Shh … There are some stories I have to tell, but I can only whisper them. I have to whisper, because the truth, if told too loudly, would disturb anyone sleeping in Cloud-cuckoo-land. It would awaken them from their comfort and misconceptions. They might awaken with anger, frustration and disbelief. Upon awakening, they might shout out insults like “radical,” “idiot” and “fool”; so I have to whisper.

On Nov. 10, 1995, nine men were hung by their necks. Left … right … left … right; their lifeless bodies dangled aimlessly, while the world watched — and did nothing. The nine hanged men were Nigerian activists — killed for protesting Royal Dutch/Shell Co.’s activities in Ogoni, Nigeria.

In November 1997, Diane Wiwa, widow of one of the Nigerian activists, delivered a speech to the Social Investment Organization, in which she highlighted the consequences of Shell’s activities.

“For centuries, our environment was the source of our livelihood … our rivers and streams provided water for bathing and drinking, and fish for food,” she said. Wiwa said Shell spilled more than 6 million liters of oil in the Ogoni region.

“This has poisoned the water, the soil and the air, killing fish and plants that have been essential to our existence for centuries,” Wiwa said. “Shell gas flares — sometimes within 100 meters of Ogoni homes — have been releasing deadly hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide non-stop for 30 years, causing acid rain and lung irritations.”

Shell, in collaboration with the dictatorial Nigerian government at the time, decided it needed to silence the activists who were protesting Shell’s inhumane activities — and they did.

Based on the United States’ broad and commodious definition of terrorist organizations, the United States is home to one of the worst terrorist organizations — Shell — whose workers raped women and killed children in the Ogoni region. Shh … only whisper that statement.

And there are the stories of companies in the United States and elsewhere around the world dumping toxic waste in Third World countries. On April 24, 1989, hazardous wastes from the U.S. military were dumped in a phosphate mine pit in Zimbabwe, according to Rachel’s Environment & Health News, a publication of the Environmental Research Foundation.

And, of course, there is the issue of debt cancellation for African countries, which was brought up at the most recent G8 conference. Most of the debt that is owed by Third World countries is from interests incurred in dictatorial regimes.

The system is set up in a way that exploits these countries. The money loaned to these countries in many cases must be used to hire people from western nations, who charge ridiculous amounts for their services.

Nigeria, for example, spends more money on debt repayment each year than it spends on education. We can all agree that in this era of terrorism and the brainwashing of children, this is unacceptable. All of the other members of the G8 were prepared to cancel this unfair debt, but the United States boycotted the process.

Ken Saro Wiwa once said, “The writer cannot be a mere storyteller; he cannot be a mere teacher; he cannot merely X-ray society’s weakness, its ills and its perils. He or she must be actively involved shaping its present and its future.”

Sadly, the writer also knows that not every story has a happy ending.

Shh … not many people want to hear that 1 million Sudanese people died in the span of two years (a conflict that was initiated by the colonists separating the Sudanese people into two separate races). Not many people ask themselves why. Why, if scientists have proven that we are all 99 percent similar, are there so many conflicts in some parts of the world? Not every story is fair or perfect. These stories are just normal compared to other stories in our world today.