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A Giraffe Hero returns from the Niger Delta:
A conversation with Giraffe Joel Bisina and an African celebration
Sunday evening, June 1
Whidbey Island - Langley United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
7:00 - 9:30 pm
As you may know, the Sweet Crude documentary film crew was imprisoned for a week in mid-April by Nigerian authorities. Joel Bisina, my husband, was one of those detained. While the American detainees returned to the US right away, Joel has just returned to his home on Whidbey Island after this difficult and dangerous experience.
The Langley-based nonprofit Giraffe Heroes Project (www.giraffe.org) is hosting this event to give the community an opportunity to welcome Joel back and learn more about how he has been “sticking his neck out” for the common good.
Joel was commended as a Giraffe Hero in 2004 for his courageous and passionate commitment to improving the social, economic and environmental plight of the Niger Delta’s people, a plight caused by 50 years of drilling for oil and the government’s failure to include the resident community in the resulting profits. To learn more of Joel’s story, check out http://www.giraffe.org/hero_Joel.html.
The first half of the June 1 event will include a short cut of the documentary, a discussion about the recent events in the delta, and a dialogue between Joel and Giraffe President John Graham, who was previously a US diplomat for African Affairs during the Carter administration.
Then the celebration - we’ll enjoy social time, with African music played by local Island musicians (dancing optional!). Light refreshments will be served. Suggested donation is $5.
Please come join us for a fun and inspiring event.
Mary Ella
There is a new Nigerian slide show up on the site of The Common Language Project with photos and captions that give a glimpse into life in Lagos. While you’re at the site, take a look at the many fascinating stories, audio pieces and slide shows. The young people who have created this independent media project dedicated to humane journalism provide provocative and inspiring stories, with insights vital to global citizens and a mission akin to Global Citizen Journey. As they describe themselves:
“The Common Language Project reports news from around the world about groups and individuals working outside of the mainstream, with a specific focus on stigmatized regions and peoples underrepresented in the traditional media. Our coverage is focused on issues of human rights, gender equality, social and economic justice, education, labor, and health We believe that the best stories are told from the bottom up, not the top down, and seek out people working on the ground and those directly affected by the issues, not bureaucrats and politicians, as our primary sources.”
They will be traveling to Ethiopia and Kenya this Spring, when their reporting will focus on water in East Africa. Special note: One of the CLP founders is Jessica Partnow, daughter of GCJ founder Susan Partnow. Look for her 5 part audio series on the Duwamish River in Seattle, aired this fall by NPR.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since 40 Global Citizen Journey delegates gathered in the Niger Delta: 19 from the Puget Sound Area and 21 from around Nigeria.
We are welcoming you to this blog so that we can share news, help keep our Nigerian relationships connected and alive — and expand our understanding of Nigeria.
It is thrilling to see the legacy of the journey grow. US delegate Ryan has made five return trips. The film Sweet Crude is nearing completion. The library has new computers, air conditioning, and a generator — and a v-sat which you’ll see in the photo, which now brings the internet to the remote village of Oporoza! Stay tuned for a blog entry on the microlending project.
