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This is the Niger Delta
A vast swamp in Nigeria where the river Niger meets the Atlantic
We have a belief...
...that the air, waterspace here is occupied by the gods
I used to go to the river and meditate most mornings but now you can not
Because gas and oil exploration has driven away these gods so far away
In 1956 Shell drilled the first oil well in the Delta in a village called Oloibiri
Today Nigeria is the eighth biggest oil exporter in the world
I don't think it is anything we can be proud of
Because since oil was discovered in the Delta people have known no peace
The fuel you use comes from our area
It should have made Nigeria rich but if you come to the Niger Delta you see nothing of that...
Especially the environment, we have nowhere to live, no hospital, we don't have anything.
You who watch this, the oil that you use comes from my area, but see our condition...
I'm illiterate, I didn't go to school because of school fees.
Ifie and Tina are volunteers for Environmental Rights Action, the Nigerian Friends of the Earth
They go around the Delta to document the impact of the oil industry on communities
Since we can't fight, we don't have guns, the only voice we have is this video editing
They say we don't know books, we can't write much
But if we're able to make a small film about what is happening to us...
...it will go to the internet and the whole world will see it
This is crude oil... all over the bush and all the surrounding streams and rivers
There have been five thousand major oil spills in the Delta in fifty years
One and a half million tons of oil has been discharged into the creeks, farms and forests
That is like one Exxon Valdez disaster, every year, for fifty years
Since Shell started operations here... and some oil spillages...
Fish, crayfish, lobster, crab... up to snake... they died
Even the snails, the oil has killed all. Small children are dying...
Look, the cassava is all rotten, the oil spoils it like this
Our plantain, cassava, cocoyam... everything dies
All our food, all our fish... die, finished
Like our fish ponds that have been damaged... our plants...
The loss of livelihood, no compensation
So we just lost... a total loss... nothing
And if you talk, as soon as you talk, it's a military intervention
The community asked us to do the cleanup
The odour...
I was five months pregnant
I miscarried.
We were nine women who miscarried.
We know the number of barrels produced a day...
Every day, two million barrels of oil comes up from thousands of meters down in the earth
But when it gets to the community we are benefiting nothing
The oil is mixed with natural gas
The ice on the pipe shows that the oil from this well contains lots of gas
Then most of this natural gas is burnt off in gas flares
Why? Because gas is difficult to ship across the Atlantic
The oil companies can pump the oil faster if they don't have to take care of the gas
Wasting it costs them nothing
When you stand near that gas flare... the heat
There is something in the fire that stings the skin
You lose taste
Your tongue... you won't feel your lips
And it itches, even at night you can't sleep, you'll be scratching your skin
Poison fire... see a storm... inside the fire
Gas flaring in Nigeria releases as much greenhouse gases as 18 million cars
They waste gas worth billions of dollars per year
It could be used to generate electricity for Africa, or it could be reinjected into the earth
But they burn it
The delta is densely populated with some 20 million people
Many flares are located in village lands, some just a few hundred meters from the houses
The flares cause acid rain that damages crops and soil
They emit hundreds of different substances known to cause respiratory disease and cancer
This is the hell we've been living with for the past 32 years
We have cases associated with lungs, breathing problems, asthmatic patients
Every food we eat is polluted by gas
We are not saying they should give us money, we are saying that gas flaring has to stop...
We don't want Shell
- We don't want Shell - In our community
People have protested the destruction of their environment since oil drilling began
Since 1957... their pipeline is still there until now
Shell has not done anything, they should not come this time
It is also believed by our people that because these gods are angry...
...they now possess these boys to fight back
All these kidnappings were attributed to that these boys are possessed by angry gods
Violence attracts violence, peace attracts peace
The oil companies have introduced restiveness and violence in our society
Division... you know, divide and conquer
There is no more peace. Unlike how we were living in our ancient days
Comrade Che is a retired trade union man and a social activist and organiser in the Delta
The young lady who is with me here, she is the chairperson of Egi women congress
They join forces with me, international NGOs were coming, going around in the communities
They were seeing the gas flaring and the damages done by it
At a point in time I realised the government was disappointing us
Because they were saying they want to stop gas flaring 2004, 2006, 2008...
The oil companies, NNPC, the government itself... and we came to see they were not doing it
Since I don't believe in violence I felt I should take this matter to court
We mean business and we want justice. We want the gas flaring to stop. Not only that...
We want the oil companies to stop operations in the Niger Delta
We are no scientists, we are illiterates, and they are taking advantage...
We are plaintiffs from various oil producing communities in the Delta, Rivers State
We took the major oil companies and the federal government of Nigeria to court-
-concerning the issue of gas flaring
We have an application at the federal high court, asking them to-
-put an immediate end to gas flaring in our communities
We went there today but because of the vacation the case has been adjourned to 27th of September
The oil companies don't come to the Niger Delta to develop the Niger Delta, they are businessmen
They come here to make profit and go away
In my opinion it is not just a question that we should stop gas flaring, this is a first step...
We want all these oil companies to stop operations
So that the earth may recycle itself
-Because when the wells will dry... -What happens to our land?
There are many countries in the world that don't produce oil but they are doing fine
The case in Port Harcourt did not move forward
But in neighbouring Delta State, in a community called Iwherekan-
-there was a parallell case that belonged to the federal high court in Benin City
And here a courageous judge ordered Shell to stop flaring gas immediately
Iwherekan has been a famous place for me for the last one year
It is leading the fight in Nigeria to stop gas flaring
And your community are fighting to stop it and have won the judgement in the court
And the world as a result knows of you and your fight
We are host to Shell...
...and the land acquired by Shell has Utorogu gas plant
We have about twenty oil wells in the land
And since 1985 when Shell acquired this land they have been flaring gas to our community
And we have called them, talked to them, that this is affecting us in numerous ways
It is killing our animals, our aquatic life, our fish
Yes it's our land... but if they see us here they beat us, shoot at us.
We have eye defects because of the gas flaring, it is very red, every one of us is red...
The judgement established that gas flaring is illegal in Nigeria
It says gas flaring is a gross violation of the people's fundamental right to life
And therefore unconstitutional
Shell have wicked us... they kill us, kill our land
There is nothing you can plant in our village anymore, we are hungry...
We are jobless... Shell is a curse for us, we want Shell to leave us alone
Tell Shell to leave the country
Oil should be a blessing and not a curse to our land, but it is a curse now
Nothing to show for it... is it like that in the Netherlands, in England, in the western world?
We are dying here
Ifie travelled to the Netherlands together with Adaka from Environmental Rights Action
They were to attend Shell's annual general meeting with the company shareholders
There should be a campaign, everybody goes in front of the oil companies and strip their clothes
And pee on their floor... that would be very good
They raise up their dress and show them their ***, it's a curse
-They should see their flat *** -And the oil wells will run dry...
These women have used their *** to feed their children...
-That are dying every day -And see what is happening to their children...
The gods will curse them
The judge in Nigeria had set a date for when Shell must present a plan for stopping flaring
My question is, the court has ordered...
And for you Shell to come up with a plan... are you going to present that plan, yes or no?
...your view on the case that is coming up the 31st this month
-Will you want to stop gas flares? -Yes we fully agree the flares should stop...
Thank you very much, I just came to say hello to you and shake your hand
-Where are you from? -Nigeria, Bayelsa state
-And my wish is for you people to stop gas flaring -No problem... I come back to that in the meeting
Here I am, shaking hands with Jeroen van der Veer, the CEO of Shell
We gather there, people from Russia, Ireland, Philippines, South Africa, Nigeria
All of us gather, go there with one voice
This is Omiyi, listen to what he says
I'm the country chair for Nigeria, I'm the MD of Shell
If it is sabotage we cannot pay compensation
Of course we don't listen to that, we still pay...
But we pretend we don't pay, we call it loss of livelihood, do you get what I mean?
-So you think something will be paid to Oruma? -Yes obviously...
-He has done nothing for us -What he has said is wrong
He wants to buy the white people... to close our eyes, he has not given us anything
We have cleaned up 75% of the spills, of the ones that are left 80% will be done this year
Those shareholders, they should call him, talk to him, even remove him from his post...
Put another person on the post who can help us
Call him
-I want to make phone call -Try Emanuel's house, the one with the fat woman
No answer
But there are areas where we haven't had access to do the cleaning up, that's in Ogoniland
The federal government is trying reconciliation
But the people there don't want us to clean it up until we resolve our differences
He told me that Shell wants to come and clean up Ogoniland
But the Ogoni people don't want Shell to come and clean up-
-so I said that when I come back-
-I will hear from the Ogoni people's mouth, is that true?
Shell has never come here to clean up and we have refused, they have never..
We have been appealing to them to come and do the cleaning
Not to talk of damages.. they don't even do compensation
I would have thought that if environment was important they would let us come and clean up...
They want to survive but they can't, they are dying... because of crude oil
Because of crude oil
So... somebody tell you that we don't want to live in an environment that is clean...
We are pigs. But even pigs, they wash them every morning
But Shell say we like to stay in a dirty environment which is not to be clean...
Is that possible?
There was this ruling in Benin that Shell...
...should come up with a plan on how to stop gas flaring
The plan exists... but the federal government...
-Is Shell going to present it 31st of May this year? -Yeah, I haven't, I don't know what... we have a plan
He's just protecting his company, his own money, his job... he knows what is happening
But because he want to remain in position...
Just like anybody in Nigeria, when you send a budget to the government....
They never approve the budget, they cut it
If you deal with corruption, then you would have dealt with a lot of things
Unfortunately... I know the federal government tries to deal with corruption from the top...
You say government is corrupt and you are drilling the oil... stop then until you correct it
He said they clean up spills, pay for livelihood... he has not done it
But maybe he has good intentions, we don't know, we give him the benefit of doubt
I see Omiyi as an innocent, nice person willing to discuss
I can't push him to the wall and say he is lying, I don't know the reason why he said so
We will go there, he will give us the plan, and we will discuss
Please can you make it short... ask your question
Cameras were not allowed in the meeting
So the questions were recorded in secret
I ask you to listen to these people, we have been waiting for a long time
-Can we please speak? -Yes sorry, I said that before...
My name is Ifie Lott, I'm from Bayelsa state
A high court judge ruled that Shell should present a plan on how they're going to stop flaring
We want to know if you are going to present this plan
Would we make a committment to put the flares out...
...with regard to the high court motion
For clarification, there are still legal proceedings going ahead...
...we have appealed to the court of appeal
...with regard to a stay of execution on that ruling
He was trying to put the blame back to government
The reason why we have not been able to go faster is that-
-the funding has not been made available by the government
I understand that, they have many pressing other priorities for the use of their funds
The duty of ending gas flaring is squarely on the company flaring the gas
Not the federal government...
The government have done their part by making that law outlawing gas flaring in Nigeria
We are on track to putting all flares out in 2009, and we want to do that as fast as possible
It's no longer a political issue, not at their discretion to take steps when they think they can
It is now a mandatory obligation, you have to do it
It's a necessity, it's a law... a right... and a duty
You decided to deal with Nigeria, you know what the government is like
That it will never give you the money to end gas flaring
So I suggest that Shell takes its responsibility
If you can't handle that, then don't do business in Nigeria
It is a classical example of lawlessness
We have a judgement which has declared that gas flaring is illegal
It's unconstitutional, a violation of right to life and dignity of human person
And also asks Shell to stop further flaring of gas
That judgement is still valid, it has not been set aside by this court
Shell are only allowed to continue if they submit their detailed plan for phasing out?
And they have failed to do that so there is no excuse why they should continue to flare gas
We have had a fantastic judgement in the court in Benin City-
-holding Shell liable for human rights violations and requiring them to stop
When you see Shell's business principles about complying with the law where they operate
How dare they say that? It's complete nonsense...
It's shameful that they behave like this when a court in Nigeria-
-tells them that they must stop gas flaring, it is disgraceful
And the great thing is that there are many communities around the Niger Delta-
-who now have sufficient self respect to stand up to the companies
-and say that we are not prepared to put up with this kind of behaviour any longer
It's gone on for over forty years and enough is enough
Shell is above the law in Nigeria
The government has said 2008 is the deadline
Other corporations have said ok, we'll do everything possible to meet that target date
It is only Shell that has said, look, we will not be able to do this
We will only manage to see if we can do that by the end of 2009...
...which is a possibility, and this means that come 2009 and they will tell you that-
-they were unable, so they can set their own date, maybe to 2020...
The main reason why I came back to redo this video with communities-
-is because of what happened at The Hague
I asked them questions and they were blaming my government, accusing us of being corrupt
My problem is, if my government is corrupt why do you do business with it?
They have a responsibility to clean up the environment which they damage
That's why communities point at them, they are the people they know
Have I seen government pipe leaking? No, but I have seen Shell pipe...
...leaking
Those directors... all these big men who own the oil wells...
They should come to Bayelsa State
Come and stand near where the flame comes out
Come and stand small near the oil