Page 121 - Demo

www.MOSTmag.com || FASHIO N MAG A ZINE || 121hen Hakeem Kae-Kazim was born in Nigeria there was little chance that his accountant mother and engineer father could have foreseen him as a successful Hollywood actor, living in L.A. and working with many of the stars of today in TV and films. But that is the life he lives. Best known in the U.S. as the ruthless character Rutaganda in Hotel Rwanda, Mr. Kae-Kazim has a prolific resume as an actor and producer. He moved with his parents to the UK in 1963; he has never forgotten Nigeria. Remaining true to his history has been the foundation of his many career choices, as well as afforded him a cause that receives a great deal of his passionate attention.Being successful in the film and television industry has given him a platform from which to bring attention to the overwhelming problem of cleaning up the Niger River Delta. Ever since oil companies started ravaging the land in 1958, the Delta has more closely resembled a modern day hell on earth, rather than the once fertile and lush delta it once was. Devastation was wrought by the Spill of the Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. But it looks like a grease stain on a shirt compared to what has happened over the past 50+ years to the Niger River Delta. Still, Kae-Kazim%u2019s status has allowed him the opportunity to keep the spotlight on the plight of his homeland and his countrymen%u2019s environmental (and subsequent, economic and political) crises. Kae-Kazim has done a number of interviews and articles such as this one to continue to bring attention to the Delta. He has most notably held the spotlight on the devastation via the film Black November, in which he acted and helped produce. The environmental issues are still very much in place; however, %u201cI heard recently that Shell agreed to pay 55 million pounds (roughly $83 million USD) in compensation over the spills. When you consider the number of years these spills have been going on, and the amount of damage caused%u202655 million pounds is peanuts. So yes, 55 million pounds in compensation is long awaited and may be considered a slight victory to some, but it is still very little in comparison to the amount of damage that has actually been done.%u201d To put it in perspective, B.P. Oil has already paid in the billions for the aforementioned Deepwater Horizon spill, and it is not done. %u201cThere is still active polluting and unfortunately there are some pipelines that are broken...so it is still very much an ongoing issue in the Niger Delta. In order for this to work there must be collaborative effort made by the oil companies, the government and the people of the area, to make an honest effort to move forward to make it better for its inhabitants and the region as a whole.%u201d Kae-Kazim says to understand Africa, and more specifically Nigeria, one would do well to By: Kate Brisbois>>>>>