BUILDING THE STAGE BEYOND THE BULLET

There is a certain electricity that fills a room when poets gather. It is not just the anticipation of words about to be spoken—it is the unspoken understanding that we are carriers of something sacred. We are the memory of our communities, the conscience of our generation, and the hope that refuses to die.

Last week, I walked into the REGARTLESS Office in Bamenda carrying all of that weight—and all of that hope. I was joined by some of the most formidable voices in our city: Medine Yahje, Tsakeng Diane, Buhmoh Gillian, Oma Denzel, Ateh Okono Guylainne, and myself. We came representing the Abakwa Toks Creative Collective, and we came with one mission: to build a home for spoken word in a city that has lost so much.

On the other side of the table sat Ngoasong Agendia (Peace Maker) , Head of REGARTLESS in Bamenda, and Belinda Lenyonga, Head of Administrative Affairs. Together, they are building something extraordinary—a creative art space designed not just for exhibition, but for survival. For healing. For sustainability.

The Questions We Could Not Ignore
We did not come to perform. We came to be honest.

We spoke about the fear that grips us every time we step onto a stage in this conflict zone. How do we speak truth to power when the cost of that truth could be our freedom—or our lives? We spoke about the infrastructure gap—the lack of safe, affordable spaces to rehearse, record, and refine our craft. We spoke about the mental health toll of carrying our community's trauma on our tongues, night after night. And we spoke about the economic reality: how do we eat while we speak? How do we survive while we create?

These were not complaints. These were cries for infrastructure. And REGARTLESS listened—not with the distant ears of bureaucrats, but with the open hearts of fellow artists who understand that art is activism, and activism is survival.

As I walked out of that REGARTLESS office, I felt something I had not felt in a long time: fierce hope.

Not the naive hope that ignores the bullets and the checkpoints. But the hope that acknowledges all of that and says, "And yet, we create."

REGARTLESS is not just building a space. They are building a legacy. They are saying to the world: Bamenda is bleeding, but Bamenda is also singing. Bamenda is hurting, but Bamenda is also speaking. And we will provide the stage, the microphone, and the safety for those voices to be heard—not just today, but for as long as it takes.

To every poet reading this: your voice matters. Your words are needed. And now, you have a home.

Poetry is not dead. It is just waiting for its stage.

And in Bamenda, that stage is called REGARTLESS.

#Regartless #BamendaPoets #SpokenWord #AbakwaToks #PoetryIsResistance #VoicesFromTheHill