News
Tell Shell: own up, pay up and clean up the Niger Delta
Published: 25 April 2012
Emmanuel Kuru used to have his own fishing business in Bodo Creek in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. His wife, Cecilia Teela, collected shellfish – the money she made paid for the children to go to school and a new roof for their house.
But in 2008, a pipeline owned by Shell failed. Oil poured into the creek, destroying Emmanuel’s boat and nets, and killing most of the shellfish. The community had driven away poverty, Emmanuel says, but now they are unable to fish it has returned. The oil spills have still not been cleaned up.
Shell's activities in the Niger Delta are robbing people of their livelihoods, making them sick and ruining their lives. Ask Chief Executive Peter Voser to own up, pay up and clean up the Niger Delta
Since the company now known as Royal Dutch Shell first discovered oil in the Niger Delta in 1956, the region’s oil reserves have generated billions of dollars for Shell and other multinationals.
But for people living in the region, the oil deposits have been a curse. Thanks to the oil industry, many rivers, mangrove swamps and farming lands are poisoned and the air people breathe is polluted.
It’s time for Shell to own up to what they’ve done to the Niger Delta. We want them to put up an initial $1 billion (£630 million) to kick start the clean-up. Sign the petition now
That may seem a lot of money, until you consider the company recently posted an annual profit of $28.6 billion (£18 billion) – or more than $3.2 million (£2 million) profit per hour. Meanwhile, once proud residents of the Niger Delta like Emmanuel Kuru are reduced to begging to get by.
Tell Shell we won’t tolerate them putting profit before people. Sign the petition – own up, pay up and clean up the Niger Delta
Please sign the petition at http://action.amnesty.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1194&ea.campaign.id=14557&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=mass_email&utm_campaign=CA&utm_content=shell_link3
