My Cameroonian French professor recently provoked my thoughts on the subject of corruption. What role does it play in shaping the United States government and society? I had to think on that one for a while, and my answer arrived in fragmented, uncertain sentences. “I ask,” Professor Wabo said, “because corruption in Cameroon is inherent in everything.”

After only a month in Yaoundé, I can see that Professor Wabo is right. Fraud infiltrates this country from the top-down, starting with President Paul Biya, who changed the Cameroonian constitution upon his appointment to suit his 31-year reign over the country. Much to the dismay of his predecessor, who attempted in vain to regain power shortly after Biya’s appointment, Biya halted all efforts in forwarding the development of Cameroon and has accomplished little to nothing during his presidency to benefit the nation. Deception extends from politics to petty theft, covering everything in between. “It will take many generations for this to be gone,” my host brother explained to me. Corruption earns its prominence in Cameroon as a social mentality—a societal construction that has been reinforced over time.

I’ve come to believe that corruption as prevalent as this is the most intimidating obstacle to progress. I’ve never much valued patriotism, but my time in Cameroon has forced me to reevaluate my understanding of national pride. When people begin to see how their government ridicules them, they lose faith in the future of their country; it is difficult, I think, to envision a future so vastly different from the present. I’ve seen this lack of faith in Yaoundé, where trash piles up on the side of every street. These images, my professor agrees, indicate attitudes of non-belief and detachment as much as they do a lack of environmental regulation. If your surroundings do not look out for you, then you will not look out for your surroundings.

This is not to say that Cameroonians do not care for each other and love their country; on the contrary, they love one another, call upon one another when the economic challenges become too difficult to bear. My friend’s host mother has decided that by the end of June, we will (we must) find Cameroon as wonderful and beautiful as she does. I do not doubt in my mind that she will achieve her goal. But in order for a country to move forward, there must exist a semblance of optimism amongst the people—a willingness to trust that your neighbor is not a fraud, but an ally.