Laurence Cox is Associate Professor of Sociology at Maynooth University and co- editor, with Helen Fallon and Íde Corley, of Silence Would be Treason: Last Writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa. He has a long-standing involvement in ecological, international solidarity and other movements and has written and published widely on the subject, includ- ing Why Social Movements Matter and The Irish Buddhist: the Forgotten Monk who Faced Down the British Empire.
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Silence Would Be Treason: Last writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa (Expanded 2nd Edition)
Edited by Íde Corley, Helen Fallon, Laurence Cox
Recent tweet about good news of the radio documentary on Silence Would Be Treason being shortlisted for the #newyorkfestivals documentary award (Human Rights category). Congrats to @noosarowiwa et al. These letters and poems are invaluable fragments of a living conversation that portrays the indomitable power in humans to stay alive in the face of certain death – to stay alive even in death.
Reading through the treasure trove of the letters and poems compiled here as The Last Writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa evokes intense memories of his resolute struggles against an oil behemoth and a deaf autocratic government. His crusade frames one of the most tumultuous periods of Nigeria’s history; his tragic story evokes anger and demands action to resolve the crises that first led the Ogoni people to demand that Shell clean up Ogoni lands or clear out of the territory.
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