Shell Unhatched
By Peg Leg Cat
Murder, bribery, environmental destruction, and poverty are not usually what people would expect to put into their gas tank. But when you refill your car at Shell, that is exactly what is going into your tank. In order to supply America with gasoline, Shell uses the above tactics to drain third world countries of their resources.Since 1958, Shell has been exploiting the Niger Delta for petroleum. Shell's presence in Nigeria has had serious impacts on Nigeria's environment, including oil spills and gas flares that have destroyed the land in the area. The pollution levels have reached the point where they are 700 times higher than Europe allows. For years, Shell and the Nigerian military government have been profiting off of the abundant supply of oil. Most of Shell's profit comes from Ogoniland. In all, Shell has taken more than $30 billion in oil from Ogoniland.
Opposition to Shell's presence has been apparent since 1970. Indigenous communities along the Niger River delta have protested the environmental damages, only facing violent repression by the government. At one protest, the military slaughtered 80 people and destroyed 495 homes. Other punishments for opposing Shell include torture, detention, rape, and other abuses. With requests from Shell, the Nigerian military has killed 2,000 people in Ogoniland since 1992. Never were the victims doing more than peacefully protesting Shell's environmental destruction. In addition to increased awareness, the protests have only resulted in more repression from Shell and the military. Shell now uses field operatives called the “Shell Police” to impose its power on indigenous communities. Shell has bribed the military and supplied them with weapons including Beretta machine guns.
“Our rivers, rivulets and creeks are all covered with crude oil. We no longer breathe the natural oxygen, rather we inhale lethal and ghastly gases. Our water can no longer be drunk unless one wants to test the effect of crude oil on the body. We no longer use vegetables, they are all polluted.”
- Dere Youths Association, 1970. A Protest Presented to Representatives of the Shell-BP Dev. Co of Nig. Ltd., following a blow-out at the Bomu oilfield.
On November 10, 1995, the world watched nine activists hang for exposing Shell's destruction of their land, homes, and people. Among those who received the death penalty, was world-famous author Ken Saro-Wiwa. Though Saro-Wiwa and the eight other activists committed no crime other than opposing Shell, they were easily convicted with a military trial that has become known as a sham. Shell later admitted to bribing the key prosecution witnesses to insure the protestors died for a crime they did not commit. Nineteen more are still on death row. It is obvious that Shell is guilty of mass-murder.
In addition, Nigeria's dictatorship has eliminated every attempt at democracy. In 1993, public elections should have placed Mashood Abiola in the presidency. But the dictatorship ran by General Sani Abacha imprisoned him and continued a reign of violence and terror upon those who opposed him and Shell, whom he relies upon heavily for monetary support. This system is destructive to the people's livelihoods. The people need our support.
We cannot let this kind of violence go on. It is vital that Shell understands that their actions are not tolerated. We encourage you to avoid purchasing Shell gasoline and to tell your friends about what is going on. This kind of behavior should not be ignored. Call Shell President P.J. Carroll (800/331-3703) or visit the campaigns section of our web page at http://thor.prohosting.com/~fflag to voice your concerns to Shell. Please feel free to join us the third Friday of each month at Shell on Bernadette & Stadium to protest Shell's actions. We're there from 4:45 to 6:00 opposing Shell's behavior. For more info contact the Peace Nook (573/875-0539).
On the Web:
http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/gallery/shell/
http://www.moles.org/motherlode/shell/shell.html
Throwing Stones
(Deceiving Myself)
By Spoon
Why are people throwing stones at me?
They aim and miss cause
they can't see.
my light is too enchanting.
I radiate too much power
of green and blue wavy
light.
I'm a magic boy I
always appear to be
where they want
me to be.
But the throwing
stones miss
or do they?
Remember I'm a magic
boy.
I make things appear
to be.
But they're not.
They are burned to
a cinder.
So don't bother throwing
stones.
Because your filthy
feeling is destroyed
before it even touches
me.
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