In the Maroua penitentiary (northern part of Cameroon), there is a group of minors even though it is a prison for adults. Many among them are boys who had been kidnapped (or sometimes even sold) by the various armed groups that are operating in the area - including Boko Haram from neighboring Nigeria - to make them child soldiers.
The Community of Sant'Egidio in Maroua regularly visits the minors. It aims at implementing a path of recovery to facilitate their reintegration into society once their sentences are over. This starts with literacy. Indeed, many of them cannot even read and write.
Moreover, legal assistance is provided. As we have already recounted, a fine is often added to the prison sentence, which the poorest detainees - and especially minors, mostly without families - are unable to pay. For this reason, the Community started the "Freeing Prisoners" program.
It is thanks to this program that 22 boys were recently released. Their letter - in French - gives an account not only of the emotional bond that was established with them - something so important for very young people who have known only neglect and exploitation - but also of the path they took during their time in detention. Now, they have more tools to face life. They are no longer alone to encounter this challenge.
The letter
"Hope for life has returned in our hearts thanks to you. When we arrived at Maroua Central Prison, we were half dead. Here, we met a new family that is the Community of Sant'Egidio. Now we are free, breathing pure air. Thanks to your intervention, we learned to read and write because when we arrived we did not understand anything, neither French nor Foufouldé (the local language). Thank you for the new life you have given us.
Signed: "The liberated friends"
