AFRICA/NIGERIA - The Nigerian Bishops to 36,000 refugees in northern Cameroon: "We have not abandoned you!"

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - "Providing pastoral care for over 36,000 Refugees is not an easy task. It is a big challenge for our diocese. That is why we brought the matter to the attention of the Episcopal Conference of Cameroun, who in turn notified the Episcopal Conference of Nigeria about the plight of the Nigerian Refugees here in our diocese ", said Mgr. Bruno Ateba, Bishop of Maroua, Cameroon, on March 5, during the visit of a delegation of Nigerian Bishops to their countrymen fleeing the violence of Boko Haram. The delegation's visit had been decided during the last Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of Nigeria (see Fides 04/03/2015).
According to a statement sent to Agenzia Fides, the Nigerian delegation included Mgr. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, Bishop of Umuahia and President of the Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN); Mgr. Oliver Dashe Doeme, Bishop of Maiduguri; Mgr. Stephen Dami Mamza, Bishop of Yola; Fr. Evaristus Bassey, Secretary of CCFN, and Fr. Chris Nanyanwu, Director of Social Communications of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN).
The purpose of the mission was to ascertain the condition of the Nigerian refugees welcomed in the camps in Minawao, managed by UNHCR. "I am happy that I am part of this delegation. It is a wonderful show of solidarity. Our presence is a moral boost for them and a reassurance that they are not abandoned", said Mgr. Doeme.
The Diocese of Maroua, in northern Cameroon, and Maiduguri, in northeastern Nigeria, have long ties of closeness and cooperation, facilitated by geographical proximity and similar language and culture shared by their respective populations. A bond that has been temporarily cut off from the closure of the border because of the violence of Boko Haram. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 10/03/2015)