Finally the west has stepped in to save the kidnapped girls.
Finally the west has stepped in to save the kidnapped girls.
Finally, the world has woken up and realised that urgent action is required to rescue the 276 kidnapped Nigerian girls.
It is quite disgraceful that it has taken so long for something to be done to save the girls who were taken by the thuggish Boko Haram group on April15.
It shows the indifferent and almost narcissistic nature of the Western world that an event like this could fly under the radar for nearly a month with barely a ripple of concern.
One can only imagine the outcry if 276 British, or (Heaven forbid) New Zealand children, were abducted like that. Within hours the media would have been full of images of them and governments would have been mobilising to rescue them. The unfortunate thing is that it is human nature to show more of an interest in someone who you can relate to and who you can identify with. Young girls far away in Africa probably don't quite fit the bill for many.
I am not suggesting that people in Western countries are not warm-hearted or caring, but rather that it takes something closer to home for people to realise how bad it is. Take the Madeleine McCann story for example. I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of children who go missing all the time and maybe there are some who simply disappear without a trace. So, why has this case remained in the full glare of public attention for so long? Could it have something to do with the fact that her parents are wealthy British doctors?
Moving on from the fickle nature of the West, at least something is now being done to find the Nigerian girls. British, French and American security forces have arrived in Nigeria to assist in the rescue of the girls.
Let's hope they find them quickly. Because just like it would be anywhere else in the world, there will be mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers and sisters desperate to see them again.
