Lower thirds:

0:03  Report by / Blaise Eyong 
0:22  Beatrice Tchangon / Mother 
1:55  Blaise Eyong / DW Correspondent
2:22  Raoul Sumo Tayo / Researcher and security expert

Script:

Beatrice Tchangon  is in mourning. Her son, Brice Yondou  left Cameroon in December and went to Russia, where he volunteered to join the army. In February, the family received a letter from the army to say he had gone missing in Russia’s Kursk region. His mother believes he was killed. 

+++ ((SOT)) ((French original)) Beatrice Tchangon , mother 
‘’He went looking for a better life. He was in search of a better future. He didn't have a stable job here. He worked as a subcontractor or a day laborer at the cement factory. He did whatever work he could find. He was happy to leave the country to find a job. My child only went there to find a way to make a living. He just wanted to make something of his life. But instead, he went there to die’’ +++

All that she has from his time in Russia are the few photos and videos Brice sent via Whatsapp. The 34-year-old had no prior military experience. His mother thinks he didn’t fully know what he was signing up for. 

+++ ((SOT)) ((French original))Beatrice Tchangon, mother 
‘’They forced him into signing the contract in Russian. Does he know how to read the Russian language? He knows how to read French and English, not Russian. They forced him to sign. They sent him off to fight in the war. He was only trained for four days. What can he possibly learn in four days? +++ 

VO
1.22 - 1.35

It’s not clear what happened to Brice in the months after he enlisted. But reports suggest he was part of a growing number of foreign mercenaries fighting for Russia. 

1.37
A lack of work and opportunities in Cameroon means that young people are especially vulnerable to the lure of money and a better life in Russia. 

Agents use social media or word of mouth to recruit new soldiers for the Kremlin’s so-called special military operations against Ukraine. 

 +++ ((PTC)) ((Blaise Eyong)) 
‘’There are no official statistics on the number of Cameroonians fighting for the Russians. However, according to one Cameroonian whistleblower, around a hundred fighters have died since last year” +++

This figure includes trained soldiers. In March, Cameroon's defense minister warned that Cameroonian security forces were deserting their posts to fight in Russia.  

+++((SOT)) ((Raoul Sumo Tayo)) ((Researchers and security expert)) 
‘’ Russia offers these soldiers a minimum of 2,500 euros, that is, more than ten times their salary in Cameroon. So, in a context of experience of the army, where Cameroonian soldiers have acquired skills in various operations in recent years, they try to sell their skills to the highest bidder, and it turns out that the highest bidder at the moment is Russia.’’ +++

Brice Yondou  might have paid with his life for that salary.Beatrice Tchangon  says Russia has still not provided any money, help or word on what happened to her son. Without him, she now faces having to raise his children by herself. 

END