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Shell Shuts Up

Pueblo Unido | 07.03.2008 11:44 | Climate Chaos | Globalisation | Repression

Student activists raised issues such as corporate corruption and climate change at a Shell-run event. Shell employees only commented "I do not have an opinion on this subject" when asked how they respond to these polemical matters.

A hugely successful disruption/complete domination of the Shell “Recruitment Event” took place last night.

A group of seven Nottingham student activists utilised the event's exercise of identifying “risks” Shell might face when drilling for oil of the coast of a West African island to raise awareness amongst potential Shell graduate employees and send a message to Shell that they are not welcome in Nottingham. The activists employed varying tactics with some preferring to employ a highly effective “Yes Men” style, some sporting anti-shell clothing, others distributing leaflets about the corporation and others still opting for outright, heated debates with (rather disheartened and dispirited) Shell employees. Despite the fact that students tackled Shell differently, an impressive sense of unity was achieved as four out of the five groups’ presentations ended with harsh criticism of the corporation. Such criticism included a condemnation of Shell’s previous brutal, corrupt, murderous and polluting history in West Africa, the corporation’s implication in peak oil, climate change and the necessity of the rejection of the global economic system which has led to climate change and absolute poverty in the first place. During the question and answer section at the end of the presentations the need for real solutions to the climate change challenges was raised - not “green wash”, not “Corporate Responsibility” and not bio fuels. Despite there being a bio-fuels “expert” from Shell present, whilst all of these issues were being raised by the students the corporation’s employees remained strangely quiet.

Along with the environmental discussions, the student activists highlighted the fact that corporations like Shell are content to fund violent dictatorships and private armies (e.g MoPol in the case of Nigeria) to repress local opposition to their exploitation of natural resources. The response from the majority of students attending the corporate event was one of interest, as they did not know of Shell’s sinister past, whilst Shell employees almost universally denied knowledge of the corporation’s links to the hanging of innocent environmental activists in the Niger Delta.

Before leaving, the activists made it clear that a better world is possible citing the environmentalist/anti-globalisation, non-hierarchical, grass-roots movements springing up all around the world that "will continue to grow until corporations like Shell do not exist”.

Numerous other harsh threats to the corporation’s multi-billion pound existence were met with silence from the corporate employees. Surprising as it may seem, Shell consistently rejected the opportunity to put a corporate spin on the charges made against them – even when directly asked to do so.

Pueblo Unido
- e-mail: pueblounido@riseup.net

Additions

pic

07.03.2008 11:50

Student brandishes T-shirt during Shell presentation
Student brandishes T-shirt during Shell presentation

what a nice t-shirt!

pueblo unido
mail e-mail: pueblounido@riseup.net


Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

thanks!

07.03.2008 16:16


great action, thanks for the more detailed covarage. brought a smile to my face- you guys rock!

x

k


Well done Studes, heart bleeds4 poor shell PR people who had endure some truth

07.03.2008 20:39

Well done Studes, heart bleeds4 poor shell PR people who had endure some truth

Joni


Good work

07.03.2008 21:18

Nice one guys. Sounds like it couldn't have gone better!

Peat


Thanks& Extra Stuff

08.03.2008 12:44



Thanks!

There was loads of other stuff that happened as well that I didn't put in the article for the purposes of keeping it brief.

While one of the Shell "Graduate Recruiters" was trying to get out of answering my question about the "termination" of "risk factors" there was a loud banging and screaming from outside - a disruption which really put the Shell lot on edge.

At another point, a Shell employee went to the large flip chart, turned over the first page to reveal SHELL KILL in capitals and red ink, startled she turned over the next page to reveal REMEMBER KEN SARO-WIWA.


The overall effect was that we they were under-siege! Being attacked from all angles! Which left them feeling defensive but as they had NO come back for anything we said, we were able to ENTIRELY dominate the event.

Pueblo Unido


.

08.03.2008 15:49

Good work - I heard it was amazing - stay strong!

Jamal


flipchart

08.03.2008 16:22

haha...that flipchart ting sounds brilliant, good thinking!

jack


Shell Kill

09.03.2008 20:55

it does sound so good guys i'm quite jealous i only got to hand out flyers! The security staff thought i was some sort of threat and failed to notice some pretty obvious activist types (no offence meant of course cos ur all lovely) as they walked in problem free. They even had one security guard posted on each end of the corridor not letting anyone else in, in case of protest. while you were in there telling them what for!
I wrote Shell kill on the board at like 4 that afternoon just hoping it'd stay and someone else must have added the ken saro wiwa bit, it just sounds too good to be true.
big up all this activism at notts
let us not stop

matt


ah haaa

09.03.2008 21:09

so it was matt who wrote Shell kills!!

everyone was wondering who wrote that!!!

mate it was so funny when it got exposed on the flip chart, it happened twice!!!

i wrote remember Ken Saro-Wiwa.

yea the security presence was over the top! didn't stop us though! haha.

Sofia