By NGALA KILLIAN CHIMTOM<\/p>\n
MAYOS, Cameroon (AP) \u2014 The morning sun filtered through the forest canopy, casting dappled light on this village in Cameroon. For the Baka Indigenous community, it was a timeless image.<\/p>\n
But a passing truck broke the silence and stirred up billows of dust, a reminder that the Baka now live an uneasy life along roadsides after being forced from their traditional homes.<\/p>\n
The Baka and fellow Indigenous Bagyieli have lived in harmony with the forests of central Africa for generations. But mining and logging activities are encroaching, along with conservation areas, and government policy aims to integrate the ethnic groups into mainstream society.<\/p>\n
Lives \u201cwere better when we were in the forest,\u201d said Rebecca Gwampiel, a 78-year-old Baka. She prepared yam porridge in front of a traditional hut constructed with arched saplings. In the dusty courtyard, children played football using bound banana leaves.<\/p>\n
Among them was Francis, an 11-year-old who has quickly adapted to the new life and has aspirations. \u201cI want to become a nurse,\u201d he declared. \u201cI want to be able to treat my grandmother when she is sick.<\/p>\n
But for many Baka children, such dreams go unfulfilled. Their lack of birth certificates poses a significant barrier \u2014 part of a wider global problem. They never saw the need for birth certificates when they barely interacted with the world beyond the forest. Even now, they live far from administrative centers and can rarely afford the transport to reach them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout a birth certificate, he is stuck with me here in the village,\u201d said Francis\u2019 61-year-old father, Bertrand Akomi. He himself was denied employment by a lumber company because he didn\u2019t have a birth certificate.<\/p>\n