Johannesburg, 24 November 2022 – Greenpeace Africa’s newly released documentary CRUDE: Wentworth Community vs Big Oil is a shocking reminder of the true cost of the oil industry in Africa. 

The documentary, highlighting the plight of the community of Wentworth at the hands of surrounding fossil fuel industries, was launched at the 1-Minute Film Festival and will soon be available for streaming. Wentworth residents have been resisting the surrounding fossil fuels companies for years, which regularly sideline them and erase them from decision-making while destroying their health.

Crude tells the stories of some of the residents of the South Durban Basin, their battles with ill-health, their suffering at the hands of the surrounding fossil fuel companies, and their attempts to bring change to their community. It also details some research from the University of KwaZulu-Natal into the health impacts in the area, and how Wentworth came to be a cancer cluster. 

CRUDE details the shocking knock-on impact of air pollution in Wentworth, where epigenetic changes which make community members prone to certain respiratory illnesses trap them in a spiral of chronic poverty, substance abuse and gender-based violence.

Greenpeace International Content Editor and CRUDE director Angelo Louw said: 

“Communities like this, that have decades of first-hand experience with the exploits of the fossil fuels industry, are systematically excluded from the public eye. When we ignore the voices of society’s most vulnerable, we leave everyone vulnerable to the same kind of oppression, because how are we to make decisions when we do not have a full understanding of the consequences?”  

Gender-based violence (GBV) activist and Wentworth resident Oliver Meth said:

“We will never address GBV without addressing the root causes. South Durban Basin has seen numerous events of ecological damage that feed into GBV and femicide in the surrounding communities. Climate hazards from water shortages to air pollution create chronic stressors which trap these communities in poverty and rigid gender roles. We must hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in the architecture of chronic injustice.”

At the intersection of apartheid spatial planning and fossil fuel dependence, the documentary explores how communities such as Wentworth are locked into cycles of poor-health and poverty, while fossil companies continue business-as-usal without any accountability whatsoever. 

Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner Thandile Chinyavanhu said: 

“We hope that with this documentary, South Africans will see the true cost of our government’s support of oil and gas exploration in the country, and that we end this cycle of false promises and destruction. Our government needs to throw its energy into ensuring a greener future with more reliable sources of energy. History has shown us that dirty energy benefits no one.” 

ENDS

The trailer for CRUDE can be viewed on Greenpeace Africa’s YouTube channel.

Images from the film can be downloaded from our Media Library. 

Contact details

Greenpeace Africa Press Desk: [email protected] 

Chris Vlavianos,
Greenpeace Africa Communications Officer,
+2779 883 7036, [email protected] 

Angelo Louw,
Greenpeace International Content Editor and CRUDE director,
+2771 481 7702, [email protected]

Watch the trailer for CRUDE on Greenpeace Africa’s YouTube channel.