We were trying to raise awareness about the human rights violations occuring in the Niger Delta. Basically Shell went into the delta and polluted the land and poisoned the water and stuff. And now it is just leaving without cleaning up and without compensating the hundreds of workers who no longer have jobs and can't go back to farming because the land is destroyed.
What we did was some of us (me!) dressed up like buiness people to represent shell and a group of people dressed up like the villagers of Nigeria and a group of people asked people to sign the petition.
And then the villagers yelled stuff like "I need water" "give me back my job" "how can I feed my family" "What is more important: water or oil?" and " my life sold for thier black gold" and the shell workers ignored them and shoved them around. And we did a few skits like: the villagers would line up and then yell something and then die and then the shell workers would walk over their bodies and yell stuff baout how their profit was doing. And other times when the villagers asked for water we would pour out the clean water infront of them or give them water filled with dirt.
Anyways I think was pretty effective because we ran out of sheets to sign for the petition and started getting people to sign lined paper we happened to have! I don't actually know how many signatures we got but I think we got quite a few :)
Unfortunately, becuase I was acting for most of the day my photos are not very good, but here they are.
This was a group of the shell workers surrounded by some of the villagers (it was really bad at one point because someone's backpack got nicked. So we had to put all of our stuff in the middle...which didn't look so good, but it was safer)
Here are some more yelling villagers and Jas (a shell worker) telling them to back down and that we don't care and they are fired etc.
more villagers
This is one of the two big signs that we held. and then most of ouracting went on in between the two signs. So people were forced to slow down and look at what was happening. And as they walked passed we tried to gte them to sign the petition
Here are two of the fabulous shell workers :)
And then we sent the petition to the new CEO of Shell (Peter Voser)
and here is the petition if you are curious:
To Peter Voser
Chief Executive Officer
Royal Dutch Shell
Carel van Bylandtlaan 30The Hague, Zuid-Holland 2596 HRNetherlands
We, the undersigned, call upon Royal Dutch Shell to take full responsibility for the negative consequences of their actions, and inactions, in the Niger Delta.
Royal Dutch Shell has contributed to and profited from the violation of the basic human rights (as determined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) of the local people in the Niger Delta, including: the right to food, the right to work and an adequate standard of living, the right to health and the right to a healthy environment.
The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment declared that "man's environment, the natural and the man-made, are essential to his well-being and to the enjoyment of basic human rights – even the right to life itself." Widespread environmental damage associated with oil extraction has destroyed livelihoods, polluted water and undermined health in the Niger Delta. The same oil extraction that has generated wealth for Shell has deepened the poverty of many. According to the United Nations Development Program, more than 60% of the people in the region depend on the natural environment for their livelihood. The rivers and streams of the Niger Delta are directly used by the local people for drinking, bathing, fishing and harvesting, but Amnesty International’s research has found that these vital resources have been the receiving bodies for oil spills and waste discharge, including waste water and dumped drilling waste, for decades. Shell has also participated in gas flaring in the Niger Delta, majorly contributing to carbon dioxide emissions and climate change, and negatively affecting the health of the local people.
According to Human Rights Watch, Nigerian law requires oil companies to: respect high environmental standards in order to prevent and remedy pollution; to protect inhabited areas from oil flaring and other dangerous aspects of oil production; to provide fair and adequate compensation for buildings, crops, fishing rights, or other property adversely affected by their operations.
In light of these facts, we demand that Royal Dutch Shell:
1. Undertake a comprehensive clean-up of all oil pollution and remediation of all areas damaged as a result actions taken by Shell, in consultation with the affected communities, and report on this publicly and regularly
2. Disclose all information on the impact of oil operations on the environment and human rights, including any studies Shell may have done on the impact of its operations on the communities and the environment in the Niger Delta
3. Provide fair monetary compensation directly to those people whose basic human rights have been violated as a consequence of Shell’s actions and inactions in the Niger Delta
Chief Executive Officer
Royal Dutch Shell
Carel van Bylandtlaan 30The Hague, Zuid-Holland 2596 HRNetherlands
We, the undersigned, call upon Royal Dutch Shell to take full responsibility for the negative consequences of their actions, and inactions, in the Niger Delta.
Royal Dutch Shell has contributed to and profited from the violation of the basic human rights (as determined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) of the local people in the Niger Delta, including: the right to food, the right to work and an adequate standard of living, the right to health and the right to a healthy environment.
The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment declared that "man's environment, the natural and the man-made, are essential to his well-being and to the enjoyment of basic human rights – even the right to life itself." Widespread environmental damage associated with oil extraction has destroyed livelihoods, polluted water and undermined health in the Niger Delta. The same oil extraction that has generated wealth for Shell has deepened the poverty of many. According to the United Nations Development Program, more than 60% of the people in the region depend on the natural environment for their livelihood. The rivers and streams of the Niger Delta are directly used by the local people for drinking, bathing, fishing and harvesting, but Amnesty International’s research has found that these vital resources have been the receiving bodies for oil spills and waste discharge, including waste water and dumped drilling waste, for decades. Shell has also participated in gas flaring in the Niger Delta, majorly contributing to carbon dioxide emissions and climate change, and negatively affecting the health of the local people.
According to Human Rights Watch, Nigerian law requires oil companies to: respect high environmental standards in order to prevent and remedy pollution; to protect inhabited areas from oil flaring and other dangerous aspects of oil production; to provide fair and adequate compensation for buildings, crops, fishing rights, or other property adversely affected by their operations.
In light of these facts, we demand that Royal Dutch Shell:
1. Undertake a comprehensive clean-up of all oil pollution and remediation of all areas damaged as a result actions taken by Shell, in consultation with the affected communities, and report on this publicly and regularly
2. Disclose all information on the impact of oil operations on the environment and human rights, including any studies Shell may have done on the impact of its operations on the communities and the environment in the Niger Delta
3. Provide fair monetary compensation directly to those people whose basic human rights have been violated as a consequence of Shell’s actions and inactions in the Niger Delta
"it was really bad at one point because someone's backpack got nicked."
ReplyDelete"nicked"? I daresay your time in Wales is starting to affect you. :P Anyway, that's co cool you guys did that! Good luck with the letter!
Good for you Jes!
ReplyDeleteAlso I have to agree with the above comment - "nicked". You have converted!