Day 5: #BringBackOurGirls #500DaysOn #GWA for #219ChibokGirls
TODAY is Day 5 of #BringBackOurGirls Global Week of Action (#GWA) for our #219ChibokGirls who on April 14, 2014, were abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria, by Boko Haram. We are determined to keep demanding that they are rescued and reunited with their families.
#BringBackOurGirls #365DaysOn Interfaith Service at Tillman Chapel, UN Church Center
It is heartrending that in just two days we will get to the 500 day mark of our #219 Chibok Girls' captivity. There are also many other Nigerian women and girls, boys and men similarly abducted and subjected to trauma by Boko Haram. We insist that efforts must be redoubled to rescue them and reunite them with their families. We cannot afford to sit on the fence. We cannot succumb to helplessness.
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 NYC Council Member Laurie
Cumbo, District 35 Council Member & Chair, Committee on Women’s Affairs; Imam
Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, Imam, The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood Inc.; Rev.
Dionne P. Boissiere, Chaplain of the Church Center for the United Nations;
Cantor Lisa Seigel, Temple Beth Sholom, Hon. Ruth Messinger, American Jewish
World Service, Aisha Oyebode, CEO, Murtala Muhammed Foundation & 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
After one year of their abduction #BringBackOurGirls worldwide raised our voices to demand their rescue and release.
It is heartrending that in just two days we will get to the 500 day mark of our #219 Chibok Girls' captivity. There are also many other Nigerian women and girls, boys and men similarly abducted and subjected to trauma by Boko Haram. We insist that efforts must be redoubled to rescue them and reunite them with their families. We cannot afford to sit on the fence. We cannot succumb to helplessness.
Do join #BringBackOurGirls in our advocacy that efforts are redoubled to rescue and reunite our #ChibokGirls with their families.
You are also invited to our Interfaith Service for our #219ChibokGirls on Day 500--Thursday, August 27, at the Tillman Chapel, UN Church Center (44th Street & 1st Avenue, NYC, followed by a silent procession to Nigeria House (44th Street & 2nd Avenue).
Help spread the word. If you're not in the NYC area, do encourage your friends who live/work here to join us.
Thank you.
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