Scott Peg, Director of International Studies at IUPUI’s Department of Political Science, alerted us to these three organizations whose mission is to help the people of the Niger Delta region in various ways.
He writes:
“The project that I have been working on for almost 8 years now with schools in Bodo and Bane in the Ogoni part of Rivers State can be found at http://www.bebor.org … It obviously won't solve all the problems in the Delta, but I didn't want to be one of those academics who flies in for a quick visit, gets Patrick or Patterson or Von to show them around for 4 days and then writes an article and never puts anything back into the area. We are now almost finished with classroom buildings in both villages and moving rapidly into a water and sanitation phase to provide latrines and boreholes at each school.
A similar great project run by a British couple in Akwa Ibom State which also does a lot of work campaigning against child witchcraft there can be found at http://www.steppingstonesnigeria.org.
One other link is Patrick Naagbanton's NGO, the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development. They are amongst the distinct minority of NGOs that do not accept funding from the oil companies or the Nigerian government. Their website is http://www.cehrd.org.”
Please take a look at these links and get involved!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Ever More Ways to Help
powerHouse Exhibition
August 15 - September 2 Curse of the Black Gold will be exhibited at the powerHouse Arena! Opening is on August 28, 6-9pm. Keep an eye out for updates on this event.
Communication Arts
Five of Ed Kashi’s photographs from the Niger Delta slaughter made their way into Communication Arts’ Photography Annual 49 this August. To see his images, take a look at pages 148-149.
NPPA Members Alert:
In July’s News Photographer Magazine, Stephen Wolgast reviews Curse of the Black Gold. For those of you who receive News Photographer, be sure to take a look at pages 30-33, or you can see the spreads in the press clippings area of the gallery section of the Curse of the Black Gold website.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Boys Will Be Boys
I am consistently amazed at how childish grown men can behave in the pursuit of their goals. This issue of honor and respect seems to cut to the heart of why so many conflicts continue unabated in the world today. Read this short article from the Times of Nigeria and notice it feeds off a previous post.
Here is Link
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Disturbing Article: Paying Off Militants
The following article illustrates how warped things have become in the Niger Delta: a major nationalized oil company has openly admitted to paying off militants so they can make repairs on their oil facilities.
NNPC Paid Militants $6 Million, Says GMD
This Day (Lagos) NEWS
23 July 2008
By Stanley Nkwazema Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said yesterday that it paid Niger Delta militants $6 million in order to allow it repair the Chanomi Crude oil pipeline in Delta State.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Ed Kashi & Wole Soyinka Discuss the Niger Delta on Al Jazeera
Yesterday Ed appeared on the Riz Khan show on Al Jazeera's English language station. Also on the show was Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian nobel laureate. The topic was oil, the Niger Delta and the political situation in that troubled region.
Click here to watch Part One on YouTube
Click here to watch Part Two on YouTube
NPR News & Notes
July 22, 2008 interview with Ed Kashi and Omoyele Sowore
"This situation is unsustainable. What's going on in the Niger Delta, the perverse relationship between the West, and now increasingly China and India as they need more resources, that this situation, this dynamic is unsustainable. We've got to wake up. We've got to pay attention. Because frankly, oil has a negative impact on the people and on the environment."
-Ed Kashi, excerpt from the interview.
Click here to listen to this 9 minute interview
Monday, July 21, 2008
MEND Offers To Help Free German Hostages
The Times of Nigeria, Sun Jul, 20 2008
Nigeria’s main rebel group, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) today said it will assist Nigerian authorities locate and the release two German construction workers help hostage by militants in the oil producing region last week.
In a statement signed by the group’s spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, MEND said:
“Will intervene towards the release of the two German construction staff of Julius Berger who were ambushed and kidnapped for ransome in Rivers state of Nigeria on Friday July 11, 2008 because from all indications, the inept Nigerian security forces have been unable to make any progress towards their freedom.
“We consider such criminal acts as a duty for the law enforcement agencies as practiced in every part of the world and as a rule, never get involved. However, this case will be an exception to the rule because the men are involved in construction of infrastructure in the Niger Delta region.
“MEND has located and identified the culprits and will begin negotiating with the kidnappers in the hope for a safe and unconditional release of the captives.” The statement said.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Land of Many Colors - American Photo
July 17, 2008 by Jack Crager
Africa has always been a continent of such wild extremes — cultural and geographic, political and demographic — that it defies categorization, lives in its own realm, yet continues to impact the entire planet. These days the land is much in the news as turmoil in the Niger Delta exacerbates the global oil crisis; the U.S. prepares to nominate its first African-American major-party contender; and the world debates war-crimes charges against a sitting president, among other things. All of which serves as a backdrop to an ambitious series of photo exhibitions called Africas, at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, from now to September.
Click here to read the rest of the article.On BBB: Nigerian activists reject UK plan
Here is an interesting article and Von Kemedi, one of the Nigerian authors in Curse of the Black Gold, is quoted as well.
BBC Story
Thursday, July 17, 2008
FACTBOX-Why unrest in Nigeria's oil heartland matters
July 16 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown meets Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua in London on Wednesday and is expected to discuss ways to help Nigeria tackle lawlessness in its oil-producing Niger Delta.
Below are answers to some questions about the Niger Delta and why it matters to the wider world.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Ed Kashi on CNN Friday the 11th
Poison Fire - Grassroots Activism
"Poison Fire follows a team of local activists as they gather “video testimonies” from communities on the impact of oils spills and gas flaring. We see creeks full of crude oil, devastated mangrove forests, wellheads that has been leaking gas and oil for months. We meet people whose survival is acutely threatened by the loss of farmland, fishing and drinking water and the health hazards of gas flaring."
This video shows the ineffectiveness of working with a corrupt government and with irresponsible gas companies who will do anything to avoid cleaning up after themselves.
Please watch this 30 minute movie.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Ed Kashi and the Importance of Advocacy Journalism
Check out this great article on PopPhoto.com
Ed Kashi and the Importance of Advocacy Journalism
A crusading photographer takes on the dirtiest subject of his career: oil.
By David Schonauer
July 14, 2008
"Photojournalist Ed Kashi says, "At the tender age of 50 I became what I always wanted to be." Kashi describes his trade as "advocacy journalism." His goal, he says, is to tell visual stories that not only inform viewers but also inspire them to find "activist solutions to social problems." Kashi, a longtime contributor to National Geographic magazine, has earned a reputation as a dogged journalist, covering the plight of the Kurdish people of Iraq and working in troubled areas such as Northern Ireland and the West Bank. But his career breakthrough occurred in 2003, with a project called Aging In America: The Years Ahead. The tender look at the issues of aging was at the forefront of a new approach to photojournalism -- an approach that combined still photography, video documentary, an award-winning book, and a resource-laden website to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Kashi's latest project, about the oil industry of the Niger Delta region of Africa, takes his notion of advocacy journalism to a new level of sophistication"
Click here to see the rest of the article.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Relevant Reuters Article
Nigeria's top building firm pulls out of Niger Delta
By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's biggest construction firm, Julius Berger JUBR.LG, is pulling out of the oil-producing Niger Delta because of the deteriorating security situation there, a senior company executive said on Saturday.
Gunmen kidnapped two Germans working for the firm, the Nigerian unit of German builder Bilfinger Berger (GBFG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), on Friday, blowing their armoured vehicle off the road with dynamite and killing a soldier in their convoy.
Africa: The Next Victim in Our Quest for Cheap Oil
Alternet now has an article up about Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years in the Niger Delta which includes an interview with Michael Watts.
"The new book Curse of the Black Gold shows how Nigeria may be the epicenter of the full-blown resource wars to come.
Whether or not we have fully arrived at peak oil can be left to the nitpickers and bean counters to decide. What we know for sure is that the cost of black gold has exponentially risen in just a few short years, and the global economy it is built upon is currently straddling a razor waiting for the inevitable slice. That final cut may come from Nigeria, where all the major oil companies have done business, dirty and otherwise, for the last five decades, degrading the environment and depressing the general population along the way."
Read the rest of the article and an interview with Michael Watts here.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
What is Gordon Brown Thinking?
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown this past week made a very disturbing move in regards to Nigeria, showing blind support for the oil companies and the Nigerian Government. Read these articles to learn more. Sad how politics continually trumps good judgment.
The London Independent
Friday, July 11, 2008
Foto.no - Excellent Norwegian Article
National Geographic photographer Ed Kashi has photographed the oil recovery spin-offs. The result is displayed in the exhibition The Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta at the George Eastman House in Rochester New York.
Read this article in Norwegian
Read the google-translated article in English
Struggle News Worldwide: Nigeria
Up to the minute news feeds from struggle sites around the world.
by Isaac Ombe, first published in The Nation, republished by the Niger Delta Solidarity Group, 14 June 2008.
Read the rest here...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Another Idea to Consider
Check out this link that offers another possible solution for the Niger Delta and other oil producing areas for creating a more efficient use of their natural gas. Life Cycle Analysis
Monday, July 7, 2008
Nigeria: A Poem
After listening to NPR's Weekend Edition, "Documenting the Paradox of Oil, Poverty in Nigeria," one young woman felt inspired to write a poem, and email it to Ed Kashi.
Jennifer Takacs is a senior English major at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania where she is involved in such activities as Students for Social Justice, Human Rights Organization, and Habitat for Humanity. She also writes for the underground, independent, student run paper known as "Thought-Crime." Much of her work explores the social and political issues of today, and can be found at this website.
To see the poem,Jennifer for sharing her response with us.
The Naked Option: a last resort
""The Naked Option: a last resort," a feature length documentary film now in production, reveals how local women in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta use “stripping naked”, a serious cultural taboo, to fight environmental and cultural ruin by the world’s most powerful corporate giants.
Fed up with the loss of their livelihoods, their inability to feed their families and the violence that rips through this militarized zone, Niger Delta women are organizing across ethnic boundaries and taking over where men have failed.
At the risk of being raped, beaten or murdered….the women are prepared and armed….but not with anything you can see."
Candace Schermerhorn Productions.
Click here to see the preview for this incredible documentary film.
Have You Had Your Kashi Today?
Thanks to Virginia Swanson for her great blog post, which brought Melissa Lyttle's attention to Ed's Curse of the Black Gold piece and the recent NPR Weekend Edition interview.
APhotoADay asks: Have You Had Your Kashi Today?
Virginia Swanson's Blog
She has posted a relevant piece about Ed's recent interview on NPR's Weekend Edition, and has included many useful links.
Click here to see this blog post.
Ed Kashi - Portrayed through the lens of the media
The tables have been turned as Ed finds himself and his experiences the subject of an article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
“Photojournalist Ed Kashi committed to telling Niger Delta's story - Photojournalist risks his life to capture story of Niger Delta with his camera"
Stuart Low, Democrat and Chronicle, July 7th, 2008
A very dramatic portrait of Ed Kashi and his experiences in the Niger Delta.
Click here to read the article.
NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Interview with Ed Kashi
July 6 – Ed Kashi interview on NPR Weekend Edition Sunday with Liane Hansen.
Click here to listen to this 5 minute interview.
Click here to see the article and excerpts from 'Curse of the Black Gold'
After all, our governments are the stewards of our land, and our resources, and of their people, and, as one Environmentalist in Nigeria actually pointed out, because the politicians are not beholden to being voted into power, and they get their money from the residual monies that come in from the oil industry, there’s a way that they can bypass the people, and they don’t really have to serve them.
-Ed Kashi, excerpts from the interview
George Eastman House Exhibit Highlighted by Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Exhibit at George Eastman House shows Africa's nature, old and new
“It makes no pretense of painting a complete regional portrait. But Kashi's keen sense of outrage may spur you to dig deeper on your own time."
Stuart Low, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July 6th, 2008
Click here to read the article
Life from the Left Coast Interview
June 29 – Ed Kashi interview on Life from the Left Coast KPFK Los Angeles with Ian Masters
Click here to listen to this 25 minute interview.
We’ve devoted so much attention and lost lives and spent tremendous amount of money being in the Middle East and Iraq in particular, theoretically to protect oil, while we get a lot more oil from Africa, particularly Nigeria than we do from the Saudis or Iraq. And yet we, as Americans, know very little about this. For me that’s one of the main reasons of doing this book and working on this project, is to wake people up here.
- Ed Kashi, excerpts from the interview
Click here to go to the Life from the Left Coast site.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
EarthBeat Radio Interviews Michael Watts
Michael Watts interviewed on EarthBeat Radio, which aired July 1st, 2008.
Click here to listen to this 30 minute interview!
Some people have referred to oil and gas being a curse…you have to be careful about assuming that there’s something about oil that produces that. It seems to me that it’s the intersection of Big Oil with Big Government, with Big Global Market, that contribute to this high degree of economic and political failure.
-Michael Watts, excerpts from the interview
To hear the entire EarthBeat program, click here.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
George Eastman House Exhibition
The George Eastman House Exhibition, featuring 37 photographs selected from the Curse of the Black Gold book, will be up until September 1st.
Be sure to go see it!
For more information about the Exhibition, go to: GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE
