The picture above captioned as A Niger Delta Village In the 1960s (Before Oil) has sparked much discussion on online forums in Nigeria. While there have been debates about its veracity, what is interesting is the way that it provides a catalyst for people’s memories about the region before oil. Here is one comment that…
(Guest blog by Reem Labib of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. The original is here) إدكو المدينة الساحلية الجميلة بمحافظة البحيرة التي تطل على البحر الأبيض المتوسط شرقي الأسكندرية، يقطنها مجتمع رزقه منذ القدم في الصيد بين الماء العذب في بحيرة إدكو وماء البحر. وإلى جانب الصيد الذي يمثل النشاط الاقتصادي الأول للسكان، يوجد…
There are moments sometimes when you are suddenly struck by the realisation that this is what life is about. I am not talking about being in the green fields at Glastonbury after a rather potent chai tea. I am talking about the feeling of a tiny, temporary re-balancing of the injustice of the universe –…
Last week saw art-interventionists Liberate Tate carry out a week long performance in Tate Modern, with three different performers whispering excerpts from the BP trial transcripts for an hour every day. Using specially constructed frames to hold a mobile phone, the performers filmed themselves and live-streamed their delivery so that people from all over the…
Visitors to London’s iconic Tate Modern gallery this week might be a bit bemused to glimpse figures with strange filming devices strapped on to their bodies and wandering about muttering to themselves. It’s the latest performance from art-interventionists Liberate Tate, who are performing the BP trial over the course of the week in Tate Modern,…
It’s big news. For the first time, Shell has been found guilty in a court outside of the country in which it inflicted damage; in this case, in a court in the Hague for an oil spill in Nigeria. Shell will be forced to pay compensation to a farmer whose land and livelihood was ruined…
This Wednesday a Dutch court will rule on whether Shell should clean up oil damage that destroyed a group of Nigerian farmers’ land in a landmark case that could lead the way for a spate of similar actions in the future. The farmers, whose land has been destroyed by oil from Shell pipelines, have travelled…
“It’s the first time a drill bit has touched the sea floor in the U.S. Chukchi Sea in more than two decades,” – a Shell spokesperson said as the company announced its “historic” first test well in offshore Alaska. And now is not a good time. Shell’s permit to drill was conditional on the company’s…
In this summary of the historic first hearing in Bodo v Shell, Platform reveals that a growing wave of oil spill claims could be on the horizon, exposing the oil giant to major financial liabilities. Shell showed little sign of remorse at its first appearance before a UK court after causing “devastating” oil spills in…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Shell will appear in the High Court in London today to be held accountable for its oil spills in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Over 11,000 Nigerians from Bodo town in the Ogoni region of the Delta are suing Shell over the environmental damage caused by two devastating oil spills in…