by Isha Sesay
Courtesy of the author.
A heavy ring of Nigerian security stands guard as the twenty-one girls and I prepare to leave Yola for Chibok, December 23, 2016.
Courtesy of the author.
Due to security concerns, the Nigerian authorities made the decision to spend the night in Yola with the twenty-one newly freed girls before setting off for Chibok the next morning.
Courtesy of the author.
Giggling and bursting with excitement, the twenty-one girls board a bus for the short journey from an Abuja airport terminal to the plane waiting on the tarmac.
Courtesy of the author.
In our second meeting since their release in October 2016, many of the twenty-one freed girls quickly gathered around me to take a selfie, before we left Abuja for Chibok on December 22, 2016.
Courtesy of the author.
On October 19, 2016, six days after the twenty-one girls were released, I meet them for the first time at the presidential villa in Abuja.
Courtesy of the author.
Anxious family members wait in the heat to be reunited with their girls on their first visit home to Chibok since their release, December 23, 2016.
Adam Dobby.
The girls rejoice as they are reunited with loved ones in Chibok.
Adam Dobby.
Moments before leaving Yola for Chibok, the girls are told to pose for a picture with the governor of the state, Jibrilla Bindow, December 23, 2016.
Adam Dobby.
The twenty-one freed girls excitedly leave the rehabilitation center they’d been housed in, ahead of the trip home to Chibok, December 22, 2016.
Adam Dobby.
Emotions run high as the twenty-one freed girls are reunited with loved ones in Chibok for the first time since their abduction in 2014.
Adam Dobby.
Born to Deborah while in captivity, baby Amos emerged happy and without any significant health complaints.
Adam Dobby.
The twenty-one girls disembark at the Abuja airport and make their way to the terminal to check in for their flight to Yola, December 22, 2016.
Adam Dobby.
During a quick stop in Mararaba Mubi to refuel, I quickly record my thoughts on the journey to Chibok for my CNN report.
Adam Dobby.
Parents of the newly returned twenty-one Chibok girls wait in the harsh sun to enter the compound and be reunited with their daughters.
Adam Dobby.
Adamawa State Governor Bindow and the twenty-one freed girls, moments before the girls departed Yola for Chibok.
Adam Dobby.
The girls enjoy cookies and soda, their first sugary treats since their kidnapping nearly two and a half years earlier.
Zannah Mustapha.
The newly freed twenty-one, still in the drab hijabs they had been forced to wear in captivity, are transported from Banki, the location of their release.
Zannah Mustapha.
I try to console a distraught Madame Yanna as she mourns the ongoing captivity of her daughter, Rifkatu Galang.
Adam Dobby.
The girls’ parents listen patiently as a Nigerian military official tells them that most of their daughters will not be allowed home for Christmas after all, due to the ongoing Boko Haram security concerns.
Adam Dobby.
Twenty-one-year-old Saa, currently living and studying in the United States.
Courtesy of Saa.
About the Author
ISHA SESAY is an award-winning journalist who has covered global events and major breaking news with a focus on stories of social injustice and their impact on women and girls. Sesay led the CNN team that won a 2014 Peabody Award for coverage of the missing Chibok girls, hosted CNN NewsCenter, and headed the network’s Africa reporting for ten years. She received a Gracie Award for Outstanding Anchor for her coverage of the Chibok girls story, in addition to other accolades during her tenure at CNN. She is the founder of W.E. (Women Everywhere) Can Lead, a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing and empowering teenage girls to become Africa’s next generation of leaders. Of Sierra Leonean descent, Sesay grew up in Britain and holds a BA with honors in English from Trinity College, Cambridge University. She lives in Los Angeles.
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Copyright
The names and identifying characteristics of some individuals discussed in this book were changed to protect their privacy.
BENEATH THE TAMARIND TREE. Copyright © 2019 by Isha Sesay. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Cover design by Ploy Siripant
Cover photographs © Adam Dobby (Chibok schoolgirls walking); © Vinicius Tupinamba/Shutterstock (sky); © Morphart Creation/Shutterstock (flower ornament)
Tamarind leaves artwork © MariPo/Shutterstock
FIRST EDITION
Digital Edition JULY 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-268662-6
Version 05272019
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-268667-1
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