By: Chenee Tracey
Coined as hashtag activism, users of Facebook and Twitter used the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls to voice their opinions about the lack of awareness and attention that has been given to finding 300 Nigerian girls kidnapped by Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. #BringBackOurGirls has even captured the attention and support of first lady Michelle Obama when she participated in the campaign by taking solemn pictures holding a sign reading #BringBackOurGirls. While hashtag activism has indeed brought more awareness to the Nigerian girls, has it propelled the Nigerian government to improve search methods to save the kidnapped Nigerian girls and scare the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram?
On April 14, 2014 the extremist Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram raided a school in Chibok, Nigeria and seized more than 300 schoolgirls. When translated, the name Boko Haram means “Western education is sinful.” Working under this premise, members of Boko Haram believe that children shouldn’t have a western education. As a result, they constantly attack schools with the goal of killing teachers and students to halt any education of Western topics.
Kidnappings and murders performed by Boko Haram are common occurrences in Nigeria. In fact, the Nigerian government has been combating Boko Haram for years, but the military has been unable to negotiate a peaceful coexistence. Founded in 2002, Boko Haram has attempted the creation of an Islamic state and launched terrorist attacks on police stations and UN headquarters. In response, the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency to combat Boko Haram, but the military lacks proper equipment and training to restrain Boko Haram. The inability of the military to subdue Boko Haram throughout the years has led to the abduction of the Nigerian girls. The day after the abductions, the Nigerian military stated that it had rescued all the girls, but this proved to be a false claim. The following day, the military rescinded its claims, stating that it hadn’t rescued any girls. The inefficiency of the Nigerian military places the spotlight on President Goodluck Jonathan as he faces accusations of displaying incompetence and apathy amidst protests from the parents and loved ones of the victims.
Adding insult to injury, reports from Amnesty International revealed the possibility of the Nigerian government’s prior knowledge of the attack on the school in Chibok. Reports claim that Nigerian military officials knew of the attack, but could not raise enough military support to protect the school before the attack. After the abduction, there are disputing statements about military reinforcements’ response to the situation. A father of a victim stated that there were neither signs of military assistance neither immediately nor days after the kidnapping. “Nothing. Nothing. Up to 21 days, nothing has been done.”
In an effort to place pressure on President Jonathan, parents, teachers, and other locals dressed in red protested the government’s inactivity. The location of the kidnapping and the residence of the chief were hotspots for the protests as placards with “Find our Daughters” were carried throughout the town. One protesting mother stated, “We call on our government to sit up and rescue our girls.” While these local protests may not have had enough momentum to push the Nigerian government, the protests did incite international attention from foreign countries and their social media.
The world looked towards Nigeria as protestors gathered from Los Angeles to London carrying signs with #BringBackOurGirls written on the front. Chants ranging from “Bring them Back” to “African Lives Matter” were heard outside the Nigerian High Commission in London. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has petitioned Nigerian President Jonathan to increase efforts to save the 300 Nigerian girls and pledged U.S. assistance to the Nigerian government in order to find the girls. France has also contributed 3000 troops to combat Islamist terrorist groups in Nigeria’s neighbor countries.
In an effort to organize contributing countries, The Paris Summit for security in Nigeria recently joined leaders of Nigeria, neighboring African countries, and Western countries in order to share their intelligence about Boko Haram and unite their forces to eradicate the threat. France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union have been providing technical support and training programs. In addition, the United Nations has approved sanctions against Boko Haram including arms embargo and asset freezes in response to the kidnappings. While the international community is working together to enforce various security measurements to stop Boko Haram, sanctions placed on terrorist groups are usually ineffective because of the elusiveness and informality terrorist groups have as non-state actors.
On May 26, 6 weeks after the kidnapping, the Nigerian military has released a statement saying that the location of the girls is known. However, military forces are still trying to strategically release the girls without bringing them any harm. A team of negotiators struck a deal with Boko Haram to trade the girls for Islamist extremists that are currently detained by the Nigerian government. However, President Jonathan refuses to negotiate with the terrorists and the military states that it will not use force, creating a challenge about methods to rescue the Nigerian girls. However, President Jonathan is facing increasing international pressure to negotiate as more time and public pressure mounts.
The international cooperation that arose from local protestors pressuring national governments on behalf of the Nigerian government was accelerated by hashtag activism. #BringBackOurGirls quickly spread awareness and captured the attention of government officials, and they in turn placed pressure on the Nigerian government and volunteered military and technical assistance to find the girls. Acting alone, it is possible that the Nigerian military wouldn’t have been capable of locating the girls. However, the issue still remains that the girls are not safely back home.
Other cases of hashtag activism have had mixed results. In 2012 an emotional video about the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony was brought to the forefront to spread awareness of his military crimes and kidnapping children for child soldiers. The video was sponsored by the organization Invisible Children building awareness about the warlord and supporting his arrest with the goal of the video. As a result, Kony became a household name as #KONY became viral on the internet. The pressure even caused the African Union to create a U.S. supported military force to track and capture Kony.
However, interest in #KONY2012 waned as quickly as it arose. Experts pinpoint the flaws in the Kony case, highlighting the creation of the Kony hashtag by American citizens as opposed to the kidnapped Nigerian girls and the creation of #BringBackOurGirls by Nigerian citizens out of concern for their children. The critical change in point of view proved to be influential in the call to action of global citizens. In addition, Invisible Children exaggerated and oversimplified the influence of Kony in Uganda. As a result, the illusion of being able to make a difference and help capture warlord Kony was present, but no explicit ways to help were outlined to defeat Kony. While this phenomenon is relatively new, hashtag activism could be more effective if used to organize specific dates and locations for rallies, protests and petitioning congressmen to speak up while retweeting. To combat oversimplifying the issue, providing a link with history and details about crises will properly inform the public, so they can be well informed as they spread awareness.
As our world becomes more interconnected through social media and communication channels change, hashtag activism may unite social media users when global crises occur, but it is not always successful as shown in the case of #KONY2012. In the case of #BringBackOurGirls, hashtag activism was able to draw attention to government inefficiencies and corrupt officials and bring the international community together to improve the Nigerian government’s inner workings to find the abducted girls. As the influence of social media grows, hashtag activism will start to play an even more influential role in domestic and foreign policy decisions.
