Helon Habila Chibok Girls

Annotation

In rescuing the Chibok tragedy from mythic status, Habilas unusual primer quietly yet powerfully revives the call to take notice. The AtlanticOn April 14, 2014, 276 girls from the Chibok Secondary School in northern Nigeria were kidnapped by Boko Haram, the world's deadliest terrorist group. Most were never heard from again. Acclaimed Nigerian novelist Helon Habila, who grew up in northern Nigeria, returned to Chibok and gained intimate access to the families of the kidnapped to offer a devastating account of this tragedy that stunned the world. With compassion and deep understanding of historical context, Habila tells the stories of the girls and the anguish of their parents; chronicles the rise of Boko Haram and the Nigerian governments inept response; and captures the indifference of the media and the international community whose attention has moved on.Employing a fiction writers sensibility and a journalists curiosity, The Chibok Girls provides poignant portraits of everyday Nigerians whose lives have been transformed by extremist forces. Habila illuminates the long history of colonialismand unmasks cultural and religious dynamicsthat gave rise to the conflicts that have ravaged the region to this day.