Militant Group Boko Haram Releases Video of Nigerian Girls
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- May 14, 2014
Is the #BringBackOurGirls campaign doing more harm than good?
Although the hashtag campaign has been doing a good job of raising awareness surrounding the 200+ Nigerian girls who were kidnapped from a school almost a month ago, the press that it is generating seems to be fueling the militant group responsible for the kidnappings even more.
Yesterday, Boko Haram (which is loosely translated as ‘Western education is forbidden” or “Western education is sinful”), released a 17-minute video showing less than half of the 264 Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped back in April. In the video, around 100 girls who were taken from a boarding school in the north-east of the country looked stunned and scared, praying and wearing traditional Islamic veils. It is believed that they have been forced to convert to Islam. Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau has also threatened to sell the remaining girls “at the market” if the government doesn’t comply with his requests, and he claims that as part of the girl’s “liberation,” they’ve all been converted to the Islamic faith.
The video was sent to the Nigerian government for negotiations, and the group claimed that they’ll release the girls in exchange for the release of all Boko Haram prisoners, however, the government rejected the offer.
Meanwhile, the U.S., Israel, France, Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and many other countries are joining forces to help locate the girls by using intelligence agencies and satellite technology.
Many are beginning to criticize the “#BringBackOurGirls” movement going viral, saying it may be hurting more than helping the victims. It is believed that all of the publicity is showing Boko Haram that kidnapping children can be profitable. Because it’s a global phenomenon and so many countries are involved, they now have more fame for their cause, but without spreading awareness, no one would have even known that these girls had even disappeared in a horrifying mass abduction to begin with.
What a sad situation.
Watch the video below:
