Poison Fires

The issue of lead poisoning and environmental pollutants came up in current events in class. Alyssa brought the issue to light via our current events forum. This brought to mind a link my friend posted on Facebook in first semester titled "Poison Fire". This film shows the plight of the Ogoni people in the Nigerian Delta region and the human and environmental rights infringement by Shell. The video can be found at the link: http://poisonfire.org/

In regards to the government vs. company debate that was brought up in class, this video is a great example of finger pointing and the lack of accountability in circumstances of pollution and infringement on human rights by international companies.

One of the men in the video, Comrade Che, is a retired trade union man and life long social activist in the Delta. He makes a quote in the video that really got to the heart of the issue for me and can be drawn to other issues that were 'promised' to be aided through the Millenium Goals. He says the Government kept saying they were going to stop gas flaring in the Delta by 2004, then by 2006, then 2008. The date was being pushed back and back with no evidence that the government was truly working on a solution. The governments and international organizations can say things like they will eradicate malaria and polio by 2050 but if they are not the ones who are particularly in control or don't have practical strategies that will be successfully implemented, these goals never happen. The tragic result that I see is people get discourage, beat down and also confused at the hopelessness and lack of accountability these internationally respected organizations possess.

There are many points in this video that highlight the problems and sources of issues between citizens, government and international business. The federal govenment, claimed Basil Omiyi, country chair for Nigeria at the Shell stakeholders meeting, has asked the Ogoni if they were able to come and clean up. The Ogoni people supposedly rejected this offer, and this is why the federal government has not persued further clean-up efforts in Ogoniland. When the Ogoni are consulted, they bring the truth to light; that no contact has been made on behalf of the federal government in effort to do an environment clean-up from the gas flaring.

Watching this video makes me so frustrated and angry but also confused. It makes me realize that these issues of inequity and social justice are so complex, but they are complex for a reason. It is very difficult to unravel the web of oppression as brought to light by the documentary Poison Fire.