#BringBackOurGirls: US, UK protesters demand abducted girls’ release

Crowds in various cities in the United States and the United Kingdom on Sunday hit the streets to demand the release of more than 200 schoolgirls that were abducted in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State.



The crowd, composed mainly of females, also carried banners that read, “These are our sisters” and “No child born to be taken.”

About 100 demonstrators gathered outside the Nigerian High Commission in London, where they chanted “Bring them back!” as well as “Not for sale!” and “African lives matter!”

The Cable News Network reports that on Saturday, crowds from Los Angeles in the US carried posters reading #BringBackOurGirls.

In Washington, protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to denounce what they described as a poor response by the Nigerian government to rescue the girls.

In London, a protester, Leyla Chery, who is a teacher, said, “It’s very important that everyone does something. We have ways to find the girls, but we haven’t done enough and the government in Nigeria hasn’t done enough. So we should definitely try to push them. I talk to my students in class about the girls.”

Apart from street protests, social media campaign has gained momentum with celebrities, such as singer Mary J. Blige, offering their support. Education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who made a miraculous recovery after being shot in the head by the Taliban, posed in a picture with the #BringBackOurGirls poster.

On Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry called on President Goodluck Jonathan to step up efforts to find the girls, who were kidnapped on April 16

In New York’s Union Square Park on Saturday, over 250 demonstrators protested. Some came from as far away as Boston, Massachusetts to attend, voice their concern.

A third rally is scheduled for United Nations Plaza on Wednesday, where the issue of the missing students is among the topics scheduled to be discussed among UN diplomats, and strategists.