In April 2014, 276 Christian school-aged girls were kidnapped from Chibok, Nigeria by a group of radical Islamist terrorists, Boko Haram. After over a year and a half, over 200 of these girls have still not been returned to their families. The search continues
The fate of these young girls is unfortunately unknown. The terror group has claimed that each girl was converted to Islam and married off to their captors, however some activists, like Nigerian Obiageli Ezekwesili prefer to remain optimistic. Ezekwesili said, “I always see hope. Hope is inexhaustible. The day we stop hoping, we all die.”
Many world leaders and outspoken activists like Ezekwesili agree that not enough is being done to stop the Boko Haram terror group, who have managed to kill thousands of innocent African civilians, using brutal tactics such as beheading.
Organizations such as Open Door USA, a non-profit that aims to help Christians worldwide from being persecuted for their beliefs, has been on the ground in Nigeria attempting to provide aid to the affected families. Trauma counseling and basic necessities like food and shelter are provided by this Christian group, however there is still plenty of work to be done.
Despite the publicity around the kidnapping and the initial worldwide outrage, many of these families still live in dangerous conditions within Nigeria. Immediately after the kidnapping, the hashtag #bringbackourgirls started trending, however despite this large light cast onto the kidnapping, the world has not done enough to bring these girls back safely.