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A few days at the Rossport Solidarity Camp
Opinion: A community in need of help.
I was at the Shell to Sea Solidarity Camp in Rossport last week. You can read all you want about Shell and the protests, the politics and the money, but I don't think it's possible to fully understand what's going on there until you experience it for yourself.
Firstly, it is mind-numbingly beautiful. I live in Dublin most of the time, and sometimes I forget that Ireland has one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. Being on the edge of the Atlantic is refreshing in every sense; the smell hits you and you suddenly feel like you're living fully in your body and mind. And if the wind is as strong as it usually is you'll feel air whooshing right through your kidneys. Compare it to Dublin (or any city) and it's like living in a computer … ooh, it's getting cloudy, fix the resolution ...
Then you juxtapose this with the IRMS men who stand at the Shell compound 24/7 guarding the Shell machinery. I found them fascinating - I really couldn't stop staring at them. They are past my comprehension. They all have cameras and they film anyone who walks past/near the compound. I went for a walk early one morning to explore the area, and I got filmed when I walked past them. They stare, but they don't speak. It feels … sinister. You could argue that they are just people doing a job, but in this case I cannot disassociate the person from the job.
What Shell are doing is heartbreaking. They have disregarded lives in their pursuit of money. They treat a community like a hindrance, something small to squash so they can get their big fat pay cheque. This isn't the first time Shell have done this. They have caused irreparable environmental devastation in Ogoni, in southeast Nigeria. They poisoned the land there with pipes and leaking oil, killing their natural resources, destroying their land and water. For a community who are dependent on farming and fishing, this was devastating.
The same thing will happen in Mayo, when - or if - the pipe is built. And our government don't care! The Gardaí aid the Shell workers in stopping protestors. They even stand idly by as protestors are attacked - only last week, an IRMS senior supervisor, Derek Bolger, punched a protester in the face outside the Shell offices in Belmullet. Gardaí stood around doing nothing. Just like the politicians stand around doing nothing - talking about other things so that people don’t realize the heinous things that are going on in northwest Mayo.
The newspapers are covered with shite about royal weddings and cows opening gates and nothing about the human rights crimes that are happening in our own country. The only people helping the communities in Mayo are the people themselves and the protesters.
And they welcome people to join them in their protest. The camp is an open and friendly environment, where anyone is welcome – there isn’t pressure to protest, you can just come along to see what it's all about. And I urge you to do so. I was only there for two full days, but I fell in love with the place: the resilience and energy of the people, the atmosphere of hope, the surrounding beauty. As I left I started to cry, wishing I could stay longer.
While walking a bit further down the road, I passed by the Shell oil refinery. A truck was just pulling in as I walked by. I managed to catch a glimpse of the big welcome sign just inside the gates. It said: "SHELL CARE ABOUT HEALTH, SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT." I laughed very hard for a few minutes and walked on. Sometimes gut-wrenching sadness gets so strong that something ridiculous like that will push you over the top.
By: Anonymous
Further Information
Shell to sea
Rossport solidarity camp
