On Nigeria and Human Rights

I am traveling on a train from North Carolina to New York feeling utterly frustrated and heart broken. I hope my crappy internet connection allows me to post this. The news that the powers that be in Nigeria have decided to close the book on the case of the 200 plus girls that have been kidnapped by militants from Chibok village, without any resolution has left me with a boiling anger. This week I passed some posters that reminded me of the crisis, but this is an issue about more than just these girls' lives. It is an issue about what our lack of action speaks of and what it is allowing this world to become. When we keep silent about acts such as this it is a silent sanction to those who are committing them. It is a sign that people can commit any atrocious act and getaway with it because we are either too afraid or too obtuse to want to take action. Whatever the reason the result is the decline of the standard of living an quality of life of every human being in this world.

I would like to think that we can live in a better world than the one we currently live in. That we as a race can rise above the banal and become better every day. This starts with how we treat ourselves and stems onward in how we treat others or allow others to be treated. Silence in the face of abominable behavior is the worst kind of thing we can do. This is my plea to anyone reading this post, It does not matter where you are, what age you are, what religious belief you hold, what gender you are, etcetera. You must use your voice to silence violence and hatred in this world. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into an abyss of immorality and violence. Contact your president, congress person, local politician, local human rights group and call them to action and put yourself in action against anything that sets humanity backwards. We must not allow this type of attitude and treatment of other human beings to persevere. We are better than this. My only hope is that I can make a difference so that my daughter grows up in a world where she does not have to grow up afraid of being a girl, where her rights are respected and where she will not fall victim to acts like these.

I think that the Bring Back Our Girls Campaign has been the most effective to date in bringing attention to the kidnappings. If you would like to take action follow this link for their US website.