Bilongue: Inhabitants Grapple With Insecurity

The myriad of insecurities in the neighbourhoods are linked to unkempt environment

Life is quite different in Douala III. In this subdivision is the Bilongue neighbourhood whose beauty and nicety of look quickly fades away to the unkempt and polluted canal which has a long history of insecurities in Douala.
Moving from Soboum to Bilongue the normal way is to pass on an old bridge, which flies over the deep canal in the heart of the neighbourhood. Filled with a mélange of industrial and domestic waste, the most telling experience of the canal is that it has quickly mutated into a hideout for drug addicts and robbers far from just being a melting pot for rats and source of infections it used to be about a decade ago.
Even a most casual visitor would quickly catch the feel following an abrupt interruption of sight of the overlying beautiful Bilongue by a polluted and greatly bushy canal as one edges towards the bridge.
The good news is that insecurities such as assaults on inhabitants for valuables have become common knowledge among Douala city dwellers and most seek to avoid being a victim. Any inhabitant avoids being a latecomer home beyond 8pm. In the day and in the night the scent of drugs (cannabis, etc) confirms the area as a smoking den well-known among the underworlds who reinf...