April 14 2008

Dear Diary:

Scary times for Mama Camel. My baby is being held by Security Sources in Nigeria--a world away and too far for this mama. Here's what I know for now: He and his traveling companions were in the Delta with their film equipment doing some "pick-up" work on the film they started two years ago. On Saturday a.m. Nigeria time they were picked up by the JTF (the military Joint Task Force) on the charge of "traveling illegally by boat." They were picked up in the Warri area and taken to the capital, Abuja, where we have heard they are being detained at the Defense Headquarters. One of the members of their group, Joel Bisini, a Nigerian with dual-American citizenship and head of an NGO (non-governmental organization) called Niger Delta Development, has an attorney who is working on connecting with the Chief of Defense, General Azazi. We know that many folks are involved in trying to get information and get them released--everyone from the Nigerian Vice President to our own Senator Maria Cantwell's office. We know that while they were not doing anything illegal they were doing something controversial as many people in the Nigerian government would rather not have outsiders know what is really happening in the Delta to the people and the environment. We pray for more information and for their release soon. We are holding up but of course can't focus on anything else and we hang on every word that we hear from our connections and the press. More later...