A large number of Nigerian refugees are fleeing from the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram, which consists of many smaller splinter groups and repeatedly attacks in the north-east of Nigeria.
Carsten Luther, editor of ZEIT ONLINE, explains that besides ethnic and religious aspects, the extreme poverty of the people have made it easier for Boko Haram to recruit more supporters.[1] There are millions who are on the run from Boko Haram. The refugee camps in the north of the country and neighbouring countries are in a catastrophic state. The EU however wants to set up a migration partnership with Nigeria to facilitate the deportation of Nigerian refugees.
Participating author: Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim was born in 1979. The literary debut of the writer and journalist was collection of short stories called “The Whispering Trees”, whose title story made it to the shortlist of the Caine Prize for African Writing. In 2015, his first novel Season of Crimson Blossoms was published by Parrésia Publisher in Nigeria and by Cassava Republic Press in Great Britain. Season of Crimson Blossoms also won the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2016, one of the country’s most prestigious awards.
[1] Carsten Luther: Boko Harams Terror ist mit Gewalt nicht zu stoppen. http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2014-05/nigeria-boko-haram-terror (6.7.2016).
Nigeria – Photographs by Fati Gangaran
Children playing in the Bakassi Camp Maiduguri, Nigeria. It is a camp for people displaced by Boko Haram.
Children wander around the Bakassi Camp.
EiA group of women gather at the Bakassi Camp.