This is from Mary Ella 5/29/09
__________________________________
Dear Friends,
It has been a week since I last sent an update – a time of great intensity and focus for Joel and me here in DC, and so many others around the globe who are trying to help the people of the Niger Delta. I apologize for taking so long to tell you what has been happening, but I could feel that you were holding us in your thoughts and prayers. I kept trying to find time to document the full story for you, but now I realize that the best I can do is just get something quick out to you with the important updates.
There is both good news and bad news to report in the Niger Delta. There has been an uneasy calm of sorts for the last couple of days, only isolated skirmishes. Before that, however, many villages were attacked. No one knows yet how many people were killed and injured, or how many refugees have been displaced, because there still is no access to the entire area. The one refugee camp that was set up was dismantled by the military who thought militants might be hiding out there. Thousands are still hiding in the forest, afraid to return to their communities, and without food or medical care. It is bleak. Below is a picture from the village of Kurutie, not far from Oporoza.
On the other hand, it is good that the main attacks appear to have ceased for now. Unfortunately that seems to be less due to concern for the innocent and more due to the fact that the militants managed to blow up some main pipelines in the area, which has put a major dent in the flow of oil (and therefore revenue to the state). One piece of good news is that although Oporoza sustained major damage, the library/computer center that was built by the Global Citizen Journey delegation in 2005 managed to survive, probably because it was in the very back of the community near the school. We are pleased that at least the library will be able to serve as a shelter when residents of Oporoza are able to return home.
In spite of our best efforts, we have had a difficult time getting the international media to cover the story. Partly it is just a difficult time with so many other international stories competing for airtime – North Korea, Sri Lanka, and many others. But part of it is that the story of the Niger Delta is still not very well understood. We hope our documentary film Sweet Crude will go a long way toward remedying that. Tonight it screens at a film festival in San Francisco (see www.sweetcrudemovie.com for more info on that).
In an ironic twist of fate, this week is full of events connected to the Niger Delta. Shell is on trial in New York for their role in the execution of environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa in Nigeria in the 90’s, and Chevron had their annual meeting yesterday, where there was much pressure applied from the shareholders to be more humanitarian and environmentally aware in their activities. So that is hopeful.
Being in DC during a situation like this has its advantages of access to many strategic players. Here is a snapshot of our life right now: In a few hours, Joel and I have a meeting in the office of Senator John Kerry, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to try to get them to push for getting humanitarian aid/media into the delta and facilitating 3rd party mediation. Last night we met with the Nigeria expert on the National Intelligence Council. Tomorrow we travel to New York to meet with hundreds of Ijaws, both in diaspora and traveling from the delta, to talk about what else can be done to bring visibility to this crisis and make changes that will be sustainable for the long term. On Monday, there is a morning press conference, a lunchtime brown bag session convening leaders from various sectors to discuss the situation, then a protest march on the Mall. Joel flies back to Warri at 6pm on Monday, so we are trying to fill every moment, since he is such an effective spokesperson for the situation.
I’ll end with a few suggestions if you’d like to know more.
· Late last week, Democracy Now with Amy Goodman had a great interview with Sweet Crude director Sandy Cioffi and others on the ground. You can find it at http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/21/stream. The segment pertaining to the Niger Delta runs from approximately 13 min 40 sec to 35 min 30 sec. This is an excellent over all description of the situation in the Niger Delta, with compelling video and discussion.
· Joel was interviewed by Voice of America, broadcast on Sunday on Daybreak Africa. You can hear that interview at http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-05-25-voa4.cfm.
· There was an excellent editorial written by Vanguard focusing on the humanitarian aspects of the crisis. I have attached a copy.
Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers to the people of the Delta.
*********************************
Mary Ella Keblusek
International Director
Niger Delta Professionals for Development