Annie BISSABINGA BIBOUA, Head of the Cooperation and Public Relations Office at the National Office for Veterans, Former Military Personnel and Victims of War of Cameroon (ONACAM), is no more. She passed away on Saturday, September 19, 2022, leaving her nuclear family, friends and colleagues speechless.

This Saturday evening will remain forever engraved in the memories of all those who knew and loved her. The news of his sudden death fell like a knife, plunging those around him into immense sadness. Present at the service on Friday, September 18, 2022 until late in the afternoon, nothing foreshadowed such a fatal fate. The sad faces, the haggard look, nobody believed it; the pill was difficult to swallow. Annie leaves behind a great void that her professional family has difficulty in filling.

Death has struck again. Without expecting it, it appears and takes life with it.  As Pierre Dac quoted: "If many people are afraid of death, death fears no one", its audacity has no limit to the point of taking Annie's life.  Stricken by a short illness, our faithful collaborator and colleague, has helplessly and definitively put away her camera.

However, her work has now surfaced, notably in the Republic of Mali where Malian veterans still remember her; more particularly, during her visit to Bamako in 2006 when she accompanied the Director General of ONACAM in this beautiful sister country at the invitation of the Malian Minister of Defense. Retired Colonel Djingarey TOURE, then Director of the National Office for Veterans, Retired Military Personnel and Victims of War of Mali, could not believe his eyes; he sent a message of condolences and sympathy to the Director General of ONACAM, to the Cameroonian veterans and to the family who were so severely affected.

The pain caused by his departure is intense and the emotion still strong. Many memories
A woman of character with multiple professional facets, Annie passed from life to death with the speed of a flash. A photographer by profession, an accountant by training, an experienced communicator, an experienced secretary, she had a proven professional experience. Gifted with an outstanding intelligence, she was proactive. Thanks to her efficiency and the good mastery of her specialty, she contributed to the promotion of the brand image of the Cameroonian Veteran and to the influence of ONACAM in the national triangle and beyond our national borders.

The Cameroonian and African fighting world remains stunned and mourns this official who was for many years at its service.

The burial ceremony organized on October 14, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. attracted a large crowd at the morgue of the Army Technicians Training Center (ATTC). It was the starting point of Annie's journey of no return; a journey that led her for the last time to her native village of LOBE in the Kribi District, Ocean Department in the Southern Region of Cameroon for the traditional burial rites of her tribe. This was followed by a great vigil punctuated by prayers, religious songs and entertainment.

The burial ceremony took place in the morning of Saturday, October 15, 2022 with traditional funeral rites and a religious service, celebrated in the pure tradition of the Roman Catholic Christian faith. Several testimonies as evocative as each other held in suspense the civil and military authorities, the family, the traditional dignitaries of Kribi, the friends and the local residents.

It was a sober and solemn ceremony, tinged with emotion and dignity. The presence of a strong delegation of staff of the General Directorate, which was joined by the veterans of the Amicale des Anciens Combattants de Kribi, all these staff under the leadership of the Deputy Director General, the Chief of Battalion ® OSSONGO ADA Jean Leonard representing the Director General prevented, has enhanced the dimension of the event. In his eulogy, the Deputy Director General said, among other things, I quote: "Death is a unique opportunity to reread its humanity. It is true that what distinguishes it from the animal kingdom is its capacity to honor it" end of quote.

Annie has gone; she deserved a funeral that was worthy of her person and of her contribution to the opening of our structure to the world for about twenty years. Her outspokenness was admired by all, both in her biological family and in her professional family. She leaves behind a grieving daughter.

"May the Lord Almighty grant you his forgiveness and watch over your offspring and your family."

"FAREWELL ANNIE".