The story of the Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram has been painful, not just because of what has happened or may yet happen to them, but because there has been so little interest in them, and so little effort made to get them back. A couple of days after the kidnapping, I heard someone on NPR say that his first thought was that it was done by terrorists against girls getting schooling, but that it was unusual that no one had made any demands or claimed responsibility.
The Nigerian government has either shown no interest in the girls' return or shown how powerless it is in the remoter regions of the country or both. It didn't help that they falsely claimed to have rescued the girls, or most of them, a few days into the crisis, while the truth was that 43 girls had escaped on their own, but that officials were making no real effort to find and rescue them.
In this country, the media had hardly covered the story until the recent emergence of Boko Haram claiming to have the girls and threatening to sell them. To me it seems that the human story was of little concern until Muslim terrorists was part of it.
Feministing has published a list of the girls' names, and I think this makes them real in a way they were not real before. Some concern has been expressed that publishing their names might have negative effects, and so Feministing has changed their original list to include only first names.
But though the stark numbers are powerful, it’s important to remember that each of these girls is an individual, with a family, friends, dreams — and a name. Here, via the Christian Association of Nigeria, are the names of 180 of those still missing:
1. Deborah
2. Awa
3. Hauwa
4. Asabe
5. Mwa
6. Patiant
7. Saraya
8. Mary
9. Gloria
10. Hanatu
11. Gloria
12. Tabitha
13. Maifa
14. Ruth
15. Esther
16. Awa
17. Anthonia
18. Kume
19. Aisha
20. Nguba
21. Kwanta
22. Kummai
23. Esther
24. Hana
25. Rifkatu
26 Rebecca
27. Blessing
28. Ladi
29. Tabitha
30 Ruth
31. Safiya
32. Na’omi
33. Solomi
34. Rhoda
35. Rebecca
36. Christy
37. Rebecca
38. Laraba
39 Saratu
40. Mary
41 Debora
42. Naomi
43 Hanatu
44. Hauwa
45. Juliana
46. Suzana
47.Saraya
48. Jummai
49. Mary
50. Jummai
51. Yanke
52. Muli
53. Fatima
54. Eli
55.Saratu
56. Deborah
57. Rahila
58. Luggwa
59. Kauna
60. Lydia
61. Laraba
62. Hauwa
63. Confort
64. Hauwa
65. Hauwa
66. Yana
67. Laraba
68. Saraya
69. Glory
70. Na’omi
71. Godiya
72. Awa
73. Na’omi
74. Maryamu
75. Tabitha
76. Mary
77. Ladi
78. Rejoice
79. Luggwa
80. Comfort
81. Saraya
82. Sicker
83.Talata
84. Rejoice
85. Deborah
86. Salomi
87. Mary
88. Ruth
89. Esther
90. Esther
91. Maryamu
91. Zara
93. Maryamu
94. Lydia
95. Laraba
96. Na’omi
97. Rahila
98. Ruth
99. Ladi
100 Mary
101. Esther
102. Helen
103. Margret
104. Deborah
105. Filo
106. Febi
107. Ruth
108. Racheal
109. Rifkatu
110. Mairama
111. Saratu
112. Jinkai
113. Margret
114. Yana
115. Grace
116. Amina
117. Palmata
118. Awagana
119. Pindar
120. Yana
121. Saraya
122. Hauwa
123. Hauwa
125. Hauwa
126. Maryamu
127. Maimuna
128. Rebeca
129. Liyatu
130. Rifkatu
131. Naomi
132. Deborah
133. Ladi
134. Asabe
135. Maryamu
136. Ruth
137. Mary
138. Abigail
139. Deborah
140. Saraya
141. Kauna
142. Christiana
143. Yana
144. Hauwa
145. Hadiza
146. Lydia
147. Ruth
148. Mary
149. Lugwa
150. Muwa
151. Hanatu
152. Monica
153. Margret
154. Docas
155. Rhoda
156. Rifkatu
157. Saratu
158. Naomi
159. Hauwa
160. Rahap
162. Deborah
163. Hauwa
164. Hauwa
165. Serah
166. Aishatu
167. Aishatu
168. Hauwa
169. Hamsatu
170. Mairama
171. Hauwa
172. Ihyi
173. Hasana
174. Rakiya
175. Halima
176. Aisha
177. Kabu
178. Yayi
179. Falta
180. Kwadugu
I know girls and women with many of these names, as I'm sure you do too. So now when I think of them, they will be individuals as well as the victims of a terrible crime.
Names are powerful. Think of the power of 9/11 memorials where the names of the dead are read out loud. During the Vietnam War, one of most powerful demonstrations I ever was part of was reading out the names of the soldiers killed. And think of the power of the song Birmingham Sunday.
Let's keep them in our thoughts and keep fighting for their lives.