In ricordo di Ken Saro-Wiwa, giustiziato vent’anni fa per essersi opposto alla devastazione della Nigeria, violentata dai padroni del petrolio.
Scrittore, poeta e militante ecologista, Ken Saro-Wiwa aveva denunciato – a nome della minoranza Ogoni – l’operato della Shell e i danni ambientali causati dalle attività estrattive nel delta del Niger. Aveva organizzato proteste e manifestazioni, e fondato il movimento Mosop (per la sopravvivenza del popolo Ogoni). Fu arrestato una prima volta, nel 1993, e rilasciato grazie alle pressioni della comunità internazionale. Ma dopo il secondo arresto, e un processo-farsa, fu impiccato in prigione insieme ad altri otto attivisti.
Accusata di aver sostenuto il regime, la Shell nel 2009 ha accettato di versare 15,5 milioni di dollari per chiudere un processo intentato presso un tribunale di New York (e altri 84 milioni nel 2015, per risarcire i pescatori di Bodo colpiti dalle ripetute fughe di greggio alla fine del decennio precedente). Ma lo sfruttamento del delta è proseguito, portando la zona sull’orlo della catastrofe ecologica, come aveva profetizzato Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Leggi l’intervista di Gabriele Santoro su minima&moralia a Noo Saro-Wiwa, figlia di Ken e autrice di In cerca di Transwonderland.
Leggi l’intervista di Maria Tatsos a Noo Saro-Wiwa uscita su «Elle».
Leggi l’intervista di Federico Geremei a Noo Saro-Wiwa su «Vogue».

Le parole della figlia

«In 1992, when I was 16, my father Ken Saro-Wiwa wrote me a letter. Among other things, he told me that the Nigerian military dictatorship might kill him as a result of his campaign for human rights in the oil-polluted Niger Delta. I thought he was exaggerating, and I was angry with him for scaremongering.
They say that courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to overcome it. My father pursued his objectives, knowing the huge risks. On the morning of November 10th, 1995, when he and eight of his colleagues were hanged, he was reportedly the only person who didn’t cry as they placed the rope around his neck.
The murder of a relative can, paradoxically, make you risk-averse. My father taught me a lot about courage, and each year I’m gaining a bit of what he had. One day I will write about Ogoniland.
The Ogoni Nine risked their lives in order for our people to enjoy the basics of life: clean water, rivers filled with fish to eat, schools for the children. Nobody should have to die for such meagre requests. But their deaths were not in vain.
The Ogoni Nine: Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuine, Ken Saro-Wiwa.
We remember you and thank you».
Noo Saro-Wiwa

Le parole di Ken

«The writer cannot be a mere storyteller; he cannot be a mere teacher; he cannot merely X-ray society’s weaknesses, its ills, its perils. He or she must be actively involved shaping its present and its future».
«The most important thing for me is that I’ve used my talents as a writer to enable the Ogoni people to confront their tormentors. I was not able to do it as a politician or a businessman. My writing did it. And it sure makes me feel good! I’m mentally prepared for the worst, but hopeful for the best. I think I have the moral victory».
Ken Saro -Wiwa