For How Long Must the Chibok Girls Be Missing?
500 Days … and counting!
For Immediate Release
August 21st, 2015
Contact:
Dr. Mojúbàolú
Olufúnké Okome Shahara C. Jackson
(347) 249-6502 347-765-0509
New York, NY – Sadly, August 27,
2015 will be 500 Days since April 14, 2014, when armed militants from the
radical group Boko Haram stormed the school dormitories of the Government
Secondary School in Chibok, Nigeria. On the night of the abduction, militants
showed up at the boarding school dressed in Nigerian military uniforms. The
militants abducted 276 young girls, stole supplies and burned the school to the
ground. Many schools were closed due to concerns about the lack of security and
safety voiced by families and school officials. However, local education
officials decided to briefly reopen the Chibok school for exams. Without the
promise of safety and security, many students, especially girls, may avoid
attending school, which exacerbates the educational and economic inequality and
forms what Nigerian youth education advocate Ojonwa Miachi calls a “foundation
for more conflict and violence.”
To date, 57 girls were able to escape from Boko Haram
captivity but 219+ girls remain in captivity and have reportedly been used as
sex slaves, suicide bombers and sold/forced into marriages with Boko Haram
members. The world remains silent, but we cannot! We must continue to raise the awareness that
it is #500Days since this horrific crime. We must be in solidarity with our BBOG
families, community leaders and concerned citizens worldwide!
We will gather in NYC for prayer and a peaceful
demonstration on Thursday, August 27, 2015 at 12:00pm in the Tillman Chapel at
the Church Center for the United Nations (777 United Nations Plaza – corner of
44th and 1st Avenue) for interfaith
prayer service. Directly following the service, at 1pm, there will be a silent
vigil to the Nigerian Consulate and Permanent Mission to the UN (828 2nd Avenue
at 44th street).
Remarks to be
made by founding members of #BBOGNYC – Professor Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome,
Bobby Digi, Evon Idahosa, Esq. and Shahara C. Jackson; as well as Imam Al-Hajj
Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, Rev. Dionne P. Boissiere, Hon. Ruth Messinger – American
Jewish World Service, Aisha Oyebode from BBOG Lagos Pat Sellers, and Marcia
Fingal.
Please join us. We
are asking everyone to wear RED as a symbol of the bloodshed of children
throughout northern Nigeria.
#NeverToBeForgotten
#BringBackOurGirls
###
TODAY IS DAY 2 OF THIS GLOBAL WEEK OF ACTION.
Please Join #BringBackOurGirls Global Week of Action for our Chibok Girls. Disseminate widely.
No comments:
Post a Comment