Ken Saro-Wiwa Memorial Seminar, Sat. 11th November 2006

cork | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Friday November 17, 2006 17:15 by Elinor - Cork Shell to Sea corkshelltosea at gmail dot com

The Ken Saro-Wiwa Memorial Seminar was held at UCC, Cork this year. This event also marked the launch of 'Niger Delta Awareness' by Philip Ikurusi who comes from a small island off the Delta region.

Maura Harrington, who had driven straight to Cork from the Garda violence at Bellanaboy the previous day, received a standing ovation from the audience which she immediately conferred on all the people of Rossport, making it clear that there are no 'super heroes' in Erris but a community of courageous people.
Mark Garavan spoke about Michael Davitt and Ken Saro-Wiwa, the campaigns they inspired and in particular the use of 'moral force', relating this to the Shell to Sea campaign.
Majella Mc Carron talked about Ken Saro-Wiwa and his legacy, and thanked everyone at length who continues to campaign against injustice as well as everyone who helped organise the seminar.
Very importantly, Joe Moore spoke about why so few Nigerians were able to attend the day, and about the day-to-day struggles of asylum seekers and other Nigerian people resident in Ireland today.
Lastly, representatives from Ringaskiddy Residents and CHASE, Rossport Solidarity Camp and the Sierra Club (USA grassroots environmental organisation) instigated a discussion on related issues.
Frameworks Films very generously filmed the entire day so there will be a DVD available at a later date for anyone not able to attend on the day. A big thank you goes out to Sr. Majella Mc Carron for organising the seminar for the past 11 years.
And finally Niger Delta Awareness is looking for support in the form of a computer and other office equipment and any donations are welcome.
See www.nigerdeltaawareness.com