Tamraparni to Nigeria, oil keeps village afloat

Around 250 men from Vadakkankulam from TN work in oil rigs across the globe

VADAKKANKULAM: Oil wars in Nigeria are big news in Vadakkankulam. Women in this nondescript village in Tirunelveli district invoke all their piety when militants target an oil facility in the Niger Delta, just like they rejoiced when multinational giants began harvesting the black gold from the West African coast in the early 1990s. This village, which pins its hopes on over 250 of its men working in oil rigs across the world, has sent at least 19 men to strife-torn Nigeria.

November 1 was thanksgiving day for this village of wind farms. Three of its sons had returned from five days of captivity in a distant land. K Mohan Doss (40), J Ajith Kamaraj (33) and Vinod Dharmanath (31) were abducted along with a compatriot - Pandurang Tari from Thane - and two Polish nationals by Nigerian militants. The Italian employer, Saipem Group, is believed to have paid the militants $6.5 million as ransom.

“We are grateful to the company for bailing us out. But we are not in a position to plan our future. Family members want us to stay. But we have to earn our bread,” Mohan Doss said. His mother Ponnammal added: “We never thought we would be this happy again.” She was joined by all the villagers in prayers. Special offerings were done in Subramania Swamy temple and St Mary’s Church for the safe return of the hostages.

“I am not going back to Nigeria. The company has offered to relocate us to other facilities in Angola or Brazil,” Ajith said. He said the company has been gradually supplanting the foreign workforce with natives, waking up to the growing unrest on the ground. Though he has one more year of contractual commitment in Nigeria, Ajith hopes he would be sent elsewhere.

Though Ajith was the first from the village to join Saipem Group three years ago, the exodus had started ten years ago, when Ken Saro-Wiwa was leading his Ogoni people against the advancing oil companies. Though the gentle protest was muted by the military regime, it was an omen. Now the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (Mend), which kidnapped Ajith and friends, has declared total war on the oil giants.

But the other youngsters are firm on their resolve. Ajith’s brother Sudarshan insists he would return to Nigeria after the leave is over. “Vadakkankulam is like Kerala, where almost all the houses have at least one man working abroad. Our ancestors had been going to Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. The present generation’s aim is to enter the highly paying oil industry,” Tirunelveli zilla panchayat chairman M Grahambell said. 

“First a few went to work in industry. Then they initiated their friends and juniors. Good connections coupled with good education helped Vadakkankulam make a mark in the industry. Now we proudly contribute to the state’s economy,” he added. Vadakkankulam has three Tamil-medium and one English-medium schools plus an engineering college in the vicinity.

Almost all the mining professionals here have had their initial training at Bombay High. Mohan Doss has been working in Mumbai till July 25 when he left for greener pastures in the Niger Delta.

The militants have been alleging that the alien companies were plundering the countries natural resources and doing nothing in return. Former victims say that the gun-totting militants were easy on them. “They were looking for the Whites. Since they couldn’t find any one in the ship, they made us hostages. They gave us food but warned that the captivity may last for months,” Ajith reminisced. This is the third time in two years that the Italian company is facing a hostage crisis.