[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7607]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        FIND THE KIDNAPPED GIRLS AND STOP THE KILLING IN NIGERIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, among other challenges in this world 
and in this Congress, Nigeria faces a killing machine. In the last 48 
hours, again, Boko Haram struck and killed 300 people. This killing has 
been going on for a minimum of 5 to 10 years.
  Yesterday, five Members--five women of the United States Congress 
held this sign to indicate that we, as mothers, grandmothers, aunts, 
and those who care about children, all of our colleagues stand united 
to find the kidnapped girls and to stop the killing in Nigeria.
  We stand united to find the vile and evil Abubakar Shekau, the head 
of the Boko Haram killing contingent. We saw him most recently grabbing 
attention by standing in front of a tank, holding a gun, and citing the 
most ludicrous and insulting prospect that one could hear. He held up 
$12 and indicated that he would sell the kidnapped girls.
  Mr. Speaker, that is not all that he is doing. He has been killing 
and pillaging. He has caused parents to have to, in essence, go after 
him with sticks and stones.
  Yesterday, we spoke not only with the leadership at the Nigerian 
Embassy, a relationship that the United States prides in terms of the 
contribution Nigeria has made, but it is no doubt that, in this 
instance, we want Nigeria to do more and more and more.
  We asked, by speaking to the leadership in Nigeria by phone, that 
President Goodluck Jonathan stand up and indicate Nigeria's commitment 
to finding these girls and, in essence, bringing this horror terrorist 
to justice.
  At the World Economic Forum, his opening remarks did just that. He 
spoke about the help that was coming from the United States, the 
leadership of President Obama and Secretary Kerry, and the other 
nations that are coming together to be able to find these girls.
  Outside of Syria and Afghanistan, in terms of mass killings over the 
recent years, this stands, clearly, in the eye of the storm.
  We ask to have created a victims' fund. We want to be able to ensure 
that these parents who are, literally, broken and the children that may 
be found--or the wounded ones--have the opportunity to be made whole.
  We believe that it is important to create an elite police or military 
force, one that is focused to utilize the resources of intelligence and 
the law enforcement resources that are being sent to Nigeria by the 
United States. That deployed elite military and/or police force--
special ops, if you would--would have the sole purpose of getting those 
kidnapped girls.
  The reason why this is so very important is because Nigeria has 
porous borders. There is speculation that these girls may be in 
Cameroon, may be in Chad, may be in Niger, Benin, all places that will 
make it even more difficult to find these innocent children who simply 
came to school to be able to take an exam, so that they could do better 
in life.
  How dare we allow this brutal killer to last much longer without 
being brought to justice?
  So that elite force would bring this vile and evil person, who has no 
intent to do anything more than to continue to ramp up his publicity 
and the world's attention to his violence, bring him now to justice, 
move quickly utilizing the resources and focusing.
  It is also important that all of the world's institutions declare 
Boko Haram--the ridiculous group that says: we don't want any western 
education, and all girls should be married--declared a terrorist 
organization.
  It must be done swiftly, so that all the world's focus will be on 
this dastardly, devastating, vile leader of this organization and the 
organization.
  We can collaborate with the African Union and the U.N. peacekeepers. 
Then we want to provide armed protection for all of the schools as they 
finish out or continue their educational training.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say to you these are like the boys and girls that 
are in the schools of America right now. These are primary education 
children. These are secondary.
  I ask my colleagues to join in the outrage of this ridiculous and 
horrible situation. I ask that we are finding our girls and capturing 
this terrorist leader.

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