Reposted by Chitra
My latest for @thecontinent.org: on @chitra.bsky.social's The World Was In Our Hands: Voices from the Boko Haram Conflict, from @cassavarepublic.bsky.social
![People Committed to the Propagation
of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad.
The media named it Boko Haram
in reference to one of its slogans,'
Nagarajan writes.
The group became increasingly
violent and more insular under the
new leadership of Abubakar Shekau,
indulging in a spree of violence that
led to retaliation and reprisals from
the government. The victims were
frequently innocent people who
refused to reveal what they knew about
the group's members. This was a factor
in extending Boko Haram's influence,
ultimately leading to what has effectively
been a civil war.
The victims were frequently
innocent people who refused
to reveal what they knew about
the group's members
As one of the affected people testifies:
"If you identified them, they would kill
you. Ifyou didn't identify them, soldiers
would kill you. What were we supposed
to do?"
People have suffered bereavement
and families have been separated
Livelihoods have been ruined and
people turned into beggars. Many
people have been displaced - and then
scorned for being refugees. Children
have missed out on years of school
People have been displaced to camps,
where they face food insecurity - yet
are still relieved to be removed from the
fighting.
Young women who were taken - some
willingly, others against their will-speak
of being Boko Haram "wives"
"[I]t felt good to have this power after
a lifetime of being told you had none
because you were a girl. We wives could
do anything we wanted, whatever it was."
There are many stories from people
who escaped Sambisa Forest where
Boko Haram had its base. A mother tells
of her grief at her son being willingly
recruited; she talks about fleeing with
her younger sons to protect them from
the influence of the older boys, now
insurgents. One woman talks about the
many men she saved by hiding them in
her home. Another tells how a woman
protected her daughter from being
kidnapped byburying her underground.
We also hear from the daughter herself
about that experience
There a…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:r24znqrzpv227wrabmtqrujs/bafkreihrjqrvy5sv3v2fud4jeuqj3wns3pldsdm6wms3els34j3233dvee)
Chitra
@chitra.bsky.social
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researcher, peacebuilder & writer civilian protection, climate, economic, racial justice, feminism & human rights books: - She Called Me Woman: Nigeria’s Queer Women Speak - The World Was In Our Hands: Voices from the Boko Haram Conflict she/her
