522 Oil, Illness, and Human Rights
Nigerian women began a campaign of peaceful protest involving people from
every tribe in the region. The women demanded that Chevron-Texaco, one of the
main oil companies working in the region, provide jobs, resources for education,
water, electricity, and community development. And they demanded compensation
for all of the damage the oil company had done.
Chevron-Texaco called for the government to respond with an iron fist. Police
and the military fired tear gas and attacked the women, beating and torturing
them. Many were injured and some were killed. But the women responded with
determination and creativity. Some picketed the oil company headquarters, others
occupied the main export terminal, and hundreds more took over 4 flow stations
in the Niger River to stop the companies from shipping the oil. Chevron-Texaco
lost over $100,000 each day the women occupied the terminal and flow stations!
The oil company officials finally gave in. Chevron-Texaco agreed to create
jobs and to set up a microcredit program to help women start their own
businesses. They also promised to provide schools, hospitals, and water and
electricity for the villages.
The brutal actions of the oil companies and their government allies in Nigeria
show they will stop at nothing to increase their profits. The women in Nigeria
have inspired people around the world to demand a share of the benefits, not the
suffering, from oil development. Otherwise, they will stop oil development altogether.
Oil and the Law
Many countries make laws to protect people, water, and wildlife from
pollution, and to gain safe working conditions. Regional and international
laws and agreements also exist to hold oil companies accountable for spills.
But laws are effective only if people work together to make sure they are
enforced. (For more about international laws, see Appendix B.)
The oil company should have filed an Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) before drilling for oil. The EIA states what the company is legally
responsible for in case of a spill. Discuss how your community can use the EIA to
hold the company accountable in an emergency. For example, can you demand
they shut down the pipeline that caused the spill until they clean it up? Can the
company supply the community with drinking water, or pay for health services
and damage to property? (To learn about EIAs, see Appendix B.)
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012