U of S student worries for family in Nigeria

Bwala said her home state is hot and considered rural because people live in huts, travelling by roads vehicles can’t always climb. A large population of uneducated people creates a perfect breeding ground for fundamentalism, according to Bwala.

“Those that can leave are leaving to wherever they can find refuge or shelter. You don’t go home anymore. People don’t travel like they used to. There is just that sense of uncertainty,” she said.

“People live in fear and with anxiety because they don’t know what’s going to happen next. Then people are suspicious of each other. They could be living among you as insurgents so there is a lot of tension.”

Bwala said her immediate family lives in the local government area of Hawul, a bit further from the violence. Some relatives also live in the capital city of Abuja. She also has many relatives that live in the heart of the violence and have fled if they can.

“At home, they’ve seen people they know die, they’ve seen friends die,” she said adding that the young flee but the old are staying put.

“Not only is there fear, they just don’t care or value their lives anymore. They are willing to lay down to protect themselves . It’s more of protect yourself however you can… because you have nothing to lose, either way you are going to get attacked or killed, you might as well try to defend yourself.”

Suspected Boko Haram militants staged their first attack in Chad on Friday, hitting the third country outside their home base of Nigeria in recent days. The area is already home to nearly 3,300 refugees who had fled Boko Haram-related violence back home in Nigeria, according to the United Nations.

Bwala said her feelings of worry and helplessness expand alongside the violence.

“Even if I were at home I would still feel helpless because there is little or nothing I can do to change the situation. I think what keeps me going is my faith,” she said.

“It’s hard not to worry each time I hear news from home. I call and find out ‘okay is this person okay?’ Sometimes I can’t reach them because there has been communication issues where the insurgency is.”

The United Nations special representative for West Africa has said Nigeria’s military needs to show “greater resolve” in the widening fight against the extremist group Boko Haram. Mohammed Ibn Chambas told reporters Friday, “I think we all expect more from the Nigerian military.”

There needs to be more outrage from international bodies and governements, according to Bwala.

“The international community, bodies like the UN, I feel like they should begin to hold the government accountable,” she said.

“The leaders need to start taking responsibility for the people they say they are governing.”

With her studies ending come spring, Bwala said she doesn’t know if returning to the violent area will be in her future.

“Like every other person I am scared… The primary reason I came to school was to get an education that I could use back home,” she said.

“But when even basic security cannot be guaranteed you begin to question is there really a reason for me to (go back). I will still go back but when things get better I hope… I don’t know.”

Boko Haram’s insurgency has forced some 157,000 people to seek refuge in Niger, while 40,000 others have gone to Cameroon and 17,000 are in Chad, the U.N. said. Almost 1 million Nigerians are internally displaced, according to the country’s own statistics. There are reports of thousands of people already killed in northern Nigeria and hundreds kidnapped including nearly 300 schoolgirls just under a year ago.

Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin all have pledged to send military support and Chadian soldiers are already fighting Boko Haram. The multinational force is expected to be formally launched in coming weeks.

-With files from the Canadian Press

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by Kelly Malone

U of S student worries for family in Nigeria

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