Women occupy oil field

Warri, Nigeria

Some 80 women, accompanied by a few babies, have taken over a Shell Oil pipeline station in Nigeria. They stormed the station after the company put up a chain-link fence to keep people away from the plumes of flaming gas that rise from the ground as a byproduct of oil production. The women said they needed access to the flares to dry their staple food, manioc root. “The only benefit of this fire that Shell burns day and night over our village is gone now,” said protest leader Bessie Orhorhe. “We are demanding our due.” The protest has shut down the station, which normally produces 40,000 barrels of crude a day.

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