Page 2 The Skanner April 19, 2017
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Bernie Foster
Founder/Publisher
Remember the Chibok Girls and Moving Forward
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News Editor
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Reporter
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Photographer
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• in
Opinion
n April 14, 2017, the
world marked three
years since Boko Haram
terrorists burst into
dormitory rooms at the Gov-
ernment Secondary School in
the northern Nigerian town
of Chibok and kidnapped
nearly 300 girls simply be-
cause they dared to get an
education. In the days lead-
ing up to this date, there will
likely be plenty of headlines
devoted to the Chibok girls,
as these now young women
are famously known. This
happens each time we reach
yet another sad milestone:
500 days, one year, two years,
1000 days, and counting. Soon
after, however, the news re-
ports will fade and this on-
going tragedy will slip once
more to the backburner.
The 195 Chibok girls who ha-
ven’t been able to escape their
captives or were not among
the 21 released last October,
are still the most compelling
symbols of the Boko Haram
insurgency, but we must
never forget that the group
has committed increasingly
heinous acts in the past three
years from which innumera-
ble victims may never recov-
er. Let me count the ways.
More than 2.6 million peo-
ple are currently displaced
across Nigeria and its neigh-
bor nations in the Lake Chad
region, and Nigeria is in the
Frederica S.
Wilson
U.S. Rep.
D-Fla
process of building a compre-
hensive orphanage to house
approximately 8,000 children
who’ve been separated from
their parents. At least one
million children have been
forced out of school. Millions
more Africans are at risk of
starving to death and count-
“
ken, shocked and angered by
the daily horrors our West
African sisters and brothers
have been forced to endure.
The actions of the world’s
most deadly terrorist group
have also emboldened me
to use my voice and every
resource available in the fight
to ensure that the Chibok
girls are not forgotten and to
help eradicate Boko Haram
and repair the damage it has
caused.
I have traveled twice to Nige-
ria to meet with victims’ fami-
lies and government officials
and brought the #BringBack-
The terrorist group Boko Hiram
may be down, but it is far from out
less men, women and chil-
dren all of ages, both Chris-
tians and Muslims, have been
kidnapped, tortured, and/or
killed.
It gets worse. In addition to
engaging in the human traf-
ficking of women, forcing
them into sexual and domes-
tic slavery, the insurgents
also use children as suicide
bombers. Even ISIS, to whom
Boko Haram has pledged al-
legiance, has expressed con-
cern that the group goes too
far.
As a mother, a former ed-
ucator, and indeed, a human
being, I have felt heartbro-
OurGirls movement to the
United States. Each week that
Congress is in session, law-
makers from both sides of the
aisle participate in a “Wear
Something Red Wednesday”
social media campaign that
helps maintain pressure on
the Nigerian government to
keep working to negotiate the
release of the remaining Chi-
bok girls and pull out all stops
to defeat Boko Haram.
On Dece.r 14, President
Barack Obama signed into law
legislation that Senator Susan
Collins (R-Maine) and I spon-
sored that directs the U.S. sec-
retaries of State and Defense
to jointly develop a five-year
strategy to aid the Nigerian
government, the Multina-
tional Joint Task Force cre-
ated to combat Boko Haram,
and international partners
who’ve offered their support
to counter the regional threat
the terrorists pose.
In a telephone conversation
between President Donald
J. Trump and Nigerian Pres-
ident Muhammadu Buhari
in February, the two leaders
pledged “to continue close
coordination and coopera-
tion in the fight against ter-
rorism in Nigeria,” according
to a readout from the White
House. Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson also has reported-
ly praised the Multinational
Joint Task Force’s efforts to
defeat Boko Haram a “success
story,” but while the terrorist
group may be down, it is far
from out.
By now you may be ask-
ing yourself why any of this
should matter to African
Americans who are fighting
their own battles to close the
economic and opportunity
gaps that still exist here at
home. If we don’t teach the
world to acknowledge that
Black lives matter across the
globe, who will? Until then, it
will continue to cry for White
victims of terrorism, while
African and African Ameri-
can lives lost go ignored.
Take Care of Yourself, Your Health and Your Community
T
aking care of your health
should be a year-round
effort, but this month,
as we mark National Mi-
nority Health Month, we hope
you’ll use this opportunity to
take care of yourself, your
health and your community.
While we’ve made some prog-
ress in moving toward better
health outcomes for people
of color, we’ve still got a long
way to go. We must continue
working with our communi-
ties to transform our world
from one divided by dispar-
ities to a world united by
health equity.
For example, African Amer-
ican women are twice as likely
to lose their lives to cervical
cancer as non-Latino white
women. Asian American
women are 10 percent more
likely to be diagnosed with
HIV than non-Latino white
women. Latinas are more like-
ly to be diagnosed with cervi-
cal cancer than women of any
other racial or ethnic group.
Across the United States,
many people of color are
deeply impacted by the over-
whelming lack of access to
health services and educa-
tion, yet they have some of the
greatest needs for preventive
care — like lifesaving can-
cer screenings, STD testing
and treatment, Pap tests and
health education.
Planned Parenthood be-
Sirius
Bonner
Planned
Parenthood
Columbia
Willamette
lieves that all women and
their families deserve the
highest quality of care no mat-
ter who they are and where
they live — no matter what.
We are committed to work-
ing in communities to break
“
In Multnomah County, the
recently launched Adoles-
cents and Communities To-
gether Project brings togeth-
er community organizations
to implement evidence-based
teen pregnancy prevention
programs for populations
at greatest need. Planned
Parenthood Columbia Wil-
lamette, Native American
Youth and Family Center, Self
Enhancement Inc., Latino Net-
work, Boys and Girls Clubs of
Portland Metropolitan Area,
Multnomah County Health
Act (House Bill 3393) will re-
move financial barriers and
ensure that every Oregonian
is empowered to make de-
cisions about whether and
when to become a parent.
Unfortunately, right-wing
politicians are proposing ad-
ditional obstacles that stand
in the way of essential and
lifesaving health care. Block-
ing access to lifesaving cancer
screenings at Planned Parent-
hood would have a significant
impact on communities that
need preventive care and
early detection the most:
people of color, people
who live in rural areas,
LGBTQ people and peo-
ple with low incomes. In
addition, proposed cuts
to the National Institute of
Health — $1.2 billion a year —
would severely handicap our
nation’s ability to research
cancer treatments and to di-
agnose and manage new cas-
es, making existing dispari-
ties even worse.
Every year, Planned Parent-
hood Columbia Willamette
provides nearly 66,000 pa-
tient visits for women, men
and young people in Oregon
and Southwest Washington.
We are committed to help-
ing all communities get the
healthcare services and in-
formation they need to stay
healthy, and our doors are
open to everyone.
All women and their families deserve
the highest quality of care no matter
who they are and where they live
down barriers many face in
accessing health care. We
fight to ensure all people get
the high-quality and afford-
able health care they need, re-
gardless of one’s race, income,
geography, citizenship status
or gender identity. We offer
expert resources, accurate in-
formation and compassionate
counseling; we replace fear
with facts, and misinforma-
tion with education.
We know that we can im-
prove the healthcare out-
comes of every person and
every family in our commu-
nity — regardless of race or
ethnicity — when we work
together.
Department and schools will
equip young people with the
knowledge and the tools need-
ed to make healthy choices
about their sexual health; to
be comfortable talking about
sexuality with partners, fam-
ilies and peers; and to actu-
alize full engagement as re-
sponsible citizens.
In addition, Planned Par-
enthood is proud to be part
of the Pro-Choice Coalition of
Oregon, which has proposed
landmark legislation to fill
gaps in reproductive health
coverage that disproportion-
ately impact women of color
and immigrant women. The
Reproductive Health Equity
nt •
lo c a l n e w s •
eve