Racism is more than a word: The Oil Spill in the Gulf Coast? What about the people of the Niger Delta?

While Americans lament over the reckless oil spill in the Gulf Coast, and beg for assistance to stop one of its worst natural disasters to date, Nigerians look on with impassive, unaffected eyes. Why should they care about what is happening in the Gulf Coast when they have had oil spills equivalent to the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 every year for the past 50 years?

As unbelievable as it may sound, Nigeria has had nearly 546 million gallons of oil spill into the Niger Delta over the past 50 years.  Who is to blame for the excessive yearly oil spills? Not the people of the Delta but rather the oil companies Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil who are stripping the Delta of its riches. Exxon and Shell seem not to care about the people that they contaminate or the livelihoods that they damage. They seem not to care about human life.

Much like those of the Gulf Coast, the people of the Delta are fishermen and women whose income depends on the food that they are able to catch and sell. Yet, as a result of the constant oil surges into their water, there is limited seafood to catch. Whatever was in the Delta has either left, died, or become so infected that it is unsuitable for human consumption. The women of the Delta trudge through murky, oily water every day, in hopes that they may find something, anything to eat or sell. They often exit the water empty handed, and always covered in oil.

No one is there to hand out checks to the people of the Delta, or help them support their families. No one is there on a cleanup mission as in the Gulf Coast. No one cares about the Niger Delta. As Nigerians hear about the cleanup crews and continuous planning to stop the spill in the Gulf Coast, they wonder about their help and if it will ever come.

The Niger Delta’s ecology is almost non-existent. While Americans worry about the oil from the BP spill reaching their beaches, Nigerian woman stand at the edge of the Niger Delta with feet covered in brownish muck. While commercials are created to ensure Americans that Florida beaches are safe to visit and spend lazy summer days, the people of the Niger Delta contend with an estimated 40 year life expectancy.

Life is life, no matter if it is in Africa or America. To care more about the life and livelihood of an American than that of an African is simply a reminder that racism is more than just a memory of the African Apartheid and American Jim Crow past. It is a reality of today…and we cannot let such atrocities continue to ensue.  

 -Mz.Jonezy


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For more info: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html
http://www.foei.org/en/what-we-do/oil-gas/actions/the-people-of-nigeria-versus-shell 
Photo: Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR