ISBN 9781942876922
Pages 62
Dimensions 216 x 140mm
Published 2022
Publisher Spears Media Press, Cameroon
Format Paperback

The Forest Must Scream

Comedy in Four Acts

by Henri Djombo, Osée Colins Koagne

Under the misguided leadership of Chief Kamona, the people of Mballa village voraciously destroy their forests for fuelwood and money. However, most of the revenue goes to Kamona and his family. When the national government dispatches Functionary, a forestry agent, to caution them against the illegal and wanton destruction of their forests, Kamona and his people chase him away from their community. They won't also heed the counsel of Kamona's young nephew, Toubili who tries in vain to convince them that Functionary is right. Chief Kamona and his people focus their defiance against the government by cutting down even more trees, determined that the forest must scream and bleed in their hands. Will Kamona and his people survive the devastating consequences of their destruction of the forest?

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Review

"The playwright presents the dynamics of the involvement of local communities in the climate change debate in a very engaging manner. The play focuses on the percolation of the environmental protection discourses at the local level, stressing the indispensable need for better communication as well as synergy between traditional and state authorities. In effect, finding common ground between global concepts, state policy and local practices constitutes a crucial ingredient of legitimacy building, co-responsibility and trust in tackling environmental issues."

Gilbert Ndi-Shang, PhD Author of The Radio and Other Stories

About the Authors

Henri Djombo

Henri Djombo is a seasoned politician, novelist and playwright from the Republic of Congo. Djombo was born in 1952 in Enyellé village in the Likouala Region in northern Congo-Brazzaville. He holds a Master's degree in Forestry Economics from the Forestry Technology Academy in Leningrad, present-day St Petersburg, in the former USSR. Between 1980 and 2021, he served in various ministerial capacities in his native Congo, including as Minister of Water and Forests (1980-1985), Minister of Sustainable Development, Forest Economy and Environment (2009-2016), and Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (2016-2021). He is a member of the Political Bureau of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) and has served four terms as a Member of Parliament. He is currently MP for the Enyellé Constituency. He has published ten novels, including Lumières des temps perdu, Vous mourrez dans dix jours, Sur la braise, and Gahi ou l'affaire autochtone, among others. His other plays include Les Bénévoles and Le Mal de terre. Djombo has won many literary prizes such as le Prix Amadou-Cissé-Dia du théâtre (2018), le Prix littéraire Jean-Malonga (2019), and le Prix Toussaint L'Ouverture (2019).

Osée Colins Koagne

Osée Colins Koagne is a Cameroonian stage director, playwright, and environmental theatre promoter. He was born on 14 October 1973 in Bafoussam, Cameroon. He received theatre training at the Franco-Cameroonian Alliance in Garoua, Cameroon and at the Sartrouville Theatre in Paris, France. Upon his return from France, he trained as an environmentalist under a German NGO in North Cameroon and managed the Centre for Rural Education in Ngong, about 200km from Garoua. Thanks to his activism on desertification, Koagne was invited by Sylvestre Naah Ondoa, the then Cameroon Minister of Environment and Forests, to participate in the first Conference of Ministers of Environment for the Sustainable Management of Central African Forests in Yaoundé in 2000. Thereafter, Koagne undertook an international tour to share his expertise and experience in the central African sub-region. Koagne was invited by Minister Henri Djombo to settle in Congo-Brazzaville in 2001 as a Technical Assistant at the Congolese Ministry of Forest Economy, Sustainable Development and Environment. Koagne now resides in Brazzaville and manages the Association pour la Culture de Protection de la Faune et de la Flore (ACPF), a pro-environment NGO.

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