TORONTO “I hunt them down.” These are the words of Aisha, a hunter whose prey is plaguing Nigeria: the Islamist terror group Boko Haram. Aisha leads groups of men into the forests to find and free women who have experienced being abducted, tortured and raped by Boko Haram’s members. Her story is featured in the new TVO documentary “Captive,” helmed by Canadian journalist Mellissa Fung. Fung, herself a survivor of a kidnapping while working for the CBC in Afghanistan in 2008, spoke to CTV News’ Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme about “Captive,” and the women fighting back against Boko Haram’s atrocities.
Canadian journalist documents atrocities of Boko Haram
by Shauna Hunt
Last Updated Feb 10, 2021 at 6:48 pm EDT
Canadian journalist Mellissa Fung went deep into Boko Haram-occupied territory in Nigeria to interview some of the young girls who escaped after being held hostage by the terrorist group in 2018 for her new documentary.
The result was “Captive,” a film that examines the girls’ pain, suffering and mental health, while reflecting on Fung’s own experience of being kidnapped while reporting in Afghanistan.
“The word ‘kidnapping’ is a trigger word for me,” Fung notes.
In 2017, she took conflict safety training and embarked on a journey to northeastern Nigeria – a section of the country dominated by the militant group.