Joon Lee / Edge columnist

The book Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree written by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani and Viviana Mazza is based on a true story about the Chibok Schoolgirls kidnapping. In 2014, the terrorist group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from public middle schools in the middle of the night. The abducted girls had to be enslaved by Boko Haram and even raped. Seven years have passed since that time, and more than 100 female students are still missing.

One of the biggest features of this book is that the main character doesn’t have a name. The narrator’s story could be that of any girl, which is why the main character doesn’t have a name. The author had to keep the protagonist of the book anonymous, as Boko Haram could retaliate against her.

A girl who dreamed of a bright future and wanted to become a teacher. She also received a scholarship from the university she attended. But it was enough for one night for her dream, which seemed to have such a happy future to unfold, to become a nightmare. The terrorists killed the men in the village, and her father and brothers were also killed. Terrorists kidnaped all the women who remained in the small town. The terrorist called Boko Haram abused the girls, made them become enslaved, and even forced them to marry them. The girls have their dreams and hope trampled on, and they had to live each day in pain, abandoning even the hope that they can get out of this place alive.

The numerous girls who were kidnapped, almost all died or missing, and this book is based on interviews with a few girls who have escaped from that hellish place. As the book was made based on the interviews of victims who went through the situation, the atrocities of the terrorists described in the book are cruel and terrible.

The story is heartbreaking and frightening to the extent that reading this book makes readers want to make this isn’t a true story. Readers will have a lot to think about after reading this book. Such thoughts as to why they must suffer such humiliation in their teens, the age at which they should be most beautiful. After reading this book, it is wished that readers remember this incident and pay tribute to the victims.

A tragedy that must never be repeated, and an event that must not be forgotten in our memories. Recommend this book to the reader who is ready to see inside the tragedy.

Photo – Bring Back Our Girls