The Nation’s Capital Rallies For Kidnapped Nigerian Girls

on May 7, 2014

Staff and supporters of the Institute on Religion and Democracy joined over 200 demonstrators at the Nigerian Embassy with the united slogan “Bring back our girls, now!

Many of the demonstrators wore shirts with the slogan “#Bring Back our Girls” and “276 Stolen Dreams,” to show support for the schoolgirls abducted from their boarding school in Nigeria on April 14.

The demonstrators included men, women and children. Many of the demonstrators were Nigerian nationals living in the United States.

The demonstrators called on the Nigerian government to do whatever it takes to bring back the girls.

Several Christian organizations joined with the IRD at the Embassy, including Jubilee Campaign USA, whose director, Ann Buwalda, gave an impassioned speech at the gathering.

On Capitol Hill, U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) led all twenty women members of the Senate in sending a bipartisan letter to President Obama calling for additional international sanctions against Boko Haram. Leaders of this organization have threatened to sell the girls as slaves. The Senators expressed concern that some may have already been sold into child marriages.

“We are outraged and horrified that these young women have been kidnapped, sold into slavery, had their education curtailed, and may even been forced into marriages, “Senators Mikulski and Collins said. “Education is a basic right for boys and girls who deserve an equal opportunity to pursue their education without fear of violence or retribution-no matter where they live. The Senate women stand united in condemning this reprehensible crime and are firm in our resolve that it will not be tolerated. We will not stand by and allow the Nigerian people to continue to be terrorized by Boko Haram and will continue to lead the effort to impose tough economic sanctions against this group.”

“We condemn these appalling actions in the strongest possible terms, and we agree with you that the abduction of these girls is an outrage. The girls were targeted by Boko Haram simply because they wanted to go to school and pursue knowledge, and we believe the U.S. must respond quickly and definitively,“ the Senators wrote. “In the face of the brazen nature of this horrific attack, the international community must impose further sanctions on this terrorist organization. We urge you to press for the addition of Boko Haram and Ansaru to the United Nations Security Council’s al-Qa’ida Sanctions List, the mechanism by which international sanctions are imposed on al-Qa’ida and al-Qa’ida-linked organizations. Their addition to the list would compel a greater number of countries to sanction Boko Haram, joining several countries, such as the United States, which have already done so.”

No comments yet

The work of IRD is made possible by your generous contributions.

Receive expert analysis in your inbox.