Migrants from the Central African Republic, a War Country, Living in Douala, Cameroon (2020)

The African continent, the sub-Saharan region, has been confronted since its accession to independence with several challenges: getting rid of neocolonialism, creating regional economic communities, implementing the free movement of people, goods and services to establish a common market. It is in this context that CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) was created on March 16, 1994, made up of the following states: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville, Chad and Central African Republic. Cameroon, until the recent conflicts in the western and northern regions, was considered a country of peace and as such welcomes many Central African nationals on its territory. These Central African nationals are seeking to improve their well-being. Thus, the city of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, renowned for offering economic opportunities, was chosen as the destination city by many of these migrants. This analysis of the problem of socio-economic integration of these Central Africans in Douala took place in a socio-historical context, adopting the mixed method which includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Four groups of Central African nationals were the subject of this analysis: legal residents, refugees, asylum seekers and students. Their experience during the period 2003 to 2020 through labor market institutions, housing, health and education was assessed in comparison with that of Cameroonian urban dwellers in the light of CEMAC public integration policies. Cameroon and the urban community of Douala. No evidence of xenophobia on the part of Douala city dwellers was found.