Jacqueline Johnson

During the night of April 14, 2014, 276 girls were abducted

from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok,

Borno State, Nigeria, by local terrorists known

Jama atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda a Waati Wal Jihad;

better known as Boko Haram (which roughly

translates as “Western education is forbidden”).

Parents searched deep into the forest for the girls.

It is presumed the girls have been forced to convert

and were married off in neighboring Cameroon and

Chad; and/or forced to join the terrorists. To date (2015)

57 girls have escaped. In 2018, many of the original

girls were released after extensive government efforts.

On both sides of the Atlantic mothers and fathers

are crying for their children. From Ferguson to

Chibok, mothers are crying for their children

murdered and stolen away. The Nigerian writer

Uzodinma Iweala, says “Kidnapping causes a long

-term rupture in the psyche of those kidnapped and

those who wait for their return. It doesn’t end.”

The red in this quilt is symbolic of the spirit of hope and

resistance – that resides both within the girls, the

culture, and is all around us. It is the color of

the women’s protest movement #bringbackourgirls, in

Nigeria and the international community. I want to

honor the memory of those girls lost and missing

from Chibok and surrounding areas.

Power to the generations!