The Bamenda Fashion Week 2016 scheduled to hold in Bamenda on December 16 has been forced to reschedule for next year due to continued social unrest in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon.

A rep from the #BFW2016 team has released an official statement, Monday, December 12, to announce that the fashion event has no choice but to be pushed to January for the safety of its clients, sponsors, models, designers, media and fans.

Here’s the statement:

“We deeply care about the loss of lives and violence that have plagued Bamenda and other English speaking cities and we sympathize dearly with the grieving families. It’s an honor for us to entertain and valorize our fashion industry but the safety and happiness of our people is primordial. We respect the people’s stance as well as Government’s effort towards reaching out but our prayer is for a platform of dialogue to be established so both parties can arrive at a sustainable solution to the issues at hand.
“This event is tailored to bring fashion lovers from within and beyond the continent including fashion designers, models photographer, make-up artist, other celebrities in the various facets of the entertainment industry and the general public. Thus, due to the persistence of these unrests in the Northwest and Southwest regions and Bamenda in particular,  we are postponing the event to Saturday January 21, 2017 (in anticipation that the unrest will be over thanks to a peaceful consensus reached between our authorities and the local population). We are hopeful tomorrow will be brighter for our industry and our people.”

The team ended with a powerful statement calling for dialogue instead of a military intervention.

“Dialogue is paramount . Let love lead,” they wrote.