VOA慢速英語:回顧C(jī)hibok綁架

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One year ago, Boko Haram militants kidnapped 276schoolgirls from their dormitory in the northeasternNigerian town of Chibok. The kidnapping came as ashock to people around the world. But it was just part ofBoko Haram’s violent campaign against the Nigeriangovernment.

Militant attacks against civilians have been on the rise.Thousands of people have died in the unrest. More thanone million people have been forced from their homes. And most of the Chibok girls are still missing.

Rights activists who investigated say the attackerstook the girls because they could. At least 56 girls haveescaped from their kidnappers.

One of those girls remembers, "They took us outsideand burnt down the whole school. They herded us intotheir vehicles while the rest of us were made to trek."

The mother of one kidnapped girl spoke with VOA. She said, "The veryMonday the kidnapping happened, we thought soldiers were going to be sentto go after our daughters. Had soldiers been deployed, quite sure, no doubtour daughters would have returned, but it did not happen.”

Nigerians started demonstrating after they learned whathappened. A campaign was launched on the socialmedia website Twitter. The twitter hashtag campaignwas called #BringBackOurGirls.

In October of last year, the Nigerian government said it was negotiating an agreement with Boko Haram for thereturn of the girls. However, no agreement was everreached.

Nigerians recently elected Muhammadu Buhari as the country’s newpresident. Mr. Buhari says he will do things "differently," but offers no falsehope. He says he does not know where the girls are or if they can berescued. He says his government will "do everything in its power."

The Chibok girls were not the first or the last young women Boko Haramkidnapped. Steve Cockburn is an official with the rights group AmnestyInternational.

"Over 2,000 women and girls have been abducted by Boko Haram since thebeginning of 2014. They've been forced to either marry Boko Haram militants,they've been forced to provide services or clean. Some have even, accordingto what we've seen, have been forced to train and take part in attacks on theirown villages."

Scores of protesters marched chanting "Bring Back Our Girls" kidnapped by Boko Haram.

But some activists believe Boko Haram holds the Chibok girls in groups. Theysay the girls could have value as protection against military air attacks or asbargaining chips. Recently, Boko Haram announced plans to join with theIslamic State, another militant group that has kidnapped women.

Nigeria and other countries declared "total war" on Boko Haram after theChibok kidnapping. But serious military operations began in February. Troopsfrom Nigeria and neighboring countries have been searching towns acrossthe area. There is hope among many Nigerians that the Chibok girls will befound soon.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

VOA’s Anne Look reported on this story from Dakar, Senegal. JonathanEvans wrote it for Learning English. George Grow edited it.

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Words in This Story

bargaining chip – n. something that can be used to gain an advantage whenyou are trying to make a deal or an agreement

dormitory – n. a large room with many beds where people can sleep; housing

kidnap – v. to seize and take away by force