10 years after the Chibok kidnappings some 80-100 girls have not returned

[IwantToRetire]

A decade after that fateful night in April 2014, the world has largely forgotten the plight of the so-called Chibok girls.

But for the victims and their families, the tragedy is ongoing.

"Especially at night, I think about my daughter," Maina, in tears, told Reuters in an interview at his home in Chibok, a Christian enclave in the West African nation's majority Muslim north. "I will never forget her."

Abductees who have returned home have struggled to resume their interrupted lives. Some are raising children fathered by their captors. Others have waited years for funds promised by the government to continue their education.

Those who spent the longest time in captivity have often had the most difficulty reintegrating with civilian life.

Dozens freed only in the past few years are living inside a military-run rehabilitation camp with surrendered Boko Haram fighters they married in the bush, according to the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, a charity that advocates for them. With them are more than 30 children.

"I'm tired of staying in the camp," one Chibok survivor told Reuters, asking not to be identified for fear of reprisals by the military. "I want to go home and stay with my family. There is no place like home."

Three of the surviving women told Reuters that in at least five cases women who arrived at the camp unmarried have been married to surrendered fighters once there. Government officials have officiated over such weddings, in an apparent effort to appease the surrendered fighters, family members say.

Aid groups and relatives say there is no clarity surrounding when - or even if - the women in the camp will be allowed to return home.

"They were brainwashed and their psychological thinking and mindset were changed to favour their abductors," said Dauda Yama whose daughter is inside the camp.

The state official in charge of the rehabilitation project did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

From a longer article at https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20240414-a-decade-on-tragedy-of-nigeria-s-chibok-girls-continues-outside-the-spotlight

This is so heartbreaking. There is a wonderful play called Girls by Teresa Ikoko which I teach about this horror. Can't believe it's still going on. The characters in the play talk about how the world will move on and forget them.

Thank you for this post iwanttoretire

its just so awful for the girls and their families, its just unimaginable

I think almost as upsetting is that kidnapping has now become an "everyday" crime, which this article talks about.

Criminals now regularly taking people for ransom.

And not wanting to derail from remembering what happened in Chibok to these young women and those still missing, some of the Israeli hostages taken on 7th October were taken by criminal gangs who took advantage of the situation. Some were then "sold on" to Hamas but it is not none how many are held by criminal enterprise.

So sad. I think of them often.

The Times also had an article at the weekend.

What happened to the kidnapped Chibok girls? Some recovered and thrived

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/62e446f5-e555-4fcc-8a35-d732c5ba2f64?shareToken=5ed9ee61a807899db1f54ada0461427e

There was a beautiful sculpture project inspired by the missing girls. I can't find the film I had in mind, but here's a news piece.

https://www.france24.com/en/video/20221221-statues-also-breathe-chibok-girls-represented-in-lagos-exhibition

I was just reading a piece on the BBC about this, at least one of the girls said she thought the girls that were abducted wouldn't want to come back if they knew what they were coming back to and that the government had completely let them down.

The Times article has lots of interesting additional details, but did notice this diffence with the France24 story. The Times talks about the girls (young women) choosing to stay in romantic relationships with their kidnappers.

The France24 version makes it sound very much that they were pressured into these marriages by the Government.

Ah, here is the film project - only the trailer available to view, unfortunately. It's a very moving film.

https://www.prunenourry.com/en/projects/les-statues-respirent-aussi

Gosh that is horrific!

I can't believe it's been TEN YEARS. Those poor girls. I remember being horrified by it at the time.

Over 300 Christians were massacred in Nigeria over Christmas this year. The EU blamed climate change and downplayed the fact it was part of a series of attacks by Islamic fundamentalists.

https://catholicherald.co.uk/survivors-of-nigerian-christmas-eve-massacre-still-sheltering-at-catholic-church-awaiting-justice-that-likely-wont-come/

Fully weeping reading this. It's too cruel.

I can't believe it's 10 years either. I can't even begin to understand what their lives must be like. They were young when taken. Adults now.

Listening to woman's hour it was pretty appalling how the more recent escapees are treated.

I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. Those poor girls and their families.

This is so desperately sad.

There is another report which just emphasises that these women are still suffereing.

• Girls endured abduction, sexual slavery and other crimes by Boko Haram
• Escape was often followed by further violations in military detention
• Girls continue to be neglected by authorities who must provide specialist reintegration support

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/06/nigeria-girls-failed-by-authorities-after-escaping-boko-haram-captivity-new-report/