On Sunday October 16th, after enduring two years of captivity by the extremist group Boko Haram, 21 of the 276 girls taken from the Nigerian town of Chibok, were brought back to their families.

When taken in April of 2014, the Nigerian school girls were given a choice to join the terrorist group or become slaves to the militants. About half of them chose to join; these girls have not been seen from since.

The others were enslaved and made to live as servants for the past two years, washing, fetching water, and cooking for the group. The girls, nearly all of them Christian, lived in grass huts and were forced to convert to Islam, according to an October 16 article in The New York Times.

After this horrifying experience, these victims were overjoyed to see their loved ones again. The parents of the freed girls, as well as parents of the girls still held captive, were bused into the nation’s capital, Lagos, for a reunion ceremony.

“I felt like it was the day that I born her into this world,” Ruth Markus told The New York Times. Markus is the mother of Saratu Markus, one of the girls who just regained her freedom.

The girls are currently in the custody of the secret police and are receiving medical and physiological aid, government officials said. Many are emaciated with hunger.

Boko Haram fighters have captured and killed groups of schoolchildren previously, but the 2014 kidnapping drew worldwide attention and fueled the #BringBackOurGirls social campaign.

Their release was granted in return for the swap of some detained leaders of the Islamic militant group.  Compromise failed last year when a $5.2 billion ransom was demanded. Nigeria’s president, Muhammada Buhari, is continuing negotiations with them and said he expects more girls to be freed soon.