The World is Turning Away/The World has Grown Weary

Gbemisola Adesanya, M.A. Candidate, Brooklyn College, CUNY

In April 2014, when the Chibok girls were kidnapped, for a split moment, the world united to speak up for these budding young girls. From all over the world, voices rose up in condemnation and the fight for justice. Nigeria was awake, it seemed, and our veins throbbed with molten fire as we cried with the families and loved ones of the kidnapped girls. Aggrieved, we made promises, we would not rest until the girls were returned to us, we would not give up until they were freed from their captors, and we would not relent until their families are restored.

Two years after, what has come of our promises? What has happened to the passion that once engulfed our beings at the mention of the Chibok girls? We have grown passive, tired of carrying our banners. We have begun to feel the scorching heat of the sun that we once did not feel. A lump of lethargy has replaced the molten fire in our veins.

Our hearts are no longer heavy with thoughts of girls that could very well be our sisters, cousins, nieces, and daughters. “We did not know it would take this long to find them.” “I’m sure they are dead by now.” “They have been gone for a long time, surely they cannot be the same anymore.” “I’m sure they have an extreme case of Stockholm Syndrome by now.” “Those girls are long gone and too much water has passed under the bridge.”

Close your eyes, think of your daughter, sister, or any female you hold dear to your heart and imagine they had been taken instead. God forbid? I am sure the families of those girls could not have imagined their situations prior to the kidnap.

Let us reignite that passion we once felt for the Chibok girls. Let us help in any way that we can, let us speak us for the Chibok girls because we are wrong to think that it cannot get any worse.