As students attending an all-girls’ school in the United States, we often undervalue the privilege of education and of going to school feeling safe. While we are concerned with our grades and AP tests, there are families in Nigeria that face the possibility that they may never see their daughters again.
It has been three weeks since an all-girls’ school in a remote area of Nigeria was burned down and students were kidnapped.
Three weeks have passed sine 276 students were forced onto buses which are believed to have been driven into the “bush,” the border between Cameroon and Nigeria.
Three weeks have passed and the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, and his administration, still have not located these girls.
Three weeks have passed and only now are these kidnapped students getting the attention from the media and government that they deserve.
This past Monday, Abuubakar Shekeau, leader of the Nigerian Islamist group, Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. A chilling video of Shekeau was released on Monday; at one point he laughed and said, “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah.” Shekeu confirmed rumors that the girls have and will continue to be sold as “brides” to militants for $12.
Although people have questioned the validity of the video, the U.S. has now taken somewhat of a stand regarding the kidnapping. Last Saturday, Secretary of State, John F. Kerry, said that the U.S. will help join the search for the Nigerian girls, but Kerry had not specified what role the U.S. would play in the search.
In November 2013 the Nigerian government categorized Boko Haram as a terrorist group. The English translation of “Boko Haram” is roughly, “western education is forbidden.” They have been responsible for several terrorist attacks in Nigeria, including bombings in February that killed 106 people in the Ighze village.
Until Monday, news and other outlets had not taken much effort to cover the kidnappings. As a result, social media has taken a key role in the search. The Twitter and Facebook world has blown up with millions of #BringBackOurGirls tweets and posts. These have pressured media outlets to cover the event seriously and on a larger scale, which has lead to more involvement and more discussion about the course of action of the U.S.
The FBI declared on May 5th that they are on stand-by to deploy a unit to help Nigerian officials search for the 300 girls.
It has taken three weeks to galvanize the search of 300 students. People have asked why this tragedy has received less coverage than the sinking of South Korea’s ferry: the victims are the same age and the number of victims is similar, but the ferry immediately received extensive coverage while the kidnapped girls of Nigeria did not. Why did it take both the U.S. government and Nigerian government three weeks to take any large steps to find these abducted girls? These are the kinds of questions that are still being asked as we search for answers and wait for further calls to action in the now global mission to rescue these Nigerian girls.
Before you continue to study and stress about upcoming finals and projects, take a minute to post or tweet with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. Help raise awareness about the tragedy so that more countries are pressured to help join the search to bring back the girls.
In an NBC interview, Obama stated, “We’re going to do everything we can to provide assistance to [the Nigerian government].” On Wednesday, Mr. Kerry announced that President Goodluck accepted their proposition to send U.S. soldiers and other officials with expertise in negotiations to Nigeria.
Earlier this month, the Nigerian government had made an agreement with some of Boko Haram’s representatives at the sight of where the 200 school girls were kidnapped. President Goodluck, recently cancelled the agreement to release some Islamist prisoners and in return Boko Haram would release 100 of the kidnapped school girls. President Goodluck has not said why he had called off the agreement, but some speculate it has to do with his meeting last week in Paris with President Francois Hollande and other leaders who talked about what steps their nations should take against Boko Haram.
Now Nigerian officials report that because they had met with Boko Haram leaders they now know where the girls are being kept. However, Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, Alex Badeh, said, “But where they are held, can we go there with force? We can’t kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back.” He worries along with the rest of the Nigerian government that the risk is too high to invade the campsite where the girls are being held. If Boko Haram is capable of kidnapping 200 girls they are capable of more violent actions.
UPDATE: September 25th, 2014
Three months have passed since 276 Nigerian girls were kidnapped at school by the terror Group, Boko Haram.
Last April, social media feeds were full of celebrities holding #BringBackOurGirls signs; it is now fall and there is a lack of coverage on the disappearance of these girls. I struggled to find any credible news publications covering the disappearance of these Nigerian girls. The hope of finding these girls dwindles as we enter another “war” with the terrorist group, ISIS, ignoring other dangerous terrorist groups like Boko Haram. On Wednesday, September 24th, Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, spoke to the UN General Assembly. Unfortunately, the only article covering his speech was one brief article from The New York Times.
The article, written a couple days before his announcement to the UN, suggests that Mr. Goodluck will address the problem concerning the Islamist militant group and will “boast about his country’s economic growth.” The article does not even mention the words “missing” or “kidnapped girls.” The article also suggests, “Help from outside Nigeria will not solve the problem.” The article says that this is a Nigerian Islamist terror group. They do not serve as a threat to the US
Three months later, nearly 300 young girls are in the hands of a dangerous terrorist group. Not one girl has been rescued. There are no updates nor any signs of the US helping Nigeria bring these girls back. We are ignoring the desperate pleas of nearly 300 Nigerian families and their young daughters’ lives.