Today is the one year anniversary of the kidnapping of Chibok girls by Boko Haram. So very many are still missing, and all because they wanted to better themselves and have a precious education.
Why am I commenting about this on my CSU blog? Read on…
I recently discovered a new artist, Angelique Kidjo, after fortuitously having the last minute opportunity to see her in concert last week (sorry, Judy, this is where I was during our INF530 webinar!). Angelique has always been a passionate supporter and voice for those women in African nations who cannot speak for themselves. Her Batonga Foundation funds girls to receive an education, and she mentioned during her concert that the 80 girls that she funds through her foundation stolen by Boko Haram have not been heard of since. She holds hope that one day they will be found.
On her Facebook page, Kidjo makes the following comment:
It’s so very sad the fact that despite all our technology we have not been able to find and bring back those girls. (Angelique Kidjo, 2015.).
In our readings we are exploring connectivism, global citizenship, and other concepts where data is linked and connected, giving us access to seemingly unlimited sources of information. Yet with all of this available to us, we have yet to find a group of innocent girls taken forcibly from their homes and hidden away for a year.
Kidjo’s comment makes me wonder what “technology” she believes may bring these girls home. Is it chatter on Twitter? A random status update by someone in Nigeria on Facebook? A snap from someone’s Instagram account? Perhaps a satellite image of a campsite utilising GPS and other software to pinpoint Boko Haram’s movements through the landscape?
I have been lucky enough as a female to gain an education to Year 12 with no questions asked, gone on to university with no questions asked, and received an undergraduate degree, Graduate Diploma, one Masters degree, and beginning another Masters degree – no questions asked.
In the end, my heart goes out to those families still missing a daughter, a sister, a niece.
This is where I will end my post, my random mind blip if you will. But I’m curious to hear what the rest of you believe Kidjo might be implying with her comment, and how it relates to our learning this session.
References
Angelique Kidjo. (2015, April 15). Bring Back Our Girls
1 year on from the kidnapping of #Chibok girls Malala Yousafzai and the Malala Fund asks us to write to their parents and share our solidarity
bit.ly/1zawA1C. It’s so very sad the fact that despite all our technology we have not been able to find and bring back those girls. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/angeliquekidjo?fref=ts
Lori's E-Musings 