Cameroonian Immigrants in the United States: Between the Homeland and the Diaspora

Although Cameroon’s image as a stable nation with a strong economy may have mitigated against any large-scale migration by Cameroonians following independence, the economic collapse beginning in the mid-1980s and the coerced implementation of democratic reforms in the early 1990s exposed fault lines in the nation’s economic and political institutions. As a result, thousands of Cameroonians have left the country in search of a better life abroad. While Europe remains the favorite destination for many of these migrants, a significant number have also come to the United States. Cameroonian Immigrants in the United States examines the increase in the population of Cameroonians in the United States in the last two decades, the difficulties that many of them must endure in order to come to America, and the challenges they face adapting to their new environment. Despite the problems they face, these new immigrants are creating a home in America. At the same time, however, they remain connected to their country of birth through remittances to friends and family members and other forms of investments and development projects in their communities.