The First Lady has joined President Obama in taking a stand against the kidnapping of almost 300 girls in Nigeria.
Mrs. Obama tweeted a photo yesterday holding up a sign that read #BringBackOurGirls.
She captioned the photo, “Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It’s time to #BringBackOur Girls. -mo” The tweet symbolized the First Lady’s joining of the social media push to bring the abducted girls back from Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram.
The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag has become the catchphrase for women and men who are calling for everything possible to be done to rescue the victims of this crime. In less than a month, the hashtag has been shared over a million times.
President Barack Obama spoke out Tuesday about the issue, calling it “heartbreaking” and sympathizing with affected parents saying “…as the father of two girls, I can’t imagine what their parents are going through.”
POTUS revealed that the United States will do everything possible to recover the young women, sending U.S. government officials to Nigeria to try to pacify the situation. The President says that he hopes this situation will “…mobilize the entire international community to finally do something against this horrendous organization that’s perpetrated such a terrible crime.”
Concerned citizens can get involved and make sure that the kidnapping of the Nigerian girls stays relevant by using the #bringourgirlsback hashtag, checking local events to see if your town is holding a rally or visiting change.org to sign the petition calling for the rescue of the girls.