- 7 months ago
Ruhi Cenet is in Nauru, the least visited country in the world. Located in the middle of the vast waters of the Pacific Ocean and appearing just as a tiny dot on the map, it’s the smallest independent republic. Nauru is the most inaccessible country. Hardly 200 people make their way to this country each year. This is the least visited country in the world, even the closest countries are thousands of kilometers away from here.
Until recently, the locals on this isolated island had so much wealth that they didn't even know what to do with it. Once rich in phosphate deposits in 1975, Nauru became the country with the highest GDP per capita in the World.
Today, however, in these destroyed lands where no fruits and vegetables can grow, processed and fatty foods have become the norm. Nauru is recognized by the World Obesity Federation as the world's most obese country, with around 60% of its citizens are obese. The World Health Organisation also reports that Nauru has the highest cigarette consumption rate in the world.
Until recently, the locals on this isolated island had so much wealth that they didn't even know what to do with it. Once rich in phosphate deposits in 1975, Nauru became the country with the highest GDP per capita in the World.
Today, however, in these destroyed lands where no fruits and vegetables can grow, processed and fatty foods have become the norm. Nauru is recognized by the World Obesity Federation as the world's most obese country, with around 60% of its citizens are obese. The World Health Organisation also reports that Nauru has the highest cigarette consumption rate in the world.
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00:00Naurut, located in the middle of the vast waters of the Pacific Ocean and appearing just as a tiny dot on the map.
00:06It's the smallest independent republic.
00:08Hardly 200 people make their way to this country each year.
00:11I began this journey by arriving at Istanbul Airport 3 hours early.
00:15I first flew to San Francisco in 13 and a half hours.
00:18After a 7 hour layover, I took another long 13 hour flight to Nadi in the Fijia Islands and then waited again for a 7 hour layover.
00:25With nearly 75% of its seats unoccupied, the flight to Nauru from Nadi took 4 and a half hours and my 48 hour endless journey finally came to an end.
00:35This is the least visited country in the world.
00:37Even the closest countries are thousands of kilometers away from here.
00:40Once I set foot on the island, I have to wait for the next flight to leave which is scheduled almost a week later.
00:45Sea travel is not an option either.
00:47Nauru is surrounded by massive coral reefs preventing large ships from approaching the shore.
00:52Until recently, the locals on this isolated island had so much wealth that they didn't even know what to do with it.
00:58Once reaching phosphate deposits in 1975, Nauru became the country with the highest GDP per capita in the world.
01:04Today, however, in these destroyed lands where no vegetables and fruits can grow, processed and fatty foods have become the norm.
01:10Topping global charts, Nauru is recognized by the World's Obesity Federation as the world's most obese country with around 60% of its citizens are obese.
01:18The World Health Organization also reports that Nauru has the highest cigarette consumption rate in the world.
01:23The government's effort to keep foreign media away from the country is quite obvious.
01:28After going through a month-long procedure in which I presented countless documents, I could hardly get a tourist visa.
01:34While the regular application fee is 50 Australian dollars, an astronomical amount of 8,000 Australian dollars is demanded from journalists and media representatives as a deterrent.
01:43The police immediately took my drone I was carrying as I entered the country.
01:47You might have noticed something odd in the island's aerial perspective.
01:51They discouraged capturing Nauru from the sky.
01:53Filming here won't be easy because of a dirty truth that Nauru has been trying to hide which you'll come to learn in the following scenes.
01:59I am in the Yaran region right now.
02:01Since the runway area and the driveway area are right next to each other, it's usual for the cars to give way to airplanes here.
02:08Pedestrians are warned against jet blasts occurring during landing and takeoff.
02:13This is because the country is so small that the strip-shaped airport stretches across the entire southwest coast of the island.
02:20What you see here is airport.
02:22If I want to get inside, I could just jump over this fence and I could do it.
02:27The total area of the island is only 21 square kilometers or 8 square miles.
02:31It takes a maximum of 20 minutes to drive the whole country by car and every journey returns to its starting point as there is only wandering road.
02:39The police are on patrol all the time.
02:41As I don't want to draw attention, I've reached out to the only tourism agency in the country and I will begin to explore the island with a guide.
02:48According to the agency, only one or two tourists come to the island in a month.
02:52So the real numbers are way lower than those stated on the internet.
02:57What do you do in your free time on the island?
03:00Volleyball.
03:01So what do you do in your free time on the island?
03:05Anything we want to do.
03:07Like what?
03:07Dishing, sleeping, eating.
03:13One, two, three.
03:17One, two, three.
03:19Woohoo!
03:20Get out of here, boy.
03:24Although it is not open visited by people, Noura has been a favorite stop for migratory birds for centuries.
03:30While the island was stopped to have limited resources, its soil contained a treasure called guano made of bird droppings and marine microorganisms.
03:38In 1899, German geologist Albert Ellis discovered that this plateau had high-quality phosphate reserves.
03:44Once as valuable as gold, phosphate is a raw material boosting productivity in agriculture and during the First World War, Australia quickly annexed and turned Noura into an overseas mining field.
03:55Except for Japan's brief occupation, in 1942, the extracted phosphate was sold to the world for years at extremely low prices.
04:02Some old people say that this cell here, Japanese used to pile people in and then close it out, put some gasoline from the rooftop and then burn them in there.
04:11Those who don't want to work for them.
04:13This railroad, which time is about to erase, was constructed in 1907 to transport phosphate mines from the land's interior to the harbor on the western coast.
04:21By the time Noura gained independence in 1968, 35 million metric tons of phosphate had left from its shores.
04:27It's hard to believe, but in the past century, the fruits and vegetables that found their way onto the tables of many people around the world were grown with the phosphate extracted from the soil of this tiny island.
04:37After gaining independence, Noura obtained significant wealth and many nomorants, whose lands would be used for phosphate mining,
04:43quitted their job and began counting down the days to become millionaires.
04:47Thousands of workers from China and other Pacific islands were brought to work in the dirty, hot and tough conditions of the phosphate mines.
04:53Noura had a per capita income of around $176,000 by the year 1975, whereas in the world's leading economy, the United States had around $44,000, taking into account today's inflation rate.
05:05Noura managed to establish a welfare state where there were no taxes, education, transportation, healthcare services and even housing were all provided free of charge.
05:14I've seen my grandma come out of the bank with the pillowcase. They put all their money inside and just walk out with the money.
05:23Spend it all up.
05:25I heard that there was a police officer who bought a Lamborghini, but he realized that he did not fit into the car and dumped it.
05:32Is it true?
05:33Yes, that's true.
05:34Even some of the cars are bought for just decorations.
05:38As Noura suddenly became wealthy, a frenzy of consumption overtook them and this small island was filled with the latest car models.
05:45Along the roadside, we came across a collection of abandoned luxury cars from the past, Cadillacs, Jeeps, Land Rovers.
05:51These are just a few of the vehicles that the island residents once used for speed and amusement on this road.
05:56It is almost like a car graveyard here.
05:58The layer of rust on them indicates how distant the days of glory are.
06:01Ever since I got here, the natives have been warning me to watch out for the packs of stray people roaming around the road.
06:07Once a popular breed, some islanders eagerly adopted these dogs and left them on the streets.
06:12Along with the dogs, more animals that were not originally present in Nouru were also brought in over time.
06:17Cat, chickens and pigs are animals that the islanders have become familiar with relatively recently.
06:22When miners uprooted the trees and excavated fertile soil, all living organisms were harmed.
06:28It is neither suitable for agriculture nor construction.
06:31And Nourans are suffering dire consequences of this problem.
06:34Nouru's terrain is covered with pits some as deep as 15 meters or 49 feet and limestone peaks extending from the center of the island to the coastal areas.
06:42No agricultural products can thrive in this barren land with its high level of acidity.
06:47Nourans depend on highly processed canned food from overseas mostly imported from Australia to sustain themselves.
06:53The average life expectancy of the people of Nouru is 64 years.
06:57A poor quality diet has made Nouru hold the title of the world's most obese nation for years.
07:02This island, which was not yet discovered by the Western world 150 years ago, was self-sufficient.
07:07But now they outsource everything.
07:09Here 97% of men and 94% of women are overweight or obese.
07:14The obesity issue in Nouru is like an epidemic.
07:16It's everywhere.
07:17On the streets, in the restaurants, at the markets, I see people struggling with extra weight.
07:21Within a population where 45% suffer from diabetes, amputations are common.
07:26There are awareness raising banners all around the country.
07:29The store shelves are empty as you can see.
07:31Products are imported here every 6 weeks.
07:33It's a luxury to have fresh fruits and vegetables on the island.
07:36A head of cauliflower is priced at 18 Australian dollars.
07:40And a watermelon costs 61 Australian dollars.
07:43Many residents enjoy consuming meat products that Western countries refuse to sell to their own
07:48people and instead market them as turkey tails to Nourans.
07:51This part of the animal, which is 75% pure fat, is far from being nutritious.
07:58Lack of living space is another drawback of phosphate mining.
08:01The destruction has left 80% of Nouru uninhabitable, squeezing its estimated 14,000 residents
08:06into a coastal area of just 4 square kilometers or 1,5 square miles.
08:10This is Boadalagun, the only untouched area on the island that contains the original flora.
08:15It opens a door to the past.
08:16Nouru was once filled with this plant cover, but now it's all vanished.
08:20Here it's still possible to see banana trees, pandanus trees and pineapple plants.
08:24Rising like sculptures, the coral rock formations on Nouru's coastline reach up to 5 meters or 16 feet,
08:30above the sea.
08:31The ocean floor is covered by dead collar rocks that extend about 200 meters from the shore,
08:36making it impossible for large ships to dock.
08:38Many of these are underwater and become visible only when the sea recedes.
08:42This makes it possible for the people to hold up to hundreds of meters in water and hunt fish.
08:47With the destruction of trees, average temperatures have increased to around 30 degrees celsius
08:51or 86 degrees fahrenheit all year round.
08:53On the island, influenced by the monsoon winds, seasonally rain and time flow as one.
08:57However, Nouru lacks any rivers or streams.
09:00Islanders have limited access to fresh water.
09:02The country produces 2 million liters of drinking water daily by treating ocean water using reverse
09:08osmosis at these desalination plants.
09:10There is an underground lake named Mokoawelt.
09:13Finding the entrance to this cave without the help of a local is challenging as its entrance is quite
09:18narrow.
09:18During times of war, the people of Nouru use this place both as a shelter and to access drinking water.
09:24It's filled with cans and pieces of glass.
09:26This underground lake is no longer a reliable supply of drinking water.
09:30What was the religion before Christianity?
09:32It's the Gura.
09:33It's the god here.
09:34There's the altar on top side.
09:36If they give it food, it will come into life and then it will bring them what they were asking for.
09:41Is there anyone who still believes in Gura?
09:44Some.
09:44They believe that this water here and they've witnessed it.
09:47If you come and take a deep, it will heal your skin or maybe some other diseases.
09:52There is no official capital city in the country.
09:54However, Yaryan district contains all of the institutions such as the parliament house,
09:58embassies, the country's only police station, fire department and the airport.
10:02There are only 11 schools here including three high schools and a state university.
10:06Almost everyone on the island is fluent in English.
10:09The locals speak Nourun as their first language.
10:11For example, the name Nouru itself originates from Nourun term Ano Ero which means I go to the beach.
10:17How do you say hello?
10:19Waiting.
10:22How about how are you?
10:27I came to the parliament building where Nouru is governed.
10:29Contrary to the expected formal setting, it reflects the relaxed atmosphere of the island.
10:34There was no security at the entrance and I have been allowed to take photos and videos with my phone.
10:38With only 19 seats, Nouru's parliament is one of the smallest in the world.
10:42If those here knew about the scenes I will show you later in the video,
10:45they would probably think twice about letting me be here.
10:48By the 1970s, the Nouru government realized that their phosphate reserves ending
10:52and they mirrored oil-rich Middle Eastern nations by investing in overseas properties,
10:57including Nouru House in Melbourne, Nouru Tower in Hawaii, Pacific Star Hotel in Guam,
11:01Pacific House in Washington, the Grand Pacific Hotel in Fiji and many more.
11:05However, corruption and mismanagement put the government into a deficit of millions of dollars
11:09per year throughout the 1990s and the savings from the phosphate quickly went up in smoke.
11:13In an effort to sustain its welfare, the government aimed to turn the country
11:17into a tax haven and got involved in money laundering scandals with drug cartels,
11:21the Russian Mafia and organizations like Al-Qaeda.
11:24Nouru issued license to over 400 foreign banks under a system that didn't require branching
11:29and allowed optional record keeping. During that period, the Russian Mafia alone laundered an
11:34estimate of 70 billion dollars through the banks in Nouru. As a result of international pressures,
11:39the country put an end to illegal offshore banking activities and has been compelled to use
11:43a cash-based economy since 2004. The Australian dollar is the official currency of Nouru.
11:49A few and only ATMs in the country don't have money either. I brought some cash with me because
11:53credit cards are also not accepted here. Following efforts to prevent money laundering,
11:57only one bank, which is Australian, currently operates in the country. As the year 2000
12:02approached, phosphate reserves had run dry and phosphate export fell to 1% compared to its peak
12:07period. The country's central bank collapsed and its properties abroad were sold one by one.
12:12We see the excavation machines in action as removed through the topside. The country still continues
12:17to extract phosphate on a small scale. If they discover another phosphate mine here, will you
12:23support mining it? I'll just say leave the nature alone because from Nouru now digging to the ground
12:29we're gonna sink. 52% of the population lives at or below the poverty line and tries to survive on
12:35aid from the church. In low-income areas, stress triggers high levels of tobacco consumption. Roughly one
12:41out of every two individuals above the age of 15 consume cigarettes on the island.
12:45There are a total of five beaches on the island and they have been partially littered with rubber tires
12:54and trash. Nouru agreed to accept unwanted refugees from Australia in exchange for financial support
12:59in 2001. Around 1000 refugees, mostly of Afghan, Iraqi and Iranian descent were transported to Nouru and
13:05detained for an indefinite period. On the topside, three refugee camps were established. People were forced
13:11to stay in plastic tents for years under the scorching sun without regular access to clean water. Many tried
13:17to escape from inhuman miserable conditions and uncertain future by ending their lives. The ones who
13:23suffered the most from this situation were the children who made up the majority of the camps.
13:27Australia was spending an average of 550 million dollars each year to maintain these camps. In other words,
13:33the Nouru government made a profit of 500 000 dollars for each refugee held captive on the island.
13:39As I tried to get to these hidden areas, suddenly barricades appeared in my way. They had blocked
13:44all the roads leading to the camps located in the three different spots in the topside. I found a way
13:49to shoot from the outside. For around two decades, these camps became the scene of numerous individuals
13:55losing their lives due to medical negligence, accidents and taking one's own life. Recent reports
14:00indicate that these places are now completely empty. However, the locals have no specific knowledge
14:05about this matter. Currently, Nouru is counting down the days to engage in deep-sea mining in
14:09collaboration with the Canada-based Metals Company. Their plan is to extract polymetallic stones that
14:15only groove a few millimeters per million years. These stones containing metals such as cobalt, nickel,
14:20copper and manganese found in batteries will be the energy source of the near future. Scientists
14:25warn that these mining operations putting marine life at risk could potentially reduce the ocean's
14:30capacity to absorb carbon and accelerate climate change. The illusion of wealth that suddenly Nouru
14:35got itself into in the late 1960s, caused a generation to not understand the importance of
14:41artwork and education. The government did not make future plans and exhausted all the nation's resources.
14:46It seems almost impossible to build a better future there without the necessary motivation,
14:51skills and knowledge. This small island with wounds that can never be healed basically stands for
14:56us as a summary of what is going on in the world and as a lesson that humanity should always remember.
15:01Thank you for watching this documentary. I hope it added a value to your worldview perspective.
15:06Don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel. See you in the next one. Ruhi Chenet was here.
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