Fool's Gold

We generally keep this blog lighthearted and simple, so the following might be hard for some of you to digest. Last night I was able to check out the D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival featuring art exhibits in most of the little shops and restaurants in the neighborhood. The exhibit that obviously stood out to me was that of Ed Kashi, a photography exposé of the current oil crisis in Nigeria (my homeland). The images portray a land devastated by oil drilling, a people living on less than a dollar a day while residing on the some of the most valued oil reserves in the world. One could look at the pictures, and yell propaganda, fabrication, or any other number of terms denying the reality of the inhumane conditions under which the people of the oil rich Niger Delta currently reside in. Easy to do when you're sitting in the safety of your office, or apartment, where these problems seems light years away, you couldn't even see how this could directly affect you. The economy has been shit lately, that must be what's causing these extremely high gas prices...wrong. The area has recently been taken siege by "rebels". Resorting to setting pipelines ablaze, and kidnapping Big Oil employees, the rebels have managed to significantly diminish the country's oil production, causing scarcity of fuel and you guessed it...elevated gas prices around the world. The UN along with other institutions are calling for a resolution of the problem, and bringing peace to the area. The issue, however, was never one of peace, but one of exploitation, and unfair gains by everyone except those who suffer the consequences of the drilling. Take a look at the disparity these people are living in, and you be the judge of if who is the criminal in the situation, and who is simply partaking in civil disobedience. Look for more prints on Ed Kashi's site.