Wednesday, 23 July 2014

Brown: Kidnapped Nigerian girls not forgotten

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We have no comprehension of what is going through the minds of 200 Nigerian girls abducted from their school on April 14. We cannot know their darkest fears or the pain and anguish they have had to
endure from the Boko Haram terrorists who took them. We cannot imagine for a second what their families are feeling.
But there is one thing we do understand: A rage is gathering worldwide at extremist groups that deny young girls their right to education. And we must take action.
Wednesday, July 23, marks a tragic milestone. It is the girls' 100th day in captivity. For an adolescent with plans, dreams and ambitions, 100 days must seem an eternity.
But they are not alone. The world has not forgotten these girls. Not in 100 days. Not for one day.
On Wednesday, vigils will be staged in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the United States. Candlelit demonstrations will be held in African countries from Togo and Tunisia to Tanzania, organized by the Global March Against Child Labour, which fears the girls might be trafficked into slavery.
Schoolgirls will take to the streets in Pakistan, led by Baela Raza Jamil of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi, or ITA, the girls' rights group campaigning for what the Chibok girls have lost -- their right to an education.
In India, vigils will be led by Kailash Sakharti and the Bachpan Bachao Andolan group, which rescues children from bonded labor every day, and has common cause with girls who have been taken from their homes.
With 145 sister organizations around the world, Girls Not Brides has called on their groups in 45 countries to protest, reminding them that many of the Chibok girls could meet the same fate as their members, married off against their will. Chibok is a region of Nigeria's Borno state, where the girls lived.
Walk Free, the anti-slavery organization led by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest, who has exposed the extent of child slavery in the modern world, is throwing its weight behind the campaign. And across the globe, A World at School's 500 Global Youth Ambassadors led by the U.N. Youth envoy will be marking the events, handing in petitions to embassies and consulates in the world's biggest capitals.
An online petition by A World at School calls for the safe return of the girls and all messages of support will be passed to families of the girls and Chibok community leaders. The petition supporting the president of Nigeria in all his military and diplomatic efforts to bring back the girls will also be sent to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Source CNN

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