‘How was my father killed?’, a mother is asked

Daniel Nelson

A teacher asks his young class what what they should model today. A tank, suggests one. A rifle, says another. “No,” responds the teacher, “I don’t like objects of war.”

But the children’s choice of subject is hardly surprising, given that a few metres away soldiers kneel on one knee at the corner of the building, guns ready, faces masked.

This is life in northern Cameroon, in a refugee settlement on the Nigerian border. The children, and some adults, have fled Boko Haram (“Western Education is Forbidden”) terrorists. And further attacks are an ever-present possibility.

In a no-frills documentary, The Spectre of Boko Haram, Cyrielle Raingou points her camera at three of the kids, aged 11 and 12, and records life on the edge of a war zone.

It’s simple, moving and shocking. She captures the daily routine: cooking, football,  attending a clinic, jumping on beds.

It’s everyday life except that the future is unknowable and the past, gleaned from the children’s conversations, contains horror.

“What was your mum like?”, asks one. “Did she have long hair or short?” His playmate scratches an outline of his mother’s head in the sandy soil.

A brother asks his sibling, ““What was our father like?” 

“How was my father killed?”, a mother is asked by her 12-year-old daughter. She replies: “If you ask too many questions, I’ll cry.” 

One child clams up. The others’ memories gradually grow more fanciful. There’s talk of cats turning into witches. Is this to avoid remembering awful events, especially for those forcibly recruited by Boko Haram? Are they blocking out reality from themselves or diverting those asking the questions - for fear that any answer might be used against them?

Whatever the reason, there’s distress and trauma and loss. Gunfire occasionally intrudes ominously onto the soundtrack.The nearby soldiers are a persistent reminder of nearby danger. Yes, there are moments of childish fun. Education looks rough and ready, but offers a little hope - there’s a burst of maternal pride and excitement over a daughter’s school exam marks. But this is a sad film. 

Raingou is from the region she has filmed. She has given us a timely reminder that this should not be anyone’s life.