More than six months after 18 students went missing in Ethiopia, advocates for the victims are still searching for answers. Frustrated by the lack of information, activists and community members have been pressuring the government to provide on-going updates about the investigation.
The latest update from the government came on June 8 in a brief statement on Twitter. According to the statement in Amharic, there is still nobody that has taken responsibility for the alleged abduction, but multiple people who are believed to be connected to the incident have been taken for questioning.
According to activists who are leading the “Bring Back Our Students” movement, 14 girls and four boys were forced out of a bus traveling from Dembi Dolo University in western Ethiopia to the capital, Addis Ababa. The current location and status of the students who went missing in December is still unknown.
Poets and musicians have joined the movement, using their art to paint a picture of the anguish families are feeling as they pray for their children to come back.
Families speaking with BBC pleaded for help in bringing back their children.
One of the students, Asmira Shumiye, spoke with BBC after escaping from the abductors.
“They selected us and forced us to leave the bus. One person followed us and begged them to leave us, but they refused,” Asmira told BBC. “They made us walk for a long time. Some of the students were very tired. They stumbled and fell. While the abductors were trying to help some of them, I managed to run away. They didn’t notice when I left.”
Asmira said she found a man who helped her get a ride so she can go back to the city.
The community is still chanting the names of the remaining 17 students and pushing forward until there is a solution.