Mary Paul Lalai, one of the mothers of the abducted girls, died on hearing the news of her daughter’s kidnap. Aimu Fonan, a member representing Chibok constituency in the Borno State House of Assembly, broke the news to journalists few days after the sad event. According to analysts, many mothers like Yakubu and Galang risk similar fate if urgent measures are not taken to ease their pain.
Erica Greve is the founder and leader of Unlikely Heroes. She told Saturday PUNCH how they hope to help the Chibok mothers and girls overcome the trauma caused by the incident. She is worried about the girls still in captivity.
“It is very important for us to keep in mind that the longer these girls are in captivity, the more trauma they are experiencing. That every second, every moment, everyday matters to these girls and they want to be rescued as soon as possible. We all need to remember that the longer they stay in captivity, the more support services and care they will need after they have been released.
“The abduction of these girls is not only affecting them, their mothers and families, it is affecting their communities and the nation as a whole. I just spoke with a mother here in Lagos and she told me that her daughter is afraid of going to school because she fears she could be kidnapped as well.
“Once the girls in captivity return, the reality is that our work has only just begun. These girls are going to need trauma therapy, immediate medical care and all the things they will need to properly stabilise and overcome this trauma. It is mostly likely that when they get out they will need up to 10 to 16 weeks to be able to recover from the shock.
“It is also important that they are placed in a very safe environment. The safer the environment that they are placed in, the quicker they will be able to heal. The more specialised care that they are given immediately upon return, the easier it will be for them to recover and be re-integrated into their normal communities and everyday life,” she said.
Thompson agrees with Greve. He concedes that the real job has only just begun.
“It is not good for the girls to come back and find out that their mothers are dead. Care for the girls starts with care for their mothers. That’s why the women are here, doctors are here with them and they are being taken good care of. We have also invited Unlikely Heroes who are global experts in trauma and child psychology and they have been talking to the mothers and some of the girls who managed to escape.
“They have a proposal for the Omoluabi Network and there is a likelihood we are going to build a trauma centre in Osun State if all plans fall in place. They have advised that nobody should try and re-integrate the girls back directly into Chibok when they are released. We need to quarantine them, we need to bring them into a setting where they will be debriefed and processed properly.”
US Congressman, Louie Gohmert, told Saturday PUNCH during the meeting that the girl’s abduction now came tops in major delibrations within the country’s political circle in recent weeks. Gohmert who played a major role in ensuring the US government designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, howeever chided the White for not using its intelligence and technology to crush the sect and rescue the girls from captivity.
“We must all rally behind the families of these missing girls. The international community must step up efforts to free the girls. If the US does not use its power to stop Boko Haram, God will use someone else to do it. We will not relent on our calls until these girls are safely released to their families,” he said.
Last week, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, told newsmen that they had located the whereabouts of the young girls but that they were taking all necessary precaution in freeing them from captivity. Earlier this week, the Australian government, through its Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, offered to allow its special forces partake in the search for the girls. The Nigerian government, according to Thompson, is yet to accede to that request. (Saturday Punch)