The Lost Girls !

In 2014 a news story flashed across the world that terrorists had kidnapped two hundred and seventeen Nigerian schoolgirls.  It  had been a night raid by truckloads of young men owing allegiance to a religious terrorist organization known as " Boko  Haram ".  In English, that translates into " Western education is forbidden ".

The terrorists quickly infiltrated the dormitories of this girls school in Chibok and forced the girls at gunpoint into the yard where they were ordered to climb into the trays of trucks.  It was a confusing scene in the darkness and many girls escaped and ran away into the night, but when a head count was taken 278 were missing.

The Nigerian government mobilised its army and promised speedy recovery, but the terrorists had dispersed into into the Nigerian badlands where they have sympathy from the nomadic tribes and little has changed in these ensuing six years.  A few girls have been returned in exchange for " deals " that usually involve the release of Boko Haram prisoners or for ransom that involves guns and ammunition.

The attack sparked an international campaign headed by Michelle Obama under the " Bring back our girls " banner but the outcome has been meagre. Fifty-seven girls escaped early in the ordeal and were offered refuge in American schools.  The terrorists have continued their war in Nigeria where many schools have been burned to the ground and parents warned not to educate their children.  It is now quite clear that the Nigerian government has washed its hands of the affair and any further progress is unlikely.

The news filtering out from the remaining captives is grim.  The escapees report that the girls are ordered to convert to Islam and choose a husband from the terrorist ranks - and marry.  Those that refuse are forced into a life of slavery and are portioned out to serve terrorist families in harsh conditions.  They are held far from any point where rescue is possible and hope is slowly withering away.

It seems that we in the west have also forgotten the Chibok girls.   Religious intolerance and a refusal to let girls achieve the outcomes that education can deliver have split this African country on a war basis.  The United Nations was specifically created to be the neutral umpire to settle civil wars and yet it chooses to remain aloof from this problem.   The lost girls have long awaited seeing that blue and white flag coming over the horizon - to their rescue.  No such action is even on the drawing boards !