BringBackOurGirls Still Hopeful One Year On

One year ago, more than 200 school girls from Chibok were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants. Parents of the missing girls told DW correspondent in Nigeria, Adrian Kriesch they remain optimistic.
Yola - Lawal Emos clenches his fist together and kneads his fingers. He had firmly resolved not to cry when he talks about Comfort. She is a lovely girl, Emos says, always helpful and determined. Comfort is his 17-year-old daughter - a year ago she was abducted by Boko Haram from their school in the village of Chibok, northeastern Nigeria.
Like other tens of thousands, Emos, his wife and their five remaining children fled to Yola, a city located 270 kilometers (167 miles), away from Chibok. He has gotten thinner in recent months as his family survives on irregular donations from friends and the Red Cross. Formerly a farmer in his home town, Emos has been unable to get land in Yola.

 "Do you have a photo of Comfort?," I ask. And immediately the father of six breaks down in tears. Emos admits that he can't control his emotions whenever he sees his daughter's picture. He left all of them in Chibok.
Opening wounds
This is the third time I am in Yola since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls on the night of April 14 -15, 2014. It is also the third time while covering for DW, the plight of the girls still in Boko Haram captivity. As emotional wounds of the parents are ripped open once again,tears flow, I film, and I get this bad feeling.
Lawal Emos says he knows of twelve fellow parents who have since died following the kidnapping. "The constant crying and thinking of their daughters killed them." Emos and his wife Hauwa sometimes find themselves thinking that it would be easier for them if they knew their daughter was dead. "I have lost my hope in politicians because they are not doing anything," Hauwa says. "Only God can still help us to find them - dead or alive. But our government, forget it."
Three weeks after the abduction, the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility. For six years, the Islamic sect has carried out a deadly insurgency especially in northeastern Nigeria. Initially, Boko Haram said it was fighting against the corrupt Nigerian government but with time its objectives have become increasingly unclear.
Thousands of Christians and Muslims have been killed in raids and attacks by the militants. As for the kidnapped girls, Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau said in one of his bizarre speeches, they had been sold off as slaves.

 Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Nigerian Minister of Education

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