ColumnOn April 14th, approximately 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped by Islamic extremists. It took about two weeks for most of the world to notice.

This was the lead headline on CNN’s U.S. homepage on May 6th: “276 Girls Were Kidnapped: Here’s Why it Matters.”

The fact that we live in a world where “here’s why it matters” is part of this headline is repulsive. My response to this story has been visceral.

If you allow it to, Bring Back Our Girls news will consume you and make you think the world is a terrible place.

Terrible because this happened. Terrible because for weeks hardly anyone cared. Terrible because I believe that if these girls were white, people here in the U.S. would have been armed and ready to smoke out those bad guys. Terrible because when the world finally decided these lives were worth our attention, more girls were kidnapped. Terrible because even if the collective “we” manages to save these particular girls, the story will only end until next time.

And there will be a next time until the larger issue — the quest to implement sharia — is addressed, says Raheel Raza. Raza is President of the Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow, author of the book “Their Jihad – Not My Jihad,” and an award-winning journalist, public speaker and activist for human rights, gender equality and dignity in diversity.

#NotAllMuslimsAreTerrorists (But these guys are)

“My spirituality is the balm on my soul; it’s where I go for solace. The spiritual message of Islam, my faith, has been hijacked,” says Raza. “But in an effort to be politically correct, people are afraid to call the Boko Haram Islamic terrorists, or quick to say they are not really Muslims because they are evil. But they call themselves Muslim. We cannot decide who is and who is not Muslim. Sharia is part of Muslim ideology and we have to deal with it.”

In the long journey to stopping these kinds of attacks, Raza explains, people need to connect the dots and see the common thread. In Nigeria and Brunei, among other places that don’t make the news cycle, the connection is sharia.

“There is applying a band-aid and there’s going to the root of the disease. We have to go to the root and pull it out. The root is an ideology; it’s a state of mind and you can’t fight that with weapons and you can’t fight it from the outside. Muslims have to be the frontline warriors. Which I am. Without tarnishing my own faith, I have to fight,” says Raza.

We all have to fight because we cannot agree to live in a world where Boko Haram’s leader announces plans to sell the girls “on the market.” These girls, some as young as 9, will be sold as child brides, get raped and become the “property” of religious extremists. The going rate is about $12.

We have to fight because we cannot agree to live in a world where there is a market for 9-year-old child brides and where CNN has to explain why people should care that 300 girls were kidnapped and sold into slavery.

#IsThisHelping? (Or making things worse?)

In recent days, there has been criticism of the half-assed click-and-help approach that many of us take to feel like we’re doing something. Some argue that the social media attention may actually be making things worse.

Since this story has started to receive international attention, at least eight more girls were abducted. Then, on Wednesday, gunmen linked with Boko Haram attacked a town near the Cameroon border, killing about 125 people, according to Reuters. Witnesses say that the attackers sprayed automatic gunfire in the market, burned down houses and slit people’s throats.

That all might have happened regardless of #BringBackOurGirls, which is part of the reason I will always argue for speaking out, and part of the reason that I’ll sign a petition even though I know my signature won’t be the one that brings these girls home. Awareness is essential.

Raza says, “This is my work: Expose, educate and eradicate. What is happening right now is the first order of business — raising awareness. The crimes are being exposed. Then there has to be education about the history of these groups. These people didn’t fall from the sky. Then we have to eradicate them. We have to end these crimes against humanity. Nobody has a right to kill someone in the name of any faith. It’s a huge job, but this is my passion.”

“Yes, we get frustrated, but I do think that making this a global campaign could help the Nigerian government be held accountable. Some people write, some lobby, some post on social media. I was posting #BringBackOurGirls every day, then Jay Leno protests and suddenly this is big news,” says Raza.

Which only begins to touch on the problem of westerners trying to step in and “save” countries they don’t understand.

#TheseAreOurGirls (And they are not the only ones)

There’s concern that intervention from the west isn’t the answer, and many are left with a bad taste when thinking about western military forces coming into a country they know little about to “fix things'”— in other words to help “those people” do things our way.

But, at the moment, I think we have to focus on what could help these particular girls.

“The girls are our immediate issue,” Raza explains, “Every day that passes these girls are suffering. They are suffering … I don’t know what and I am up at night thinking about it. I am not a world leader and don’t pretend to know how, all I know is that the terrorists must be stopped. The ‘how’ is a government question, but going beyond this case and these girls, it’s a Muslim issue. First-world countries have always interfered and colonized. This is the history of the world, so why not do it at a time when there is a need? This as a human rights crisis; this is beyond politics, color, faith or ethnicity.”

Last Tuesday, President Obama called this a “terrible situation,” and said that the U.S. will send military and law enforcement advisors to Nigeria to support its efforts to find and free the girls. So it seems that the politicians are working on the how.

That’s good news, but like many people, I am struggling to feel optimistic. I am struggling not to punch things and scream.

What will it take to get to the root of the problem? Why did it take a # to get the media to start talking about this? For people to start Facebook pages, for the tweet to come from the First Lady, for multi-city rallies?

Why wasn’t the whole world looking for these girls the second they were taken? Is it because they are African? Muslim? Was it just too easy to think, “Those aren’t our girls….”

They are our girls. And they need our help.

Once this is over — when the girls are home or the media stops caring and so we think it’s over— we can help by staying informed and staying outraged:

• Learn more about the history of sharia. Watch the documentary “Honor Diaries,” which features Raheel Raza and details a gender-apartheid taking place in honor-based societies around the world, and particularly in nations where sharia law is government-mandated.
• Support girls going to school around Africa through the Campaign for Female Education: $40 pays for a girl’s school uniform.
• The Global Coalition has documented a pattern of attacks on schools, teachers and students in 30 countries in the last five years — watch the video.

That Happened is Libby Lowe’s weekly column for EcoSalon analyzing media, news and pop culture through a feminist lens. Keep in touch with Libby @LibbyLowe.

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Image: Bring Back Our Girls via Facebook

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Bringing meaning to the joy of eating.

When the “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” proverb is the only adage in your arsenal of food wisdom, it’s time to bulk up on new things to say. From Ireland to China and the likes of Helen Keller to Ronald Reagan, these 20 quotes will bring even more meaning and joy to the act of eating.

When I am eating I am deaf and dumb. –Russia

To eat is human, to digest, divine. –Mark Twain

Life is too short to drink bad wine. –France

Whose bread I eat, his song I sing. –Germany

Too many cooks spoil the broth. –Italy

At the table with good friends and family you do not become old. –Italy

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one. –Mother Theresa

Fine words do not produce food. –Nigeria

If you are looking for a fly in your food, it means that you are full. –South Africa

Avoid fruits and nuts. You are what you eat. –Jim Davis (Garfield)

Who fasts but does no other good saves his bread but goes to hell. –Italy

There is no sincerer love than the love of food. –Bernard Shaw

He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors. –China

It is easier to halve the potato when there’s love. –Ireland

A piece of bread in one’s pocket is better than a feather in one’s hat. –Sweden

You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jelly beans. –Ronald Reagan

Give a man a fish, you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime. –China

The good Lord has changed water into wine, so how can drinking beer be a sin? –Belgium

Happiness rarely keeps company with an empty stomach. –Helen Keller

Food tastes best when you eat it with your own spoon. –Denmark

Images: B@ni

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Check out our article on 50 pick up lines for foodies

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If there was a 1 and 2, there had to be a 3.

Contrary to popular belief, Ray-Ban Exclusive mixes are not exclusively late-night-on-the-dance-floor oriented. Don’t worry, they get there eventually, but this series is about good tracks that keep you going just as well through a solo afternoon creative session as a Saturday night with friends.

Volume 3 is true to what this playlist series is meant to be: good beats that are perfect for listening to while wearing, or carrying, your classy shades.

Ray-Ban Exclusive Vol. 3 from ecosalon on 8tracks.

1. Shook (Sigur Ros X Mobb Deep) – Emancipator
2. Falcons – Nigeria
3. Shell of Light (Shlohmo Remix) – Burial
4. She Just Likes To Fight (Crystalised Remix) – Four Tet
5. The Keeper (Banks Remix) – Bonobo
6. Everything To Me (Bronze Whale Remix) – Lips
7. North (Crystalised remix) – Phoenix
8. You Appear (Final Mix) – Gange-a-Midi
9. Sonnentanz – Tobias R.
10. I Don’t Know What I Can Save Your From (Röyksopp remix) – Kings of Convenience
11. Rooftop Revival (Kastle Remix) – Treasure Fingers
12. Hard – Rebecca & Fiona
13. The Morning feat. Dunson (Chi Duly Remix) – The Weeknd
14. No Light, No Light (Dave Sitek Remix) – Florence & The Machine
15. Black to White – Felix Cartal feat. Miss Palmer
16. Need Your Love (feat. Ray Dalton) – Sol
17. All Around and Away We Go (Teen Daze Remix) – Twin Sister
18. Icarus (Keys n Krates Remix) – Madeon
19. Sea Lion Woman (BEAKR remix) – Feist
20. Somebody to Love (Sigma Remix) – Rusko
21. Beating Of My Heart (Matisse & Sadko Remix) – M-3ox, Heidrun
22. I Know Heaven Is Eternal – The Jane Doze
23. Stupidisco – Junior Jack
24. This is So Good (Original Mix) – Ehrencrona
25. Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki Dance Remix) – Kid Cudi

On Music Monday we bring you a featured playlist from one of our favorite music sites 8tracks. From indie rock to electro pop we hope it’s a playlist that kicks your week off right. 

Image: Anna Brones

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Removing shoes, getting scanned and patted down doesn’t cut it anymore amid tightened airport security following the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day. Now, we’re being told to “hold it” during the last hour of flight, and the flying public is understandably pissed off.

While there are plenty of green remedies for bladder infections, there is little to placate the anger and stress resulting from the ridiculously long lines and humiliating security steps all resulting from the human factor: the government and airport employees did not do their job to keep a potential bomber off of a commercial plane.

This, despite the fact the would-be bomber paid cash for his ticket, had no luggage, and was reported dangerous by his own father, a prominent Nigerian banker. Sure, we can sit still for an hour, but not for months to come when we are forced to pay the price of incompetence.

Use of restrooms is a health and human rights issue. My bladder hurts just thinking about it. It’s bad enough we can’t use the toilets in most stores where we shop and spend money, let alone on an airplane where we’re trapped. No Starbucks down the street or other place to go, instead.

Referred to as a “smokescreen” by CBS News, the tightened security restrictions are seen as a knee-jerk reaction to the attempted attack on Friday. Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was  flying from Nigeria to Amsterdam and then the U.S. when he tried to ignite the highly explosive PETN substance he had hidden in a soft plastic container on his person as the Northwest Airlines prepared to land in Detroit.

Passengers arriving on international flights were treated like naughty children, ordered to stay put in their seats during the last hour and not use blankets to cover their laps or their babies. They had to refrain from opening overhead bins to get their stuff and keep their hands in clear view.

CBS Travel Correspondent Peter Greenberg argues the one-hour flight rules are merely a bad camouflage attempt for not dealing with the real issues of how the guy cleared security in Nigeria and twice in Amsterdam, and was still able to board the airliner.

“The real problem here is that, tomorrow, if someone tried to detonate a bomb on a plane and right before he detonated it, he sang, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would issue a rule tomorrow saying no singing on a plane.”

Therefore, if someone roots through their carry bags or socks or steps into the bathroom before trying to explode a plane, we the passengers should not be allowed to do those things because it is now deemed a security risk. Passengers are sounding off about the measures, including letters in the L.A. Times that argue Americans are tired of paying the price of failed screening and lapses in human intelligence.

“We are so inept that instead of proactively listing people like Abdulmutallab on no-fly lists, we must torture the traveling public by denying them the use of the restroom,” wrote William Josephs of Encino, Calif. “During recent years, I have given up flying almost entirely, especially since the nonsense with the shoes began. Liquids were next, and now, woe be unto the poor individual suffering from gastric distress on any descending airplane.”

Another letter said it is ironic that we are told to stay seated to keep the plane safe, while “in every flight since 9/11 it is the passengers, up and wandering about the cabin, who have provided the only effective defense against terrorism. It is clear that there is only one requirement for joining the management team at the TSA: You must have first failed an IQ test.”

Images: Los Angeles Times, CNN

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