Saa, the Nigerian schoolgirl who escaped Boko Haram
Saa wears heavy sunglasses and uses a different name to make it more difficult for the terrorists to identify her. Saa lives in the US where she tries to finish her education. Her parents, however, are still in Nigeria, and even though they have fled the area occupied by the terror group they are at risk of becoming victims of revenge because of their daughter’s escape and activism.
Saa is one of the 270 girls who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram (#BringBackOurGirls). She gave a detailed account of how they were forced onto trucks and how she and a friend decided to jump off the truck when the convoy stopped somewhere in the jungle in the middle of the night: “I decided to jump off the truck. I rather wanted to die and my parents to find my corpse than to be a captive of Boko Haram”. During their escape, her friend hurt a leg and couldn’t walk on her own. The two girls hid in the dark until the sun rose. Then Saa went to search for help. She was lucky: She met a shepherd who finally escorted the two girls back to their homes.
According to the Nigerian human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe, Boko Haram has killed over 10’000 people in the last years. Boko Hara is driven by the same ideology as ISIS, he said. “The jihadist groups are all globally connected. In this regard, we dare say that there is a third world war going on.”
The global response to the genocide, however, has been totally disappointing and hardly anything as been done for the girls, who managed to escape. Emmanuel Ogebe concludes: “It’s one of the most understated genocides of the world.”
Saa urges the UN to help: “Most of my friends are still in captivity. Bring back the girls and help our country that is captured by Boko Haram. So far no serious action has been taken.”
Picture: Geneva Summit | Author: Helene Aecherli | Source: helene-aecherli.ch
