Boko Haram: Journey From Evil - Documentary

Summary

The documentary "Boko Haram: Journey From Evil" by Daily Trust explores the ongoing conflict caused by the militant group Boko Haram in Northeast Nigeria. It delves into the group's violent history, from their initial emergence to becoming one of the world's deadliest extremist organizations. The film highlights the efforts of Nigerians fighting back against terrorism, the struggles faced by communities, and the humanitarian crisis that ensued. It also examines personal stories of resilience, the impacts of war on the region, and initiatives for psychological recovery and rehabilitation of insurgents.

Highlights

• Boko Haram's origins trace back to dissatisfaction with government policies in Nigeria's impoverished northeast.📜
• The group's escalating violence has led to thousands of deaths and widespread fear across Nigeria.⚠️
• Local communities, including vigilantes, have taken up arms to protect themselves from Boko Haram attacks.🔥
• Nigeria's diverse cultural and ethnic landscape complicates its fight against terrorism.🌐
• Humanitarian efforts are underway to address the severe food insecurity and displacement issues.🥖
• Participants in deradicalization programs are being reintegrated into society with mixed success.🔄

Key Takeaways

• Boko Haram continues to pose a significant threat despite military efforts to curb their influence.🪖
• The kidnapping of over 200 Chibok girls in 2014 remains a symbol of Boko Haram's ruthless activities.🎒
• Efforts by individuals and communities to combat Boko Haram include both military and non-violent actions.💪
• The humanitarian crisis in Northeast Nigeria is severe, with millions displaced and economies shattered.🆘
• Psychological rehabilitation for victims and former fighters is crucial for long-term recovery.🧠
• Campaigns like 'Bring Back Our Girls' highlight global solidarity against terrorism.🌍

Overview

The documentary takes viewers on a harrowing journey through the history and ongoing impact of Boko Haram in Nigeria. From its inception as a reaction against governmental neglect and poverty, Boko Haram has grown into an extremist force marked by its brutal attacks and kidnappings, most infamously the 2014 abduction of the Chibok girls. This incident highlighted the group's impunity and the Nigerian government's frustrated responses.

The film provides an in-depth look at the human side of the crisis, including personal stories from victims, activists, and former Boko Haram fighters. The emotional weight is unmistakable as it captures the resilience of those who stand up to terror, like Ayesha, a woman-turned-hunter, and Buki, an activist for the 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign. Their stories embody courage and the relentless fight for justice and peace.

Amidst the chaos, there is hope and active efforts for healing. The documentary emphasizes the importance of psychological counseling for survivors and the deradicalization of former militants. It underscores a broader message that Nigeria, while deeply affected by Boko Haram, is not defined by it. Initiatives in art, education, and community rebuilding are integral to moving towards a more peaceful and united future.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 03:00: Introduction to Boko Haram and Its Impact The introduction sets the stage in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, where the presence of Boko Haram has disrupted the ordinary way of life. It contrasts the past tranquility with the current state of unrest and tension that pervades both rural and urban areas. The chapter hints at a persistent unease that now characterizes life in the region.
• 03:00 - 09:00: The Chibok Kidnapping and Activism This chapter discusses the ongoing threat of violence and fear caused by the militant Islamic group Boko Haram in Nigeria. It highlights the grim reality and the unresolved nature of the conflict, emphasizing the country's struggle with extremism. Despite the challenges, the chapter also acknowledges the courage of Nigerians who have stood up to this terror.
• 09:00 - 15:00: Historical and Socioeconomic Context The chapter titled "Historical and Socioeconomic Context" discusses the determination and resilience required to move forward and build a new future for the nation. Despite challenges, there is a strong will to fight back and improve the country's trajectory.
• 15:00 - 21:00: Rise of Boko Haram and Violent Insurgency The chapter delves into the rise of Boko Haram and the violent insurgency they spearheaded in regions like Chibok. It starts with an introduction to the life of a resident, Rebecca Salomon, who faces the daily realities of living in a conflict-stricken area. Her account begins on April 14th, 2014, a date that marks a significant event in the context of the insurgency, suggesting a personal narrative intertwined with the broader socio-political turmoil that ensued. The narrative likely explores the impact of Boko Haram's activities on the lives of ordinary people, using Rebecca's story as a focal point to illustrate the challenges and fears endured by the community. This sets the stage for a broader discussion on the insurgency, highlighting key events, motivations, and the overall effect on the region.
• 21:00 - 26:00: Life Under Boko Haram's Rule Rebecca's daughter Deborah was staying overnight in a government school dormitory, preparing to take exams.
• 26:00 - 36:00: The Humanitarian Crisis and Military Response This chapter delves into a humanitarian crisis involving the abduction of over 200 girls, including a girl named Deborah, who is believed to be held in a remote forest hideout. It highlights the emotional toll on families as it has been a thousand days since a mother, Rebecca, last saw her daughter. The narrative suggests a military backdrop, hinting at a broader context of conflict or unrest in the region.
• 36:00 - 47:00: Psychological and Community Healing The chapter titled 'Psychological and Community Healing' explores the impact of Boko Haram's ruthlessness on Nigerian society. It highlights how the abduction of girls by Boko Haram exposed the dysfunction within Nigeria's government and military, leading to an increase in civic activism. The narrative follows individuals like Buki Shani, who had aspirations in human resources but was propelled into activism following the events of 2014. This shift underscores the broader movement towards self-initiated community healing and activism in the face of governmental failures.
• 47:00 - 57:00: The De-Radicalization Efforts The chapter discusses the de-radicalization efforts, starting with a highlight on the influential campaigner for the 'Bring Back Our Girls' movement. This movement gained significant traction through social media platforms.
• 57:00 - 68:00: The Role of Photography in Changing Perceptions The chapter discusses the influence of photography on global perceptions, using the 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign as an example. The campaign highlighted the kidnapping of over 200 Nigerian girls by Boko Haram, generating widespread international outrage and condemnation. The narrative illustrates how powerful imagery can provoke emotional responses and drive global awareness and activism.
• 68:00 - 80:00: Educational Initiatives and Future Prospects The chapter titled 'Educational Initiatives and Future Prospects' discusses the impact of Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau's threats involving the conversion and enslavement of abducted girls. The narrative highlights the personal connection to the broader atrocities, particularly reflecting on experiences of sexual molestation and the violation of personal freedoms.
• 80:00 - 90:00: Conclusion: Resilience and Hope in Nigeria The chapter titled 'Conclusion: Resilience and Hope in Nigeria' highlights the international community's scrutiny of the Nigerian government's promises to address the Chibok kidnappings. The lack of swift action by the Nigerian authorities has led to significant frustration among parents and calls for United Nations' intervention. The narrative underscores a sense of urgency and dependency on external support, reflecting the broader themes of resilience and hope amid a crisis.

Boko Haram: Journey From Evil - Documentary Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] some day tranquility settle upon boner state in Northeast Nigeria the ordinary rhythms of life in the rural areas or time as will the everyday bustle of the city but for now a restless tension lurks beneath the surface but a moment goes by
• 00:30 - 01:00 without the threat of violence without the fear that the militant Islamic group of Boko Haram went unleash an attack a grim reminder of a conflict still to be resolved a country struggle with extremism an unfinished journey from evil yet there are Nigerians who've stood up to the terror who've shown the courage
• 01:00 - 01:30 to fight back the determination to go forward and the resilience to forge a new future for their nation [Music]
• 01:30 - 02:00 each morning in the town of chibok Rebecca Salomon goes about her chores but what may appear a simple life became for her a nightmare that began on April 14th 2014 that evening
• 02:00 - 02:30 Rebecca's daughter Deborah was staying overnight in a government school dormitory preparing to take exams the next day the exams never took place they feel like I matter did you miss out one day but enough hey Jim what I do by Gigi oh that's not gonna get them I'm Debra is one of the kidnapped chibok
• 02:30 - 03:00 girls believed to be held in a remote forest hideout with a near named Deborah Benton Mountaineer name so I'm told tokima Nikita so can I see minion question you like it then your daughter is super dumb it's been a thousand days since Rebecca has seen her daughter Deborah's abduction along with over 200 other
• 03:00 - 03:30 girls exposed to the world Boko Haram's ruthlessness as well as the dysfunction of Nigeria's government and military and it stirred many Nigerians to take action on their own Buki Shani beret had planned a career as a human resources consultant in Abuja Nigeria is capital 2014 maybe 14 happened and that just opened book he became a frontline
• 03:30 - 04:00 campaigner for the bring back our girls movement by social media to bring back
• 04:00 - 04:30 our girls campaign sparked worldwide condemnation of Boko Haram [Music] like millions of people across the globe my husband and I are outraged and heartbroken over the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school dormitory in the middle of the
• 04:30 - 05:00 night Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau capitalized on the group's sudden notoriety threatening to convert the girls to Islam married them after his commanders will sell them into slavery the bookie it was personal simply because I was once that girl even though I have not been abducted before but I know what it means to be sexually molested I know what it means to have to
• 05:00 - 05:30 do something because you want to stay alive with the international community watching the Nigerian government issued promises to save the girls but the lack of swift action angered parents action we are asking for the United Nation to come in and help us oh if the new United Nation national reject us we just don't know what to do within two weeks of the chibok kidnappings book he had made up
• 05:30 - 06:00 her mind to stay on the frontlines and keep protesting until the girls came home swimming like fifteen old days some parents have not seen their children 15 days where I did and then we had to commemorate 30 days and we could not live with that reality in truth the reality was worse book II had no idea at the time but the 30 days would eventually stretch
• 06:00 - 06:30 into more than three years Nigeria rich in oil and natural gas a nation seeking to present itself as the image of modern Africa but a country that is far from United 180 million people plus 250 ethnic groups thereabouts this is a difficult country to govern at the best of times
• 06:30 - 07:00 splitting the north from the oil-rich South our cultural and economic fault lines that date far back to Nigeria's colonial past in the predominantly rural and traditionally Muslim northeast that fault line is fragile although Nigeria collects billions of dollars selling its oil each year more than 60% of Nigerians live in poverty many on less than $2 a day in the Northeast the poverty rate is even
• 07:00 - 07:30 higher we're speaking about northeastern Nigeria there is really one of the most poverty and marginalized regions of the country this is a region that had one of the lowest illiteracy rates in the country one of the highest infant mortality rates in Nigeria so things the the nature of governance was really poor to begin with and people were frustrated and seeing the growing levels of inequality in this community poverty and
• 07:30 - 08:00 inequality along with neglect by those with political power helped so a rebellious brand of Islam in the northeast its leaders took as their model one of the world's most brutal and dogmatic Islamist movements it was at that time in 2003 that there was a community of individuals that moved to the borderlands of Nigeria and each year in an attempt to create a purist Islamic society based on the model of the Taliban in Afghanistan
• 08:00 - 08:30 originally the group was peaceful and its message inclusive but they preach to us we have an alternative system if the system you believe in it does not value you and leaves you out we will not do that we will include we are more inclusive we will take care of you we are doing endless will and we will define our own society an alternate society that is just and good so that was very appealing especially for people
• 08:30 - 09:00 who felt left out but eventually this alternative society split the leader of its dominant faction wanted a pure form of Islam and an outright insurrection against the government his name Muhammad Youssef Yosef was intelligent and charismatic but bent on confrontation people began calling his movement Boko Haram literally Western education is
• 09:00 - 09:30 forbidden although the group disavowed the name and so does it captured Yusuf's essential beliefs he preached that Western values were undermining Islam and he called for a holy war it's difficult for the West to understand G an in part because our modern societies by their very nature essentially secular well who have come to terms that
• 09:30 - 10:00 religion is not a reasonable pathway to organise modern society whereas those who are pushing for jihad a saying that religion is the correct way to shape a righteous Muslim society a land of faithful Muslims so invariably those two positions are going to be extremely difficult to reconcile userspace was the northeastern city of
• 10:00 - 10:30 Maiduguri the capital of Borno State as his sermons became more militant tensions with local authorities grew then in 2009 Boko Haram exploded into Nigeria's wider consciousness that June police clashed with some of useless followers on their way to a funeral wounding more than a dozen cattle soul
• 10:30 - 11:00 Georgie in extreme banality Yusef denounced the government actions and a few weeks later his followers struck back with guns and grenades they attacked police stations in several cities with the heaviest assault in Maiduguri over four days of fighting the police response was merciless they rounded up Boko Haram suspects killing them in the street
• 11:00 - 11:30 they destroyed Yusuf's mosque then they captured him and took him for interrogation hours later his body was in the street he'd been shot multiple times and he became a martyrdom figure two Boko Haram and since 2009 until today all factions of Boko Haram considered him their inspiration more
• 11:30 - 12:00 than a thousand people died in four days of fighting that July afterward Boko Haram disappeared but when they returned a year later it was with more weapons and a new leader a bombastic and violent use of deputy Abubakar Shekau he proclaimed all-out war their argument is a very simple one you've
• 12:00 - 12:30 come up after us you've killed many of us you've killed us literally by the thousands you feel you've decimated our community we will fight back now we will take G out to you over the next four years Boko Haram put the Nigerian military and civilian security forces on their heels within that period the militancy and the insurgency a book or include stronger and stronger and it's in this context
• 12:30 - 13:00 that Boko Haram was able to acquire land acquired territory with limited Nigerian response Boko Haram expanded its domain but Maiduguri remained ground zero the city of more than half a million had a teaching hospital and a university was a very quiet peaceful town Fatih Abu Bakr was a nursing student living with her family in Maiduguri at the time Boko Haram
• 13:00 - 13:30 began its assault in 2010 we were known for being very traditional conservative people and we all knew our neighbors it was a very diverse community before Boko Haram within months Fatih became a witness to the wholesale destruction of her hometown I watched everything happened from the tension the bomb blast the dead bodies on the streets you know the house is burning sometimes our house
• 13:30 - 14:00 would shake because of a bomb blast people soon fled Fatih and her family left in late 2012 at the time killing boys and kidnapping girls so my parents were not comfortable with that and then we moved to Abuja and I lived there for six months before I went to London to study Fatih completed her studies in
• 14:00 - 14:30 London writing a dissertation about the effects of war on the psychological health of refugees and she found an outlet to help her cope with a loss she felt as a refugee herself we need to cut photography around that time that I was talking all that was happening around me to Korean now I was really interested in how you can do visual storytelling and still have an impact on community Fatih
• 14:30 - 15:00 returned to my degree in 2015 but when I came back people had become desensitized you know it was like a transformation they didn't even feel any of it they just kept going so that was what you know had my attention fati imagined another side of the place she called home a humane side she wanted to show the world it was the opposite of
• 15:00 - 15:30 the images of war and destruction flooding the global news and from the deluded propaganda of Boko Haram in its videos Boko Haram's leader Shekau glorified the group's violence in the name of Islam but hidden inside his secretive Caliphate the reality was starkly different Boko Haram brutalized fellow Muslims beating and killing them
• 15:30 - 16:00 at will to maintain control and religious piety graphic evidence of the group's conduct surfaced in 2016 when Voice of America journalists obtained and authenticated some 18 hours of videos shot by Boko Haram's own photographers the raw footage is an unflinching record exposing how one of the world's deadliest extremist movements operates behind the scenes a daily diary of terror
• 16:00 - 16:30 [Music] at public tribunals designed to enforce Authority by intimidation and fear villagers were herded together for displays of discipline for small sins offenders were flogged sometimes by their peers but for offenses like selling drugs the punishment was
• 16:30 - 17:00 ultimate no pleading for the accused just a bullet in the heart or the head [Applause] when become first became violent the attacks were mostly on the Nigerian state itself so government offices prisons police headquarters as time went on and it seems the crown felt more and more aggrieved its targets widened and
• 17:00 - 17:30 widened until now it seems to be anybody [Music] in their encampments Boko Haram soldiers many mayor boys trained for warfare and played like children the media characterizes Boko Haram as Mad Men as crazy as Psychopaths but what we can see in the footage of the foot soldiers is
• 17:30 - 18:00 that in many respects they go around their daily business just like kids in any other part of the world we also see them receiving pep talks before battle where they're told some of you are going to die and some soldiers are gonna die the difference is the soldiers aren't going to go to paradise and you are and this goes to show that ideology plays a very important part of motivating them to engage in acts of
• 18:00 - 18:30 killing and after a period of time these young boys become regular Boko Haram fighters willing to sacrifice their lives for the broader mission of the commanders to establish some form of Islamic governance it's impossible to know how many Nigerian boys have been
• 18:30 - 19:00 conscripted into Boko Haram likely it's several thousand the penalty for refusal is severe Dan Lodi was abducted when he was 12 but found a way out later shown the Boko Haram video footage he recognized some commanders and recounted how boys were forced to fight lilac
• 19:00 - 19:30 come by oh yeah when you see young guy shouts in Japanese she doesn't change you how kind of some sort of town so that you know why she Sekou made clear that Boko Haram would cleanse Nigeria on anyone who didn't submit to its brand of gisla men or women young or old
• 19:30 - 20:00 Christian or Muslim the Shekau faction of Boko Haram has a belief system whereby any Muslim that does not join their group is an apostate because they are fighting a legitimate jihad and therefore the idea that a Muslim would get killed in a Boko Haram attack either because they're targeted or because it's collateral damage is
• 20:00 - 20:30 really not something that the shakal faction worries about because their penalty for not joining the group and being apostates is death anyway 2015 marked a shift in the war the Nigerian Army aided by military from neighbouring Chad Cameroon and Michelle began reclaiming towns and territories once under Boko Haram control the momentum
• 20:30 - 21:00 quickened under a new President Muhammadu Buhari elected that year but the government's success also brought disturbing allegations of human rights abuses excesses by the military and civilian vigilantes in their zeal to defeat Boko Haram Amnesty International cited thousands of summary executions arbitrary arrests and instances of
• 21:00 - 21:30 torture by Nigerian forces war crimes the group said went unpunished the Nigerian government somehow have some doubts in what happen s T is doing but all the same they have come clean and set up a presidential tax force and you have to take into account the composition of members of the panel they
• 21:30 - 22:00 are not people that could be manipulated that can be manipulated and there are judges of repute and we wait and see the results as the government ramped up its pursuit of Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau changed his strategy to Boko Haram officially aligned with the Islamic state or Isis the jihadi group waging war in Iraq and Syria
• 22:00 - 22:30 Shekau in 2015 formally pledged allegiance to Isis and Isis responded to this some see this as because this coincided with the time when bokram was coming under increasing pressure from the Nigerian military it was being pushed back after this you had the pledge of allegiance to Isis so it's read as actually this is something of a desperate move on the part of vaca ham Boko Haram could claim
• 22:30 - 23:00 affiliation with the largest jihadi group in the world it began using Islamic state templates in its social media postings but it was an insurgency on the run at least three times the Nigerian military claimed Shekau had been killed yet each time he survived
• 23:00 - 23:30 reappearing like a ghost in new videos recorded in a remote hideout somewhere deep in the northeast bush [Music] the sambisa forest a thick jumble of phony scrub and scattered trees spread across five northern states a portion was set aside as a game reserve but it's once abundant wildlife has been depleted by war
• 23:30 - 24:00 now parts of the sambisa a book of her arms sanctuary a vast area of danger for anyone who dares enter in a village nearby I see Bukhari Gumby lives with her family hi Mandy JD's new government well I never in her part-time job as a seamstress she works
• 24:00 - 24:30 with hands and feet in creative concentration at peace away from the violence that prowls in the countryside but the rhythm of the sewing machine is only one facet of our world [Music] Aisha knows the sambisa well it was there as a young girl that she was initiated in a long-standing family tradition
• 24:30 - 25:00 sue ya in now he is one of our all-time unique move and also add another God GI watching us in Italy will be Salafi Boko Haram raided her village three times before the Nigerian government allowed people to fight back on their own now instead of hunting antelope baboons and birds Ayesha goes after a different prey Boko Haram militants she is part of
• 25:00 - 25:30 a group of hunters who go out in search of insurgents ready to fight if the situation arises this year warranty well money Prabhupada Nissan z-car would turn the ransom in cahuachi incacha detergent IKEA a catalyst warranty comedy cheeky Ian Cotter
• 25:30 - 26:00 yep Peter dad ticket - Quinta AJ fantasy beau Carranza can we re gingery yo creo en see if you can react and I over the way idea I would be at the start of their patrol the hunters take part in spiritual rituals they believe it will protect against enemy bullets and other dangers in the forest
• 26:00 - 26:30 anima I'm ready to see them showering in chef our new she cry when we hang it out of my own copy two new communication doesn't damage in every demo cassava Robin even diminutive I was over at college Nakajima mukesh area in gamma beta for the record on and she got talkin about
• 26:30 - 27:00 Ayesha and her team not only search for insurgents they're also on the lookout for captives fleeing from Boko Haram camps their stories can be heartbreaking provided the Mucca billions Whakatane come now who endemic II for instance anymore educator in Lhasa so controls a cheetah tsukitachi today our Ishida the other
• 27:00 - 27:30 deputies who academically Egeus Watson Sucre what any surrounding run and a light a Makita about in the salons attributed ow - Sue Ann and Khurana grab you later where they would look at erotic affair enter a camera there were inches over a yahoo no no boob you to come one get it out Ash's efforts fighting Boko Haram earned her the respect of fellow villages they call her the queen hunter ski I wasn't
• 27:30 - 28:00 yes any but nobody knows who pointed a shaker on GMO what are the cut up later that day Ayesha and her band apprehended three Boko Haram fighters they delivered them to authorities by truck a commotion of curious villagers parading behind them success like this inspires her to
• 28:00 - 28:30 continue the work despite the danger any day you know something you had to say taking them ok they're more akin and let your Twitter name out someone's I'm gonna live here so my life Yannick you saw Nigeria you know I ain't gonna Julia tell soon I love ya comedian disorder cuz I should skills on your life here they appear in seemingly endless streams
• 28:30 - 29:00 fleeing terror bringing with them only what they can carry day and night they've lost their homes their farms their livestock in the worst cases their children and for now with no hope of returning the world knows Boko Haram mostly through reports of bombings kidnappings and suicide attacks but the insurgency has also made millions of
• 29:00 - 29:30 Nigerians homeless and laid waste to the rural economy that long sustained the region in village after village devastation that is the market 1,000 houses born it is our market distress will not get market will not get each
• 29:30 - 30:00 foot long coma her mama Bombo has survived to Boko Haram attacks the first time they took his crops the second time they burned his farm to the ground kokumo a 2013 mocha toffee - jaco a being a servant abbas a munagi river to sacred sak seguro como Punia tasu ya eco
• 30:00 - 30:30 amaku masa mejor en su Versailles kizamu in guru baba 2015 Canaan to Dagenham Kumar was a key a key ago number resin a ki a l9 gornicke by nikolaeva mono marijuana Madoka gasps Kara yeah Doug Liman are a woman [Music] farmers are not the only ones suffering from Boko Haram's plundering these
• 30:30 - 31:00 herders narrowly escaped a Boko Haram surprise attack with their cattle they're aware that next time they may not be so lucky my husband was a quality box a palooka sorry boomer team yeah Bob what hanging added up he knew he was not a window back was caused this crisis is people
• 31:00 - 31:30 being terrorized and having to run away from the place they've been able to work for a long time we were told that farmers do have sees we were told the farmers do still have some of the tools what they don't have is the confidence to get back to their land because they're worried that if their men though we shot their worth if they're a woman they'll be raped or kidnapped so the key issue here is security although the Nigerian military has recaptured and garrisoned some large
• 31:30 - 32:00 towns the Northeast's breadbasket remains a free-fire zone much of the food production infrastructure granaries markets wells is in ruins rebuilding it will take months if not years Northeast Nigeria borders Lake Chad a vast Inland Sea supplying fresh water to about 70 million people in four countries fishing
• 32:00 - 32:30 forms an integral part of household economies in the region but since the insurgency Boko Haram has controlled fishing by demanding attacks from those plying their trade as a result many fishermen have fled choking off the once thriving industry most are reluctant to talk openly about the insurgents fearing reprisals some caster or nasarah tamuka
• 32:30 - 33:00 by chilly enter coca-cola doctor in charge in mangaweka a doula mama likey yatin vo buying keeping what Annie Hulu NASA Cara one day I become a keffiyeh chance to air Montana's IP to a low Janna if that trailers are being hamsun sustain our Analia to America's ever after deprived of their livelihoods farmers herders and fishermen along with their
• 33:00 - 33:30 families wind up in the camps for the displaced that have sprung up across the Northeast official estimates put the number forced to leave their homes at two million or more for years the lack of security kept many humanitarian agencies from entering the region now that more military are present they are returning to learn that the crisis is much worse than they predicted I think a
• 33:30 - 34:00 lot of humanitarian aid workers are saying that they didn't realize the situation was that bad some have described it as famine like conditions unfortunately if it was addressed sooner it wouldn't have gotten to the extent that it is now according to the United Nations more than 1 billion dollars in humanitarian aid was needed to help 8.5 million people in the Northeast and Lake Chad
• 34:00 - 34:30 region in 2017 most of it for food children are particularly vulnerable because their bodies are growing their minds are growing and developing and if they don't have the nutrition that they need in the first two years of life that has lifelong consequences for them so child you know who's one-year-old who doesn't get enough to eat we'll see her growth is stunted she will have possibly trouble and you know cognitive development of her brain know that will
• 34:30 - 35:00 affect her performance in school later on it'll affect her ability to earn a living later on so she will be paying the price for our failure for the rest of her life if we can't get that food and nutritional support to her nap without continued aid or rebound in agriculture Nigerians may be on the edge of famine for years to come the emotional and psychological damage of the war has deep consequences and may
• 35:00 - 35:30 pose the most difficult challenge of Nigeria's recovery - Anya I'll okay see ya no parents aggressive exterior Oh suka para que sera sera middle of our ongoing training a server beside incur a fee Tara Connie mom and I would out with me Garnica mucho cariño good idea good our food attackee tsukushi my audience through some car winning the trunk I shot your door after eight years of war these stories
• 35:30 - 36:00 have become all too common when we're coming out insurgency it's one thing to rebuild homes and to rebuild hospitals and to rebuild schools but the most important thing is to rebuild people doctor Fatima Aquila leads the neem Foundation a nonprofit that is taking on the country's psychological reconstruction the work focuses on Nigerians who are homeless suffered violence and trauma or who were captives
• 36:00 - 36:30 under Boko Haram by sharing their stories they helped heal one another our main objective is to hear your experience want to share our experience together so that we can see how can support us of what we're looking at is there mental health status they post traumatic stress disorder needs depression anxiety insomnia psychosomatic symptoms these group
• 36:30 - 37:00 sessions run for a month to build trust counselors help with translation left any time she remember her son she can't sleep because she didn't see the body of a son one woman told of losing multiple family members one attacking this madhuri here a suicide bomb back him to Eddie Weese teen and that was how her husband was killed Duncan in a coherent
• 37:00 - 37:30 fashion see that she has a younger brother to the Mukarram killed him Hamas the Alejandra Layton there is one Andy and about our Ana now would you and then she's really feeling me that ever since she started coming to this place she's very grateful the counselors use cognitive therapy to help victims control traumatic flashbacks we focus on trying to get them to alter
• 37:30 - 38:00 their negative thinking about the event that has happened we try to teach them thought stopping behaviors and we try to teach some resilience through group two months after their initial therapy members of the group reconvened to see whether they're continuing to cope in this country if you come to this God dream after hearing everybody's experience you realize that your own problem
• 38:00 - 38:30 somebody has a bigger problem than you dr. icky Lou says victims can cure these deep emotional wounds it just takes time as a psychologist I have a role that I can play and I can bring people together to show that there is an alternative way rebuilding the lives of Boko Haram's victims is only part of the healing process another challenge is finding alternatives for those who perpetrated
• 38:30 - 39:00 the violence these men are Boko Haram fighters who have recently surrendered they're about to enter operation safe corridor where insurgents who pronounce Boko Haram can undergo rehabilitation while in prison is a federal government initiative aimed at diradical aisin rehabilitating and reintegrating willing and surrendered bukhara back into the society the men
• 39:00 - 39:30 will undergo three months of counseling to dispel their indoctrination under book or dr. Akhil ooh helps start an earlier de-radicalization effort in Nigeria all these programs work on multiple levels one would be ideology because that was what they used to recruit second was to look at their mental states so we had psychological engagement that we felt art was important because they were so
• 39:30 - 40:00 against art and art allows somebody to express themselves in ways and expected to that person and we taught them a skill a trade different for different people and we also gave them an education for those who wanted it under de-radicalization the Boko Haram militants are classified as repentant fighters VOA was allowed to visit one class but authorities refused to allow cameras inside to protect X fighters from being identified so we are hoping
• 40:00 - 40:30 that when you leave here which we hope will be very soon you all go back and you all go back and all the skills that is been impacted now you will use them to the benefits of your families and to the benefit of Nigeria in terms of the radicalization the positive therefore verses they are more and more of the ex
• 40:30 - 41:00 combatants actually disengaging disengagement is key alone so I admonish all of you to take this program very very seriously there is a debate about whether de-radicalization works all is appropriate among those who took part in dr. Chile's initial program was an imam who joined Boko Haram in his early stages then
• 41:00 - 41:30 preached against Western education caught by Nigerian forces he was sent to prison with other fighters I wonder if I came kukuku Lawrence wada Ferguson when I think she walk away but zi1 positive about it but that about she was not so good come on move on when I think I know that since you have Azam already become embittered emotionally I'm in a meeting
• 41:30 - 42:00 that was before dr. akela brought in Quranic scholars who persuaded him that Boko Haram manipulated key texts in the holy book to suit their agenda when we started working with walking around members I think for me the biggest surprise was how little knowledge they had of the Koran itself and even including the chief Imam they had memorized part of the Quran but without context Aloka singing we assume anime
• 42:00 - 42:30 this is your tongue you see quick program is on managing voluntary at the Shia bond energies into to receive a la rasilla the question when this atacama system the a la virgen de Icaza cuban voluntary encima Canadians you Puma AG linking go in the mood
• 42:30 - 43:00 but whether such success can be repeated on the scale that's needed is unclear the problem is if it doesn't work then what we must have something on the table that works at the moment it is deer addict ization no the reality is that these people they are Nigerians and the fundamental question we should ask to what extent did an entire society country boot for them to become what they have become and what should an angular society do to get them back to
• 43:00 - 43:30 living normal lives the conflict with Boko Haram casts northeastern Nigeria as a dark dangerous place overcome with suffering and need months after returning home to my do Gurion boner State fatiah rebbekkah set about to change that image armed with her camera we're usually bombarded with images of you know people dead bodies on the
• 43:30 - 44:00 street you know sites of bomb blasts some children in the hospital it's just a complete you know portrayal where you just think that there are no survivors and of this conflict there are different kind of stories that I felt there were completely neglected and I wanted people to see that yes / no state is struggling but there are still people living there and they're continuing their lives fati posts her photography on bits of
• 44:00 - 44:30 bono a website she's created for many it's become a source of inspiration and renewal she has over 7,000 followers on her Facebook page 9,000 on Instagram what they see is another side of Borno State a proud region showcasing the rich diversity of Nigeria's people I have to be highly inclusive in this visual
• 44:30 - 45:00 storytelling so I try as much as possible to document all of the tribes in the community ensure that it represents the whole of honesty and the choix tribe I have beautiful very colorful tribe the portraits I do I feel are you know quintessential people of Brno state and then I ask them questions about how life is and then when I do a lot of the interviews I transcribe and then I host
• 45:00 - 45:30 the images on social media together with the narratives in her regular job Fatih works as a communications officer for UNICEF immersed in the Northeast's humanitarian crisis she searches for moments of compassion and caring so I do a lot of human interest stories and photo essays and I document all of UNICEF's activities so that we can post
• 45:30 - 46:00 on social media UNICEF has come in and done a lot for people and for me it's especially fulfilling to see that she's journeyed to areas where the war left its scars looking deeper to document how people have survived the insurgency and what I've learned is that even in the midst of adversity you know people are able to continue and move on
• 46:00 - 46:30 people do not stop because of a bomb blast I gravitate to children because of their exuberance even when you find them in a situation that is really but they're very bubbly and very lively and that kind of keeps me going I photograph a lot of street children and homeless children as well and a lot of children that are escaping Boko Haram you see
• 46:30 - 47:00 them mostly by the river or under the bridge living on their own but for these children usually you kind of feel traumatized by their experience you would wish for them to have a great future but you know it will take a lot for them to have the kind of life that you would want for them I just want people to know that you know Boko Haram is a small percentage of people that reaching have open a community and the
• 47:00 - 47:30 majority of people from Berner state are very peace-loving very hospitable very highly intelligent individuals we're the same as every average Nigerian we just want to live our lives if Nigeria is to heal from the war the country must recover the bonds of humanity within its people one picture at a time fati is bringing that humanity to light
• 47:30 - 48:00 three years after Boko Haram kidnapped the chibok girls Buki Shani beret is still campaigning for their release she posts photos on social media marking the days of their captivity and willing to let their plight fade from public memory even during her daily routines the girls are never far from her thoughts [Music]
• 48:00 - 48:30 my major fear is by the time we have these girls come back inevitably so at least for the number that can come back what life would they live for the rest of their lives they've watched our petitions upon in front of them they've watched killings the worst burning of blood the worst aspects there was people being buried in shallow graves they've been abused some of them come back with children how do you take those memories away from them while campaigning for the
• 48:30 - 49:00 girls release boo-ki is battling the militants on a second front a brazenly symbolic one she launched a charity project called school in a bag it delivers backpacks loaded with writing materials to children who don't have them and instructional kids to teach us the best way to win against
• 49:00 - 49:30 those that have abducted your children is to use other children as the perfect example and the perfect testimony and new representation of a better life that can happen because education is there we're telling Boko Haram that you lost and we are winning April 14 2017 marked the third anniversary of the cheaper kidnappings at that time only 21 chibok
• 49:30 - 50:00 girls had been freed then on May 7th 1120 days after being taken 82 more girls were released [Music] elation erupted at Unity Square in Abuja [Applause] where bring back our girls campaigners have kept their long protests for Jews
• 50:00 - 50:30 reports soon revealed that the release
• 50:30 - 51:00 was part of a swap in the exchange the Nigerian government had free several Booker Haram militants but for buki no price is too high to pay for the girls freedom for the girls it means life to them there was in life they had before they were abducted they were doing to school to them it means I am coming back to civilization I am coming back to life I can't believe I can sleep with my two
• 51:00 - 51:30 eyes closed what does the future hold for Nigeria the future of Nigeria is actually not as bleak as people make it to be I think it's really very important to understand that Boko Haram is not Nigeria and Nigeria is not Boko Haram after eight years of conflict some 20,000 dead and millions of lives disrupted how does the nation move
• 51:30 - 52:00 forward we've got to make our society we've got to have justice we've got to have inclusion people must feel part of the state they must be many platforms and spaces for youth to self-actualize we've got to be other parts the children can feel that they can contribute to society in a country so rich in diversity tribal cultural language religion a core
• 52:00 - 52:30 humanity survives one thing that found that nigeria is that sometimes the country pushes itself to an edge and at that edge it pulls itself back and things move you know one of the someone told me a joke and said you know it always seems as if the edge of uncertainty is Nigeria's comfort zone when you think things are going to crumble it always comes back together
• 52:30 - 53:00 and I think it's really the people in Nigeria there is this can-do spirit in Nigeria there's this spirit to thrive there's this spirit to overcome the impossible in Nigeria [Music]
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