YAOUNDE, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon hosted an international festival of arts and culture dubbed Tokna Massana Festival on Friday to mark the return of peace and security in the terror-hit region of the Far North.
The Far North region had witnessed multiple deadly attacks from the terror group Boko Haram in the past years, but everything is "now under control," according to local authorities.
The week-long festival gathered participants from the Massa tribe in Cameroon and neighboring Chad to display their traditional food, dances, rites, clothes and other products in the border town of Yagoua.
"At first, it was very difficult and almost impossible to hold the festival due to insecurity. Today people have come from Chad, Cameroon and all over the world to attend the festival because peace has returned. So, this festival reminds us of the peace and security we now enjoy," Pierre Lirawa, mayor of Yagoua told Xinhua.
For the Massa people who organized the event, the festival was a clear indication of their love for peace and unity.
"The Massa people are an ethnic group localized in Cameroon and Chad. We were divided into different countries by politicians, but we know that we are one people with one culture," Robert Moussandi, one of the event organisers said.
"The security at this year's festival was far less because we are already enjoying peace and there is no need for that. The Massa people are determined to wipe out terrorism from their territory," Moussandi added.
Cameroon's Minster of Arts and Culture Pierre Ismael Bidoung Kpwatt, who presided over the festival, said the cultural jamboree was a "veritable" measure of peace and regional integration.
"Cameroon is resolute to enhance development and integration through culture in its drive to become an emerging economy by 2035. This festival offers an exceptional communion between Cameroon and Chad." Kpwatt told the crowd at the festival.
