9 May 2014 - BRING BACK OUR GIRLS

BRING BACK OUR GIRLS

G'day folks,

I might live in a rural setting in a fairly peaceful country, but it does not prevent me from expressing my views and anguish at what has happened to some innocent young girls who have been abducted in Nigeria - a country thousands of miles away from my village. It also does not stop me from becoming involved; doing something to resolve this issue. 

If you have not heard of this incident, you obviously have not been paying attention.

FACTS:

On April 15th, 230 School girls were kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School by Boko Haram Terrorists in Nigeria. All 230 are still missing. The abduction has led to campaigns calling for their rescue, on social media and offline all around the world. 

ACTIONS IN NIGERIA:

After Nigerian protestors marched on parliament in the capital Abuja calling for action on April 30, people in cities around the world have followed suit and organised their own marches. 

A social media campaign under the hashtag #Bringbackourgirls started trending in Nigeria two weeks ago and has now been tweeted more than one million times. It was first used on April 23 at the opening ceremony for a UNESCO event honouring the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt as the 2014 World Book Capital City. A Nigerian lawyer in Abuja, Ibrahim M. Abdullahi, tweeted the call in a speech by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Vice President of the World Bank for Africa to "Bring Back the Girls!"

  

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED:

The girls were relaxing in their dorms at the Government Girls Secondary School in the northern Nigerian town of Chibok when gunmen arrived in trucks, cars and on motorcycles.

There were dozens of them — suspected jihadis with the Boko Haram Islamic group — and they were heavily armed. After shooting the guards, and setting fire to houses, the terrorists kidnapped nearly 300 of the girls and drove off into the woods.

That was on April 15. The girls haven't been heard from since. 

MEDIA REACTION:

  And the media, for the most part, has remained largely silent. Coverage of the missing girls has been dwarfed by the other major stories of late — the South Korean ferry, the racist NBA owner and the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

Video: 
INTERVIEW WITH THE COORDINATOR: (Courtesy of ABC Australia)

 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-07/bring-back-our-girls-coordinator-calls-for/5437618

Clancy's comment: What have I done? Well, I've written to the Australian Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and to the Attorney General and asked two simple questions: What are you doing about this disgraceful situation? What would you do if your daughter had been abducted? I have not received any replies yet, and I'm not holding my breath.

However, as I said above, although I live in Australia, I want to do whatever I can to have these girls brought home safe and well. It's only right. Don't forget. Bad things only happen because good people allow them to happen. 

So, get cracking, folks. Do something - anything. It could have been your daughter or grandchild. 

I may never get the chance to meet any of the girls who have been abducted, but they surely deserve better. All kids do! And, they deserve my support and actions to make sure that happens.

I'm ...

Think about this!