One year ago today Boko Haram Islamists abducted 276 teenage girls, late at night, from their school dormitories in northeastern Nigeria.
Many of the girls were quickly sold, married off and moved abroad.
Michelle Obama’s brave Twitter hashtag campaign could not bring the girls back home.
#BringBackOurGirls
Michelle Obama tweeted out this sad-faced picture in support for the girls after the kidnapping. Mrs. Obama also delivered the weekly address on the kidnapped girls.
But her courageous words did not persuade the Islamists to release the abducted girls.
219 girls remain missing.
Today Nigerians held a silent protest on the anniversary of the kidnapping.
USA Today reported:
Today marks the anniversary of the kidnapping.
Events are taking place around the world to mark one year since Boko Haram militants abducted nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria, sparking global outrage.
The girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, in the northeast of the country, leading millions around the world to call for their return as the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag exploded on social media.
A number of girls later escaped the militants, who often force those abducted to convert to Islam and fight or work as sex slaves, but 219 remain missing.
A march and vigil will be held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Tuesday, with 219 girls taking part to represent each of the missing.
Campaigners said the Empire State Building in New York City will be lit up in purple and red over the nighttime hours the girls were snatched, the Associated Press reported. Activists are now using the slogan “Never to be Forgotten.”