Tragedy struck Chibok Secondary School in Lagos Nigeria on Monday, May 5, 2014 when nearly 300 female students were kidnapped from their dorm rooms. Terrified by the sound of gun shots blasting in the distance, the girls were comforted when soldiers dressed in uniforms arrived to what they thought was their rescue. They were then ordered outside the building, and after their leaving, the soldiers lit the building on fire. It was at that very moment the girls realized who these men were. They were Boko Haram members, a group of Islamic extremist. The men loaded their trucks with the students and drove off. Weeks have flown by and the girls are still missing. It has been reported that 2 died and 20 are seriously ill.
The failure of the Nigerian government to put forth all their resources and efforts to finding these students has caused both local and international uproar. The Islamic group have already claimed the lives of approximately 1,500 people so far this year in Nigeria. Their mission is as the name Boko Haram translates, is to put an end to the western form of education.
A few girls were able to escape after one of the trucks behind them broke down distracting the driver of their vehicle. The girls were able to jump off the van and run into the bushes where they hid for hours.
The village people began to lose confidence in the government, so they banned together, raised money and created a large search group.
The Islamic group forced the girls into marrying their kidnappers, who then sold them for $12.00.
An anonymous Islamic scholar, who has negotiated previous hostage situations with the Boko Haram group, told officials that the Islamic extremist is willing to put the girls up for ransom. However, they will need more time to finalize their asking price.
Summarized by Rashida Forbes
Clearly and sadly the real intention of the kidnappers was to have “some fun†with the girls, and then offer them for a hefty ransom. I can’t believe how evil the human mind can be. The group Boko Haram who claim to be religious and pious are but terrorists whose main goal is to spread fear and unrest in Nigeria and the neighbouring countries. Serious measures by governments at stake have to be taken to arrest them.
I cannot believe, how one can sell a girl at $12.Human life is not mere a $12.This is an issue of human rights violation,U.N.O has the duty to take severe action against such extremists.
I am still shocked that these horrific things are happening in our world. There is only so much a few comments on a blog can do though, and if we actually want to do anything to help we’ll have to reach into our pockets, and that is something many of us are barely able to do. Even when we do try to help financially, it is hard because many organizations keep so much of the donations for administrative fees (http://www.moneysense.ca/spend/the-charity-100). Nonetheless I do hope these girls are rescued unscathed.
I do not support, nor do I condone the actions of Boko Haram. I do, however find it troubling that this summary of approximately 300 words uses the word “Islamic†4 times to describe this group, whereas the original article of approximately 1600 words only uses it twice. The definition of extremist, as taken from merriam-webster.com, is “belief in and support for ideas that are very far from what most people consider correct or reasonable”.
The media has improved in their reporting and attempt to stay focused on the actions of extremists without constantly repeating the religious affiliations these groups may claim to have. As a society, however, we need to be more aware of what an extremist is and how they do not accurately portray the teachings of the religion or the beliefs of the majority of its followers.
This incident itself is disgusting.I can’t believe some people would do anything just for money. What’s even stupider is the fact that the village people had forced these girls into marrying their kidnappers, and these kidnappers then sold them of for $12.00. I just hope that somehow these girls can escape their worst nightmare and that the kidnapper gets an adequate punishment.
This event is extremely troubling, and it is sad how little progress has been made in finding these missing girls. The government of Nigeria needs to be more firm in its decisions. They originally were going to trade Boko Harem prisoners for some of the girls, but then changed their mind. They also put a ban on public protest of the kidnappings, but then later allowed protests if they were peaceful. It is also important to note that not only has Boko Harem kidnapped these girls, they are responsible for the murder of at least 1500 people.
Response by Ashlin Kenuck
This disturbing and quite frankly disgusting event is completely heartbreaking. The lack of intervention by the Nigerian government is appalling and goes to show the amount of corruption within the government and the outright fear of the Nigerian government from extremist groups. While this case has sparked massive international attention, the willingness of Western countries to get involved seems inadequate. While it is important for independent nations to remain free of intervention, when the nation is unable to protect its own citizens something must be done.
this is a really shocking news. it is not allowed, even if you are in war, to kidnap innocent school girls. By doing this they have proved that are using every bad means for achieving their objectives.
This kind of horrible and condemnable acts occurs with an extreme frequency in many countries, where extremist Islamic groups allege take these actions in the name of their god and their religious believes. In a modern world, even poor countries, with difficult to access to technology and information, this kind of actions no remain in private any more. The UN and the international community need to take actions in order to control these type of actions in many countries around the globe, and extreme religious positions that only result in more violence
In the other hand, what I think is also important, in terms of the right way to communicate these kind of news around the world, is that all media, TV networks, newspapers, websites, etc., need to emphasize that this groups are extremists, and do not represent all the Islamic community. In this way the population from western countries could understand better and has an appropriate approach to the Islamic culture, and do not generalize and associate the Islam only with violence.
Violence is condemnable in any form, and I think that is worst when that violence is made in the name of any religion.
Carlos Vera.