Boko Haram

Boko Haram

I haven’t written a blog in some time.  Sometimes life gets in the way, but often I find that I need to be passionate about an issue before I can write about it.  I have never been more passionate than I am now.

The militant group, Boko Haram, is responsible for kidnapping hundreds of Nigerian girls, because they dared to go to school.  Boko Haram is against Western education as it feels it is corrupting.  The following link is for an excellent article on the history of the organization: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13809501). 

Boko Haram now claims that it has converted these young women to Islam.  Originally, they planned to sell the girls, but stated in a recent video that they would be willing to trade them for captured members of their group who are being held in prison.  I doubt seriously that they would release all of them if anyone agreed to a prisoner exchange.  This is all about power and they see themselves as having the upper hand.

There has been a great deal of discussion regarding why there has been a rise of these militant extremist groups.  There are a multitude of reasons such as poverty and disenfranchisement.  These issues need to be addressed, but our first priority must be the return of these girls to their families.

The U.S. and a number of countries are actively involved, but the rest of the world should rise up, as well.  Members of the Muslim community have come forward and stated that Boko Haram does not represent their faith.  If they are truly appalled at the actions of these men, then they need to do something about it.

Jon Stewart’s take on this atrocity was excellent (http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fck-you-rush-stewart-tears-into-limbaugh-boko-haram/).  He said that the girls are the real “bad asses” as they went to school every day, knowing that this could happen.  He went on to call Boko Haram a “bunch of little girls.”  His conclusion said it all, “But, you know what? You don’t deserve that compliment.”  I agree.  These men want to keep women ignorant, because they are afraid of them. #BringBackOurGirls