Shell Oil - The Awful Truth

http://www.protectthehuman.com/shell

Shell Nigeria is one of the largest oil producers in the Royal Dutch/Shell Group. 80% of the oil extraction in Nigeria is in the Niger Delta, the southeast region of the country. The Delta is home to many small minority ethnic groups, including the Ogoni, all of which suffer egregious exploitation by multinational oil companies, like Shell. Shell provides over 50% of the income keeping the Nigerian dictatorship in power.
Although oil from Ogoniland has provided approximately $30 billion to the economy of Nigeria, the people of Ogoni see little to nothing from their contribution to Shell's pocketbook. Shell has done next to nothing to help Ogoni. By 1996, Shell employed only 88 Ogoni (0.0002% of the Ogoni population, and only 2% of Shell's employees in Nigeria). Ogoni villages have no clean water, electricity, abysmal health care, no jobs for displaced farmers and fisher persons and face the effects of unrestrained environmental molestation by Shell everyday.
Since Shell began drilling oil in Ogoniland in 1958, the people of Ogoniland have had pipelines built across their farmlands and in front of their homes, suffered endemic oil leaks from these very pipelines, been forced to live with the constant flaring of gas. This environmental assault has smothered land with oil, killed masses of fish and other aquatic life, and introduced devastating acid rain to the land of the Ogoni. For the Ogoni, a people dependent upon farming and fishing, the poisoning of the land and water has had devastating economic and health consequences. Shell claims to clean up its oil spills, but such "clean-ups" consist of techniques like burning the crude which results in a permanent layer of crusted oil metres thick and scooping oil into holes dug in surrounding earth.

Both Shell and the government admit that Shell contributes to the funding of the military in the Delta region. Under the auspices of "protecting" Shell from peaceful demonstrators in the village of Umeuchem (10 miles from Ogoni), the police killed 80 people, destroyed houses and vital crops. Shell conceded it twice paid the military for going to specific villages. Although it disputes that the purpose of these excursions was to quiet dissent, each of the military missions paid for by Shell resulted in Ogoni fatalities. Shell has also admitted purchasing weapons for the police force who guard its facilities, and there is growing suspicion that Shell funds a much greater portion of the military than previously admitted.

Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8 were leaders of MOSOP, the Movement for Survival of the Ogoni People. As outspoken environmental and human rights activists, they declared that Shell was not welcome in Ogoniland. On November 10, 1995, they were hanged after a trial by a special military tribunal (whose decisions cannot be appealed) in the murder of four other Ogoni activists. The defendants' lawyers were harassed and denied access to their clients. Although none of them were near the town where the murders occurred, they were convicted and sentenced to death in a trial that many heads of state strongly condemned for a stunning lack of evidence, unmasked partiality towards the prosecution and the haste of the trial. The executions were carried out a mere eight days after the decision. Two witnesses against the MOSOP leaders admitted that Shell and the military bribed them to testify against Ken Saro-Wiwa with promises of money and jobs at Shell. Ken's final words before his execution were:
"The struggle continues!"

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[Bondo]

Easy to say when you don't have a car and live with your parents. The rest of us living in the real world (not subsidized by mommy and daddy) can't play boycott games, need the cheapest oil and gas available to get to work and pay for the kids living in a fake world.

[Chastrie]

Gee, I sure hope that bitchy comment wasn't directed at me because I'm not a child living in a "fake world" being paid for by "Mommy and Daddy." By all means buy the cheapest fuel, as long as it's not your family or kids being abused by an oil company...guess it doesn't matter, right?

[vladimirrngs]

with all due respect, i fail to understand why this video blames shell for everything: (1) gas flaring, (2) oil leaks and (3) poverty. i agree with (1).

oil leaks in nigeria result from illegal taps, ie from some local people stealing from shell. when repair crews come, they are attacked.

poverty is for the gov to tackle. shell pays taxes and contributes a lot willingly to the delelopment of local communities on top. corrupt central and local gov's pocket most of the money. why do u blame shell?

[Chastrie]

This video is nothing but factual. If you choose to believe Shell is a good and responsible company, that is your opinion.

They may have cleaned up their act a little because they have been placed in the public eye but they have ruled with an iron fist and done as they pleased for decades contributing to vast pollution, military control and murder.

[Chastrie]

By the way are the people "retarded" in commenting on the fact Shell pay the army to kill people who try to speak out against them with swift illegal trials? Ignorance..it's a dangerous thing, as you have proved.

[Chastrie]

Simply because Shell have been able to get away with it. They do it to get rid of unusable gas and waste even though it is illegal due to it's health effects on all life and anthropogenic emissions. They only just recently stopped simply because of worldwide pressure.

[harwicke]

For Oil companies lying, and cutting corners on safety are standard operating procedure. Oil companies prop up dictators in under developed countries at the expense of the local population and the environment.

[harwicke]

Nice cop out.



[Bruce McBurney]

Seems everyone concerned about global warming and oil pipe lines and I put together a book that explains how cars can get 5 times the fuel mileage 100 MPG so much info I sell it money back guarantee with sold over 2500 with only 2 refunds, a know it all and an idiot. I put 95 % of the book on the internet for FREE at web site him acre search dot com ( no spaces )

I can not find caring life with money guts and integrity

[susie hicks]

really sbond1963??? i truly hope you have more intelligence than you're showing right now....because you sound so ridiculously ignorant with your comments! the rich get richer while th poor get poorer! and here in Ogoni, they have absolutely NO say in how theyre being treated or the devastation being brought against them! theyre being murdered and massacred all in the name of oil and the almighty green dollar!

[Bondo]

Whats a few sink holes gobbling up people to become energy independent? JK :). I do wonder about that. When we remove a layer of gas or oil will the land cave in? Weird things like that seem to be happening.