Welcome Amy - Another Student's Interpretations

Thank you to Amy Gilbert from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor for contributing her essay on Curse of the Black Gold. According to Amy, "Two...texts that...[were] especially interesting...gave a historical background of the youth and women involved in and suffering through this conflict. ...'Generation' by Felix Tuodolo and Ibiba Don Pedro’s piece...'Vanishing Soft Side' provided me with a narrative to deepen my understanding of the photographs..."


Amy: "...a worker cleans up an oil spill in the town of Oloibiri. Machete in hand, this young man’s posture suggests he is in front of a larger struggle. His eyes appear tired and angry, yet ready to fight. As a youth, this man serves as a voice of the people, in charge of the progress and political change of his fellow Nigerians. His body covered in dirt and sweat represents this struggle, and the need to persevere as he carries the future of his community on his shoulders."

Amy: "...a woman rests as her daughter breastfeeds amidst a crowded market boat on a two-hour long journey to their small village. The woman holds her head in her hand, eyebrows furrowed, and surrounded by cardboard boxes, empty plastic bottles and bags, blankets, bare feet, and her child burrowed in her bosom. The connotation radiating from this picture is one of strength and perseverance while this woman provides for her child. The voices of the women in the Niger Delta have been suppressed by the violence of MEND, yet their struggles continue. Looking at this photograph, I hear this woman not complaining, but continuing to nurture and fight for the future rights of her children as advocated by Ibiba Don Pedro."

Amy: "An additional photograph that I found extremely poignant...two young boys sitting in a run-down primary school at a desk in an empty room. One boy is looking over the other's shoulder and helping him with his schoolwork. In reference to Tuodolo’s passage, I see the strength of prospective youth leaders in this image, preparing to take on the task of defending their Niger Delta and generating social change. This photograph also emits a feeling of comfort, of a motherly warmth and support...as the one child looks over the other’s work. His expression of concentration and pursed lips conveys his dedication, hard work, and desire to succeed. In understanding the passages by Tuodolo and Don Pedro as well as the history told by Michael Watts, this image of the two young boys portrays the present and future of the Niger Delta situation."
Amy, thank you for your comments and observations.

To read Amy's entire essay, click below.

Amy Gilbert
Curse of the Black Gold
April 7, 2009


In Curse of the Black Gold, Ed Kashi’s striking photographs of the Niger Delta are paired with Michael Watts and others’ brilliant texts. The intense emotions captured in each photograph paired with historical and personal narratives of the Delta allow for a deeper understanding of the nature of the injustices of oil insurgencies in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta is known as the “world of shadows”, one in which the disparity between the secrecy and publicity about their causes remains in the dark of this troubled land. As Michael Watts wrote in his prologue of the book, “oil has brought only misery, violence, and a dying ecosystem” (p. 36). The subsequent photographs and texts in the book display this suffering and allow the reader to feel and witness these hardships. Two of the texts that I found especially interesting were those that gave a historical background of the youth and women involved in and suffering through this conflict. These two passages, entitled Generation by Felix Tuodolo and Ibiba Don Pedro’s piece entitled Vanishing Soft Side provided me with a narrative to deepen my understanding of the photographs as well.

In Felix Tuodolo’s passage entitled Generation (p. 114-115), he describes the “restive youth problem”, or the discrepancy between generations and politics. The Nigerian Delta youth are composed of those aged fifteen to forty-five, and assumed the position of those responsible for the mobility and advancement of their people. These youth serve as mediators, protectorates, and leaders seeking to better the politics of the Niger Delta, and employ a wide variety of force and violence to succeed. These young people carry the burden of responsibility on their shoulders, and they have therefore often been called the “shadow structures” of the Niger Delta.

With the knowledge of these circumstances gained through reading the words of Tuodolo, the heavy weight of this pressure is evident in Ed Kashi’s photographs on the faces of the youth. On page 8, a worker cleans up an oil spill in the town of Oloibiri. Machete in hand, this young man’s posture suggests he is in front of a larger struggle. His eyes appear tired and angry, yet ready to fight. As a youth, this man serves as a voice of the people, in charge of the progress and political change of his fellow Nigerians. His body covered in dirt and sweat represents this struggle, and the need to persevere as he carries the future of his community on his shoulders. With the assistance of Tuodolo’s writing, the enormous power and influence this man assumes as a youth aids in understanding the visual depiction of his struggle.

In the passage entitled Vanishing Soft Side by Ibiba Don Pedro (p.128-129), she illustrates the importance of women’s roles throughout the Niger Delta. Don Pedro argues that women have suffered the most during the oil crisis; including losing their husbands and sons and being victims of rape. These sometimes-invisible struggles are what give some women the strength to become influential activists among youth groups involved in inciting change. While women may be in the backdrop of the Niger Delta society, Ibiba’s passage indicates that they are the mothers of the potential future leaders of their society.

It is this responsibility that is expressed through Ed Kashi’s images of the Niger Delta women. On page 158, a woman rests as her daughter breastfeeds amidst a crowded market boat on a two-hour long journey to their small village. The woman holds her head in her hand, eyebrows furrowed, and surrounded by cardboard boxes, empty plastic bottles and bags, blankets, bare feet, and her child burrowed in her bosom. The connotation radiating from this picture is one of strength and perseverance while this woman provides for her child. The voices of the women in the Niger Delta have been suppressed by the violence of MEND, yet their struggles continue. Looking at this photograph, I hear this woman not complaining, but continuing to nurture and fight for the future rights of her children as advocated by Ibiba Don Pedro.

An additional photograph that I found extremely poignant is on page 117, with two young boys sitting in a run-down primary school at a desk in an empty room. One boy is looking over the others shoulder and helping him with his schoolwork. In reference to Tuodolo’s passage, I see the strength of prospective youth leaders in this image, preparing to take on the task of defending their Niger Delta and generating social change. This photograph also emits a feeling of comfort, of a motherly warmth and support indicated by Don Pedro, as the one child looks over the other’s work. His expression of concentration and pursed lips conveys his dedication, hard work, and desire to succeed.

In understanding the passages by Tuodolo and Don Pedro as well as the history told by Michael Watts, this image of the two young boys portrays the present and future of the Niger Delta situation. The work and struggles of the youth and support for their community represent a considerable part of the hope for the future of the Niger Delta, a society full of lawlessness and criminality. This image also symbolizes a yearning and thirst for a brighter outlook and a need for the improvement of the oil insurgent situation. The future of the Niger Delta is in the hands of these youth, those who engage in a continuous endeavor to truly make a difference for the betterment of their people.