Following the Paris Attacks, Some Africans Wonder If All Human Lives Are of Equal Value

Following the November 13 attacks that killed at least 129 people in Paris, France, a large number of Facebook users around the world showed their solidarity with that country by replacing their profile pictures with the French flag.

Many Africans online joined the rest of the world in expressing sympathy and solidarity with France by doing the same. However, not everyone supported the idea, arguing that attacks in Africa do not receive enough global or even local sympathy.

One Facebook user, for example, wanted to know why there wasn't a similar push to change profile pictures to the Nigerian flag after Boko Haram militants killed 200 people in the country.

Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered its fair share of violence from politically or religiously motivated organizations, killing thousands of people. Most of these attacks are from militant groups such as:

*Boko Haram in Nigeria and Cameroon;
*Al Shabaab in Somalia, Kenya and Uganda;
*The Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, South Sudan and Central African Republic;
*Séléka militants in Central African Republic.

For example, on April 2, 2015, Al Shabaab militants attacked the Garissa University College in Kenya, killing 148 people. And on September 21, 2013, the group attacked Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 67 people.

In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria, leading to a global campaign under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. In July 2015, the group killed at least 200 people in Kano, Nigeria.

Amnesty International described a brutal attack on Baga, a town in Nigeria, by Boko Haram early this year as the group’s “deadliest massacre in recent history”. Controversy rages between the official estimate of 150 deaths against the 2,000 reported by other independent sources. The attack happened around the same time that Charlie Hebdo shootings took place in Paris, France. After the Nigerian attack, Global Voices author Nwachukwu Egbunike asked, “Why Hasn't the Baga Massacre Made as Many Headlines as the Charlie Hebdo Attack?”

Out of 10 countries with the highest number of deaths caused by “terrorist activities” in 2014, four of them are in Africa. Nigeria ranks second, before Afghanistan but behind Iraq.

‘I refuse to acknowledge that some human beings are more special’

Nigerian-based Facebook user Sen John Ayokunle Falodun expressed his opposition to the French flag gesture:

To me its so strange how Suddenly people are praying for France, changing [default pictures] to French flag. And I started asking myself different Questions, do we value the lives of the less than 200 people who died in Paris more than the thousands killed by Boko Haram? How many French Nationals do we see use Nigerian flags as [default pictures] and then pray for Nigeria whenever [Boko Haram] strikes? How many of us have prayed for Nigeria in the wake of all the [Boko Haram] strikes? It is time Africa and Africans wake up to be counted mostly Nigerians. I believe it is inferiority complex that is responsible for this. Don't get me wrong, I am totally against terrorism, and I feel pained by the incidence in Paris but i think what my people lack is the will.

Boko Haram killed over 200 in kano in a day, Did Nigeria do not have flag? I wonder why we like to take medicine for another person's headache. Boko haram are killing us in numbers…yet no Nigerian use our flag or wrapped it on His or Her body.

Other Facebook users like Izuchukwu Justin from Nigeria saw nothing wrong with the gesture. He pointed out that Facebook has not forced anyone to use the French flag:

[…] you never woke up to see your profile pix covered with a French flag overlay/ filter, facebook never forced anyone to do that!, so why the f**k are you complaining Now??, Hey guys groW uP!, this is JUST to express solidarity for FRANCE, if you don't wanna do it, i mean changing your profile pix, you want to show solidarity in your mind but not on facebook, GOOD!!!!. Also if you choose not to show solidarity nor pray for them, its yours! OK.

Writing on a citizen media site, Zambia Reports, Peter Adamu called the criticism of the French flag profile photo “primitive thinking and hypocritical”. He argued that acts of violence themselves don't discriminate based on nationality, but instead target anyone in sight, as well as that France and other Western countries have given much in resources and support. Many people in Western countries participated in the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, he pointed out, and even if they hadn't:

Even if France and other European nations did not show sympathy with African death victims, 2 wrong don’t make a right. Moreover our African culture attaches much respect to death victims regardless of race!

EDITOR'S NOTE: We are one and we live in a global village so let's support each other regardless of our Race!

*Originally written by Ndesanjo Macha for globalvoices.org