Unlike the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, which dominated international headlines, the murder of 148 students at Garissa University College in Kenya has not yet received the same attention from the media.
A new hashtag created by Ory Okolloh Mwangi is looking to change that by humanizing the victims of the extremist attack led by the militant group al-Shabaab. (For those unfamiliar with the events, The BBC charts the horrific details of the morning five gunmen opened fire on a college campus.) Family and friends of the victims are using the hashtag #147notjustanumber (the official body count rose since the start of the campaign) to share the stories of those killed in the attack and assert that #AfricanLivesMatter. Quartz has more details on the campaign.
Mary Muchiri Shee, Miss Garissa University #147notjustanumber We will name them one by one. pic.twitter.com/WuUBOkBsye
— Tom Vandenbosch (@TVandenbosch) April 5, 2015
This is Tobias, he died in #GarissaAttack; to us he's not a number, he's a son, bro, friend. #147notJustANumber pic.twitter.com/dUSLXnCv9V
— Mr. B (@Benogola) April 5, 2015
Jeff Macharia #147notjustanumber #TheyHaveNames pic.twitter.com/1Svey5LFQU
— Maskani Ya Taifa (@Maskani254) April 5, 2015
5) @Maskani254: Lydia Melody Obondi #147notjustanumber #TheyHaveNames pic.twitter.com/CSUd7vlfXz”
— Laurence Parisot (@LaurenceParisot) April 5, 2015
Lived & died for country … KDF Soldier Solomon Oludo. We honor your life & sacrifice. #147NotJustANumber pic.twitter.com/d8xSCOLz9M
— THAMANI (@ThamaniAfrica) April 4, 2015