Nigerian women's takeover ends in victory
By Monica Moorehead
Nigerian women protesters who had taken over five fuel
stations owned and operated by Chevron Texaco declared victory
on July 25. The women said they decided to end their eight-day
siege of the stations because management had agreed to meet
their demands to build schools and hospitals and provide jobs,
electricity and clean water to their poor villages. It remains
to be seen if Chevron Texaco bosses will actually live up to
their end of the deal.
This was the second siege of Chevron Texaco within a
two-week span. The first took place at the Escravos station
when another group of Nigerian women made the same demands on
the multi-million-dollar conglomerate. These women won
concessions as well.
The women were highly organized during both protests as they
blockaded entrances and took hundreds of mainly foreign oil
workers hostage. The siege brought oil production to a virtual
halt.
The Niger Delta, where both protests took place, is rich in
oil reserves. But it is also one of the poorest regions of
Africa due to the tragic legacy of colonialism and Western
imperialist plunder.
The women understand the despicable role Chevron Texaco
plays in taking the precious resource of oil from their
community while not helping create an economic infrastructure
for the well-being of everyone in the region. The women used
direct action to say, "Enough is enough."
Esther Tolar, one of the protesters, said: "History has been
made. Our culture is a patriarchal society. For women to come
out like this and achieve what we have is out of the
ordinary."
Reprinted from the Aug. 8, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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