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Scandinavia With Simon Reeve S01E01 Episode 1 Engsub
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Short filmTranscript
01:08Off we go!
01:09I'm hoping to understand
01:10how they've built
01:11some of the happiest
01:12societies on the planet.
01:13Hey guys!
01:14Good morning.
01:16And who's we got here?
01:18What?
01:19Oh, no.
01:21He's got that burger.
01:23This is the most
01:24traditional Danish lunch
01:25I have seen.
01:27Yes.
01:27y por lo que ahora piensan que están en la línea de fuego.
01:30Santa Park también es un búnker nuclear.
01:33Sí, muy bien.
01:35Están preparando a defender la guerra.
01:41¡Bloy!
01:44¿Estás vestir de estos en España urbana?
01:47Sí.
01:49Hay otro lado a Scandinavia.
01:51¡Ready, fire!
02:08I'm travelling through the Scandi countries of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
02:13And adding in the wider Nordic family as well, Finland and Iceland.
02:19I'm starting here off the Svalbard archipelago, the most northerly outpost of Norway.
02:27Do you see it?
02:29I do, you know.
02:30Frida, what is it?
02:31So, it's a blue fox.
02:33A blue fox?
02:35Yeah.
02:36It's a genetic mutation in the polar foxes.
02:39And it's actually really rare.
02:40It's more rare to see a blue fox than to see a polar bear.
02:45Look at it, bouncing along.
02:47Yeah.
02:48You're smiling as well.
02:50Yeah, it's super nice.
02:51Frida Schapvert left behind life as a nurse in mainland Norway to explore and protect the natural wonders of Svalbard
02:58on this scientific research boat.
03:01How often have you seen a blue fox?
03:03I've seen it three times, four times.
03:05Three?
03:06In how many years?
03:07I've been there almost eight years.
03:10Whoa!
03:10We are very lucky.
03:12You can clearly see the fox bolting up the hill just above three reindeer.
03:17There's loads more reindeer at the hillside.
03:23Scandinavians first came here in numbers to hunt reindeer and seals for their meat and skin, and even polar bears
03:29for their fur.
03:31Most of all, they came to plunder the riches of the ocean.
03:35Whale.
03:36Whale.
03:37Whale straight ahead.
03:41It was whales that first drew settlers here in the 1600s.
03:48There was a huge population of whales around Svalbard, and in one of the first great oil rushes, the whales
03:54were hunted for their oil to use in soaps and as a fuel in lamps.
04:00Thousands of whales were slaughtered.
04:04The fin whale is one of the largest animals ever.
04:08Unfortunately for the species, each can yield more than a thousand gallons of whale oil, enough to fuel thousands of
04:13old lamps.
04:14Quick performance, and then it's gone.
04:21Hence the hunting.
04:22But hunting bans were put in place on Svalbard from the 1950s.
04:47As an outpost of Scandinavia, Svalbard is a long way north, roughly halfway between the Norwegian mainland and the North
04:56Pole.
04:57The temperature up here can drop to minus 30.
05:00There are no trees.
05:02Hardly anything grows here.
05:03But there are people.
05:06Scientists, biologists, researchers and tourism industry workers.
05:09A couple of thousand hardy souls call this place home.
05:13So this is the settlement of Longyearbyen.
05:17It is the most northerly town in the world, with more than a thousand inhabitants.
05:24It's a little bit late now, but in the morning, Fridje's going to show me around.
05:41This is very Svalbard, I think.
05:43Yeah.
05:44Not a car park, but a skidoo park.
05:46Yeah.
05:47Everyone has a snowmobile.
05:49When you moved here, what were some of the big surprises?
05:52It is a very tiny community.
05:54I mean, we have a hospital on the island, but it's very tiny, and you don't want to take risk
05:58with newborn babies.
05:59So all the pregnant women, they get shipped down to the mainland, Norway, to give birth almost four weeks before.
06:06Right.
06:07And, I mean, you can't really control where you die, but you can't be buried here even if you wanted
06:13to.
06:14You can't be buried here?
06:15Not at all, no.
06:16Oh, because?
06:17Yeah, because the permafrost won't decompose your body.
06:23So we've seen now over time as well that a lot of the whalers and fishers that have been buried
06:28many years ago,
06:30their caskets and bodies are just being pushed up by the permafrost.
06:36Lovely.
06:37You can't be born here, and you can't be buried either, and life in between spent in the freezer zone.
06:43So what keeps people here?
06:44It's raw, rugged, and there's adventure.
06:47And the Norwegians also sweeten the deal with low tax rates and no VAT.
06:52That's got to help.
06:54Wow, the dog's pulling a car.
06:56What, is that training?
06:57Yeah, it's training.
07:01It's far barred.
07:05Norway has wanted to keep a viable community here.
07:08It's keen to maintain a strong presence.
07:11For decades, one of the main reasons that people were on Svalbard was mining.
07:20And this is one of the last coal mines on Svalbard.
07:27Coal from here fueled the power station, which generates electricity,
07:31and it also helped create a strong local community of workers and families.
07:41Ben Jacobsen and hundreds of other miners have done the tough work.
07:45They're not for much longer.
07:47We're going to get in the car.
07:49We'll see.
07:49We're going to drive down on the low seam.
07:53How deep in the mountain are we now?
07:56We are six kilometers inside the mountain, and we have 350 meters of mountain over our heads now.
08:02Flipping heck.
08:05Okay, let's go.
08:06Take a seat.
08:07All right.
08:11There is only one rule when we're driving.
08:14As long as you keep your head lower than the bar, you're fine.
08:17I was just planning on keeping my head lower than you.
08:20But the fun thing, when I have people in the mine, they start up here, and then they're like this.
08:25Right.
08:26Okay.
08:26You will know when we get in there.
08:28All right, all right.
08:30I'm taking it seriously.
08:31Good.
08:32I'll ring the bell.
08:42Bloody hell, Ben.
08:43This is low, isn't it?
08:44No.
08:45It's quite high, actually.
08:46Really?
08:47Yeah.
08:50It's going to get low under the belt, so keep your head down.
08:55Okay, now it's low.
08:56Like this low.
08:56This is low, Ben.
08:58This is low.
09:00But the thing is, when you start working here, either you love it or you hate it.
09:04It's nothing in between.
09:06And you loved it right from the beginning.
09:08This is my life.
09:19Oh, goodness.
09:20We're right at the end.
09:21Step out on the right side.
09:22I'll show you something.
09:22Okay.
09:26This is actually like the mining tunnel.
09:29And actually here, you see the hole here.
09:38This is the compressed value of sunlight and plants, flowers, trees.
09:48It's been your life, Ben.
09:50Yeah, it has.
09:51For so long.
09:53Yep.
09:54But soon coming to an end.
09:57How do you feel about that?
09:59Yeah, of course it's sad.
10:00It's a long, proud tradition of miners or mining that's going to be gone.
10:07And the reason?
10:08First of all, we don't have actually enough good quality coal.
10:12That's one thing.
10:12And another one is the green shift is here also.
10:16So mining is not, what should I say, not very popular anymore.
10:22And so ends a tradition of mining, not just for you or your family, but for this community.
10:29Yeah, we are actually 70 guys that's out of work or out of a job when we're done.
10:37What will you do?
10:39I have no idea.
10:40We'll see.
10:41I'll probably get a job somewhere.
10:44The mine closure is tough for Bent and Svalbard.
10:48Despite a growing tourism industry, fewer people here are permanent residents.
10:52And that's not great news for Norway, which is desperate to maintain control over Svalbard.
10:57Because as the Arctic warms and melts, Svalbard's situated in a globally strategic position
11:03on an increasingly important shipping lane, with huge mineral resources and fishing in the ocean around.
11:09Other countries want a slice, including Russia.
11:12Under international agreements, Norway is in charge of Svalbard,
11:17but it has to share Svalbard with other countries.
11:21That can lead to tensions.
11:23I'm off to meet the neighbours.
11:27Russians have been coming to Svalbard for centuries, hunting furs originally.
11:32In 1920, a treaty was signed in Paris giving Svalbard to Norway.
11:37But Russians are among those allowed to travel here without visas and to settle here.
11:42There are whole Russian towns.
11:44I have to say I'm feeling quite apprehensive about going to this community.
11:49It's called Barentsburg.
11:52This is a Russian outpost, a Russian base, a settlement up here in the very far north.
12:01There were relations between the Russian settlement and the main Norwegian community here.
12:09And then Russia invaded Ukraine and relationships here have got decidedly frosty.
12:16Russia recently downgraded Norway as a country from unfriendly to very unfriendly.
12:27Russia is the dominant power in the Arctic.
12:30President Putin has claimed as it melts, natural resources like oil and gas worth trillions will become available.
12:37So Russia's been upgrading its naval forces and building bases across the Arctic.
12:42I just need to work out what's going on and what we can film.
12:45And then hopefully we can get a sense of the place.
12:56I'm a bloody Soviet Vahekian.
12:59That's astonishing.
13:07There's a coal mine on the Russian side too, owned by the state-owned mining company,
13:12which also controls almost everything else in the town.
13:16I headed for the mining company HQ, where the general director had agreed to meet me.
13:23Or so I thought.
13:25Hi, Daria. Daria.
13:27Daria. Simon.
13:28Now we are going to have a short meeting with the general director.
13:31OK. All right.
13:32Yeah, welcome.
13:33It turned out the general director had had a change of heart.
13:36And I think it's better to leave the government outside the office of the dark,
13:40because he doesn't want that you're filming in there, in there.
13:44He doesn't want to be filmed.
13:48Well, that was weird.
13:50It was a sort of slightly farcical situation.
13:52If you're going to design a Russian bureaucrat who's living in the middle of nowhere,
13:58it would be him.
13:58Big office, big table, very starched white iron shirt and a tie.
14:04A photograph of President Putin there looked very stern.
14:08But basically he won't talk to us, and he's palmed us off to a young interpreter.
14:11At least she's going to show us around.
14:14I felt a bit guilty. Daria had been lumbered with us.
14:17But it turned out it wasn't her first rodeo.
14:20She took me straight to the number one tourist site.
14:22Well, usually, usually, journalists stop here and make the interview on this spot.
14:31We've got a statue of Lenin here.
14:35Still standing.
14:36Still standing.
14:38Looking around, we can very clearly see Russia is definitely back here,
14:43and there is a sizable community.
14:46What is the plan?
14:48What is the future of Barentsburg?
14:51For sure, we will continue coal mining and develop tourism.
14:55So we are trying to make this place as attractive as possible for tourists.
15:03So the tourism boycott and Western sanctions,
15:08the plan is not to shut this place down.
15:10You're actually expanding it, and you're hoping more people will come.
15:15Yeah, that's true.
15:17A lot of people are romantics, you know,
15:20who come here for adventures,
15:23because they want to travel around the world,
15:26see as many places as possible.
15:30What's he saying?
15:31He says some rude words,
15:34so just don't pay attention.
15:35I don't think that they're locals.
15:37I have never seen them here before.
15:41Hmm.
15:42Well, I've heard worse.
15:44Like Norway, the Kremlin wants Russians to settle here,
15:47and they've stumped up for spanking new facilities
15:49to act as encouragement.
15:51This is our swimming pool.
15:53Oh, my good Lord.
15:55It's not cheap.
15:56It costs a lot of money to do this, doesn't it?
15:59But it is free for locals.
16:02We swim here for free.
16:04Despite sanctions,
16:06some suggest Russia still makes half a billion pounds a day
16:09in oil and gas exports.
16:10They've got money and have plans for more investment in Svalbard,
16:14including a science complex involving China and Iran.
16:18Meanwhile, the Russian navy plies the seas around Svalbard,
16:21and the Kremlin now questions how Norway runs the islands.
16:26That's good vodka.
16:28Russia has also been accused of sabotaging critical undersea internet cables
16:33here and right around Scandinavia.
16:41There's lots going on here that feels like it's out of the pages of a Cold War spy thriller.
16:48One of the communication cables linking Svalbard to the outside world was cut not long ago.
16:55The prime suspect is a Russian fishing trawler that was tracked going backwards and forwards
17:02over the cable that runs under the sea about a hundred times.
17:07It feels like there is a bit of a scramble for the far north, for the mineral wealth that is
17:15up here,
17:15but also just to have this land as real estate, really,
17:20because controlling it means you can control access to the North Atlantic.
17:27And for Russia's naval fleet, they need to come round the top of Scandinavia to get into the North Atlantic.
17:37They need to come pretty close to Svalbard.
17:40Remember, Russia is just across the border from Scandinavia,
17:44and many Scandinavians really feel that presence.
17:50Russia has denied allegations of interference.
17:56It was time to leave Svalbard.
18:04In midwinter, I travel to Lapland, in the northernmost region of Finland.
18:09It's one of the wildest areas of Europe.
18:21It looks utterly ethereal in the early morning light.
18:28Incredible. Incredible.
18:31I was heading towards the edge of Europe,
18:34Finland's historically bloody border with Russia,
18:37Europe's longest at more than 800 miles.
18:40It was brutally cold, minus 30 degrees centigrade.
18:44The moisture in my nose is freezing up.
18:47This is a very tough time of year in a very tough part of the world.
18:53The cold, the bitter cold, it seeps through every gap and crevice in your clothing.
19:01I've lost my guide. I can't see him ahead. I better speed up.
19:05A history of war looms over this magical frozen wilderness.
19:10Time and again, Finland has been invaded from the east.
19:14Under Russian Tsar Peter the Great,
19:16horrific atrocities committed against the Finns
19:18became known as the Great Wrath.
19:21During World War II, the Soviet Red Army invaded,
19:24and Finland sided with Germany.
19:26In the Cold War that followed, the country became neutral,
19:29always nervously watching the Russian bear next door.
19:34OK, Simon, this is the far as we can go.
19:37The Russia border is just right over the 150 metres.
19:41It's just there?
19:43Yes, just there, and there's nothing between us and the border.
19:47Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022,
19:51tensions have ramped up.
19:53There's a sign up here.
20:03Border zone.
20:05There's no fence, but it's very definitely a border now.
20:10A closed border as well, for many months.
20:16Opinion polls in Finland show that more than 80% of Finns
20:20fear and think that Russia poses a military threat to the country.
20:27The Finns say Russia has weaponised this border
20:30by bussing hundreds of migrants and refugees here
20:34and encouraging them to cross
20:35in an attempt to destabilise Finland.
20:38The border's now permanently shut.
20:40The gates closed.
20:43Even in magical Lapland,
20:45thoughts and fears about future conflict are never that far away.
20:51As I found when I travelled west.
21:03This is very strange.
21:05It's not Christmas,
21:07but it is here 365 days of the year.
21:13They now make huge amounts of money here in Lapland
21:16and attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every single year
21:20by branding Lapland as the real home of Father Christmas,
21:25despite the fact that we are hundreds of miles away here
21:29from the North Pole,
21:30which is where I rather stupidly thought Father Christmas actually lives.
21:34This is called Santa's Village.
21:36There's been fierce competition from towns in Sweden, Norway, Greenland and Alaska
21:41to be seen as the authentic home of Santa Claus, Father Christmas.
21:46But it's here, Rovaniemi in Finland,
21:49that seems to be the winner.
21:50Billions have been invested here
21:52and tourists now come from around the world.
21:56Yeah, it is pretty damn impressive, really,
22:02that the Finns have built this luxury tourism economy here
22:08in a very hostile, extreme environment.
22:13At the end of the Second World War,
22:14large parts of their towns and cities were reduced to ash and rubble
22:19and they were really poor
22:21and they have built one of the most extraordinary countries on planet Earth.
22:36Dozens of Santa-themed resorts and attractions
22:39have sprung up around Rovaniemi.
22:41This one's called Santa Claus Secret Forest,
22:45set up by local businessman Ilka Lankanen.
22:55Is it possible to come in?
22:59Yeah.
23:00Hey, good morning, good morning.
23:02Welcome, welcome.
23:04What brought you to Lapland?
23:06I came here to study forestry
23:07and forestry is still quite big here in Finland and Lapland.
23:11Forestry is a massive industry in Finland, isn't it?
23:14I read you have 13,000 trees per person.
23:20Yes, but travel and tourism industry
23:22is larger than the forest industry.
23:24And that's something that people don't many times realise,
23:27but this is much larger than the forest industry.
23:29Wow.
23:31You've really managed to turn Lapland into...
23:34Some would see it as the ultimate Christmas experience, really.
23:39We are creating the best Christmas experiences in the world.
23:42And who have we got here?
23:44What?
23:46Welcome, welcome.
23:49Oh, yeah, oh, yeah.
23:50Are you all right?
23:51I think so.
23:52Oh.
23:53I'm surprised to see you.
23:55Oh, why?
23:55You didn't expect elves in the forest?
23:57No, I didn't expect elves in the forest.
23:59How stupid of me.
24:01Right here, we are in front of one of our toy factories.
24:06He's got a sharp knife, just in case.
24:11This is what I would have imagined.
24:14Ah, there he is.
24:15Santa's toy factory to be.
24:18We'll go this way quickly.
24:21What an honour to see you here.
24:23Oh, yeah.
24:24It's nice and warm here.
24:25It is definitely nice and warm.
24:27There is a significant risk of us overheating in here, Ilka.
24:31Well, it's not that hot.
24:32And, you know, besides, you can always take a step outside
24:35and then I think that problem would disappear.
24:38You are so right.
24:40Since you are here in Lapland,
24:41maybe we should give you a little reminder of our meeting.
24:46So, here's a little...
24:48Thank you very much.
24:48This is our fluffiest reindeer that we're able to make here.
24:51This is indeed a very fluffy reindeer.
24:55Yeah, yeah.
24:55Thank you very much indeed.
24:56All right.
24:57Very well.
25:02Oh, wow.
25:04Ilka's stuck with the theme.
25:05He also owns Santa Park,
25:07an underground shopping centre
25:09where visitors from around the world
25:10can meet Father Christmas
25:12and his army of little helpers.
25:14But there's a bit more to this grotto
25:16than reindeer and Christmas stockings.
25:18I'm going to show you something
25:19that I normally won't share,
25:21but let's have a quick peek.
25:26Literally behind this eye.
25:32So, now we are actually entering
25:34for the restricted kind of space.
25:37I mean, if you look at the doors...
25:38Oh, my goodness.
25:40Look at the size of that beast.
25:42And it's made from 50 mil steel
25:44and this is the first set of doors.
25:47This is...
25:49This is a bunker?
25:50Yes.
25:51Nothing known, missile or anything
25:54can penetrate this.
25:55Santa Park is also a nuclear bunker?
25:59Yes, very much so.
26:01Oh, my good lordy.
26:04So, how far do the tunnels extend?
26:07About 400 metres
26:08and we have several sets of tunnels
26:11because in a case of emergency,
26:13you have to get in the people,
26:15you have to get in all the supplies
26:16and everything.
26:17So, you can drive a semi-truck inside here.
26:20An articulated lorry.
26:22Yes, yes.
26:23My goodness.
26:23How many people can you house here?
26:26Over 3,000.
26:273,400.
26:28So, you have presumably
26:30the kit equipment,
26:33bedding, food and stores here for that?
26:35Bedding, toilets, dry toilets.
26:38We have our own water supplies.
26:40We have our own waste supplies.
26:42And Finns are always prepared
26:44because we must have a shelter
26:45for all the Finns
26:46but Finns are also very creative
26:47because if we would not have
26:49Santa Park here,
26:50then the city people
26:51would pay for the heating
26:52and electricity and everything.
26:53So, we have utilised all the shelters
26:55for swimming pools,
26:57tennis, swimming centres,
26:59tennis places, inside tracks
27:01and this happened to be
27:02the Christmas and Sunday's home cavern.
27:04So, go to a swimming pool in Finland
27:07and you may well actually be inside...
27:10A shelter.
27:11A public shelter, yes.
27:13...from nuclear war.
27:14Yes, yes.
27:15Across Finland,
27:16there are more than 50,000 bunkers
27:19to shelter almost the entire population
27:21of more than 5 million
27:22in the event of war.
27:23We're not going to go any further.
27:25So, this is another exit entrance...
27:28Yes.
27:28...to the bunker?
27:29Yes.
27:36Like a huge number of Finns
27:39of all backgrounds,
27:40Ilka's also an army reservist,
27:42an officer.
27:43He trains at a local rifle range.
27:46So, we're going to take it.
27:49Big, big boy.
27:51OK, why?
27:54So, what have you got in here?
27:56This is what we call
27:57long-distance rifles.
27:59There are hundreds
28:00of shooting ranges
28:01across Finland
28:02and for national defence,
28:03the government's opening
28:04300 more.
28:06Finns have one of the highest
28:07rates of gun ownership
28:08after countries
28:10like the US and Yemen.
28:12Morning.
28:13Good morning.
28:13Good morning.
28:14It's Janne.
28:15Janne.
28:16Janne, Simon.
28:17Lovely to see you.
28:17Hello.
28:19Janne is a university lecturer
28:20and also an army reservist.
28:23It's their sheer number
28:25of reservists
28:26in the Finnish armed forces
28:28that make their military
28:29huge in terms of numbers.
28:32They have a military,
28:33total military,
28:34combined,
28:35including reserves,
28:36of nearly 900,000.
28:39That's five times
28:41the size of the UK's
28:42armed forces
28:43of around 180,000,
28:45even though the UK's population
28:47is 12 times larger
28:48than Finland's.
28:52It's almost like
28:53a piece of artillery.
28:54Very powerful.
29:01I think what really surprises me
29:04about your armed reserve
29:06is just the scale of it.
29:09Someone might call Finland
29:10the Sparta of the North.
29:12I think the moral is
29:13that the civil society
29:15defends itself.
29:16We're not outsourcing it.
29:17So everyone's responsible
29:19for the society.
29:21And you've got the Finnish flag
29:22and you've got the freedom flag
29:24as well.
29:25Yeah, and when I talked
29:27about the society
29:28taking responsibility
29:29of defending itself,
29:31I think that covers
29:33all of your values.
29:34So, for example,
29:36if one of these things
29:37is part of your values,
29:39if you're not ready
29:39to defend them,
29:41even with violence,
29:42do you really believe in them?
29:43Are they values
29:44or are they just opinions?
29:46You're saying
29:46if you believe in the values
29:48of the freedom flag,
29:51then you need to be willing
29:52to defend those.
29:53Yeah, exactly.
29:55And that is a possibility.
29:58Unfortunately so, yeah.
30:10It might seem unthinkable
30:12elsewhere in Western Europe,
30:14but they fear war here.
30:17It's happened before.
30:18And as a result,
30:20Finland is a highly militarised country.
30:22There's conscription.
30:24Each year,
30:25more than 20,000 young men
30:26and women head off
30:27for military training.
30:29Really quite moved by this.
30:32Just seeing these youngsters
30:35marching across.
30:37People's sons,
30:39people's daughters.
30:41National service
30:42is compulsory for men,
30:44voluntary for women.
30:45When it's finished,
30:46they join the reserves
30:47and are liable to be called up
30:48for refresher training
30:49until the age of 50.
30:51It's a doctrine
30:52of total defence.
30:53Under the Finnish constitution,
30:55all citizens have a duty
30:57to defend the nation.
30:58This is total belief
31:00in the country.
31:02Trust in the state.
31:05Trust that the state
31:06will do the right thing
31:07and that the state will,
31:09through its people,
31:10protect everyone.
31:13Surveys have shown
31:1480% of Finns
31:16support compulsory national service.
31:23It is quite something to see.
31:26I've come to see
31:27the Jäger Brigade,
31:29an elite Arctic warfare unit.
31:31They're in charge
31:31of training green young conscripts
31:33in cold weather combat.
31:40Youngsters leave behind
31:41often comfortable warm lives
31:43in cities and towns
31:44to be turned into soldiers.
31:53Are you happy with that?
31:56Well, it was the first time.
31:58I'm not happy
31:59for every individual,
32:01but anyway,
32:02they are doing
32:04what they should do
32:05at the moment.
32:06So this is their
32:07first time shooting
32:09from skis?
32:10Yeah, I think so.
32:11At least it looked like
32:12it was.
32:13Right.
32:14But they're also,
32:15they're less familiar
32:16with skis
32:17and they're more familiar
32:18with central heating.
32:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.
32:21And telephones and so on.
32:22Yeah.
32:23Well, they are preparing
32:24to defend Finland.
32:26That is the purpose
32:27for the whole thing.
32:29In opinion polls,
32:31more than 80%
32:32of all Finns
32:33say they defend
32:34their country.
32:35In a similar poll
32:36of Brits,
32:37it was only 35%.
32:42What is it about Finland
32:44that means you feel
32:45such a part
32:46of the country
32:47that you are willing
32:47to defend it
32:49in that way?
32:50We both love Finland,
32:51even if it's cold,
32:53even if it's dark.
32:54It feels like
32:55it's our obligation
32:56to defend the country.
32:59In my opinion,
33:00the greatest country
33:01in the world
33:01and something to defend.
33:03I mean,
33:03we have a very good
33:04standard of living,
33:06best education,
33:07we are wealthy.
33:08I mean,
33:09we have gotten everything
33:10we ever could ask for
33:11from Finland.
33:13So it's only right
33:14that we defend it.
33:16after the invasion
33:17of Ukraine,
33:18Finland and neighboring
33:19Sweden have joined
33:20the NATO military alliance
33:22as protection
33:23from the Russian threat.
33:24But the Finns
33:25are their own force
33:26to be reckoned with.
33:28Apart from a massive army,
33:29they have the largest
33:30artillery force
33:31in Western Europe,
33:33hundreds of huge
33:33howitzers.
33:34But they also bring
33:36something less easy
33:37to rate and measure.
33:38Passion,
33:39patriotism
33:40and knowledge.
33:41What they're teaching
33:42the conscripts here
33:43isn't just how
33:44to be a soldier,
33:46it's how to survive
33:48in these extremely
33:49harsh conditions.
33:52The Jaeger brigade
33:54teach Arctic warfare
33:55to soldiers
33:56from other NATO countries,
33:58including the UK
33:59and the U.S.
34:11Bloody hell.
34:13Students are learning
34:15how to rescue themselves
34:17in case if they go
34:19through the weak ice.
34:25Tell us about this word,
34:27this Finnish word,
34:29sisu.
34:30Sisu.
34:31What does it mean?
34:32I guess it's a sort of
34:35some kind of
34:36Finnish version
34:37of some kind of grit.
34:39Grit.
34:40Grit or something like that.
34:41That's probably
34:42the closest English word.
34:44Guts.
34:44Guts, yeah.
34:45It's a big thing in Finland
34:47and it's something
34:47you try to cultivate.
34:49Yeah, yeah.
34:50This is one example.
34:52Sisu.
34:54This is proper sisu.
34:56Yeah, yeah.
35:00They're pretty quiet
35:01when they go in.
35:02They're doing well.
35:04Yeah, screaming doesn't help.
35:05Screaming doesn't.
35:14Maybe we all need
35:15a bit of extra sisu.
35:21A little bit of me
35:23is keen to test myself
35:25and a lot of me
35:27is definitely not.
35:30Last time we met
35:32you were smiling.
35:35Do I see you smiling again?
35:37Well, sort of.
35:39Of course, because this
35:40is absolutely great fun.
35:42Yeah, that's exactly
35:43the phrase I would use.
35:45Put this on one shoulder.
35:46Oh, my God.
35:50Okay.
35:51Are you ready?
35:52Somebody's holding on to me, yeah?
35:54Are you ready?
35:55Yeah, I think so.
35:57You can go.
35:57Is anyone ever?
36:04Now, freeze, freeze.
36:06Good.
36:08Bring your backpack here.
36:13Yeah, just like that.
36:15Here's your skis.
36:16Oh, my God.
36:17Go skis.
36:18Good, you too.
36:19Oh, it's really sharp.
36:21Take your pole.
36:22And now.
36:22Use your arms,
36:24use your legs.
36:27Exactly like that.
36:29Almost there.
36:31Keep crawling.
36:33Keep crawling.
36:33A little bit more.
36:36Remove the rope.
36:40Good job.
36:41Good job.
36:41Thank you, guys.
36:43Oh.
36:44All right, Simon.
36:44Now get warm.
36:45Yeah, let's run up the...
36:46Okay.
36:50The fins,
36:51they're a little bit bonkers.
36:53But they really believe in this.
36:55And you know what?
36:56They start them young.
37:07Patriotism and a whopping army
37:09aren't what most of us associate
37:10with Scandinavia and the wider region.
37:14Just like its Scandi neighbours,
37:16Finland also cherishes liberal values
37:18like gender equality,
37:19gay rights and a generous welfare state.
37:22As a country,
37:23it scores near the top
37:24for wealth,
37:25health and happiness.
37:28And they start encouraging
37:30all those Nordic values,
37:32plus a dose of sisu,
37:33even in their toddlers.
37:36They very kindly let us come and see
37:38a Finnish school.
37:41It is minus 18 degrees centigrade.
37:44Hello to you.
37:48Look at the lovely wave.
37:49Hello, hello, hello.
37:50They're asking if you are coming
37:51with us to the forest.
37:53Yes!
37:56These three to six-year-olds
37:58are off out to forest school,
38:00hours outside.
38:02The head teacher,
38:03Josefina Marola,
38:04only takes them inside
38:05when the temperature drops
38:06below minus 30 degrees.
38:08They're different in Finland.
38:11It's a little bit surprising
38:13to me to see
38:15really, really young children
38:17going off in these conditions,
38:19but we have just
38:20a different mentality
38:21in Finland.
38:23It's a matter of
38:25wearing enough layers.
38:27It's not really coat
38:28like right now.
38:30No, I've got about 47 layers on.
38:33If you can go to that sort of level,
38:34then yeah, you can be okay.
38:3747 layers on,
38:38and you'll be fine.
38:38Yes!
38:40Formal education here
38:41doesn't start until kids are seven.
38:44Before that, they're playing.
38:45In Finland, it's all about
38:47the great outdoors,
38:49about getting mucky,
38:50and not endless worrying
38:51about health and safety.
38:53What are the advantages
38:54of raising children this way?
38:57They don't get sick.
39:00They sleep well.
39:01They learn things more naturally.
39:04They have more space.
39:06Do the kids get colds a lot?
39:08No.
39:10Hardly about, no.
39:12Their immune system
39:13is just really good.
39:15They don't get colds
39:16or get sick at all.
39:18I mean, it's minus 20
39:20and something, but yeah.
39:22And what I think
39:22is like the most important
39:24about going to school
39:26and growing up
39:27is that they get along together.
39:29Their social skills
39:30are just like great, I think.
39:33When they're in the forest,
39:34they just naturally
39:35like help each other
39:36and no one gets left behind.
39:40I don't know why it happens.
39:42Maybe it's just the forest
39:43is such like calming place.
39:52Forest schools boost children's immune systems.
39:56Finnish scientists claim
39:57contact with nature
39:58with mud and friendly bacteria
40:00prevents autoimmune diseases
40:02and allergies.
40:03Teachers here don't mollycoddle.
40:05They keep watch,
40:06but children are allowed
40:08to take risks.
40:09Yes, even leaping off
40:10anti-tank defences
40:11left from the war.
40:12When we know the children well
40:16and we know the whole family
40:18and stuff,
40:19it's easy to, you know,
40:21build a trust.
40:22I think education overall
40:24just is like really,
40:26really respect that thing
40:27in Finland.
40:28So respect and trust
40:30are two key words
40:32that leap out at me there.
40:34Yeah, and they don't really question
40:37the things we do here.
40:40And if the teacher says
40:41it's OK to be outside,
40:42than it is.
40:44What a difference with the UK,
40:46where teachers too often
40:47face parents who don't trust
40:49or respect them.
40:50Here there were no complaints
40:51from the hardy youngsters
40:52or at school pick-up time.
40:54You are happy for Josefina
40:56to take your precious son
40:59into the forest
41:00when it is minus 18 up there.
41:03Yes, because I know
41:04my son will survive.
41:07You have a lot of respect
41:09for education and educators,
41:13for teachers.
41:14Yes.
41:15You trust them.
41:17Yes, very much.
41:19Well, this has been fascinating,
41:21mind-blowing even.
41:23I'm hearing a lot about trust.
41:25And trust is something
41:26I'm really interested in.
41:28People in Scandinavia
41:30and the Nordic countries
41:31have much higher levels of trust
41:32in their institutions,
41:34their governments
41:35and each other.
41:36As this journey goes on,
41:37I'm really keen to learn
41:38the role that trust plays
41:40in making Scandinavia
41:42such a success.
41:53I headed west,
41:54through Lapland's vast forests
41:56and crossed the border
41:57into Sweden.
42:00Lapland is a region
42:02of 150,000 square miles
42:04across northern Finland,
42:06Sweden, Norway
42:07and even a small bit of Russia.
42:09During winter,
42:10it's buried under snow.
42:11But Lapland's still a major
42:13provider of resources.
42:15Swedes chop and plant
42:17millions of trees up here
42:18for all that flat-back furniture.
42:20Lapland's also important
42:21for green energy.
42:23Hydroelectric power
42:24provides 40%
42:26of Sweden's electricity
42:27but requires power lines
42:29and railways
42:30criss-crossing Lapland.
42:33During the 20th century,
42:35Europe often outsourced
42:37its extraction of fossil fuels
42:40and heavy industry as well
42:43to poorer,
42:45less developed parts
42:46of the world.
42:47But during what's being described
42:50as the green transition now
42:51to renewable energy,
42:53there will be a need
42:55for a huge number of mines,
42:57solar farms,
42:59wind turbines,
43:00wind farms,
43:01and that will cause problems
43:04with other people,
43:06with other groups.
43:07Lapland's home
43:08to the Sami people.
43:10They've lived here
43:11for thousands of years,
43:12long before modern countries,
43:14with their own language
43:15and culture
43:16for many inextricably linked
43:18to the reindeer.
43:19I'm meeting a reindeer herder
43:21called Mikael.
43:23I've got a pin
43:25on a map
43:26where we've got to meet him
43:27in the middle of nowhere.
43:30Once nomadic,
43:31the Sami are now
43:32mostly settled.
43:33They still keep
43:34and herd reindeer.
43:36Sami elder Mikael Kumanum
43:38makes his living out here.
43:41Mikael?
43:42Hello!
43:42Hi, Mikael, Simon.
43:43Mikael.
43:44Very lovely to see you.
43:46The same.
43:46Hello, lads.
43:48Good morning.
43:50So,
43:53where are the reindeer?
43:55They are up there.
43:56Right, okay.
43:57We're going to
43:58move the reindeers
43:59away from there,
44:00take them down
44:01to the road,
44:02and then
44:03the reindeers
44:03will probably
44:05follow the road.
44:08And how many reindeers
44:10do you have?
44:12That's a funny question.
44:13You don't ask anyone
44:14how many reindeers
44:15they have.
44:15It's quite
44:17It's not polite.
44:18It's not polite.
44:19It's like asking
44:20how much money
44:20do you have
44:21in the bank.
44:21Right.
44:22It's the same question.
44:23But I have reindeers
44:24so I can survive.
44:30We're going to make
44:31a snowmobile track here,
44:32so I'm quite lazy.
44:34I let the sons
44:34do the job.
44:37Rangers,
44:38they shall not be
44:39too long
44:40in the same place.
44:41That's why
44:41we heard the rangers
44:43move them
44:43from one place
44:44to another
44:45so they don't
44:46destroy the
44:47grazing area.
44:48So they'll move
44:49in search of
44:49food,
44:51but that can
44:52obviously split
44:53them up
44:53and move them
44:54apart too far
44:55and also presumably
44:56expose them
44:57to danger as well.
44:58Yes.
44:59A couple of years ago
45:00we had about
45:0050 reindeers
45:01they went out
45:02on the railway
45:02and they were
45:03hit by a train.
45:04It was nothing
45:05left of them.
45:0650 reindeer
45:07were killed
45:08by one train.
45:09By one train.
45:10Oh my goodness.
45:11So then we learned
45:12the lesson.
45:13We are very afraid
45:14of the train
45:15for the railroads.
45:17How do you avoid that?
45:19We can't.
45:20We can only take away
45:21the rangers
45:22from the danger.
45:29This is something
45:30that has made
45:32our lives
45:32very easy.
45:34Hmm.
45:36We are experts
45:37to adapt ourselves
45:38and we are
45:38every new thing
45:40we take it.
45:41OK.
45:42Now we
45:43go up in the air.
45:48Reindeer used to roam
45:49wherever they liked.
45:51Now there are
45:51dangers everywhere.
45:54Mikael and his sons
45:55Aslat and Nils
45:56are worried
45:56about a small group
45:57from their herd
45:58that have strayed
45:59too close to railway
46:00tracks.
46:01We need to find them.
46:03So there's the reindeer.
46:05Yes.
46:05Then I put a GPS
46:07spot on it
46:07so now I see
46:08on the map
46:09and then I can show
46:10my sons where they are.
46:11Clever, clever.
46:18So we're heading out
46:19to look for the reindeer.
46:23Reindeer are tough
46:24yet they still need
46:25looking after.
46:26They're crucial
46:27to the ecosystem
46:28in Lapland
46:29but forests
46:30rich in lichen,
46:31the reindeer's
46:31favourite food,
46:32have declined
46:33by 71%
46:34in Sweden.
46:39OK.
46:40So the reindeer,
46:40there's reindeer
46:41just ahead of us
46:42and they're being
46:43corralled
46:44by the lads
46:46and by our skidoos
46:48and hopefully
46:48they're moving
46:48moving in the right
46:49direction.
46:51OK, they've got them
46:52into the open
46:53and they're now
46:54moving them towards
46:56the road.
47:02We gently guided them
47:04away from the train tracks.
47:06But roads, tracks,
47:08industry, people,
47:09it's all disrupting
47:10reindeer behaviour
47:11and migration.
47:14Even new green
47:14industries up here
47:16pose threats
47:17to wildlife
47:18and the livelihoods
47:20of Sammy herders.
47:26And that's it,
47:27they've reached the road.
47:33and so have we.
47:42What are they doing,
47:43Mikael?
47:44They are eating salt.
47:46Yesterday it was
47:46Eisenhower road,
47:47so they put salt on it.
47:49Now they...
47:50They love it.
47:51They love it.
47:52Of course,
47:52like a salt lick
47:54almost.
47:54Yes.
47:56When they once
47:56find the salt,
47:58they will always
47:58come back.
47:59It's like a drug.
48:01And they're drawn
48:01to the road
48:02to eat it
48:03and that presumably
48:04results in collisions.
48:05Yes.
48:06Most of the people
48:07that are driving car,
48:08they say that reindeer,
48:09it is the most
48:10stupid animal
48:11on the earth.
48:13Right.
48:14Because they stand
48:14on the salt
48:16just waiting
48:17to get hit
48:18by a car.
48:20So that affects
48:22their migration,
48:23their movement,
48:24your ability
48:24to herd them?
48:25Yes, it does.
48:27We are already
48:28so affected
48:30by everything
48:30you can imagine.
48:31We have the railroad,
48:33we have the hydropower
48:35down just
48:3615 kilometers
48:37away from here,
48:38power lines.
48:39How do the
48:40power lines
48:41affect you
48:42and the reindeer?
48:43It's stopped
48:44before the power line.
48:45There's something
48:46that we don't see
48:48something is
48:49scaring them.
48:50They avoid
48:51the power lines.
48:52We don't need
48:53more things
48:56that affect us.
48:57It's so difficult,
48:58isn't it?
48:59Because obviously
48:59people will say
49:01that Lapland
49:03needs development,
49:04it needs jobs.
49:05But understandably,
49:08you see your way
49:09of life being threatened.
49:11I see it that way,
49:12yes.
49:12It's like a lifestyle
49:15that's slowly
49:16fading away.
49:17The major threat
49:18here is climate change.
49:20The Arctic's heating
49:21nearly four times
49:22faster than the rest
49:22of the planet.
49:23It's simply not as cold
49:24as it is normally.
49:26This kind of snow,
49:27it's usually
49:28in the springtime.
49:30And now we're
49:30in the middle of the winter.
49:31It should be
49:3230 minus.
49:34Should it really?
49:35Yes,
49:36but now it's
49:36almost 10.
49:37So you're caught really
49:39in a terrible
49:41catch-22,
49:43I sense,
49:44where on the one hand
49:46you're seeing
49:46climate change.
49:48I have seen it
49:50for almost 20 years now.
49:52And on the other hand,
49:53you're threatened
49:54by the industry
49:56that is being developed
49:57to try and
49:58help prevent
49:59or at least mitigate
50:01the climate change
50:02that we're all threatened by.
50:05A rock
50:06and a hard place.
50:08The ones who get
50:09sacrificed,
50:10it's us,
50:10we, the rangers,
50:11the ranger herders,
50:12the Sámi people.
50:14The thing I wonder,
50:15why do you have
50:15to destroy
50:16the planet
50:17to save it?
50:18It's quite,
50:19it doesn't make sense
50:21to me.
50:37Not far from where
50:39Mikau herds
50:40his reindeer
50:40is the small
50:41Swedish mining town
50:43of Karuna.
50:44Legend says
50:45in the mid-1600s,
50:47a farmer
50:47hunting squirrels
50:49found a strange
50:50heavy black rock here.
50:52Turned out
50:52it was iron ore.
50:54Karuna's grown up
50:55around what's now
50:56a vast underground
50:57iron ore mine,
50:59the biggest in the world.
51:00All the mining
51:01and tunnelling
51:02underground
51:02has of course
51:03turned the land here,
51:04this area,
51:05into Swiss cheese.
51:06And it's destabilised
51:08many of the buildings here.
51:10And as a result,
51:11a number of them
51:12have got to be destroyed
51:14and a large part
51:15of the town here
51:16has got to be moved.
51:20So some of the buildings here
51:22they're actually
51:22just relocating.
51:24This huge old church
51:25for example,
51:25they're going to
51:26jack that up
51:27and then later this year
51:29they're going to move it
51:30to a new location
51:31at the very stately pace
51:32of half a mile an hour.
51:34Much of Karuna's
51:36being moved
51:36so they can keep
51:37digging underground
51:38because for Sweden
51:40and for Europe
51:41the mine is vital.
51:44Geologist Laura Lowry
51:46works for LKAB,
51:48the state-owned
51:49Swedish mining company.
51:50They've extracted
51:51more than 2 billion tonnes
51:53of iron ore
51:54from this mine alone.
51:56By one reckoning
51:57that's equivalent
51:57to the top third
51:58of Mount Everest
52:00we headed in.
52:01There you see
52:02the mining chips.
52:04So this is the largest
52:06underground iron ore mine
52:08in the world.
52:09It's about 80%
52:10what we use in Europe.
52:1280% of Europe's iron ore
52:15comes from here.
52:17Yep.
52:18I would guess
52:18that if you have products
52:19that have been
52:20produced in Europe
52:22that contain steel
52:25then it mostly
52:26comes from here.
52:28Well this is
52:28very definitely
52:30not like the mine
52:31in Svalbard.
52:33So we will just
52:35park the car here.
52:36Alright.
52:37We were nearly
52:38a mile underground.
52:40A subterranean world
52:41of huge tunnels,
52:43offices,
52:45a staff canteen,
52:46coffee machines,
52:47even pot plants.
52:51Hiya.
52:52Hello, hello, hello.
52:54It's one of the most
52:55high-tech mines
52:56in the world
52:57and Emil
52:58is a very modern
52:59sort of miner.
53:01Hello.
53:02Hello.
53:03What are you doing?
53:05I'm remotely
53:05operating.
53:06I have my cameras
53:07on the machine.
53:08Yeah.
53:09And I also have
53:10a rock breaker
53:11to break the larger
53:12boulder.
53:13Oh my goodness.
53:15So now I've just
53:16pressed the button
53:16and now it's going
53:17to dump the bucket
53:18and...
53:18What's going on?
53:19It's driving itself.
53:20It's driving itself.
53:21It's autonomously.
53:22So now it's going
53:23to the ore pass
53:24and it dumps
53:25the rock
53:25down the ore pass.
53:26Right.
53:27And then it returns
53:28to the drift
53:29where I fill the bucket.
53:31So this is a very
53:32new style
53:34mining, isn't it?
53:35Where are the
53:36hard calluses
53:37on your hands?
53:38No.
53:38Where's your pick
53:39and your shovel?
53:40No, no pick
53:41and shovel here.
53:41Now you have a joystick.
53:42Yeah, joystick
53:43and Xbox control.
53:45Look, we mustn't film
53:46this because
53:48all the youngsters
53:49watching
53:49who are playing
53:50on their consoles
53:51will say,
53:52look, mom and dad,
53:53this is why
53:54I need to be gaming
53:55so I can work
53:56in a Swedish mind.
53:57Exactly.
53:59So now I'm shaking
54:00the bucket.
54:01No, you're not.
54:02Go on, give the bucket
54:02a little shake.
54:04Oh my goodness.
54:05You seem very happy
54:06with your job.
54:07Yeah, I love my job.
54:08This is very fun.
54:10Miles underground,
54:12machines do most
54:13of the dangerous
54:14and grubby work.
54:16Machines bring
54:16the iron ore
54:17to the surface
54:18and if something
54:19goes wrong,
54:20there's someone
54:21or something
54:22who goes
54:23to investigate.
54:24This looks like
54:25a kennel.
54:26It does look
54:27like a kennel.
54:45Whoa.
54:51Oh my goodness.
55:00The robot
55:01reconnaissance dog
55:02can be sent
55:03into the most
55:04dangerous parts
55:04of the mine.
55:06I was a little bit
55:07taken aback.
55:08That's my first time
55:10anywhere on the planet
55:11I have encountered
55:12a moving
55:14robotic creature
55:16as it were.
55:17What can Spot do?
55:19After the blasting,
55:20it checks
55:21if something
55:21has happened,
55:22if there have
55:23been any rock falls.
55:24This is like
55:25the future of mining
55:26here, isn't it?
55:28Taking humans
55:29not out of the equation
55:31but out of the dangers
55:32over here.
55:32Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
55:41Come on,
55:41you've got to see this.
55:43Look.
55:45See, I'll bring it out.
55:49They really have
55:50put dog treats
55:51in here.
55:54The miners
55:55and their machines
55:56are still exploring
55:57underground here,
55:58hunting for more iron
56:00deep beneath the snows
56:01of Lapland.
56:02But a couple of years
56:03ago, they made
56:04a startling discovery
56:05which could be
56:06a game changer
56:07for the whole of Europe
56:08and for the future
56:09of green technology.
56:11Under this forested
56:13area here,
56:14we have another
56:14iron ore body
56:15which contains
56:16quite a lot
56:17of iron,
56:18phosphorus
56:19and also
56:20rare earth elements.
56:22Rare earth elements.
56:24Most used ones
56:25are, for example,
56:25neodymium
56:26and presodymium
56:27that are used,
56:28for example,
56:28for the wind turbines
56:29and battery technology.
56:32There's 17
56:33rare earth minerals
56:34including
56:35samarium,
56:35europium
56:36and scandium.
56:37They're critical
56:37for next generation tech.
56:39What coal was
56:40to the 19th century
56:41and oil to the 20th.
56:43Rare earth elements
56:44could be to the 21st.
56:45So I've got a couple
56:46of pieces of drill core
56:47and there's quite a lot
56:49of this pink
56:50and whitish
56:51minerals here
56:52and that's the mineral
56:53apatite,
56:53the phosphorus mineral
56:54that contains also
56:55the rare earths.
56:56We have numbers
56:57that show
56:58that this deposit
56:59it's almost
57:00one billion tons
57:00of ore.
57:01That's billion
57:02with a B.
57:03Yeah,
57:04one billion tons
57:04of ore.
57:06Here,
57:07these are the fundamentals
57:08of potentially
57:10of Europe's
57:10future economy.
57:11It's really true
57:12and this only strengthens
57:14the importance
57:15of this region.
57:17This is geopolitics
57:19right here.
57:20The great powers
57:22are now scrambling
57:23to secure
57:24rare earth minerals.
57:25China currently
57:26has most of them.
57:28Europe doesn't
57:28produce any.
57:30This mine
57:31could change that.
57:33The environment here
57:34will be affected.
57:35Perhaps we don't
57:36have a choice
57:37but it's a consequence
57:38we shouldn't ignore.
57:40A train moving
57:41down there
57:42taking out iron ore.
57:45What's happening
57:46here is really
57:47important.
57:49Europe is going
57:50to need these
57:51rare earth minerals
57:52and metals
57:53if we're going
57:54to transition
57:55to a cleaner,
57:56greener future
57:56but there are costs.
57:59and
58:27we're going
58:28to need
58:28We'll be
58:36Gracias por ver el video.
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