*John
Mbawe thinks he is victim of racism and threatens legal action.
*Appeals
for intervention of Human Rights crusaders.
By Christopher Ambe
 |
| Mbawe John: |
A Cameroonian, John Mbawe, who has already
done five of the six years required to qualify as a doctor of pharmacy in the College
of Pharmacy, Ferris State University, Michigan, United States of America, has
reportedly been suspended from further study allegedly for medical reasons, but
the student who says he is healthy and was doing well in school, holds that his
suspension was racially motivated.
Mbawe, who is said to
be a permanent resident in the US and has reportedly spent about 170,000 US dollars
(FCFA 85 million), which is the US
Government-backed student loan, undergoing the training, told The Recorder:
“I
was maliciously withdrawn from the program for no just cause. I strongly
believe the actions by the school and the city were racially motivated.”
All
attempts by The Recorder to get the college officials react to Mbawe’s
allegations were futile. The Recorder sent t three emails to Dr. Stephen Durst, Dean of the College
of Pharmacy, Ferris State University,
to David L. Eisler, President of the University and Chairman of Board of
trustees, as well as to Tara Lee,
Administrative Specialist, Dean's Office -since on the 15th and
20th of December 2014-for them to confirm or refute the allegations,
but up to when we were going to print this edition, none of them had even
acknowledged receipt of the email.
Following is
The Recorder’s email to the college officials:
“INQUIRY ON ALLEGEDLY DISMISSED 5th YEAR CAMEROONIAN PHARMACY STUDENT
“We are a
newspaper, called The RECORDER in Cameroon (Central Africa)
with head office in the town of
Buea.
Sir, we write to find out from your
office about an allegation from one Cameroonian 5th year
pharmacy student by name John Mbawe,whose student identify card is
attached herewith, that he was unjustifiably dismissed from your prestigious College
of Pharmacy, Ferris State University,USA.
We would be grateful if you can confirm or refute
the allegation because we plan to do a story based on the complaint he has sent
to our newsroom
We look forward to receiving your reply ASAP
Yours Truly “
However, The Recorder learned from other sources
that the Cameroonian student was suspended by the College supposedly for health
reason, so that Mbawe who was reportedly sick could fully recover and stabilize
his life to continue his study sometime later. Mbawe has dismissed the claim
that he was sick.. Mbawe,
who said he was one of two black students in a white-dominated class of 150
students, alleges that before his suspension he had complained to the school
administration about his molestation by some students and professors. “During
my first two years of the program, I was bullied and provoked [because] of my
nationality, my race ...by both students
and some professors”, he wrote in an email to us.
The
Cameroonian student says because of his complaint against some white professors
to the school administration, he was later framed-up in what he described as a
false report by some white professors to the police, which led to his arrest
and detention for two weeks. “I sat in an ongoing class one day and two police
officers came to school and arrested me,” he alleged, adding “The police
officers pulled me out, carried me in their car and locked me up, imprisoned me
in a house for sixteen (16) days. While in the house, I was electrocuted and
drugged. I reminded them in several occasions that I was a student and I was
missing my classes”
Mbawe
claimed he contacted the Cameroon Embassy in Washington, which said they would
only react if they received a formal complaint, which he did not submit because
of some difficulty he faced.
Upon
his release from detention, he told us, “I went back to school to finish the
semester. However, I was told that I had been withdrawn from my program for
having been absent from school for long”
 |
| Mbawe's Student ID car |
Mbawe alleges that
even the Office of the Attorney-General in Detroit, which he contacted, did not
help him out of his predicament. “I even left the city and drove to Detroit to
the Attorney General office, but I was threatened with arrest if I did not
leave.
“I
was asked, forced to leave the city after it was realized I would not back down
in my search for justice. Because I
would not leave, I was attacked and my head severely injured in a manner that
almost got me impaired. When I went to the police office with the bleeding and
swollen skull to make a report, I was arrested again detained and charged with
trespassing at the police station”, he alleged. “I had parked my car in front
of the police station when I went to make the report. Nonetheless when I came
back to take my car the next day after I was released from the illegal
detention, my car had been confiscated, seized, and impounded. I know for sure
this an attempt to prevent me from leaving the city to make reports. The car
was illegally confined for 58 days, and all documents and proves of what has
been happening to me taken away.”
He said he decided to
narrate his ordeal to The Recorder because all attempts to get his plight
reported by some US media houses failed. He said he “contacted The Dr. Phil
Show, Anderson Cooper 360, The Ed Show by mail, but his mails disappeared along
the way’
Threatening
to sue the College of Pharmacy, Mbawe has launched an appeal for human rights organizations
to come to his assistance in his search for justice. “I am pleading with anyone
out there who believes in justice and human rights to stand up for me. My life
is in serious risk,” he voiced out.
The Cameroonian student,
who has been out of school now for more than a year, and has reportedly contacted
various US offices, hoping that his situation would be addressed, is yet to get
a positive feedback..It is not clear whether the matter is under consideration
or has been shelved.
But Mbawe believes
that he will eventually get justice in the USA, which is one of the strongest
advocates of the rule of law and respect for Human Rights.
(First Published In The RECORDER Newspaper,Cameroon,of January 8,2015)
NB: Mbawe John can be reached by these contacts: Email:muyumbanwi2004@yahoo.com or Tel: 001 77 33 70 65 35
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