Author: Jeremy Candelas
This past Saturday, the Grace Foundation for Education and Development and the Cornell Women’s Resource Center hosted the Running Girl exhibition at the Johnson Museum to commemorate the tragic abduction of 276 girls in Nigeria by Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. The exhibit itself is a tribute to the 53 girls who managed to escape the terrorists’ custody, and serves to make statements on other topics such as ISIS, presidential hopefuls, the use of social media, and feminism.
The pieces themselves were fascinating on their own – as I stood there admiring them, I felt I was gaining an understanding of the emotion that went into the art. Tales of heroism and courage, of fear and tragedy, of hope and longing – like each of the girls, each piece of art had its own story to tell.
Dr. joan.Osa Oviawe, founder of the Grace Foundation for Education and Development, told listeners that the girls’ “lives were turned upside-down” when they were kidnapped and forced to be wives to the militants. She went on to remind us that “each girl is a human being – each girl has a story,” calling on society to not let the girls be “lost behind these statistics.”
Echoing these sentiments, Professor Peyi Soyinka-Airewele said she wished “it was possible for [the kidnapped girls] to see an inkling of the passion, the empathy, the brotherhood and sisterhood that we have for them.”
The artist behind the exhibit, Mary Mihelic, spoke out against the terrorist group as well. “There is too much imagination going into [their] faith, resulting in extremism.”
She went on to criticize both the Nigerian government and Boko Haram, arguing that women were being used as pawns in both sides of the battle. This was in reference to the fact that the group kidnapped the girls in retaliation for their wives being taken prisoner by the government.
Mihelic went on to speak of events such as the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Comparing life as an artist to a year ago, Mihelic said she feels “the world has changed [...] As an artist, if you’re going to make a political statement, it is a scary time to do so.”
Still, as Professor N’Dri Assie-Lumumba stated in her remarks, each of us “has a part to contribute.” She noted the importance that each individual effort can make in affecting change.
There are those who ask, “Why does it matter?” Executive Board member of the Cornell Women’s Resource Center, Emily Decicco ‘16, shared an encounter with a man who asked her this very question earlier that day. To his remarks, Decicco responded saying that “fathers in Nigeria are no different” than he, explaining how they want the same opportunities for their daughters, also bringing to mind the grief and despair he would surely feel had it been his daughters who were kidnapped and still missing.
All in all, the exhibit was a thought-provoking commemoration of the tragic events which took place in Nigeria. It reminds us that each one of us has a part to play in helping to raise awareness – both of this tragedy and of the ongoing struggle in the Middle East and Africa, where groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS have terrorized innocent victims. Together we can make a change, and together we can bring back our girls.
