Thirty months after being kidnapped by Boko Haram, 21 Nigerian girls who were kidnapped from Chibok were released last week, and some were reunited with their families in Abuja, Nigeria on Sunday. Al Jazeera reports that the girls, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014, were released last Thursday, but it took until Sunday for some of their families to travel to Abuja and welcome them home.
Al Jazeera reports that the reunions were joyful and tear-filled as the girls embraced their families. Some of the girls also discussed their experience in captivity, telling harrowing stories of slavery and forced religious conversion.
The New York Times reports that the kidnapped schoolgirls were forced to choose between marrying militants and slavery to the group. The girls told their families on Sunday that about half of the kidnapped girls married, and the others had to cook, wash, and fetch water for their armed captors. Some of the girls died while being held captive, the Times reports.
The Times further reported that the girls are currently under the care of Nigeria's secret police, and are being given medical and psychological treatment.
More than 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram are still missing, but the New York Times reports that the Nigerian government expects more girls will be freed soon.
