Today
marks three weeks since more than 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped from
their school by gunmen, thought to belong to the anti-Western group Boko Haram. After more than two weeks of inaction from
the Nigerian government, and lack of interest from the outside media, the world
finally spurred into action late last week.
Renewed
interest in the girls’ fate followed reports that they may have been sold in
sexual slavery for as little as $US12. As columnists began questioning why the
media was ignoring the story, the Nigerian government finally announced last Friday
that it had set up a rescue committee–more than two weeks after their
abduction.
That same
day, the US government confirmed
it would aid Nigeria in the search, though it did not specify what form that
aid would take. Secretary of State did, however, say that getting the girls
back was imperative because this “is not just an act of terrorism. It’s a
massive human trafficking moment and grotesque.”
If the girls
have been sold off then they have likely been separated and much harder to
locate than if the government had organised a rescue operation immediately. But
as far as we know, the Nigerian government
initially
did nothing to locate the girls, apart from lie to the media that
the girls had been found. But if the Nigerian government was hoping the
devastated parents would simply give up and disappear much like their
daughters, they were sorely mistaken. One thing is clear: this story is finally
grabbing worldwide headlines thanks, not to the international media itself nor
efforts of the Nigerian authorities, but to the families themselves who refused
to give up on their daughters.
The wider
Nigerian community took up their plight. The protests were picked up by social
media with petitions circulating #BringBackOurDaughters. It was this grassroots determination to find
the girls that finally spawned both the media and the Nigerian and other
governments into action. So why was government and media so slow off the mark?
It is rather
ironic, given the western world’s love for Malala Yousefzai, the Pakistani girl
shot by the Taliban for attending school. These girls are 274 more Malalas,
risking their lives just by turning up to school. Did the Nigerian government
simply not expect anyone to kick up a fuss over a few hundred missing
schoolgirls? Sadly, it is difficult not to see the initial lack of interest in
the fate of these girls as a case of sexism on the part of the Nigerian
government, and implicit racism on the part of the rest of us
“When a
pretty blonde girl goes missing, news outlets send helicopters and reporters to
the scene, but when hundreds of black girls are kidnapped in a faraway country,
it barely makes the news.
”
Perhaps this
is simply indicative of the western world’s preference for symbolism over
action. As long as we profess our love for Malala, we don’t actually have to do
anything to help girls like her. Or perhaps we, without even realising it, paid
so little attention because we have become desensitised to such trauma in the
developing world. I am reminded of the words of blogger
Lia Incognito, “White people experience trauma, sins and tragedies,
while everyone else’s suffering is (considered to be) part of their natural
condition.”
When this
story first broke, it appeared for all the world that we were willing to simply
accept it as another chapter in what we see as the ongoing trauma of Africa.
For a brief moment in time, we would be shocked and saddened by the loss of
innocent children even as no one -not even their own government- thought to
make any real attempt to retrieve them. And then we would all simply move on
until the next tragedy briefly captured our attention.
But the
families of the girls disrupted the
narrative. They refused to accept this trauma as part of their
“natural” condition. It is their determination not to give up on their
daughters that has finally made the rest of the world stand up and take notice.
We can only
hope now that it isn’t too late. [Abridged]
http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/why-arent-we-more-outraged-by-the-missing-nigerian-schoolgirls-20140502-37mqb.html
As westerners we should be able to provide significant assistance to developing societies, but this is simply not happening. The nature of aid is a separate topic, but it is instructive to note a couple of points. One is that a large part of the western populations, while having two income earners per household, are still struggling to pay all the bills on time. Where has the wealth gone that was promised by the increasing efficiency of modern technology? Why are we not working 20 hour weeks, etc, and better able, perhaps via taxation, to contribute to the advancement of others.
ReplyDeleteWhich leads to the second point - money that is available is directed towards consumer products and expensive personal services, perhaps to help relieve the stress of long working weeks, but largely in response to media-induced desires. Once again, where does all this wealth end up? Hedge funds, perhaps? Can we blame multi-nationals when they are responding to shareholder demands for profit?
People no doubt feel insecure about their retirement and so will save for themselves, but it has been noted that, under capitalism, wealth accumulates across generations, so perhaps there is an argument for the imposition of death duties, like those that destroyed the stranglehold of the British aristocracy.
Quelle horreur! Sorry to get off the topic. I see the underlying issue as one of disparity, which system requires certain levels of violent oppression to maintain, from which stems the range of violent behaviours we witness, as in the case above, and which we ascribe to religion, race, class, nationalism, to anything not linked to our own involvement. MS