0001 00:00:02:10 00:00:04:24
We, the makers of this movie
0002 00:00:05:02 00:00:08:01
Are nine women from the Niger Delta.
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None of us has ever made a film before
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But we were keen to learn
as we have a story to share with the world.
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Our story is different from
the usual media reports
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About oil outputs, conflict and kidnapping
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It focuses on the everyday lives of women.
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It's situated in the Niger Delta
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But we believe it applies to
many women around the world.
CAPTION: 00:00:39:22 00:00:47:06
Production
MIND
FLL
CAPTION: 00:00:42:12 00:00:47:06
Sponsor
German Embassy
Abuja
CAPTION: 00:01:55:15 00:02:05:10
Daughters of the Niger Delta
0010 00:02:49:15 00:02:51:08
In 2009
0011 00:02:51:20 00:02:53:13
the Niger Delta was believed to be
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on a crossroad towards a better future.
0013 00:02:57:11 00:03:02:03
The Nigerian president granted amnesty
to armed local groups
0014 00:03:02:06 00:03:08:18
claiming to fight for the environmental and
social rights of the Niger Delta people.
0015 00:03:08:21 00:03:12:16
The amnesty deal and follow-up measures
helped to reduce
0016 00:03:12:19 00:03:16:14
the much-reported violence
and kidnappings in the region.
0017 00:03:16:17 00:03:20:12
But it didn't lessen the price
that local people have to pay
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for the oil and gas
extracted from their backyard.
0019 00:03:36:21 00:03:40:06
The oil has spoiled everything for us.
0020 00:03:42:13 00:03:44:07
Before, we used to go fishing
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but because of the oil
the fishing is no good now.
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Previously, when the oil
had not spoiled our place
0023 00:03:51:17 00:03:54:11
there were all kinds of fish, big fish.
0024 00:03:54:21 00:04:00:00
We used to catch Bonga fish,
tilapia and cat fish.
0025 00:04:00:03 00:04:02:10
But now the oil has
polluted the entire area.
0026 00:04:02:22 00:04:08:20
Before you can catch fish now, you have
to go deep, deep down the river to get any.
0027 00:04:08:23 00:04:12:17
So that's why I am picking periwinkles now.
0028 00:04:12:20 00:04:15:12
And before, I used to pick
three bags of periwinkles.
0029 00:04:15:15 00:04:17:15
That is, five plastic bowls per bag.
0030 00:04:17:18 00:04:20:17
But now, because of the oil pollution
0031 00:04:20:20 00:04:25:00
I only pick one bowl of periwinkles per day.
0032 00:04:25:03 00:04:29:07
And I sell that plastic bowl for 500 naira.
0033 00:04:29:10 00:04:32:18
That five hundred naira hardly buys
anything.
0034 00:04:34:22 00:04:37:06
Early in the morning, I go to the river.
0035 00:04:37:09 00:04:41:21
And before I return home,
Sometimes it's 5 or 6pm.
0036 00:04:43:06 00:04:44:19
The money is not enough.
0037 00:04:45:06 00:04:47:13
My problem is that…
0038 00:04:47:16 00:04:54:15
the little money I earn,
I use it to pay my children's school fees.
0039 00:04:54:18 00:04:58:00
God has helped me to
support their schooling.
0040 00:04:58:18 00:05:02:08
But what makes me unhappy is that
0041 00:05:02:11 00:05:05:24
my daughter Uke is supposed to go to
university.
0042 00:05:06:18 00:05:08:19
But because I don't have enough money
I make her help me...
0043 00:05:08:22 00:05:13:16
to do some work to support the family.
0044 00:05:13:19 00:05:17:04
But if I had the money I would allow
my daughter to go to university
0045 00:05:17:07 00:05:21:12
so that afterwards
she can support the family well.
0046 00:05:28:13 00:05:32:05
What I want to change in my life is poverty.
0047 00:05:32:08 00:05:35:02
I don't want poverty to come near me.
0048 00:05:35:05 00:05:37:15
Because poverty is dangerous…
0049 00:05:37:18 00:05:42:10
it can lead you to things
that you don't want to engage in.
CAPTION: 00:05:42:12 00:05:47:01
Hannah
Bodo City,
Rivers State
0050 00:05:55:21 00:05:58:05
I remember my mother told me
0051 00:05:58:24 00:06:01:14
I want you to go to school
0052 00:06:01:18 00:06:04:07
I don't want you to get pregnant along the
way
0053 00:06:04:10 00:06:08:15
I want you to read and study honourably.
0054 00:06:08:18 00:06:11:07
I have achieved that goal.
0055 00:06:11:10 00:06:14:18
And today, if you go and meet my mother,
ask her, she will be proud.
0056 00:06:14:21 00:06:17:23
She will tell you
that I did not fail her.
0057 00:06:22:17 00:06:24:04
I grew up with my mom.
0058 00:06:25:17 00:06:28:13
I was small when my parents separated.
0059 00:06:28:16 00:06:32:02
Maybe about a year and three months,
or a year and six months.
0060 00:06:33:01 00:06:35:08
It affected my mum because
0061 00:06:35:11 00:06:39:10
my dad was doing well, he was okay
financially
0062 00:06:39:13 00:06:42:13
and so for her to leave like that,
it wasn't something she was prepared for.
0063 00:06:42:16 00:06:48:00
He just told her to return to the village,
as if he'd come back and settle her.
0064 00:06:48:03 00:06:51:24
She left and never returned,
back to her matrimonial home.
0065 00:06:52:02 00:06:54:19
So she started all over, struggling.
0066 00:06:54:22 00:07:02:19
She had to start baking meat pies,
fish rolls, egg rolls, buns…
0067 00:07:02:22 00:07:08:07
And sell them…people would come and
buy them as early as 5am, 6am.
0068 00:07:08:16 00:07:12:18
That's how she was struggling.
And she knew that
0069 00:07:12:21 00:07:15:23
not being a graduate was problematic.
0070 00:07:16:01 00:07:17:17
And she used to say:
it's because I didn't go to school...
0071 00:07:17:20 00:07:20:11
that your dad was able to play with me.
0072 00:07:22:07 00:07:25:05
So she had to start all over again.
0073 00:07:25:08 00:07:30:05
And… she said somebody told her
about this health school.
0074 00:07:30:08 00:07:33:13
Thank God she went back to school.
0075 00:07:33:16 00:07:40:07
We are all beneficiaries of that, because that is
why she is able to stand where she is today.
0076 00:07:41:02 00:07:45:09
She was responsible for everything
as I was growing up.
0077 00:07:45:12 00:07:50:07
For all my needs I went to her.
There was no dad, so I was going to her.
CAPTION: 00:07:50:10 00:07:55:13
Naomi
Yenagoa,
Bayelsa State
0078 00:07:57:19 00:07:59:02
I didn't see my dad.
0079 00:07:59:19 00:08:01:04
Not even for a day.
0080 00:08:01:07 00:08:08:02
Until the day I went to see him
to say I had gained admission into university.
0081 00:08:08:05 00:08:10:16
And he said no, he couldn't support me.
0082 00:08:10:19 00:08:14:13
That I should tell my mother to continue.
She could take all the glory.
0083 00:08:14:16 00:08:18:03
So I went back to my mom crying
and she said: Okay I will try.
0084 00:08:18:06 00:08:20:22
My salary is not much,
but I will try.
0085 00:08:22:24 00:08:24:14
Her education was important to me
0086 00:08:24:17 00:08:25:21
as it's a challenge.
0087 00:08:26:14 00:08:31:21
Because when I look back,
I lost my father and my mother was absent.
0088 00:08:31:24 00:08:36:13
We suffered in various ways.
In terms of clothing, feeding, as well as education.
0089 00:08:36:16 00:08:40:18
Nobody was ready to send us to school.
CAPTION: 00:08:38:12 00:08:44:01
Ruth Ebidore Oweifiye
Chief Community Health Extension Worker,
Warri
0090 00:08:40:21 00:08:44:09
So my sister and I had to fend for ourselves.
0091 00:08:44:12 00:08:50:22
Until when I was about 14 years,
they said: you must marry.
0092 00:09:08:22 00:09:12:24
I was 15 years old
when I got married.
0093 00:09:15:09 00:09:23:01
A year after my marriage at age 15,
I got pregnant.
0094 00:09:25:07 00:09:29:09
In my first pregnancy I was expecting twins.
0095 00:09:29:12 00:09:32:16
But they were never born.
0096 00:09:32:19 00:09:37:23
The babies, two girls, died in the womb.
0097 00:09:43:21 00:09:46:14
I have given birth to eleven children.
0098 00:09:46:17 00:09:51:15
Five died, six are alive.
0099 00:09:56:14 00:09:59:06
At the time I got married
I wasn't happy.
0100 00:09:59:09 00:10:02:11
I no longer went to school.
0101 00:10:02:14 00:10:07:08
At primary six level
I dropped out to get married.
0102 00:10:09:08 00:10:12:20
The man came and called me.
0103 00:10:12:23 00:10:17:17
He said: I've come
to an agreement with your father.
0104 00:10:17:20 00:10:20:02
I'm going to marry you.
0105 00:10:21:11 00:10:24:21
I said: Huh?
But when...?
0106 00:10:24:24 00:10:30:20
He said: I have already paid the bride price.
0107 00:10:30:23 00:10:35:07
I was just quiet, I didn't say anything.
And so we got married.
0108 00:10:37:21 00:10:42:24
When I got married
my father was happy.
0109 00:10:43:02 00:10:46:18
Go marry, bring the money,
I want to eat.
0110 00:10:46:21 00:10:52:03
That's how he rejoiced
and laughed.
0111 00:10:54:07 00:10:57:17
My mother was not happy.
0112 00:10:57:20 00:11:06:18
Because I was helping out with chores
like farming and cooking at the time.
0113 00:11:08:11 00:11:11:22
My husband has three wives.
0114 00:11:12:00 00:11:15:20
In our village that's pretty normal.
0115 00:11:15:23 00:11:22:12
Three, four, seven women
can be married to the same person.
0116 00:11:25:00 00:11:30:15
I knew he already had a wife,
he told me so.
0117 00:11:30:18 00:11:37:12
But when my husband married his third wife
he didn't tell me about it.
0118 00:11:37:15 00:11:44:05
Until he brought her to the house,
he didn't tell me.
0119 00:11:45:13 00:11:49:17
I'm happy with my life.
0120 00:11:49:20 00:11:53:08
I have a husband,
I got married.
0121 00:11:53:11 00:11:55:16
I am alive.
0122 00:11:55:19 00:11:57:18
I have children
0123 00:11:57:21 00:11:59:19
So I'm happy.
CAPTION: 00:12:07:14 00:12:13:19
Rebecca
Tuomo,
Delta State
0124 00:12:33:04 00:12:35:14
My husband died in 2005.
0125 00:12:35:17 00:12:38:07
He had a terminal illness.
0126 00:12:38:10 00:12:40:19
They operated on my husband three times.