(10 May 2014) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus010240
Fifty people marched and rallied in Manhattan Saturday to put pressure on Nigerian and world leaders to pressure a terrorist group into releasing hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria.
Mayor Bill deBlasio made an unannounced appearance at the rally with his wife Chirlane and daughter Chiara in front of The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York and spoke to protestors.
Said deBlasio:
"Chirlane, Chiara and I are here because for us this is personal. We have to take it personally. We have to feel as if it was our own daughter. We have to put pressure on those who would do something as dastardly as horrible as abducting young girls who have no reason to be in the middle of this conflict, it's so unfair. It's one thing to fight a political fight but don't go after these young innocents and put them in harm's way and voices of conscience all over the world are standing up."
All told, police say, terrorist group Boko Haram abducted more than 300 girls from their secondary school in Nigeria's remote northeast on April 15, and 276 remain in captivity.
The waiting has left parents in agony, especially since they fear some of their daughters have been forced into marriage with their abductors for a nominal bride price of $12. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau called the girls slaves in a video this week and vowed to sell them.
Only this week did Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan accept help finding the girls from the United States, Britain, France and China.
The delay underlines what has been a major problem in the attempt to find the girls: an apparent lack of urgency on the part of the government and military, for reasons that include a reluctance to bring in outsiders as well as possible infiltration by the extremists.
"As a mother my heart bleeds so much for these girls," said Roseline Adeniyi, a Nigerian living in New York. "We want them back as soon as possible. Nigeria wake up, wake up, our president wake up, bring our children back, that is why we are all here."
Though details of the abductions have been public since they were carried out, the case was not widely followed until #BringBackOurGirls and other hashtags on social media like Twitter attracted a torrent of attention.
Protestor Delois Blakely said the world should watch closely if the girls are rescued, as she sees the kidnappings as a response by powerful men to women trying to take on more leadership roles worldwide.
"This is all over the world as women are rising and asking for more in leadership they are being stopped," said Blakely. "As mothers, and sisters, and daughters of Africa, and around the world this is not generic just to Nigeria."
The protestors have adopted the melody from the famous 1960s anti-Vietnam war song by John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance. At Saturday's protest they replaced the title lyrics with 'Bring Back Our Girls'
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