Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) It was footage that broke hearts around the world, underlining the ongoing suffering of the Chibok mothers -- and the unimaginable plight faced by their daughters.
Images of Nigerian woman Rifkatu Ayuba overcome as she recognized her teen daughter, Saratu, in a "proof of life" video produced by her captors -- and obtained exclusively by CNN -- prompted renewed outrage over the 2014 kidnappings.
From protesters marching in Nigerian cities to social media users in distant countries raising their voices, the story stirred fresh outpourings of anger and frustration.
Anger at the atrocity itself, but also at the official response. How was it that two years after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their school dormitory, the Nigerian government and the global community -- which had expressed so resolutely its determination to #bringbackourgirls -- had failed to rescue the 219 still missing?
And why had the Nigerian government -- believed to have been in possession of the video since mid-January -- failed to inform the families of the missing girls it had the film, the first glimmer of hope their daughters were still alive?
The video, obtained by CNN and showing 15 girls in robes identifying themselves, is believed to have been made in December in the course of negotiations between the government and parties claiming to represent Boko Haram.
Shot on Christmas Day, it was released by someone keen to give the girls' parents hope that some of their daughters are still alive, and to motivate the government to help release them.
Two of the three women to whom CNN screened the footage were able to recognize their daughters, while a third was distressed it did not show her daughter. A classmate of the missing girls also identified several of the teens in the footage.
"Bring back our girls": The demand, circulated on social media by ordinary citizens and such high-profile figures such as first lady Michelle Obama alike, is a simple one.
"We are the United States, all our resources, satellites, and badass attitude and we can't help?" wrote Maryland-based Twitter user Derrick Gladden, in a comment that reflected widespread disillusionment that the international community had proved so impotent.
News Source: CNN
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