On the 14th of April, hundreds of Nigerian secondary school girls were abducted from their boarding school in Chibok, a town in North East Nigeria, known for its constant besiegement by Boko Haram forces. Boko Haram is an Islamic group active in the Northern part of Nigeria, and known for their hatred of Western or non-Islamic education.
Some sources say that over 200 girls were abducted, others say exactly 234 girls were abducted. One thing we are sure of, is that 50 girls were able to escape, and 2 girls died of snake bites (may their souls rest in peace), but yet, more than 200 girls go missing.
It has been confirmed that these young girls between the age of 16 and 18 and forcefully given up for marriage to Boko Haram leaders and activists. They have been separated and are being transported in groups. Some of them have been sent over the border, to Cameroon and Chad.
Personally, having been a boarding school student myself, I feel so concerned by this issue. I remember when I was still in boarding school in Cameroon, during the 2008 national crisis. Bonaberi, a suburb in Douala, economic capital of Cameroon, was the midst of all sorts of violence. And my school happened to be in Bonaberi. During the crisis, we were asked by our teachers and supervisors to keep quiet, and do everything in silence, so that no one would notice our presence within those four walls. One night, the whole school was gathered and we were told that a letter had been sent to our house mother, in which she read “we know that you are still keeping students in school. Be prepared for us”. We were in total panic, not being able to contact anyone, or to do anything. Luckily for us, the crisis was quickly stopped and everything went back to order.
This experience, though not comparable to what these Nigerian young girls must be living, gives me at least an insight of the fear they must be containing, not knowing what tomorrow holds for them, not knowing if they will ever make it home to their families, not being able to talk to anyone they love. Their grieving mothers have marched in protest of the government’s inability to react.
So I have a lot of questions… Why do I have the impression (might be just an impression) that the world is just too quiet about this? Can their mothers sleep at night ? Its been 2 weeks, for God’s sake! What exactly has the Nigerian government been doing? Why do the Cameroonian and Chadian governments behave like they are not concerned? How is it even possible for 200 girls to go missing without a trace? Are our schools not safe anymore? When are the African nations finally going to take action and stand together to face such atrocities? I have so many questions, questions without answers…
As a girl, an African, and probably a mother to be, I feel like I have the responsibility to do something. A trend has been created on social networks, with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. This is aimed at drawing the attention of national and international authorities to the urgency of this matter, and to let the world know of what is happening. A petition has also been created, on the Change website, to appeal to Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan to take actions against the far-too-bold Islamic group Boko Haram, and bring these young girls home. I don’t know if these measures are sufficient enough, I don’t know if they will succeed in making the authorities react. All I know is that we need to do something, anything…
So please, join me in doing something. You can use the hashtag, sign the petition (Here) or simply harass God with prayers, until He does something.
We need our girls to come home alive, and not in body bags because all they ever wanted was to write a Physics exam…
Someone who’s concerned.
Deb : "Feel free to leave a comment, share or anything else, Vee and I would aprreciate it"
Have a good day
Deb & Vee
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Hey ! Ne sois pas timide, exprime-toi.