CHEVRON/TEXACO – The great oily mess of the Amazonian Ecuador

I was just watching an amazing documentary in regards to the Amazon forest. Now, to watch the whole documentary and the full story, you will need to watch the documentary “CRUDE” (trailer below).

Here’s the brief about what the documentary is about. In 1970’s, TEXACO setup a crude oil plant in Amazonian part of Ecuador. Now, an oil plant can generate a LOT of dump and waste. Now, this being a third world country and a poor country and TEXACO being all BIG, american company and all, this has what it has come down to. TEXACO dumped all its wastes and other things into the jungles of Amazon, without so much as a consideration to the local, indigenous people already living there. After about 20 years, the local people who washed and bathed in the local river where the waste was dumped, started to develop skin diseases and cancer.

And this is a mere sauce on the whole muddled pudding. TEXACO  created pits where they dumped this waste (the number almost made me cry, more than 900) and when it rained, they also created pipes where the excess water collected in these pits would go straight in the river, polluting the core river sources.

In 1993, this cause was taken up by a local, recently graduated lawyer (Pablo Fajardo) and the case ran on for 17 years and still no decision is expected for another few years. The case was filed in the US on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadorians by this lawyer in co-ordination the local US lawyer (see video below). However, the case was then moved to Ecuador by the US court. Also, in 2000 (or around that time, I forgot the exact year), CHEVRON took over TEXACO, and in turn, this case. Once in the Ecuadorian court, and after more than 15 years of fighting for justice, the Ecuador court appointed an independent surveyor to take samples, conduct the study and assess damages that CHEVRON needs to pay. And the study conducted by the independent surveyor appointed by the Ecuadorian court put the damages that is to be paid by CHEVRON to 27 Billion.

The clip below shows the other lawyer talking about the lawsuit.

As for the CHEVRON’s stance on this, see the video below where Sylvia (CHEVRON manager) talks about how this is all BS and there is nothing CHEVRON can do and ladidahdidah…

Here’s her video below:-

Well, she’s a bitch for sure. I cannot fathom how she can go home and sleep or even face her family after lying so publicly and openly.

The litigation will go on there is nothing that is to be gained from it by the local people. In the end, the BIG company will keep on buying the judiciary process and delay the justice system. The game is now to wait-and-watch, as it has been for the last 17 years.

All the best and good luck to the lawyers fighting for justice in this case. And my heartfelt prayers to the people of Ecuadorian Amazon.

www.crudethemovie.com

If you care about the environment, please do visit the site below and sign the petition to do something about the litigation and help the people of Ecuadorian Amazon.

http://chevrontoxico.com/

Your little effort and help will go miles in winning the justice they have been long bereaved of.