Chibok Girls/Boko Haram
More on Chibok Girls/Boko Haram
The French author, historian and philosopher Voltaire once wrote that “faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.” It is a sentiment I am certain several of my congressional colleagues have felt when week after week, I doggedly sought their support in the effort to secure the safe return of hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls who on April 14, 2014, were abducted from their boarding school by the terrorist group Boko Haram.
Long after the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag advocacy blitz was relegated to the back burner by most of Washington, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) has been tweeting about the plight of the Chibok schoolgirls every single day.
Wilson has also held town hall meetings and participated in press conferences and hearings on the threat still posed by Boko Haram since the terror group abducted 276 girls in an attack on a secondary school in April 2014.
A few dozen of the girls escaped; a few have reportedly died as hostages. Some were married off to terrorists and became pregnant.
Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson issued the following statement today in response to the release of 21 Chibok girls after being held in captivity for 912 days by the terrorist group Boko Haram.
“I was elated to learn today that Boko Haram has released 21 of the Chibok girls who have been living in captivity for more than 900 days. According to news reports, the International Red Cross and the government of Switzerland helped to negotiate their release. In addition, it is believed that no Boko Haram terrorists were exchanged as part of the deal, which also is good news.
Today we mark yet another sad milestone in the saga of the nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014. It is the 900th day that 218 of the girls have been held in captivity by what is now known as the world’s deadliest terrorist group, a title Boko Haram earned for abducting, burning, raping, and butchering tens of thousands of innocent people.