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There were two suicide bombings in the city of Yola in Nigeria, causing 32 deaths and 80 injuries. It is suspected to be the work of terrorist group Boko Haram. The explosions took place at a market near a mosque and one of the suicide bombers was an 11-year old girl. People are showing solidarity with the victims and their families through a social media campaign using the hashtag #PrayforNigeria – mirroring the recent trending hashtag #PrayforParis that followed the terror attacks in Paris last week.
Starting a discussion
People are pointing out the lack of mainstream media attention Nigeria has gotten in comparison to Paris.
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This is sadly one of many attacks
Nigeria has experienced several terror attacks every year since Boko Haram was founded in 2009.
Posting the Nigerian flag
After the Paris attack, Facebook users had the option to add the French flag to their profile pictures to show support for the country. This user pointed out that there was no option to change your profile picture to the Nigerian flag.
Terrorism is global
There are extremist groups all over the globe; terrorism affects all countries in some way.
The attacks in Nigeria are getting worse
In the last year, Boko Haram has been causing more and more deaths.
Facebook has activated safety check for Nigeria
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg decided to activate the safety check feature after the bombings. People in the area can mark themselves or other friends as “Safe,” “Unsafe,” or “Not in the area.” Safety statuses then appear as a notification on friends’ Facebook accounts and News Feeds. The feature was generally only used for natural disasters, but Facebook activated it during the attacks in Paris.
Zuckerberg also released a statement
Facebook had been accused of being Eurocentric when it activated the safety check for Paris when it had never done so for another terror attack. Zuckerberg said that Paris was simply the first test and that he decided to utilize it for tragic events moving forward. In a statement Zuckerberg said:
“Unfortunately, these kinds of events are all too common, so I won’t post about all of them. A loss of human life anywhere is a tragedy, and we’re committed to doing our part to help people in more of these situations.” Zuckerberg pointed out that deaths from war, crime and terrorism are declining worldwide. “Please don’t let a small minority of extremists make you pessimistic about our future. Every member of our community spreads empathy and understanding on a daily basis. We are all connecting the world together. And if we all do our part, then one day there may no longer be attacks like this.”
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SEE ALSO: Boko Haram Surpasses ISIS As World’s Deadliest Terrorist Organization.
