Carolyn Carney
Multi-Nationals and the Poor
So much has been made of the price of gasoline this year, fueled (sorry!) by the devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina. But before Katrina the war in Iraq affected the price of oil globally, too. In June 2005 only one nation paid less for a gallon of oil than the US: Malaysia. Malaysians paid $1.94 per gallon, while people in the United States paid $2.58. But during the same time the British paid the equivalent of $7.61 per gallon and even those in the United Arab Emirates paid $4.75 for every gallon they used. So, really we have little to complain about in comparison to the rest of the world.
Then, after I saw a recent report in The New York Times [see note below], I was forced to admit that complaining about the price of a gallon of gasoline seems childishly trivial when compared to what others in the world could complain about. On the front page of the Times a piece, written by Lydia Polgreen, appeared: “Blood Flows With Oil in Poor Nigerian Villages.” The article was mainly about the controversy over land rights to a particular field in the Niger Delta rich in crude oil. This article led me to some other articles on the internet dealing with Nigeria, poverty and oil.
It seems that since its oil boom in the 1970’s, Nigeria has earned $400 billion. In a sixteen year period, which roughly coincides with the period of the oil boom, the poverty line rose from 28% to 66% of the population. So, where is all the money going? Nigeria regularly finds itself at or near the top of the list of most corrupt countries reports Antony Goldman of the BBC. Corruption comes in many forms, but in a Nigerian state where there has been conflict over the oil fields and where the annual budget to serve a population of three million is half a billion dollars, the governor and his deputy used much of the budget to build a lavish mansion. (Polgreen)
Further, Polgreen points out that many of these poor communities situated right next to these massive oil fields desperately struggle to “reap crumbs from the lavish banquet the oil boom has laid in this oil-rich yet grindingly poor corner of the globe.” Some of the multi-nationals have bowed to pressure and are attempting to bolster their neighbors. Royal Dutch/Shell pledged to donate 3% of their annual operating budget to a fund to help develop the delta area. In 2004 $70 million was given. A sizeable sum indeed. But who is really profiting? The multi-nationals? Their corporate big wigs? Shareholders? Nigerian government officials? Yes, some jobs have been created for local people, but the poor still cry out. What has happened to the $70 million?
From BBC I found the following story. Two and a half years ago hundreds of women from small villages in Nigeria decided they were not going to take it anymore. They were fed up with the seeming extravagances of the oil workers and plant as compared to the meager existences they themselves were eking out. So this group of unarmed women took over an oil plant for ten days and made their complaints known. One village has no running water, electricity or medical facility. While only 400 yards away the oil facility has a modern hospital, cafeteria, game rooms and satellite television. One of the demands was that Chevron/Texaco negotiators would visit the village to see the “abysmal living conditions.” Finally, Chevron/Texaco agreed to hiring 25 from nearby villages and would build schools, provide running water and electricity.
But now I read that the future in oil production for Nigeria will be off-shore. This will sidestep the violence that is going on in and around oil fields and hostile or even peaceful takeovers as cited above. But it also sidesteps the villages. Will they just become out-of-sight, out-of-mind?
Granted, the situation in Nigeria is complex. The finger of blame could be pointed at many: oil companies; local, regional and national governments in Nigeria; and even every single person who drives a car, heats their house, or buys food requiring transportation - which is to say every one of us. I may not work for a multi-national nor did I elect corrupt Nigerian public servants, but what is my responsibility as a neighbor in this picture? How can I be a neighbor to poor Nigerians who live in the shadows of those looming oil plants and are cheated by those who have pledged to serve them in public office? How could an oil company do business justly and with mercy in a country where 66% of the population is impoverished? If you could influence decisions in this multi-national corporation what would you suggest in this situation?
The answers do not come easily. And certainly there is not one correct answer. It can make one feel inadequate and overwhelmed. I will begin at what often feels like a lame place, a cop out, the easy way. I will begin with prayer, for prayer has a way of piercing my heart.
So, each time that I pull up to a gas station to fill my tank I will pray for my neighbors in Nigeria, living in close proximity to oil fields, many who live in squalor, most not knowing what or if they will eat. And I will pray for the MNCs, for their operations to be merciful and generous and for them to use their power to leverage the Nigerian government to act ethically and responsibly toward their people. And I will pray for God’s mercy to be on us all.
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Ed.: Polgreen’s NYT article was carried by the Register-Guard of Eugene, Oregon, which displays it for free.
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