Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020)

Serge Sabine Ntsama Onana; Simon Bekker

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20

Research Article |

| Peer-Reviewed

Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020)

Serge Sabine Ntsama Onana^*

, Simon Bekker

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 2)

Received: 14 March 2025 Accepted: 25 March 2025 Published: 17 April 2025

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

The African continent, the sub-Saharan region, has been confronted since its accession to independence with several challenges: getting rid of neocolonialism, creating regional economic communities, implementing the free movement of people, goods and services to establish a common market. It is in this context that CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) was created on March 16, 1994, made up of the following states: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville, Chad and Central African Republic. Cameroon, until the recent conflicts in the western and northern regions, was considered a country of peace and as such welcomes many Central African nationals on its territory. These Central African nationals are seeking to improve their well-being. Thus, the city of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, renowned for offering economic opportunities, was chosen as the destination city by many of these migrants. This analysis of the problem of socio-economic integration of these Central Africans in Douala took place in a socio-historical context, adopting the mixed method which includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Four groups of Central African nationals were the subject of this analysis: legal residents, refugees, asylum seekers and students. Their experience during the period 2003 to 2020 through labor market institutions, housing, health and education was assessed in comparison with that of Cameroonian urban dwellers in the light of CEMAC public integration policies. Cameroon and the urban community of Douala. No evidence of xenophobia on the part of Douala city dwellers was found.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20
Page(s)	170-177
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Regional Economic Communities, Urban Community of Douala, Socio-economic Integration, Xenophobia, CEMAC, Migrants

References

[1]	Avom, D. & Gbetkom, D. 2003. Surveillance multilatérale des politiques budgetaires dans la zone CEMAC: bilan et perspectives. Monde en Développement. 3(123): 107-125. https://doi.org/10.3917/med.123.0107
[2]	CEMAC. 2013. Examen des politiques commerciales. [online]. Disponible: https://www.wto.org/french/tratop_f/tpr_f/tpr_f/tp385_f.htm [2020, november 6].
[3]	Chauvin, E. & Seignobos, C. 2013. L’imbroglio centrafricain Etat, rebelles et bandits. Afrique contemporaine. 4(248): 119–148. https://doi.org/10.3917/afco.248.0119
[4]	Echo Crisis. 2014. European Commission/Humitarian Aid and civil protection République centrafricaine: impacts régionaux. [Online], Available: https:www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/deve/dv/car_echo_crisis_report_/car_echo_crisis_report_fr.pdf [2019 may 10].
[5]	Evina, C. 2009. Migration au Cameroun, profil national 2009. Genève. OIM
[6]	Feussi, V. 2011. Migrance, langue et spatialistion urbaine à Douala, Cameroun. Cahiers internationaux de sociolinguistigue. 1(1): 11–31. https://doi.org/10.3917/cisl.1101.0011
[7]	Gatsi Tazo, A. 2009. Les conditions juridiques des étrangers en zone CEMAC. Contribution au diagnostic de l’intégration personnelle en zone CEMAC. Mémoire de DEA en droit. Dschang: Université de Dschang.
[8]	Hatcheu, E. 2000. Les commercants et les transporteurs dans l’approvisionnement vivrier et la distribution à Douala (Cameroun). Bulletin de l’APAD. [Online]. Available, [2019-06-12]. https://doi.org/10.4000/apad.431
[9]	Institut Camerounais de la Statistique. 2019. Annuaire Statistitique de la Région du Littoral. [Yaoundé]: Bureau central de l'INS
[10]	Kamdem, P. 2016. Scolarisation et vulnérabilité : les enfants réfugiés centrafricains dans la région de l’Est-Cameroun , Espace populations sociétés. [Online]. Available: [2019 june 5]. https://doi.org/10.4000/eps.7019
[11]	Kingue, E. & Ntoh, G. 2017. Vivre ensemble à Douala le dynamisme de la diversite. Cahier de la Communauté Urbaine de Douala. (011): 2-23.
[12]	Ngaibino, E. 2014. Douala: deuxième ville importante de la RCA après Bangui. NID2TIC [online]. Available: https://nid2tic.mondoblog.org/doual-deuxième-ville-importante-de-la rca-apr-bangui/ [2019, April 18].
[13]	Nguemo Taya, G. 2019. L’insertion socio-économique des réfugiés urbains au Cameroun. L’expérience des réfugiés centrafricains dans la ville de Douala. Mauritius: Editions Universitaires Européenne.
[14]	North, D. 1990. Institution, Ideology and Economic Performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
[15]	Président de la République du Cameroun. 1994. Décret portant statut général de la fonction publique. Cameroun: SGPR.
[16]	Président de la République du Cameroun. 2005. Loi portant statut des réfugiés au Cameroun. Yaoundé: SGPR.
[17]	République centrafricaine. 1970. Ordonnance portant réforme agraire. République centrafricaine. Bangui: FAOLEX.
[18]	UNHCR. 2013. Vers un nouveau départ. Bruxelles: UNHCR.
[19]	UNHCR. 2019. Cameroon: Douala - Map of urban refugees and asylum seekers by area of residence (December 2019). [online]. Available: https://reliefweb.int/map/cameroon/cameroon-douala-map-urban-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-area-residence-december-2019 [2020-01-15].

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Onana, S. S. N., Bekker, S. (2025). Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020). Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(2), 170-177. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Onana, S. S. N.; Bekker, S. Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020). Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2025, 13(2), 170-177. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Onana SSN, Bekker S. Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020). Humanit Soc Sci. 2025;13(2):170-177. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20,
  author = {Serge Sabine Ntsama Onana and Simon Bekker},
  title = {Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020)
},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {2},
  pages = {170-177},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20251302.20},
  abstract = {The African continent, the sub-Saharan region, has been confronted since its accession to independence with several challenges: getting rid of neocolonialism, creating regional economic communities, implementing the free movement of people, goods and services to establish a common market. It is in this context that CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) was created on March 16, 1994, made up of the following states: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville, Chad and Central African Republic. Cameroon, until the recent conflicts in the western and northern regions, was considered a country of peace and as such welcomes many Central African nationals on its territory. These Central African nationals are seeking to improve their well-being. Thus, the city of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, renowned for offering economic opportunities, was chosen as the destination city by many of these migrants. This analysis of the problem of socio-economic integration of these Central Africans in Douala took place in a socio-historical context, adopting the mixed method which includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Four groups of Central African nationals were the subject of this analysis: legal residents, refugees, asylum seekers and students. Their experience during the period 2003 to 2020 through labor market institutions, housing, health and education was assessed in comparison with that of Cameroonian urban dwellers in the light of CEMAC public integration policies. Cameroon and the urban community of Douala. No evidence of xenophobia on the part of Douala city dwellers was found.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020)

AU  - Serge Sabine Ntsama Onana
AU  - Simon Bekker
Y1  - 2025/04/17
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 170
EP  - 177
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20
AB  - The African continent, the sub-Saharan region, has been confronted since its accession to independence with several challenges: getting rid of neocolonialism, creating regional economic communities, implementing the free movement of people, goods and services to establish a common market. It is in this context that CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) was created on March 16, 1994, made up of the following states: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville, Chad and Central African Republic. Cameroon, until the recent conflicts in the western and northern regions, was considered a country of peace and as such welcomes many Central African nationals on its territory. These Central African nationals are seeking to improve their well-being. Thus, the city of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, renowned for offering economic opportunities, was chosen as the destination city by many of these migrants. This analysis of the problem of socio-economic integration of these Central Africans in Douala took place in a socio-historical context, adopting the mixed method which includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Four groups of Central African nationals were the subject of this analysis: legal residents, refugees, asylum seekers and students. Their experience during the period 2003 to 2020 through labor market institutions, housing, health and education was assessed in comparison with that of Cameroonian urban dwellers in the light of CEMAC public integration policies. Cameroon and the urban community of Douala. No evidence of xenophobia on the part of Douala city dwellers was found.

VL  - 13
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Serge Sabine Ntsama Onana

Department of History, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0005-9337-1381
Simon Bekker

Department of History, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6739-1056

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Onana, S. S. N., Bekker, S. (2025). Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020). Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(2), 170-177. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Onana, S. S. N.; Bekker, S. Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020). Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2025, 13(2), 170-177. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Onana SSN, Bekker S. Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020). Humanit Soc Sci. 2025;13(2):170-177. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20,
  author = {Serge Sabine Ntsama Onana and Simon Bekker},
  title = {Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020)
},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {2},
  pages = {170-177},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20251302.20},
  abstract = {The African continent, the sub-Saharan region, has been confronted since its accession to independence with several challenges: getting rid of neocolonialism, creating regional economic communities, implementing the free movement of people, goods and services to establish a common market. It is in this context that CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) was created on March 16, 1994, made up of the following states: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville, Chad and Central African Republic. Cameroon, until the recent conflicts in the western and northern regions, was considered a country of peace and as such welcomes many Central African nationals on its territory. These Central African nationals are seeking to improve their well-being. Thus, the city of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, renowned for offering economic opportunities, was chosen as the destination city by many of these migrants. This analysis of the problem of socio-economic integration of these Central Africans in Douala took place in a socio-historical context, adopting the mixed method which includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Four groups of Central African nationals were the subject of this analysis: legal residents, refugees, asylum seekers and students. Their experience during the period 2003 to 2020 through labor market institutions, housing, health and education was assessed in comparison with that of Cameroonian urban dwellers in the light of CEMAC public integration policies. Cameroon and the urban community of Douala. No evidence of xenophobia on the part of Douala city dwellers was found.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020)

AU  - Serge Sabine Ntsama Onana
AU  - Simon Bekker
Y1  - 2025/04/17
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 170
EP  - 177
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251302.20
AB  - The African continent, the sub-Saharan region, has been confronted since its accession to independence with several challenges: getting rid of neocolonialism, creating regional economic communities, implementing the free movement of people, goods and services to establish a common market. It is in this context that CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) was created on March 16, 1994, made up of the following states: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville, Chad and Central African Republic. Cameroon, until the recent conflicts in the western and northern regions, was considered a country of peace and as such welcomes many Central African nationals on its territory. These Central African nationals are seeking to improve their well-being. Thus, the city of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, renowned for offering economic opportunities, was chosen as the destination city by many of these migrants. This analysis of the problem of socio-economic integration of these Central Africans in Douala took place in a socio-historical context, adopting the mixed method which includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Four groups of Central African nationals were the subject of this analysis: legal residents, refugees, asylum seekers and students. Their experience during the period 2003 to 2020 through labor market institutions, housing, health and education was assessed in comparison with that of Cameroonian urban dwellers in the light of CEMAC public integration policies. Cameroon and the urban community of Douala. No evidence of xenophobia on the part of Douala city dwellers was found.

VL  - 13
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download