Images

Nigerian Military Attack Poor Neighborhood

Brian — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:06:44 +0000

Residents of Aker Camp, a slum of Port Harcourt, pick through the remains of their lives. One week ago this neighborhood was attacked and burned down by the Nigerian military after one of their soldiers was killed while trying to foil a kidnapping of an Italian expat at a local bar. This kind of brutal attack on innocent civilians by the military is a constant reminder of the lack of human rights in the Niger Delta. Residents, who are all poor, try to salvage anything they can find, but this community of 3000 was completely burned down in this military reprisal.

Preye Godswill, 27, was the owner of The Booze bar and restaurant, which was completely destroyed in this attack. Here she looks at photographs of happier times in her bar, which attracted expats as well as Nigerians. Photo by Ed Kashi (9/1/2006).

Leaking Oil Wellhead Catches Fire

Brian — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:00:41 +0000

In the Ogoniland village of Kpean, an oil wellhead that had been leaking for weeks has turned into a raging inferno. The local youths keep watch, waiting for Shell to come and put the fire out. This is an environmental disaster for the local people, as it effects their crops, their water and air.

Even though Shell has not been allowed to pump oil from its 125 wells in Ogoniland since 1993, they sill have wells that are leaking and often unattended or maintained. This lack of action, which pollutes the lands and forces farmers and fishermen out of work, makes relations between the local communities and Shell very fractious. This Shell oil well is more than 30 years old and this scenerio is typical of the kinds of ongoing problems with the oil works of the Niger Delta. Photo by Ed Kashi (8/21/2006).

Pipelines of the Niger Delta

Brian — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:54:01 +0000

Okrika is a troubled area near Port Harcourt that has oil, refineries, pipelines and violence. Factional fighting is common here. Fishing is struggling, like in most of the delta, but was once the main source of employment.

Scenes of community life around the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum) pipelines that run directly through this community. Photo by Ed Kashi (6/23/2006).

Wading Through Polluted Waters

Brian — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:48:12 +0000

In the village of Odiemereyi, an oil spill from an old Total pipeline from 1968 spoils a swamp near fields of the community. People must pass through the polluted waters to get to their fields and farms.

Chief Sunday Ugwu, 53, whose land the spill has effected, wades through the oil muck to work in his fields. Photo by Ed Kashi (6/21/2006).

Aerial Views of Bonny Island Gas Terminal

Brian — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:43:35 +0000

Aerial views of Bonny Island NLNG (Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas) terminal. This terminal is the largest of it's kind in the delta and is a owned by a consortium of Shell, Total of France, Exxon Mobil and Agip of Italy.

The local villages are very close by and none of the inhabitants work in this facility. Photo by Ed Kashi (6/11/2006).

Fishing in Polluted Waters

admin — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:07:34 +0000

With the Mobil Exxon Gas Plant across the water, fishermen arrive to drop their catches of bonga fish, gold fish, silver fish and crayfish. Due to pollution caused by the oil companies, the catches have decreased in quality and quantity. This has caused major problems of unemployment for the local young men. The local women haggle over the size and price of their purchases along the waterside.

This scene is in the fishing village of Finima, which is a newly relocated community caused by the rapid growth of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas plant on Bonny Island.
None of the locals are given work within any of the gas and oil facilities on Bonny Island, which has caused widespread resentment and frustration. Photo by Ed Kashi (6/4/2006).

The Mangrove Swamps of the Niger Delta

Brian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:56:02 +0000

Aerials of the Niger Delta over mangrove swamps and the riverine creeks of Rivers State, which make up the majority of the delta, Africa's second largest. Photo by Ed Kashi (6/12/2006).

MEND patrols the Creeks of the Niger Delta

Brian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:42:06 +0000

Militants with MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) brandish their weapons in the creeks of the Niger Delta. Photo by Ed Kashi (6/3/2006).

Views of the Trans-Amadi Slaughter

Brian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:35:12 +0000

Views of the Trans-Amadi Slaughter, the main abbatoir of Port Harcourt. The conditions are very bad, with a lack of infrustructure and hygiene. The animals are killed in the open, their blood spilt into the waterways below and their skin is burned by the flames of old tires, which is what causes the thick clouds of black smoke that hang over the scene. Photo by Ed Kashi (5/30/2006).

Playing Soccer Near Mobil Oil

Brian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:49:26 +0000

In a small village on Bonny Island, a group of children play soccer on a dirt field across from a Mobil Oil tank farm. The living conditions for the local community are very basic, with no running water and only sporadic electricity. The riches from oil and natural gas production are some of the highest in the world, yet the local communities live in grinding poverty. Photo by Ed Kashi (7/30/2004).

Outhouses and Children

Brian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:42:41 +0000

In Bonny town uncontrolled growth due to oil and gas development, has caused environmental chaos and degradation. Pictured here are outhouses on stilts, where the same waters are used for defecating, bathing, fishing and garbage. Photo by Ed Kashi (7/30/2004).

Baking Over a Gas Flare

Brian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:36:22 +0000

In the oil town of Afiesere, in Warri North district of the Niger Delta, local Urohobo people bake "krokpo-garri", or tapioca in the heat of a gas flare. Since 1961, when Shell Petroleum Development Company first opened this flow station, residents of the local community have worked in this way. Life span is short for these people, as pollutants from the flare cause serious health problems. Photo by Ed Kashi (7/28/2004).

Scene of an Offshore Oil Rig

Brian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:31:15 +0000

Scenes of the oil rig Auntie Julie the Martyr, run by Conoil, off the coast of Sanghana town in the Niger Delta. Conoil is a Nigerian owned oil company. Photo by Ed Kashi (7/24/2004).

Oil Spill

Brian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:26:27 +0000

An oil spill from an abandoned Shell Petroleum Development Company well in Oloibiri, Niger Delta. Wellhead 14 was closed in 1977 but has been leaking for years, and in June of 2004 it finally released an oil spill of over 20,000 barrels of crude. Workers subcontracted by Shell Oil Company clean it up. Photo by Ed Kashi (7/18/2004).

Pipelines of the Niger Delta

Brian — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:42:07 +0000

Living conditions in Okrika, in the Niger Delta, with evidence of oil leaks and oil fires along the pipelines that run to the coast terminal managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC). Photo by Ed Kashi (7/17/2004).