By Graça Machel
If someone somehow can get this
message to our girls, even if is just the wind whispering to them, we want them
to know that we love them and we care for them. Their plight has touched
millions of hearts in Africa and beyond. We send them waves of love and
comfort, to warm their hearts and dry their tears. We pray for them and look
forward to the day when they will embrace their parents and families at home.
We send them waves of energy to
keep their inner selves strong and resilient. When the dark night in the forest
is overwhelming, they must lift their eyes to the sky. The stars are watching
over them. They must not lose hope and they must not succumb to fear and
despair, even in the most adverse of circumstances they find themselves in.
We love them always.
To the parents of our Girls in
Nigeria
I am a parent and so I stand
amongst you holding your hands, in pain and anguish; in solidarity.
There are millions of parents
in Africa and beyond, who genuinely feel that your girls are our girls. We want
them safe and back in the loving and caring space of their families.
We demand alongside you the
parents, that the Nigerian government do everything in its power to locate all
the girls, make sure they are safe, and bring them back home.
All
of them.
It is government’s first and
foremost responsibility to protect its citizens, and keep them safe. If the
world can mobilise all the means possible to search for a plane carrying 239
passengers, certainly it can also mobilise the means to find our girls. They
deserve nothing less.
We want to see the same
resolve, commitment and focus from the Nigerian government, African governments
and of course those governments who have the capacity and resources to save our
girls.
We stand amongst you. We hold
your hands. In solidarity.
P.S. I decided to break the
restrictions of my mourning because silence is not an option. I know however,
that Madiba will understand and approve.
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