Колоритные фотки. Все таки мало мы себе представляем жинь во многих африканских странах. Оставляю на всякий случай комментарии на английском, т.к многие сейчас хорошо читают на бусурманском. Но кратко будет и по нашенскому.
Комментарии на английском (Manon Querouil).
Федеративная Республика Нигерия, государство в Западной Африке. По численности населения занимает первое место в Африке, нигерийцы составляют ок. 1/8 жителей континента. Территория страны простирается от побережья Гвинейского залива до западноафриканской саванны. На западе граничит с Бенином, на севере с Нигером, на северо-западе с Чадом, на востоке и юго-востоке с Камеруном.
Лагерь №9 Движения за эмансипацию реки Нигер (MEND) находится в глубине мангровых лесов, и его ошибочно можно было бы принять за тихую рыбацкую деревушку, если бы не пулеметы и здоровенный бугай, конфискующий телефоны у репортеров. В лагере кто-то бродит в поношенной камуфляжной одежде с автоматами Калашникова и реактивными гранатометами, кто-то смотрит старый телевизор. В этот период официального прекращения огня «мальчики» развлекаются, устраивая между собой боксерские поединки или попивая пиво.
Located in the middle of the mangroves, approximately 20 minutes by boat from Port Harcourt, camp number 9 of the MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) militants nearly could be mistaken for a tranquil fishermen’s village, were it not for the machine guns, and the giant of a man who confiscates all cell phones upon our arrival. Behind him, dozens of men move about in well-worn camouflage fatigues, with Kalashnikovs or RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades) slung over their shoulders. Others relax in front of an old television. During this period of official ceasefire, time seems to drag on so the ‘boys’, visibly at a loose end, avoid boredom by organising boxing matches between themselves, or with a few beers, drunk swiftly while they keep an eye out for their chief who has withdrawn to rest within his air-conditioned quarters.
Боевики под руководством Атеке Тома – лидера движения MEND – плывут в лагерь №9 – один из 11 лагерей, находящихся под руководством лидера в мангровых лесах реки Нигер. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Атеке Том – лидер движения MEND – любит, когда подручные и даже гости называют его «папочка». Главная цель Атеке – бороться за права жителей дельты реки Нигер. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Once finished his siesta, Atake Tom, who likes his men and his guests to call him ‘daddy’, receives us with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne, and outlines his cause like a light-hearted, modern day version of David and Goliath, with forgotten people fighting against the giant oil industry machine. His principal demand is for the right of the people of the Niger Delta to “take what is theirs”. Essentially, the ground is full of petrol and gas, from which the country generates 90% of its wealth, so MEND are demanding between 25%-50% of that, depending on which of their leaders you speak to. He is like a sort of Robin Hood of the mangroves, leading 1000 heavily armed men, plundering the wealthy oil companies to give back to the poor. He does however seem to have his own personal concept of how this redistribution should take place…
Золотая цепочка на шее лидера движения MEND Атеке Тома. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
В Окугаю местное население очень бедное, несмотря на то, что на этой территории находится нефть. Жители деревни хотят финансового вознаграждения от нефтеиндустрии. У них нет электричества, воды, дорог. К тому же, они больше не могут ловить рыбу, так как нефть просочилась в реку и уничтожила экосистему. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Okugaju, a village located about 10 minutes by canoe from Port Harcourt, the local village chief doesn’t mince his words, “MEND is just a group of thieves who hide behind a noble cause, but are just in it to fill their pockets!” The same bitter resentment is present amongst the other villagers, who suffer the consequences of the insecurity in the region that is generated by the militant activity, but see no positive changes, “Look at our homes, our roads and our schools, do you think we have received a single cent from the militants?” says a frustrated elderly man, a veteran of the war for independence. It is only amongst the political elite of Port Harcourt, fed up of seeing the profits from the oil trade being channelled to the capital Abuja, that MEND still enjoys a certain degree of sympathy, in their role of troublemakers. In the chic polo club in town, the name ‘daddy’ is mentioned a lot, and his supporters are quick to denounce the government’s moves to link MEND to criminal activities, “Atake and his men have become the designated party fighting all the troubles which affect this region, simply because they are the only ones who are in a position to make things happen!” says Annkio, an Anglo-Nigerian who heads up a local NGO (non-governmental organization).
Глава местной деревни считает движение MEND «всего лишь кучкой воров, которые прикрываются благородной целью, но на самом деле хотят наполнить карманы». Такого же мнения придерживаются и другие жители деревни. Уровень безопасности в деревне снизился из-за действий боевиков, но положительных изменений это не принесло. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
С 2006 года участники движения MEND похищали иностранных рабочих нефтевышек. Однако никаких предложений или решений группа боевиков так и не выдвинула. Жители окрестных поселков говорят, что это постепенно превращается в гражданскую войну, где ни одна сторона не может прийти к решению проблемы только потому, что не знает его. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Since 2006, MEND’s guerrilla movement, which has involved kidnapping foreign oil workers during surprise attacks on oil installations, has caused an un-doubtable nuisance, forcing Nigeria’s annual crude oil output to decline by a third, but MEND has yet to offer up a proper political solution to the problems it is fighting against. This is despite the release in July 2009 of one of MEND’s leaders, Henry Okah, and the offer of an unconditional amnesty for any militants willing to repent, an offer which Atake Tom and his men have viewed with suspicion, instead seeking international mediation to enter negotiations. “If this crisis has been going on for so long, it is simply because no one has a vested interest in finding a solution!” says an independent observer who denounces corruption within MEND, the soldiers of the Joint Task Force (JTF), and within certain members of the government. This opinion is shared by many Nigerians, for whom this conflict has turned into a vast swindle, in which the financial interests have long since taken precedence over any political ones. It is a relatively ‘civilized war’ in which the number of victims since 2006 pales into insignificance compared to the murderous offensive which the army undertook against Islamist rebels in the North of Nigeria in July 2009, killing more than 700 people in just 5 days. The oil companies have however reduced to a bare minimum the number of expatriate personnel, and have sought a more peaceful means of extraction offshore.
Нефтяные компании сократили число иностранных работников до минимума и начали искать более мирных способов добычи нефти на берегу. Однако боевиков движения MEND это, видимо, не удовлетворило. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Боевики, работающие под началом Атеке Тома – лидера движения MEND – идут к лагерю №9 – одному из 11 лагерей, которыми владеет Атеке Том в мангровых лесах реки Нигер. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Жители окрестных поселков говорят, что боевики просто не могут или, скорее, не хотят находить решения проблемы. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
В распоряжении боевиков – целый склад оружия, включая пулеметы и гранатометы. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Ручная обезьянка сидит на руке одного из участников Движения за эмансипацию реки Нигер. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Обезьянка на плече боевика движения MEND. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Один из боевиков, работающих под руководством лидера Атеке Тома, направляется в лагерь №9. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Атеке Том – лидер движения MEND – любит, чтобы его называли «папочка». (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Ateke Tom, the big chief of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta), travelling to camp nine, which is just one of the eleven camps he rules in the mangroves of the Niger Delta.
Активисты за эмансипацию реки Нигер, предпочитающие решать дела огнем. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Militants working under Ateke Tom, the big chief of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta), travelling to camp nine, which is just one of the eleven camps he rules in the mangroves of the Niger Delta.
Жители близлежащих деревень считают их действия неоправданными и неблагородными. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Militants working under Ateke Tom, the big chief of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta), travelling to camp nine, which is just one of the eleven camps he rules in the mangroves of the Niger Delta.
Militants working under Ateke Tom, the big chief of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta), travelling to camp nine, which is just one of the eleven camps he rules in the mangroves of the Niger Delta.
Участники Движения за эмансипацию реки Нигер. Как утверждает их лидер Атеке Том, они борются «за то, что по праву принадлежит им». (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Militants working under Ateke Tom, the big chief of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta), travelling to camp nine, which is just one of the eleven camps he rules in the mangroves of the Niger Delta.
Боевики движения MEND под руководством лидера Атеке Тома идут в лагерь №9 – один из 11 лагерей, находящихся под властью Атеке Тома. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Militants working under Ateke Tom, the big chief of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta), travelling to camp nine, which is just one of the eleven camps he rules in the mangroves of the Niger Delta.
Король Чукумела Ннам Оби Ил не одобряет нефтяные компании (включая «Total», «Shell» и «Agip»), которые загрязняют его владения добычей нефти, при этом не выплачивая компенсации его народу. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
One point which all the protagonists of this never-ending war for oil can agree on is that endemic corruption is rotting the country, which is something that everyone denounces, but few are prepared to tackle. From his ostentatiously decorated palace, and while sitting comfortably on his throne decorated with leopard skin, the Oba (king) of Ogba Land, in Rivers State, is quick to accuse the banana republic which is bleeding his subjects dry, but sweeps aside any accusations of collusion with the government with a rather brief retort, “If I were being paid royalties on oil revenues in exchange for peace in my kingdom, do you think I would really live in this misery?” There appears to be a system of corruption on a massive scale, which even involves, according to various sources close to MEND, certain oil company employees who were taken hostage, and supposedly agreed to prolong their captivity in exchange for some barrels of oil! Even if this information must be taken with a pinch of salt, it is nevertheless an insight into the scale of the prosperous kidnapping market in Nigeria, with over 200 having taken place between 2006 and 2008. Often kept secret, the ransom sums demanded vary according to where the victim is from, between USD $200,000 for an American, USD $100,000 for a European, and USD $20,000 for an Asian person. This is a fruitful business, which in turn feeds the other national sport: the contraband oil industry, which amounts to about 5% of Nigeria’s national production.
В Дельте Нигера довольно трудно найти топливо. Большинство заправочных станций закрыты, и людям приходится несколько часов стоять в очередях, чтобы заправить автомобиль. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
В бухте Боло жители деревни нелегально перекачивают нефть с установок компании «Shell» и продают ее на черном рынке. В бухте можно найти около 30-40 нелегальных нефтеперерабатывающих заводов. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
‘Bunkering’ is a well-rehearsed technique in the region, which involves siphoning off oil from oil ducts or wells using small boats with flat hulls, ‘Cotonou boats’ as they are known locally, based on the design of boats from nearby Benin. These activities are strictly controlled by powerful armed groups, who pay off both the MEND militants, and the soldiers from the Joint Task Force, to guarantee their protection. An example is in Opokmalela, a little village located about 50km from Port Harcourt, where about 30 men have taken possession of an old Shell oil installation in the heart of the mangroves. From morning to night, they splash about in black mud, semi-naked, pumping hundreds of litres of oil every day, which they sell to foreign buyers via intermediaries, often Lebanese or Nigerian, and at an unbeatable price of €3 Euros per barrel.
Присутствие поблизости боевиков движения MEND отпугивает полицию и армию, и жители могут спокойно перерабатывать нефть. Баррели очищенной нефти продаются на черном рынке, зачастую – зарубежным судам. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Although the ‘bunkering boys’ are not very talkative, local villagers assure us that this activity earns them about €1500 Euros per day, which is a small fortune in a country where 70% of the population lives under the poverty line. A man called Sohi is less wary about revealing his role as a ‘facilitator’ in the process, which involves him putting small local producers in contact with potential buyers that he meets over the internet, or in the bars in Port Harcourt, and which earns him “a few thousand dollars each month” through him levying a surcharge of €2 Euros per barrel that is sold. “The hardest part is getting started in this business, because you have to buy a barge to take the oil out to the ocean, and to pay the military for them to turn a blind eye, but overall the operation is more than profitable,” explains this ex-engineer from Port Harcourt, who has switched to the contraband trade, and has come along today to take a sample and check the quality of the merchandise. Other villagers from Opokmalela have gone into the production of cheap diesel, made from crude oil bought from the ‘bunkering boys’, and refined by craftsmen in one of 50 ‘cooking spots’ hidden in the meanders of the river through the mangroves. This is a high risk activity, considering the frequent number of explosions, but many chose this over a life of poverty.
Жители деревни рассказали репортерам, что эта работа приносит им около 1500 евро в день, что можно считать настоящим состоянием в стране, где 70% населения живет на грани бедности. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Bolo creek, villagers are illegally taking oil from Shell facilities and refining it to sell on the black market. Around 30 to 40 illegal refineries can be found all over the creek. The strong presense of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta) militants is keeping away the army and the police, allowing the villagers to work freely. Barrels of illegal refined oil taken to be sold on the black market, often to foreing ships.
In Bolo creek, villagers are illegally taking oil from Shell facilities and refining it to sell on the black market. Around 30 to 40 illegal refineries can be found all over the creek. The strong presense of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta) militants is keeping away the army and the police, allowing the villagers to work freely. Barrels of illegal refined oil taken to be sold on the black market, often to foreing ships.
Человек по имени Сохи занимается тем, что сводит местные мелкие фирмы с потенциальными клиентами, которых он ищет в барах или по интернету. Он говорит, что это приносит ему «несколько тысяч долларов в месяц». (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Bolo creek, villagers are illegally taking oil from Shell facilities and refining it to sell on the black market. Around 30 to 40 illegal refineries can be found all over the creek. The strong presense of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta) militants is keeping away the army and the police, allowing the villagers to work freely. Barrels of illegal refined oil taken to be sold on the black market, often to foreing ships.
Заправка» – практикуемая техника добычи нефти в регионе. Жители деревни попросту сливают нефть с нефтевышек или колодцев в небольшие лодки. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Bolo creek, villagers are illegally taking oil from Shell facilities and refining it to sell on the black market. Around 30 to 40 illegal refineries can be found all over the creek. The strong presense of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta) militants is keeping away the army and the police, allowing the villagers to work freely. Barrels of illegal refined oil taken to be sold on the black market, often to foreing ships.
За всем этим следят мощные вооруженные группировки, которые платят как боевикам MEND, так и солдатам из объединённой оперативной группы, чтобы обезопасить себя. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Bolo creek, villagers are illegally taking oil from Shell facilities and refining it to sell on the black market. Around 30 to 40 illegal refineries can be found all over the creek. The strong presense of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta) militants is keeping away the army and the police, allowing the villagers to work freely. Barrels of illegal refined oil taken to be sold on the black market, often to foreing ships.
К примеру, в маленькой деревушке Опокмалела в 50 км от Порта Харкорт около 30 человек «облюбовали» нефтевышку компании «Shell» в мангровых лесах. И днем и ночью они по пояс голые копаются в грязи, чтобы добыть нефть, которую они потом продают иностранным покупателям по цене 3 евро за баррель. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Bolo, the local population fight for Shell (the oil company) to leave their territory. They were tired of the multiple oil spills and other pollution. After years of fighting, Shell left and the villagers are now using its installations to illegal extract oil and sell internationally it on the black market.
В Боло местное население борется за то, чтобы компания «Shell» покинула их территорию. Они устали от утечек нефти в реки и других загрязнений. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Bolo, the local population fight for Shell (the oil company) to leave their territory. They were tired of the multiple oil spills and other pollution. After years of fighting, Shell left and the villagers are now using its installations to illegal extract oil and sell internationally it on the black market.
Спустя годы борьбы «Shell» оставила территорию, и теперь жители деревни нелегально используют вышки компании для добычи нефти, которую они потом продают на черном рынке. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
A boy transports barrels of crude oil to an illegal refinery. In Bolo creek, villagers are illegally taking oil from Shell facilities and refining it to sell on the black market. Around 30 to 40 illegal refineries can be found all over the creek. The strong presense of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta) militants is keeping away the army and the police, allowing the villagers to work freely. Barrels of illegal refined oil taken to be sold on the black market, often to foreing ships.
Молодой человек переправляет баррели с неочищенной нефтью на нелегальный завод. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Bolo creek, villagers are illegally taking oil from Shell facilities and refining it to sell on the black market. Around 30 to 40 illegal refineries can be found all over the creek. The strong presense of the MEND (Movement For The Emancipation of The Niger Delta) militants is keeping away the army and the police, allowing the villagers to work freely. Barrels of illegal refined oil taken to be sold on the black market, often to foreing ships.
Танкер-нефтевоз проплывает мимо разбившегося корабля в Дельте Нигера. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
An oil tanker goes past a ship wreck in the Niger Delta.
В Окрике нефтеперерабатывающий завод выбрасывает столько отходов, что подземные воды загрязнены, и их нельзя использовать. Этот колодец некогда чистой воды теперь затоплен нефтью. Мужчина на фото собирает нефть, чтобы продать ее на черном рынке. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
The villages on the banks of the Niger Delta are now stinking dumps that lie in ruins, where the inhabitants survive in terrible conditions, often with no access to electricity or running water. The intense oil exploitation and resulting pipeline have caused veritable black tides of pollution, which have turned the region into an environmental nightmare, where agriculture and fishing have died out quite some time ago. “Now you have to go 25 miles off the coast to find fish, and even then…” explains a fisherman from Okujagu village, where the villagers are growing ever angrier as they wait for the completion of a project to bring them drinking water, which began 2 years ago.
Мужчина собирает нефть, чтобы потом продать ее на черном рынке. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Деревни на берегах Дельты Нигера превратились в зловонные свалки в руинах. Жители пытаются выжить в нечеловеческих условиях – без электричества и воды. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Трубы пролегают через деревню Окрика. Старые трубы иногда протекают или взрываются. В результате одного инцидента два месяца назад местные дома просто сгорели. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Государственный нефтеперерабатывающий завод в Окрике загрязняет близлежащие деревни, перерабатывая нефть для таких крупных компаний, как «Shell», «Total», «Elf» и другие. В теории завод должен находиться, по меньшей мере, в 3 км от деревень, но он находится гораздо ближе. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Несмотря на все деньги, получаемые здесь нефтеиндустрией, Порт Харкорт продолжает находиться в запустении. На этом снимке вы видите главную железнодорожную станцию. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
Жители жалуются, что никто не побеспокоился о том, чтобы хотя бы возместить ущерб, наносимый нефтезаводами окружающей среде и здоровью людей, живущих в близлежащих деревнях. (Veronique de Viguerie/ Getty Images)
In Oloibiri, where the first oil wells of the delta region were dug in 1956, the elderly chief is full of rage, saying “Since the devil’s shit sprung up for the first time on our lands, no one has ever bothered to take the time to offer us any form of compensation for the destruction of our environment. And in this time they have been building four star hotels and motorways in Abudja!” which is the federal capital, and has become a symbol of a predatory state system for many. As for the development projects paid for by the oil companies to build schools or clinics, these are increasingly being perceived by the local population as meagre handouts compared to the rewards that the oil companies’ beneficiaries enjoy… and the resentment is mounting amongst these forgotten people in the war for ‘black gold’, who are caught between the government’s primary focus on what is happening in the North of the country rather than here, and a local liberation movement which long ago traded its ideals for petrodollars.
Источник: Getty Images.
Фотографии: Veronique de Viguerie.