Salma Hayek: Nigerian Girls Support Has Cannes Officials Turning Up Their Noses At #BringBackOurGirls
Salma Hayek turned her appearance at the 2014 Cannes red carpet into a message by raising awareness of the kidnapped Nigerian girls still being held by Boko Haram. But some people seemed to think that Hayek’s sign that contained the words #BringBackOurGirls was a “most unusual” political stunt.
In a related report by The Inquisitr, unfortunately Nigeria’s president Jonathan Goodluck announced that Boko Haram prisoners would not be traded for the Nigerian girls:
“He (Jonathan) made it very clear that there would be no negotiations with Boko Haram that involved a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners. What he also made very clear to me was that he wanted his government to continue a dialogue to make sure a solution could be found and that security and stability could return to northern Nigeria for the medium and the long term.”
Instead of giving in to the terrorists’ demands, Goodluck plans on waging “total war” with the al Qaeda-linked terrorist group and it’s hoped the military might be able to rescue the 276 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls. Unfortunately, the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Sheka has previously threatened to sell of all the girls in slavery if his demands are not met. At the same time, when a video showed the Nigerian girls praying to Allah, the terrorist group claimed they all converted to Islam. So, at this point, it is unknown what action they will take next, but Nigeria plans on treating them like any major terrorist threat:
“Boko Haram is no longer a local terrorist group. It is operating clearly as an al Qaeda operation. It is an al Qaeda of West Africa.”
Now the “Bring Back Our Girls” slogan first became popular on Twitter as a hashtag, but has since been promoted by many celebrities like Salma Hayek. While most everyone has been supportive of the effort, some have made fun of it. For example, when Ann Coulter made of fun of Michelle Obama’s #BringBackOurGirls sign with a political message of her own, the resulting backlash was quite intense.
It’s possible the same may occur with Salma Hayek’s Nigerian girls sign. The New York Post describes Marie-Pierre Hauville, the director of communications for the Cannes festival, “sniffing” at Hayek’s “political stunt” by saying:
“It’s rare. But clearly this is happening all over the world and was a personal impulse.”
What do you think about Salma Hayek supporting the #BringBackOurGirls campaign at Cannes?
Actor #SalmaHayek shows her solidarity with the missing #Nigerian girls on the #Cannes red carpet! pic.twitter.com/6bwnTsFCoB
— HT City (@htcity) May 18, 2014
[Image via Twitter]
