Today I took the six-year-old I babysit to get a manicure. In front of us was a TV. It was muted, with captions. CNN was on.

“Eighty-two Chibok schoolgirls have been released after negotiations between the terrorist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government, the President's office said. A government official close to the negotiations told CNN the freed girls are in military custody in the town of Banki in northeast Nigeria. They will be transferred to the capital, Abuja, where they will have medical checks and be reunited with their families.” (CNN)

“What’s going on?” She asked me. I thought for a moment. How much could someone her age digest? If I tell her, will she be worried she’ll be kidnapped? Should she be worried? I could feel the other ladies in the salon waiting to hear how I would respond, some of them judgmentally so.

I explained to her that a group girls had been kidnapped in Africa, and that many of them were just released. She asked me who had taken them.

A group of bad people.

Why?

Because, well, usually when someone is kidnapped, it’s because the kidnappers want something in exchange for their release.

Like jewelry?

Well, sometimes.

What did they want?

They wanted something from the government. They want the government to change.

Terrorist group Boko Haram (roughly translating to Western Education is Forbidden) began its insurgency in 2009. They have bombed, burned, assassinated and abducted the people of Nigeria based on the idea that they must make the country an Islamic State.

I began to imagine what my life would look like if this girl had been taken from her bed at night and held captive for three years. Yes, the Chibok girls were older, but they are only a small fraction of these scenarios. The age range is massive and horrifying. Wouldn’t the government do everything they could? Imagine the girls you know in Western cultures who are in boarding schools. If over two hundred of them had been kidnapped by a radical Islamist group, would it have taken three years to get them back? We can’t be sure until it happens, but it’s worth a thought at the very least.

We must remember that there are still 113 girls being held captive. Though this is a great victory on part of #BringBackOurGirls, headed by Oby Ezekwesili, Bukky Shonibare and Aisha Yesufu, the Nigerian government must not be allowed to forget those who remain. It is this pressure and exposure which keeps them searching. The release of these 82 girls is proof that the protests, the flooding of social media and the people who have used their voices while the Chibok girls can’t has made an undeniable impact.

In a statement released yesterday, Florida Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson has announced that the U.S. secretaries of State and Defense are to create a five-year plan to help the Nigerian government combat Boko Haram’s occupation. This five-year plan will also help to address the crises left in the wake of this occupation such as starvation and denied access to education. This strategy is to be submitted by June 12, 2017. The deadline is 35 days away. It is crucial that it is not missed. The ball cannot be dropped now. We must make sure that the girls are not forgotten, and that the appropriate actions are taken by the Nigerian Government and the participating international partners to ensure that something like this will not happen again. We will bring back our girls if we are steadfast, remain informed, and speak on behalf of those who are being silenced.