Andrew Berends Needs Your Help

My friend Karolyn sent me an email about Andrew Berends, a New York-based freelance filmmaker and journalist who was working on a film about the oil-producing Delta region in Nigeria. Andrew was Karolyn's daughter Katherine's high school class. His mother, Polly, is the author of Whole Parent, Whole Child and is a dear friend of Karolyn's. Andrew was arrested on Sunday and accused of spying. His passportand filmmaking equipment have been confiscated. “They didn’t let me sleep or eat or drink water for the first 36 hours,” he said Tuesday night. Polly has asked for help - if you can contact any political heavyweight to intervene on Andy's behalf, please do.

Several other foreign journalists and filmmakers have been detained while working in the region in recent years. In April, four members of a Seattle-based film crew were arrested in the Delta and held for six days on spying charges. Apparently, Nigeria doesn't want the world to notice the economic and ecological disaster that is taking place in the Niger Delta.

Despite its oil riches, the Niger Delta is a desperately poor and increasingly lawless part of the country, where wealth is siphoned away by corrupt officials. Militants demand a greater share of the area’s oil resources and claim to be fighting on behalf of the impoverished residents, but also appear to be engaging in many criminal and opportunistic acts of violence. Hundreds of foreign workers and wealthy Nigerians have been kidnapped for ransom, and oil theft is rampant.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has demanded his immediate release, but we need to bring more pressure on Nigeria to stop this wanton censureship of filmmakers and journalists. If you can, please call your Congressional Representative and your Senators.

Thanks!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

UPDATE

Andrew has been provisionally released. There are still restrictions.

The Price of Gas Gives Me Gas

As prices at the pump continue to soar, I thought I'd share this image I took as we sailed out of Brunei (the wealthiest little nation in the world.) Yes, oil wells off the shore, pumping, burning, polluting, generally making the Sultan of Brunei richer than he already is.

Still in Chicago. Much improved. Beanie remains adorable. She thinks that when I laugh, I am a spektickle.

Sweet Crude

A man carrying a machete walks by a burning oil pipeline last month near a farm in Kegbara Dere, Nigeria. The fire burned strong for 45 days, raining ash down on the village.

Documentary filmmaker Sandy Cioffi entered Nigeria legally on April 5, along with Tammi Simms, her producer; and photojournalists Cliff Worsham and Sean Porter. They were accompanied by Nigerian citizen Joel Bisina, who is the founder of a Warri-based NGO, Niger Delta Professionals for Development.

Cioffi is in Nigeria making a documentary film, Sweet Crude, about the impact of the petroleum industry on the economy and environment of the Niger Delta. On April 12, the five were taken into custody by the Nigerian military and so far, have not been charged with anything. They have been denied outside contact, nor have they been formally charged with a crime. The four US Citizens had Visas to enter Nigeria, issued by the Nigerian government, and were returning to the Niger River Delta to complete the film WITH PERMISSION FROM THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT. (emphasis mine.)

Nigeria's petroleum industry is well-known for corruption, pollution and injustice. As the largest producer of oil in Africa, apparently Nigeria doesn't want the world to know too much. We in America import a tremendous amount of oil from Nigeria - is our government complicit in this arrest?

That we depend upon foreign oil is at core of this issue. And it takes the courage of Artists (these filmmakers) to shine the light on this industry. Apparently, their crime is to simply point a camera. So far they've not been charged, and according to Nigerian law, they must be charged within 48 hours or released. It has been over 48 hours. Let's make some noise.