From the Guardian
Gulf oil spill: A hole in the world

The Deepwater Horizon disaster is not just an industrial accident – it is a violent wound inflicted on the Earth itself. In this special report from the Gulf coast, a leading author and activist shows how it lays bare the hubris at the heart of capitalism.

I created this short clip in memory of the exploited people of the oil rich Niger Delta in Nigeria, with music from Fela Anikulapo Kuti. This was inspired by “The Next Gulf: London, Washington and Oil Conflict in Nigeria” a terrific book by British authors,Andrew Rowell, James Marriott, Lorne Stockman at Platform.

At the Delta of Niger River in Nigeria, where a vast proportion of planet’s oil is excavated, bomb attacks, abductions and murders form part of daily routine.

The documentary portrays the image of “development”, the way giant multinational petroleum companies would define it. Petroleum leaks in the River destroy flora and fauna, poison the food chain and consequently wipe out the 27 million indigenous people of the area - the Ijaws, the Ogoni and the Itsekiris. The inhabitants dare to ask the self-evident, they demand an end to it. As a response they are massively and brutally attacked by special forces of the army and the police, which are armed by the oil companies. The camera meets at the river militia of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta-MEND- and presents to the world for the first time shattering images of their speed boat patrols and of their heavy weaponry.
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