Interesting People mailing list archives
Hunger Strike
From: David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 1994 09:28:40 -0400
I normally stear away from sending out such notes but I decided to make an exception in this case. Let your beliefs and concience be your guide as you read this. Dave Date: Thu, 29 Sep 1994 21:00:01 -0400 From: alburty () panix com (Steve Alburty) David: I got an urgent call this afternoon from Anita Roddick's office. Apparently, Ken Saro-Wiwa has gone on a hunger strike and is near death. Would it be at all possible for you to send this note out soon? Steve -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had the pleasure last month of spending some time with Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop, and during my visit took her on a grand tour of the Internet. Anita and her company are extraordinarily passionate about many social issues and she instantly saw the value of the Internet as a means of reaching a worldwide audience with a call-to-action on these vital causes. And so she issued a challenge to me: demonstrate the power of the Net by performing one small task - save a single human life. On May 22nd, Ken Saro-Wiwa, a writer and civil-rights advocate, was arrested in southeast Nigeria and is being held in some unknown place of detention. He is accused of inciting youths to murder four leading members of the Ogoni native community. In fact, the Body Shop and Amnesty International believe that Ken is being falsely accused and that his real "crime" has been leading a campaign against environmental damage and inadequate compensation by oil companies operating in his homeland - Ogoniland, Rivers State, Nigeria. The Ogoni people are a fishing and farming community unlucky enough to live within one of the world's richest oil-producing areas. Hundreds of pipelines and oil wells, most built decades ago, have poisoned the water. Thick pools of spilled crude dot the landscape. The 500,000 inhabitants of Ogoniland receive virtually no compensation for the riches that are removed from their land. In May, the European edition of the Wall Street Journal reported on the desolation and poverty caused by the oil-barons of Nigeria. The reporter was promptly detained, interrogated and deported. (This is the same "justice" system, by the way, which is currently trying the winner of last year's Presidential election for treason. His crime? Winning the election.) Ken Saro-Wiwa has been repeatedly arrested and harassed by the security forces in the past because of his campaign on behalf of his people. This time, he is threatened with life imprisonment and is being denied access to medical attention, legal counsel and family contact. Word has now reached us that Ken is on a hunger strike, so your help is URGENTLY needed. I am asking everyone on David Farber's "interesting people" distribution list to lend their voices in helping to free Ken from his imprisonment by sending a message to "freeken () panix com." Your message will automatically be printed and forwarded by mail to Walter Carrington, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria in Lagos, and to Lt.Col Dauda M. Komo, the Military Administrator for Rivers State, Nigeria. Again, please send a message via the Internet to "freeken () panix com." (Anyone wanting additional information on Ken and the political situation in Nigeria can contact "alburty () panix com") For the benefit of those who would like to "copy and paste," here is a sample message you might send: ------------------------------------------------------------- I am concerned by the arrest of Ken Saro-Wiwa, who has been detained solely because of his campaign against environmental damage and inadequate compensation by oil companies operating in Ogoniland, Rivers State, and because of his influence within the Ogoni community. I seek clarification of the reason for his arrest, his place of detention, the legislation under which he is held and any charges against him. I urge that he be given immediate access to his lawyer and family, be provided with all necessary medical care and be held in humane conditions. Ken is a prisoner of conscience because of his non-violent political activities and criticism of government policies and I call on the Nigerian authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally. This message comes to you from the Internet, the worldwide communications network.
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- Hunger Strike David Farber (Sep 30)