The Cog of Society

mapboy:

This is a recently aired NPR story covering the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking 50 years of freedom. The country is still marred with brutal violence and bloodshed that spares no one…sometimes hitting close to home as i’ve learned.

Fifty years ago last week, the Democratic Republic of Congo broke free from Belgian colonial rule, but the half-century mark comes with mixed emotions as the country’s independence has yet to truly free the nation from devastating blood shed and a broken economy. Host Michel Martin reflects on the 50 years of Congo’s independence with human rights attorney and leader of TransAfrica Forum Nicole Lee, and Emira Woods, a foreign policy expert for the Institute for Policy Studies.

Click here to listen

It is a shame, but one must also realize the Congo government should also do something to decrease the violence as well. How has it affected you?

mapboy:

Why is this part of the world ignored so much. It’s really sad that disasters like these aren’t reported enough around the world. Not only the media, but many so called environmentalist as well. While the article is heavily biased towards making big oil look evil, which they are, some of the fault lies on the African government as well. They tap into the oil lines causing leaks and ruptures. Greedy corporations and greedy governments. What I see is environmental devastation that no one seems to do anything about. 

 We reached the edge of the oil spill near the Nigerian village of Otuegwe after a long hike through cassava plantations. Ahead of us lay swamp. We waded into the warm tropical water and began swimming, cameras and notebooks held above our heads. We could smell the oil long before we saw it – the stench of garage forecourts and rotting vegetation hanging thickly in the air.

The farther we travelled, the more nauseous it became. Soon we were swimming in pools of light Nigerian crude, the best-quality oil in the world. One of the many hundreds of 40-year-old pipelines that crisscross the Niger delta had corroded and spewed oil for several months.

Forest and farmland were now covered in a sheen of greasy oil. Drinking wells were polluted and people were distraught. No one knew how much oil had leaked. “We lost our nets, huts and fishing pots,” said Chief Promise, village leader of Otuegwe and our guide. “This is where we fished and farmed. We have lost our forest. We told Shell of the spill within days, but they did nothing for six months.”

That was the Niger delta a few years ago, where, according to Nigerian academics, writers and environment groups, oil companies have acted with such impunity and recklessness that much of the region has been devastated by leaks.

In fact, more oil is spilled from the delta’s network of terminals, pipes, pumping stations and oil platforms every year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico, the site of a major ecological catastrophe caused by oil that has poured from a leak triggered by the explosion that wrecked BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig last month.

That disaster, which claimed the lives of 11 rig workers, has made headlines round the world. By contrast, little information has emerged about the damage inflicted on the Niger delta. Yet the destruction there provides us with a far more accurate picture of the price we have to pay for drilling oil today.

On 1 May this year a ruptured ExxonMobil pipeline in the state of Akwa Ibom spilled more than a million gallons into the delta over seven days before the leak was stopped. Local people demonstrated against the company but say they were attacked by security guards. Community leaders are now demanding $1bn in compensation for the illness and loss of livelihood they suffered. Few expect they will succeed. In the meantime, thick balls of tar are being washed up along the coast. Click here to continue.

It’s a shame that people don’t pay much attention to this region of the world. You are right, both sides are to blame. It’s a sad situation. It’s nice to see at least some one is paying attention.