Abducted Nigerian schoolgirls: 'Silence not an option'

"WE do not know them, but they are our girls. We want them to be found and returned to their parents where they will be safe."

This was said by a weeping Maggie Madolo, 63, yesterday as she chanted with almost 300 people marching under the slogan #BringBackOurGirls, an international campaign asking for the safe return of more than 200 girls kidnapped from their school in Chibok, Nigeria, last month by terrorist organisation Boko Haram.

"Boko Haram! Bring back our girls!" was the cry of the marchers as they proceeded from the North End Magistrates's Court to the Port Elizabeth City Hall at about noon yesterday. "I can only imagine what those parents are going through," Madolo said.

"My daughter died when she was only 16, and it was heartbreaking. But at least I know where she is. The uncertainty must be killing those mothers and fathers." The group of mostly women comprised different cultures and religions, and included schoolchildren and foreign nationals, especially Nigerians. - Riaan Marais