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zimv20

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 18, 2002
4,402
11
toronto
link

Rory Carroll Africa correspondent, and Owen Bowcott
Wednesday April 30, 2003
The Guardian

Dozens of British and American oil workers are being held hostage on four rigs off Nigeria's coast by local colleagues in a bizarre drama which has been kept secret for 12 days, it emerged yesterday.

(more...)
 

macfan

macrumors member
Jan 2, 2003
60
0
I saw reports on this a few days back. Not sure if it's being kept secret, or who's keeping it secret.
 

zimv20

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 18, 2002
4,402
11
toronto
Originally posted by macfan
I saw reports on this a few days back. Not sure if it's being kept secret, or who's keeping it secret.

do you remember where you saw it?
 

macfan

macrumors member
Jan 2, 2003
60
0
Originally posted by zimv20
do you remember where you saw it?

I think it was on one of the news station's tickers. I remember thinking that it should have been bigger news. It could have been another instance since these things seem to be very common in Nigeria.
 

bennetsaysargh

macrumors 68020
Jan 20, 2003
2,367
1
New York
Originally posted by MacFan25
Hopefully they won't be held hostage much longer. I wonder why it was kept secret.
yeah, i wonder who was keeping it a secret and why. who had the initial reports of it?
 

bennetsaysargh

macrumors 68020
Jan 20, 2003
2,367
1
New York
speaking of SARS, it's getting to be elian gonzalez, or sandra levey, or some other recurring news item. i mean geesh, give it a break for a few days!:eek: :rolleyes:
 

jelloshotsrule

macrumors G3
Feb 7, 2002
9,596
4
serendipity
when i was in africa last year, the ghanaian (sp?) guy we were chilling with was talking about nigeria and how it's seen as such a barbaric place. he used to live there and would never go back... sacrificing virgins and all that stuff you wouldn't think people still did...

kinda frightening to say the least.
 

billyboy

macrumors 65816
Mar 15, 2003
1,165
0
In my head
This is just another incident among many. Oil companies have been at the centre of ongoing 'war' in Nigeria for decades. This incident is a bit more high profile now because it did not blow over in the first couple of days and involves 97 ex pats.

The paltry wages the local divers get in comparison to the ex pats doing the same job, plus their current grievance over the sackings of 5 workers accused of theft, plus changed transport arrangements, then factor in a no nonsense rigger mentality in a well corrupt Nigeria and wallop, you have an insurrection in the news.

Edit: The last I read the rigs are surrounded by the Nigerian navy.
 
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