply.
With this great abundance of food, which Mother Nature has generously endowed our land with, why this senseless violence? O Ye sons and daughters of this Land of Promise, Land of Glory; O Ye bearers of death on both sides, listen to the voice of the prophets of old urging you to beat your swords into ploughshares and your spears into pruning hooks (Is 2:4), an indication to the world that you have renounced warfare, and can now embrace each other as brother and sister!
O Ye purveyors of death and merchants of weapons of destruction on both sides of this madness! Drop those guns from your trembling hands and come forth to drink the fresh waters of justice and peace flowing in abundance in every corner of our precious land. See what an immense table of brotherhood and dialogue the Lord has set before our own eyes as our foes watch from afar, envy dripping from their eyes (Ps 23.5). But why is this well-adorned table around which brother should talk peace to brother still standing empty?
Woe betide you, warns the prophet Amos, you who loot and plunder your land and your people and store up in your castles the fruits of your extortion! (Am 3:10). Woe betide you for you shall soon be called upon to account for your actions and the most stout-hearted of you, warriors, shall flee naked (Am 2:16). Hear the martyred wails of the Rachels of this land, from both sides of this madness, who, as the prophet Jeremiah laments, are mourning and refusing to be comforted because their children are no more! (Jer 31:15).
O Ye, leaders of this Land of Promise, Land of Glory; O Ye self-appointed “liberators” of our people, for heaven’s sake, embrace peace and her twin sister Justice, and give your people, our people, a break from this bloodletting insanity!
