HUMAN rights protestors demonstrated outside an Egham petrol station to highlight human rights abuses in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
Runnymede Amnesty International staged the demonstration at the Shell garage in Egham High Street on Sunday to protest about abuse in Nigeria where the company extracts huge volumes of oil. They claim local Nigerians have suffered from polluted waters, contaminated air and a lack of action following spills and accidents at the hands of the oil company.
Holding banners and dressed in contamination boiler suits, the group hoped that the demonstration would send a strong message to the oil giant that it needs to take responsibility for its actions.
Chairperson of the Runnymede Amnesty Group, David Matthews, speaking at the rally said: “Shell would simply not be allowed to get away with this kind of behaviour when extracting oil in Britain. We experienced oil pollution caused by illegal dumping in Thorpe only a week ago, and that was unacceptable to local people – the people of the Niger Delta are exposed to oil pollution on a massive scale, and this affects all aspects of their lives, every day.
"People locally care about where what they buy comes from, and its impact on others. We’re giving Shell a strong message today – Take responsibility for your actions, and clean up your act.”
A recent report by Amnesty International found that the cost of oil extraction has been devastating for local people. Over the last 50 years, it has left them drinking polluted water, eating contaminated fish, and breathing foul air.
When they complain, people in the area find it very difficult to get oil companies, notably Shell, to clean up after accidents and oil spills. Amnesty also claim the Nigerian government seems reluctant to hold the oil companies to account.
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