Beyond Chibok Girls: Where is the global hashtag for Nigeria’s starving children?
Remember when people thought that hashtag activism of #BringBackOurGirls was useless? Well, this week brought proof that sustained social media pressure can work.
On Thursday, the Nigerian government announced that 21 of the nearly 300 girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 had been released as a result of negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram; the Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross played an active role as neutral mediators in the talks.
Former World Bank VP-turned-activist Oby Ezekwesili, who is credited with starting #BringBackOurGirls in Nigeria, said in an email, “I have been crying most of today, because it is a day of all kinds of multiple and contradictory emotions of joy, hope sadness and pain for me, personally”.… Seguir leyendo »