Abandon scolaire et vulnérabilité sociale de la jeune fille réfugiée centrafricaine non encadrée : cas des refugiées de la commune de mandjou (lom-et-djérem, est-Cameroun)

Abstract

Socio-political and economic crises, drought and inter-community tensions in neighboring countries are all factors in the expulsion of unaccompanied Central African refugee girls, particularly in Cameroon, whose political stability, geographical position and adherence to the various refugee protection conventions are all factors in attracting refugees to its territory. This observation gave rise to our topic entitled: « Dropping out of school and the social vulnerability of young Central African refugee girls who are not supervised: the case of refugee girls in the Mandjou Council (Lom-Et-Djérem, East Cameroon) ». This raises the problem of the causes and consequences of school drop-out among young Central African refugee girls who are not supervised and contributes to their situation of vulnerability. Its main question is : How does the fact that young refugee girls in the Mandjou commune drop out of school underlie their social vulnerability ? The central hypothesis is as follows : the fact that refugee girls in the Mandjou Council drop out of school exposes them to adult life at an early age, as most of them are left to fend for themselves and have to develop survival strategies (search for subsistence income, marriage, motherhood). To analyse the concern identified, we used a mixed approach (qualitative and quantitative) which enabled us to gain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon studied, using stakeholder and social influence theory. This was facilitated by direct observation, semi-directive interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, documentary research due statistical and content analysis. After comparing our field data, the research hypotheses clearly indicate that vulnerable individuals can cope with the difficulties surrounding them by receiving training in income-generating activities, engaging in sustainable livelihoods and promoting community solidarity. The community needs to become aware of this collective vulnerability in order to deal with it more effectively. Affirmative action and, where appropriate, the reintegration of unaccompanied young Central African refugee women into school are essential measures for overcoming this situation of social vulnerability.