Saving Cameroon: How to get the word out.

With the brutal repression of a peaceful march led by presidential candidate Kah Walla in Cameroon's second largest city Douala yesterday, February 23rd 2011, many who witnessed these event firsthand have been clamoring for outlets where they can post pictures and videos they obtained as the population tries to free itself of 30 years of rule by Paul Biya and his clan.

So today, I compiled a short list of some websites that have friendly user interfaces and provide free storage for photos and videos. Also in the list are some microstock websites which pay the person who took the photograph when they will be used in the public domain. As an example, CNN may be running a story on events in Cameroon as the people struggle to push Biya out of power and they may need a photograph to illustrate the bad state of roads or just police brutality which is a fact of daily life in the country. Having photographs to illustrate the subject in question makes it easier to narrate the story.

The Biya regime used the reverse when it came to power by obfuscating any and everything pertaining to Ahmadou Ahidjo. Thanks to the Internet, Cameroonians are able to see the beautiful country Cameroon once was before Biya began transferring all the oil wealth of the nation to invest on the shores of Lake Geneva.

So here is my short list:

- Flickr.com

- Shutterstock

- iStockphoto

To submit photographs, just sign up with one of these websites, and then submit your photos. You would have done your own share, and with each passing day, we are getting closer to the moment when the streets of Yaounde, Douala and other towns and villages in the country will be full of men, women and children celebrating their liberation from 30 years of oppression by Paul Biya and Chantal Biya and their clan.