The one week I spent in Switzerland was the greatest period of my life, because I learnt a lot from the Amnesty youth.

So how they collect their signatures, unlike what we have in Nigeria, where you can just give something to people, this one they take time to explain things to you so you will judge whether you want to sign or not. Nobody just… they’re not signing grudgingly against their will.

And for the first time too I saw that there were still people in Europe, who love people in Africa. Those youth who come out to say ‘yes, we hate this system’, I mean! So there is hope for the future, for the world, for Africa. And I would love Amnesty to continue to do what they are doing, because I am going back now with a new strength, yeah! Amnesty may not have given me money, money is not everything, but they’re giving me strength. And I now know that I have people that are supporting me. (Celestine)

By now two weeks passed since we toured through Switzerland. Celestine is back home in Nigeria and we are again in our daily routine.

When I think of the week traveling around in Switzerland many beautiful memories of actions in different Swiss cities, exchange with Celestine and the youth groups come into my mind. I learnt a lot during this week of youth action and it was a great experience for me. Celestine’s commitment and his ongoing energy impressed me.

I am very motivated to go on and stand up for our demands!

With our caravan we reached many people in Switzerland; through our presence in different Swiss cities, through local media and the encouraging speeches of Celestine. All in all we counted over 2200 signed postcards (without the ones people are sending independently).

There were also other sections, which were involved in actions concerning Shell in Nigeria: France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, UK, Iceland, Slovenia, Poland, Spain and Holland.

They also called the publics attention to the human rights violations in the Niger Delta and collected signatures. Like this Amnesty International could raise awareness and inform the public about the horrible Human Rights situation in the Niger Delta.

I am sure that Peter Voser and the Nigerian government receive lots of postcards right now!

The Swiss Section will continue to work on the issue. There is more to come! This week convinced me that with insistence and patience we achieve what we are fighting for!

Deutsch:

Jetzt liegt das Ende der Karawane schon 2 Wochen zurück. Celestine ist bereits wieder in Port Harcourt/Nigeria und wir wieder in unseren gewohnten Alltag zurückgekehrt.

Was bleibt sind viele schöne Erinnerungen an die Etappen, das Velo und Zug fahren, an den Austausch mit Celestine und den Mitgliedern der Jugendgruppen. Die Woche war sehr lehrreich und ich konnte für mich persönlich sehr viel mitnehmen. Das Engagement und Durchhaltevermögen von Celestine in seinem Kampf für die Menschenrechte hat mich sehr beeindruckt.

Meine Motivation ist gestärkt weiter für unsere Forderungen einzustehen!

Mit der Karawane haben wir Menschen in der Schweiz erreicht; durch unsere Präsenz in den verschiedenen Schweizer Städten, durch die lokalen Medien und durch die Anwesenheit von Celestine. Insgesamt haben wir 2200 unterschriebene Postkarten gezählt.

Auch andere Amnesty International Sektionen haben sich während dieser Woche engagiert und Aktionen zum Thema Shell in Nigeria durchgeführt. Frankreich, Belgien, Dänemark, Norwegen, England, Island, Slowenien, Polen, Spanien und Holland.

Auch sie haben mit Aktionen auf die Situation im Nigerdelta aufmerksam gemacht und Unterschriften gesammelt. So konnte Amnesty International viele Menschen auf die Problematik aufmerksam machen. Peter Voser und die nigerianische Regierung werden in nächster Zeit viel Post bekommen!

Die Schweizer Sektion von Amnesty International wird weiterhin zum Thema arbeiten.

Die Woche hat mich bestärkt, dass wir mit Beharrlichkeit viel erreichen können!

(Iris)

This morning, at the Amnesty Switzerland office, I did a last interview with Celestine. He was busy packing his huge luggage and had such a heavy heart at the thought of leaving... Today he will spend the day in Geneva, meeting UN officials to bring forth once more his message on the plight of the Niger Delta people.

Meeting Celestine has been such an inspiration! I am also feeling a bit lonely now in my office, and humbled by how much one small person can do -he is indeed short :-), and likes to say that he's a small person, even though we all know it to be otherwise.

When I see the kind of messages people left in his book and when I witnessed the kind of attention he got during his presentations, I know his visit will go a long way in making change possible. And what I find powerful is that we all got transformed by the encounter, by the time spent together. (Aurélie)  

Après bien des péripéties avec le train (essayez de faire Thun - Wohlen en Argovie en moins de 3 heures...!), nous sommes enfin dans le magnifique gymnase de Wohlen (oeuvre du célèbre architecte espagnol Calatrava). Celestine (et nous aussi) est encore tout chamboulé par le documentaire projeté hier soir à Thun. Ce documentaire de 1995 montre dans des images crues les crimes de sHELL et des élites nigériennes dont nous parle Celestine depuis 6 jours. Le choc. (Marlyse)

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After the very remarkable night at Thun, day 5 of the Caravan took us to Wohlen in the morning where I made a presentation to a good number of young people and a few older ones and later to St. Gallen where we took the train to two sHELL gas stations. The uniqueness of the St. Gallen event was the ability of the young people to get framed pictures of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and bottled Niger Delta water. Even though the weather was hard against us, the team collected lots of signatures for the demand dignity campaign. Pictures were taken and interviews granted radio and newspaper journalists that were at one of the sHELL's stations. The hardworking engine room of the Caravan (Marlyse), later took us to Zurich where we passed the night at Danielle's home. Alone in my room, I could only wonder how Amnesty International got intouch with the committed and dedicated team and youths I have met since arrival on Sunday. (Celestine)

 In all that I do since I arrived  Paris in the early hours of Thursday the 8th October, 2009, I have always remembered that my trip was made possible by Amnesty Switzerland and so it wasn't a surprise when I discovered this morning while still sleeping in  Daniel's beautiful place that my spirit and soul have gone ahead of me to Bern. But the first sign of trouble came when my bike refused to take me to the train station where Marlyse, Laura and Nicholas de Zebra were waiting for Iris and I in a tea shop at the station. Iris was literally pulling my reluctant bike all through our movement to meeting others.

I was happy to have met other members of staff and Volunteers of Amnesty International and especially my special "mom" Aurelie who abandoned me before now.We later had one of the best meetings of my visit and a few press interviews. Beacause of my other engagements, I couldn't join the caravan to Thun and had to go there on my own later in the evening. The second sign of trouble for me came when my many lovely hosts couldn't find sauce for my bowl of spagetti.

We went ahead to make last minute preparations for the evening  meeting not knowing what was in store me. I was to understand the problem when I lefted my eyes to see pictures of some murderers I have seen in Nigeria since 1995, showing on the screen in place of the 2minute video we have played before every presentation since my arrival in Europe. These murderers were the men that sentenced Ken Saro-Wiwa to dead, and while I was still thinking about what I have seen, when it was announced that a45 minute  film  on Ogoni would be shown and they did.

I was later to meet some good friends from Ireland who came with tapes and complaining about the attrocities of sHELL in their country and also a ninety year old man who graciously took a picture with me carrying the banner-WE ARE ALL OGONI. Although I later made a presentation, my evening was already spoilt as I couldn't stand the pain of watching again, the agony of the Ogoni.( Celestine)

Hey Basel Here we are!

Superbe accueil par le groupe jeunes de Bâle! Il est maintenant 22h et la musique adoucit notre journée passée dans le train et sur nos vélos, ainsi que l'accueil plutôt frais que nous avons reçu aux 2 stations Shell de Bâle...

Après les 50 étudiant-e-s présent-e-s à la conférence hier soir à Fribourg, les jeunes rassemblés à Bâle sont un nouveau défi pour Celestine. Mais aucun souci: Celestine peut bouger les foules et trouve à chaque fois le ton et la façon de parler la plus adéquate! Nous sommes tous et toutes heureux de faire partie de son entourage pendant cette semaine: nous apprenons tellement sur le militantisme et la mobilisation: merci Celestine! Merci les jeunes de Bâle! Merci les super Band! (marlyse)

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BYeBYe Basel

Nachdem wir gegen Mittag in Fribourg unsere Velos (mittlerweile richtig profesionell) verladen haben, sind wir Richtung Basel gezogen. Die Jugendgruppe Basel erwartete uns bereits und gemeinsam gings ins "Gundeli", ein Basler Jugendtreff inkl. Skater. Nach einem Spaghetti-Essen machten wir uns auf zu unserer täglichen sHell-tour. Zwei Shell-Tankstellen wurden besucht, der Monsieur von der Stettelen-AG (sHell-Nachbar) hatte zwar ziemlich Schiss vor uns bösen bösen Amnesty-AktivistInnen, nichts desto Trotz sammelten wir fleissig Unterschriften. Am Abend hatte Celestine seinen immer wieder eindruecklichen Vortrag, danach gabs zwei geplante und ein spontanes Konzert und schliesslich die Uebernachtung in der Turnhalle der Steiner-Schule Basel. Nach einem Espresso gehts jetzt weiter nach Bern.

waking up this Tuesday morning from the comfort of my warm bed in Lausanne would have been a very difficult task considering the fact that I made a late evening presentation at the Geneva University the previous day and returned home almost 12 midnight. But the thought of having a repeat of the 3hour bike runs round Geneva yesterday collecting signatures for the "Demand for Dignity Campaign" and especially visits to all sHELL's  gas station, gave me a renewed vigor, and I was not dissappointed.

The tireless Aurelie, Marlyse and other Amnesty team members took me up from the hotel by 8:20am and off to Sion where we made presentation to a wonderful set of young future leaders and company CEOs who by my interraction with them, will never behave like Peter Voser. Like previous meetings, the positive attention we got, can only be imagined. We then left to collect signatures from the different city centres with visited on bike.

The Caravan later moved to Fribourg where we already have a full house. We have just finised dinner and Marlyse has signal me to get set for another presentation which may look like what we had at Geneva yesterday. I am out just to do that and off again tomorrow. I  am getting more interested in this campaign and the already embarrashed Nigeria governement and the multinational oil companies must hear this! (Celestine)

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Eine kleine Anekdote zum nigerianischen Essen im Centre Fries: Während seiner Speach merkte Celestine an, dass dieses seltsame, lange grüne Gemüse, welche die Hochschulgruppe in den Reis geschnetztelt hatte, in Nigeria lediglich als Suppenbeilage gebraucht werde.. Naja, Rezeptbücher können auch lügen! :) (Julia)

Arrival Geneva this morning into the warm embrace of students and young

activists from Geneva University, was most exciting and there couldn.t have been any better way to welcome an environmental rights campaigner from the Niger Delta into Geneva-"the money capital of the world" . I initially had an ill feeling that all the monies stolen from the oppressed Nigerians by  Politicians and oil companieswas somewhere in the banks here, but that was to change when these future leaders in collaboration with Amnesty International, took me on a peaceful protest to all sHELL gas staions in the city. (Celestine)

Enfin la caravane est partie! A Genève, près de 30 jeunes ont rejoints le militant des droits humains du Nigeria, Celestine Akpobari. Après un départ ensoleilé de la gare, nous avons rejoins le stand d'information à la place du Molard, puis mené des actions pacifiques devant 3 stations Shell. Le public a bien réagi - la police aussi:-)

Merci à tous et toutes et surtout un grand merci au groupe uni de Genève pour la super ogranisation.(marlyse)

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Endlich sind wir gestartet! Nach einer langen Zugfahrt mit diversen Unterbrüchen sind wir heil in Genf mit all unseren Velos angekommen. Danach ging's ans Dekorieren. Gelbe Amnesty- Ballone wurden aufgeblasen, Schilder an die Velo geclips und Speichen mit gelben Streifen versehen. Zum Schluss hängten wir noch unsere Demand Dignity- Fähnchen an (siehe das hübsche Foto!) In Genf warteten bereits dreissig Amnesty- Aktivisten auf uns und zusammen mit dieser Masse und Celestine machten wir uns auf dem Weg zu einem Infostand in der Fussgänerzone des Place du Molard. Die Unigruppe Genf gestaltete einen Stand mit einem Teich aus öl-verschmutztem Wasser und echten (!!!!!!) Fischen! Danach machte sich unsere Karawane auf, um sich durch den Genfer Verkehr zu kämpfen und an 3 Shell- Tankstellen zu halten. Dort knipsten wir Fotos mit der Fotoausstellung und dem Banner "Auch Unternehmen müssen Menschenrechte beachten".

Vielen Dank an alle Teilnehmer! Ein grosses Merci geht an die Unigruppe Genf für ihre super Organisation!(julia)

Schon bald geht's los! Nächste Woche werden wir mit Velo und Zug durch die ganze Schweiz reisen. Willst du mehr Infos über die Etappen? Schaue unter der Rubrik "Etappen" nach