Staff Writer
Nearly
a month after the ferocious abductions of Nigerian girls, an alarming 276 are
now missing. The girls were abducted by a ruthless Islamic extremist group
called Boko Haram at their boarding school, the Chibok Government Girls
Secondary School. According to an intermediary in touch with the girls’
captors, at least two girls have died of snakebite and twenty are currently ill
as a result of the kidnapping.
One
16-year-old of the nearly 50 who escaped on the day of the attack finally spoke
up in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. She recalled that the
girls were being taken away when one of the trucks broke down; as a result, she
and a few other students jumped out without hesitation. Some girls argued about
whether or not they should flee, and in response one student said, “Me, I am
coming down. They can shoot me if they want but I don’t know what they are
going to do with me otherwise.” After the girls jumped out of the gunmen’s
trucks, the 16-year-old said that she “ran and ran, so fast. That is how I
saved myself. I had no time to be scared, I was just running.” A few other
girls clung to branches or hid in bushes until the extremists’ vehicles passed
by.
The
Nigerian military says it is diligently searching for the girls with extensive
aerial surveillance. Information Minister Labaran Maku said on the matter,
“Every information related to security agencies has so far been investigated,
including the search of all places suspected as a possible hide-away for the
kidnapped girls.” Meanwhile, parents are frantic and angry. A mother of one
15-year-old girl that was kidnapped complained, saying “I am so very sad
because the government of Nigeria did not take care of our children and does
not now care about our children.” In response to all the outrage, President
Goodluck Jonathan is organizing a dedicated rescue committee with the full
confidence that they will bring back the girls. An Islamic scholar who has
mediated the release of previous hostages says that negotiation is the only way
to get the girls back. According to the anonymous scholar, Boko Haram is
willing to release the girls in exchange for ransom, although they did not say
how much. The motive for the kidnappings is still unknown. The escaped 16-year-old
said, “I am really lucky and I can thank God for that. But God must help all of
them…their parents are worrying. Every day, everyone is crying.”
