Civil unrest Cameroon - friend trapped

[Singlein2020]

I have a friend "patience" who went to Cameroon to stay with family for christmas. She was due back last Friday.
On Thursday, i got a call from someone who said she was patience's cousin and she was calling on her behalf as pateince's phone had run out of battery and there was no electricity. Patience was due to fly to Uk that day and I was collecting her from the airport on friday. The cousin said she was going to miss her flight as they were trapped in an area and couldn't travel, that there was bombers and killings happening and they weren't safe. They were in a war zone. The cousin said that patience had no money for a new flight. I asked what I could do and she hung up / was cut off.

I have heard nothing from that call.

I have been trying to call both Patience and her cousin but straight to voice mail. I have messaged and emailed.
I have been scouring online to see what I can find out about what is happening but I can see little. I know the airport is still open.
I am really worried about her but don't have contacts for any family she has over there.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can find out what is happening and how I might find out how / where she is?

op I really hope your friend is ok.

but it is a common scam (friend going away, a different person calling about issues and hinting about lack of money).

the fact that it is (could be) plausible is the reason these scams work.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that your friend is fine and is where she wants to be.

Hello good morning
Just saw your post and it interest me. I'm from that country Cameroon. There's been a war going on in Cameroon since 2016. The war started when lawyers from the English speaking part of the country and some university students were on a peaceful strike. The government ordered soldiers to kill some of them.
Cameroon is a two countries that came together to form one country, when they were being granted their independence from France and from Britain respectively. But since the English speaking part joined over, the French speaking majority have been doing everything to wipe out everything English. The president who's from the French speaking part and has been ruling the country since 1982, is backed by France to do anything he wishes. At the moment, there's serious war, even though the western world is saying nothing, because of diplomacy from France. Government soldiers go around burning houses and indiscriminate violence and killings. Seperative soldiers as well go around molesting people; they kidnap for ransom, and the country is in a total mess.
I wonder why your friend decided to go there at this very critical period. Because the English speaking part of the country has vowed that they must separate from the French speaking majority due to injustice and marginalisation. So the war I don't think is ending any time soon.
If you have her number or her cousin's number, try WhatsApp and also try Facebook messenger.

I hope she surfaces safe and well soon. I agree if she'd gone to the airport and you were not there she'd have contacted you by now. How old is she? Is there any chance she's being held by family to be forcibly married off? I don't know enough about the culture in Cameroon to know whether this is likely or not.

It's possible (I hate to say this, but it is...) that she is in on the scam and the phone going dead and leaving you wondering, then no further contact since has been done purposely to ramp up the fear in you and make you think there is real danger for her.

Perhaps they will contact you again later with a terrible story of kidnap or arrest or something and then there will be requests for money.

And of course it's also possible that it's all true and she really is in danger.

The fact that you don't seem to know her well at all and yet you were offering (or responding to a request) to pick her up from the airport makes me wonder if you've been targeted as a bit of a soft touch and Patience is actually going to try to rinse you.

I'm sorry to say that but I know several people it's happened to when they've befriended (or started romantic relationships with) people from poor countries. Before you know it, you are regaled with all sorts of drama and sob stories about terminally ill mothers needing money for hospital care etc., storms blowing the roof off the house, sister dies and leaves four babies with no support etc., and your conscience gets the better of you. You become fair game and a meal ticket. A means to an end.

That said, she's a British citizen with a job here, so it doesn't really make sense or fit the pattern. Apologies to Patience if I am doing her down but you do have to think rationally about the likelihood of all this being true when it is also bears all the hallmarks of a scam.

All you can do is go down the official routes and hope to hear something positive soon. She may just have decided to not come back just yet and didn't think to tell you. Which is rude, but not beyond the realms of possibility.

If it was a scam, why didn't they ask for money?

@Bossis1173 It's really heartbreaking what's going on there. It is shocking how little we hear of it in the media..

That's interesting background Bossis I didn't know any of that.

And yes, if things are as you say, I wonder why she went back at all - especially if she was granted asylum and nothing has changed.

If it was a scam, why didn't they ask for money?

the person said that her friend doesn't have money for an alternative flight.
demands for money might come later.

It could be that your friend legitimately decided to stay for longer, and unfortunately someone she knows has decided to try and exploit that and will call you back at some point asking for money. Whatever story you get don't entertain any thoughts of handing over cash. If your friend is in genuine need to local consulate will be able to provide assistance that is paid back on return to the UK.

Is it possible your friend is more active in civil matters in Cameroon than you realise? It's not unusual for ex-pats to get involved in protest in their home countries.

I've worked in insecure countries with millions of refugees and displaced people. The red cross, UNHCR and IOM have registers of people who are declared as needing assistance. Red cross is a very grass roots organisation, if you knew the area your friend was in you may be able to contact her via the local chapter, but if you only have sketchy details they won't be able to much.

As hard as it is, there is practically nothing you can do and I appreciate that's frustrating but you might have to sit and wait for news. None of this is your fault, and it's a shock I think to find out how insecure some places are when we don't even hear what's happening there.

And fwiw I do think this is a riff on a pretty standard scam. They didn't ask for money straight away because you need time to stew. It makes it more likely that you will cough up when they do ask. Sorry, it's cruel.

I know Patience through a mutual hobby so we are not best friends and tbh I know very little of her life and personal details. I have a vague idea if her dob so why would her 'cousin' ring you for help? Surely there are closer people to her than you?

so why would her 'cousin' ring you for help? Surely there are closer people to her than you?

This is what makes me think it's a scam. If someone has got hold of her contacts list they will have no idea who any of the people are, so won't know to call, for example, Patience's mum, or her employer, and will instead call people who don't really know her that well on the off chance that they care enough to respond to a later request for money.

Also, why didn't Patience make the call herself? The fact the call came from a 'cousin' is suspicious.

Exactly. If you phone goes dead and there’s no electricity to charge it, you can’t access the numbers in it for a start.

And if you could, but has no credit or whatever, you’d ask to borrow someone’s phone and make the call yourself, not get some total stranger to make the call for you.

None of it adds up.

I can see you have fallen to wrong people for advice,there is serious war and human rights abuses by the tough regime of Paul biya in Cameroon, I'm sure you don't read news about Africa and Cameroon particular, however I advice you should not send money as she most have lost her phone,but mentioning of bombs in Cameroon is true, because last week the regime's military detonated bombs in a village in the South West region,make your findings also by contacting Cameroonian in the UK or search Twitter for words like Ambazonia,and even check tybo Nagy's account in Twitter,and see what he has to say about Cameroon,every one commenting rubbish are mostly bulu people who belongs to the tribe of the evil man called Paul biya,

no one is questioning that the civil unrest is not real.

Actually early on in the thread someone said they hadn't heard of any unrest, therefore it was probably a scam.

I think it's now been fairly well explained.

That was me, I was unaware of the unrest. Now I know there is unrest it doesn't change my opinion that the most likely explanation is a to be a scam.

Hello I understand your concern about your friend, there is a serious problem going on in cameroon for close to three years now.
Am from cameroon myself and I know what is happening especially in the north and south west country between forces LRC Cameroon and the Ambazonia restoration force. If she is from Ambaland then I suspect she will be in difficulties.
A lot of us can't travel home for fear of being arrested and imprisoned, and if from the English speaking part of the country call Ambaland.
If your friend is from the French speaking part of the country then there are no ongoing problem we know of.
I will advise you keep trying the contact details you have and maybe you will get through.

I thought when the cousin said ‘Patience’ was trapped in a war zone and had no money for another flight, perhaps that was a request for money? Sounds like a scam to me.....it sounds plausible because you know there’s unrest, so that checks out, but, as for the rest, I’m sceptical

Just step back OP. If, God forbid, she is in danger/stranded, then she will have others she can fall back on. This is not your concern as awful as it sounds. There is quite literally nothing you can do to help her right now.
Just hope & pray you hear from her 🙏

Hello any news from your friend in Cameroon?

Blimey, I'd have considered myself relatively well informed, but I knew nothing of this conflict. Dreadful that it hasn't been reported more - 3000 people have died in the conflict!

Sampe, Nanabsu, Bossis - I hope your friends and family are safe and well and that the conflict ends soon.

Hi folks
Sorry I haven't updated as was in work and trying to find out info.
Managed to find someone through her church whose family knows Patience's family in cameroon. They made contact with someone in their church and through their family network over there, they found where she is.
Patience is ok. There's no scam.
She missed her flight as roads were blocked and it wasn't safe to travel to airport. she lost her phone and has been with her mother. It was her cousin who called but she didn't pass on full message before she got cut off due to network coverage being poor.
There have been no requests for money at all.
Her family had to leave their home and have been scattered to safe houses around the area in the west. It is pretty awful out there and she is trying to get her mum somewhere to stay. She will be back next week all being well.

I haven't spoken to her directly but from some of the details passed on, I am reassured. It sounds terrible out there.

Thanks for your ideas and support.

I think it is more likely to be what the cousin said than being a scam. It sounds like the cousin is passing on a message from "Patience" who is most likely to have been trapped in the war zone. Last week and this week has been deadly with bombs being dropped on civilians, houses burned, indiscriminate shooting and people taking refuge in the forest. I think if it was a scam they would have tried their hardest to get money from heras fast as possible.The fact that the cousin called and the phone went off and she can't get through to "Patience" nor the cousin is likely a problem with electricity as people could go for days or a week without any power.But I understand why you would think this a scam because you don't fully understand how bad the situation is. I am a cameroonian who lives in the UK , and I would think the same if I didn't have family in these areas. Sometimes it takes days to reach my family in the war zone due to power cuts.

Please treat this seriously. There is a serious crisis in Cameroon. Thousands have lost their lives in fighting for freedom from the corrupt government. The whole situation is now a mess and criminals have taken advantage of the situation to make money. Kidnapping is the talk of the day and mostly visitors are targets. Surprised most people aren't aware of the political unrest in Cameroon. It's terrible and sad and mostly likely turning into a civil war. Hopefully your friend comes back home safe

Oh yes ,the thoughts and prayers that solve issues worldwide.