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Reportage:
UK NGO Commission-Nigeria 2011
Children are the subjects that the UK based Charity and grassroots partners which commissioned me, are taking care of within the Niger Delta area.
They, are trying to tackle children abandonment, abuse, and children who live in the streets or who have been accused to be witches or wizards therefore tortured and abandoned.
They are trying to reintegrate them in and educative environment and reconcile the abandoned kids with their families, they also pursue and follow cases reported to the police which otherwise would tend to be neglected.
The images shown in the gallery are a short edit of the commissioned work mixed with some personal images I have taken on the same subject.
Colombian Tomb Raiders 08/2010
San Agustin is a town and municipality in the southern Colombian department of Huila.
The town is located 227 km from the capital of the Department of Neiva.
The area is well known for its Pre-Colombian archeological sites, which generate a significant revenue to the economy due to the high volume of tourists, both Colombian and foreign.
These sites form a UNESCO World Heritage site.
San Agustin still has an unknown number of undiscovered areas where ancient pre-Colombian tombs lie a few feet under.
The tombs usually contains treasures and artifacts from terracotta pottery to 22k gold deity figurines necklaces and rings anthropomorphic figures and various other objects.
A few cunning locals know how to detect tombs scattered all over San Agustin area, which stretches from Official Archeological sites to private lands, owned by local farmers/dwellers.
There is a flourishing market of illicit diggings-ancient tombs looted and their contents smuggled outside the country for predominantly American and European archeological collectors.
Foreign buyers get in touch with the “guajeros” ( the so called Tomb Riders ) who provide them a series of pictures or show them directly artifacts they dug out already.
These are made available to choose and usually buy.Altho often they are offered objects that are completely fake.
The images presented here expose the process whereby guajeros dig out pre-Colombian artefact from the discovered tombs.
Sometimes Guajeros dig secretly on private lands/archeological sites, sometimes they ask permission from land owners who allow the digging for a fair share of the objects sold.
In 2002 ICOM ( the International Council Museums) drew up a so-called red list of Objects/ Cultural Heritage categories, thought to be under severe threat from looting and theft.
Although authorities have been workingwith increasing effect to raise awarness of the importance of cultural heritage, the lack of funding to protect sites and enforce existing laws, results in illegal trading of artifacts and large scale looting , which is still carried out on a daily basis.
G20 Meltdown 2nd April 2009 London
2nd of April 2009,In the Middle of the Financial Recession crisis which hit the richest countries in the world, London held the G20 Summit.
Plans of global economy recovery were discussed by leaders, financial ministers and central bankers of 20 countries.
London welcomed the world leaders the 1st of April 2009 , the Queen invited her guests to a reception in Buckingam Palace and Mr.Gordon Brown hosted a dinner at Downing Street.
Against this background, on 1st of April, the streets of City of London were taken by an alliance of aticapitalist protester called G20 Meltdown that organized a carnival-like peaceful demonstration called ” Four Horsefolk of the Apocalipse ” which converged in front of the Bank of England with other protesters groups,demanding changes in the Economic System demanding a clear admission of ministers’ mistakes about their finance management, demanding actions on poverty, climate changes and Jobs.
Thousands of officers from six forces were deployed during the 2 days of the G20 Summit to tackle any security problem.
Although the majority of the protests and protesters were peaceful, the threat of violence and criminal damage were used by police as a reason to detain, or kettle. Sporadic clashes occured in various part of the City. A bystander Ian Tomlison, caught in the middle of of a clash, died shortly after being pushed to the ground by a police officer.
For several hours on 1 April thousands of demonstrators had been trapped in a cordon outside the Bank of England and troublemakers were identified on handheld cameras carried by police teams.
Police forces after the Ian Tomlison tragedy were put under scrutiny for the violent tactics used during the G20 protest
Sahara Film Festival
Niger Delta Chronicles
This was watched with doubtful eyes by international community observers and journalists who had declared the recent democratic electoral process a farce. Yar’Adua’s speech went on to list the seven point agenda from his election campaign: rebuilding physical infrastructure and human capital, accelerating economic reforms, strengthening the capacity of law enforcement agencies and especially police, reducing inflation, maintaining a stable exchange rate, rebuilding basic infrastructure, overcoming the energy challenge. He also pledged that his administration would give urgent attention to the crisis in the Niger Delta.
Although Nigeria is one of the most populous countries in Africa, a major oil producer and rich in resources, its mismanagement, the succession of wars and leaders, inter-ethnic conflict, the corruption and greed of its governors have slowed down the process of development. After more then one year on from Nigeria Presidential Election few steps have been taken toward establishing systems of healthcare and education, developing energy distribution, telecommunications, roads and basic infrastructure, or tackling poverty and unemployment.
Once again the Niger Delta, the sensitive region that produces 80% of the Nigeria’s revenue, is the nation’s Achille’s Heel.
If the situation with militias and rebels worsens, the nation will be brought to its knees.
And this against a backdrop where the majority of the people are already struggling to survive.
View the gallery
Niger Delta Militants
Members of similar groups are linked to the notorious MEND. The definition of a militant is blurred by the involvement of members and leaders of groups in oil bunkering and territorial fights.
NEAZDP, a Nigerian Positive Story
It borders on the southern edge of the Sahara desert, and one of the many challenges faced by inhabitants are moving sand dunes that threaten to engulf villages and oases. Through experimentation NEAZDP has devised an effective method of sand dune fixation using the Prosopis Chilensis tree which has been used to safeguard many villages. NEAZDP is an integrated rural development programme – in other words it sets out to tackle different areas simultaneously – in addition to dune fixation, this encompasses education, water supply, health and veterinary services, agricultural development and so on – in the belief that this is the only was to make the programme sustainable in the long term. This is seen as key in an area with very low literacy and high poverty levels.
NEAZDP was originally funded by the EU with some support from the Nigerian government. It was launched in 1990 and EU funding was originally intended to last for 15 years. However, in 1995, following the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and eight Ogoni activists, the EU withdrew all development funding to Nigeria and the Programme abruptly lost its EU support. For the past 12 years it has received no EU funding and survives on a fraction of its previous income, money that is provided by state and, sporadically, national government, often with long delays.
One of the most interesting aspects of the story is how the Programme, now run entirely by Nigerians, has survived since 1995 thanks to the dedication and ingenuity of its managers and staff. Its success against the odds seems to be due in part to the sense of ownership felt by local people who take many of the decisions about how the programme will operate in individual villages.
Niger Delta Beliefs
BTC Baku Tiblisi Ceyhan Oil Pipeline
Politically, it is highly charged and part of a grand strategy to reduce the US and Europe’s reliance on the Middle Eastern oil while bringing the troubled Caucasus and Central Asian region further in the Western fold.
But it is also fraught with complications- the construction effort has been plagued with allegations of corruption, incompetence and cronyism.
People who live along the route have had been stripped of their homes and land- often with little or no compensation.
In some areas in Western Georgia, BTC construction project has destabilised an entire mountainside and village threatens to be engulfed by a landslip
All of this in addiction to the grave environmental threat posed by an oil pipeline that passes through at least seven active seismic faults.
In Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, I have traveled much of the route of the pipeline where the project brought major concerns, interviewing and photographing villagers and local people, from the rusting Soviet oilfields of Baku on Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea, through the remote mountains of Georgia and the war-torn Kurdish regions of Eastern Turkey.
The Feature would explore the on-the-ground reality of this enormous construction, which is being led with US and UK government support.