Original subtitles

(tense music)

(music ends)

NARRATOR: Today we start off on Nauru,

the smallest republic in the world.

The tiny island was once the richest country in the world.

On an average the highest number of overweight people live here.

It definitely is the craziest island in the world.

Do you want proof, the sports field is actually an airfield.

You don't believe it?

We'll take you to the tiny island in the middle of the South-Seas.

Landing is a true challenge for every pilot -

the runway is just 2 kilometres short.

We count ourselves lucky to have been granted the clearance to land,

because normally the runway serves other purposes.

People are practicing sports here.

The runway is the only sports field on the entire island.

That's why the islanders use it as a walking track.

Sporting ace Adam does his laps here every evening.

NARRATOR: The runway is a sports field only while no airplanes

are approaching, though.

NARRATOR: The practical side to the island,

An airplane is due only 3 times a week.

But that's when something is going on here.

The main road is blocked off,

because the plane has to cross it in order to arrive

at the international airport.

You don't think that's crazy enough?

What about this?

The country is so tiny, it takes only 15 minutes to drive around it.

We do the test and, in fact, the country is so tiny,

a whole round trip takes you just over 15 minutes.

And that's just because you are not allowed to drive any faster

than 40 km/h on the entire island.

The great advantage - not a single traffic light on the whole island

interferes with the traffic.

That's why the islanders are passionate car drivers.

On a monthly average, every inhabitant drives,

hold on tight to your seat, an incredible 6000 kilometres.

That's 10 times around the entire island every day.

It's all just leisure activity,

the islanders simply love cruising around.

One of them is Jali Beaden.

He takes us along on his nightly cruise.

But why does everyone keep driving in circles here?

(speaking foreign language)

NARRATOR: And because everyone is driving around in circles

all the time, you even have traffic jams.

This tiny island has a traffic problem.

By the way, everyone has the right of way!

There are no annoying sobriety checks.

Still not crazy enough? Well, check this out.

This tiny country used to be the richest country in the world.

Wealth, we had a somewhat different expectation,

it doesn't seem that way at all any more.

The houses on the island are shabby and the cars are, well,

not really fit for traffic.

But this small country really used to be

the richest country in the world.

To prove the point, rusted luxury limos at the side of the road

wherever you look. They are literally everywhere.

This is how they ended up here -

if a car broke down 40 years ago, it would not be repaired.

The people living here were so rich they would just leave it there

and buy a new one.

People could afford not holding on to coins.

Most people just threw them away.

NARRATOR: That has changed.

But why was the island so fabulously rich?

The reason - the soil of the island.

It looks normal, but in truth it's a phosphate,

the purest in the whole world.

A valuable raw material, which is used for manuring

among other things. Most of it has been mined.

The remains will probably last for another 20 years.

The crazy thing about it - today the country is bankrupt.

The government has wasted billions of dollars, there is nothing left.

The island lies in the South Seas.

But there are hardly any tourists.

Hard to believe since the South Seas stand for idyllic beaches,

great weather and lots of sun!

A true tourist paradise, above and under water.

But getting here is expensive and there are just 2 hotels.

They are, well, a bit out of date like this one here.

Even though you pay more than $100 per room and night.

We take a closer look and realise,

great hotels would definitely not be a reason for coming here.

At least the picture on the wall evokes emotions of the South Seas.

Hygiene does not play a key role here,

which results in bad ratings for the hotels.

Wherever we look we run into the reminders of long gone guests.

And most of the time the water has gone, too.

And all of this at the price of a four star hotel.

That's why only few tourists come here.

But do the beaches make up for it? Rather not.

There are no tourists here, but a lot of rubbish.

A paradise looks different.

Sight-seeing trips to the island's mainland aren't worthwhile.

Tropical beauty or palm tree forests are nowhere to be found.

Everything is hollowed out by the decade long digging

for phosphates and people have just left it that way.

But we have found one of the craziest hobbies of the world here.

(club music)

It takes, true men and huge loudspeakers.

And tolerant neighbours!

This is the most important day of the year for John and his friends.

They're off to a sound competition.

The self-built stereo is the pride and joy of the neighbourhood

and has been especially tuned for the competition.

But what makes you pursue a hobby like that?

(club music continues)

NARRATOR: After two long hours the boss is finally happy

and the stereo is dismounted.

The purpose of his soundcheck? We have no idea.

In any case the team prepares for a memory shot,

afterwards they're off at a snail's pace.

Our running camera team causes friendly mockery and laughter.

The trip to the location of the competition is made

in the team's vehicle,

which has obviously been used for many sound competitions.

We travel across half the country.

But since it is the smallest republic in the world,

that's not such a big deal.

After only 10 minutes, the team has arrived.

Nauru is definitely a crazy country.

The local women all play bingo obsessively.

Hundreds of them hang out in an old factory building,

in a very relaxed way.

The whole night through they compare the numbers called out

to the ones on their sheets.

If they are identical, prize money awaits them.

It's not that easy to win the sound competition.

The opponents show up with almost the same speakers,

but in more trendy colours.

There are no discotheques on the craziest island in the world.

That's why the sound contest is such a crowd puller.

But the people here don't dance to the music,

they stand around and sit around.

The loudspeakers simultaneously blast the competent audience

at full volume, while every stereo plays a different tune.

(various club tracks)

After three hours, they're all done

and would in fact be ready for the jury.

But the jury hasn't arrived yet.

So everyone just continues to sit around and wait,

which by the way is a speciality of this crazy island.

And then a power cut ends the competition.

The decision is delayed until next year.

If you have the impression there are especially many overweight people

on this island, it's true.

There is no other place in the world with more overweight people

than in Nauru.

The people aren't just a little more corpulent here than in other places.

According to figures provided by the WHO more than 70%

of the population is obese and 90% are overweight.

Any clothes shop on the island proves the point.

In this case the fashion outlet also serves as a supermarket.

The largest size off the shelf is an impressive sixfold XL.

We find trousers into which two people could easily fit

anywhere else. And mind you,

these are standard sizes on the island!

But why on earth are all these people overweight?

We take a look at where they buy their food.

The largest supermarket on the island.

It is the most important supply centre for the whole country

with its 10,000 inhabitants.

We want to know, what is the locals' favourite food?

- One important line we have is corned beef. And it's, er...

Nauruans like a lot of corned beef as well in the canned lines.

We just got one variety at the moment,

we're waiting for all the other ones to still come in.

NARRATOR: There are mostly tins, cans and non-perishable things.

The island is so remote, it can only be supplied by ship.

That's why all the meat and sausages are deep frozen.

Oh, yes, what you see here is the fruit and vegetable department

of the island's largest supermarket.

Very sparing of supplies.

- As you can see there are gaps there because we are waiting for

our chillers to be offloaded from the ship.

A lot of the stuff doesn't even have time to hit the shelf.

It just lands here, we open the boxes and they're all gone.

NARRATOR: Vegetables are scarce goods on the island.

One reason - the container ships which supply the country with food

have to take the far route from Asia across the Pacific Ocean

to arrive here. It takes them weeks.

Fresh goods would turn bad on the way.

But the island isn't self-sufficient either. For a strange reason.

The inhabitants don't know how to grow vegetables.

That's why foreign experts come to the vegetable farm to teach them.

Back in the days when the island was so very rich,

people had simply stopped growing vegetables.

- I only heard from older people

that they used to grow before.

I never saw it, I only heard about it.

NARRATOR: Everything forgotten,

that's why the hopes for vegetable farming lie on the young students

of horticulture.

They attend special classes on the vegetable farm.

The question is whether they really want to become vegetable farmers

one day...

- No!

- To be honest,

it's going to take a long, long time to see everything happen.

But at least we're trying. If you don't try, you get nothing.

NARRATOR: The problem is, no healthy diet without vegetables!

The sad result, people here especially like this,

dry rice, canned meat and fried egg - the national dish.

NARRATOR: And last but not least, this strange island has one of

the craziest laws in the world.

It is connected to the islander's favourite hobby, driving cars.

If a puddle comes into play,

the full rigor of the law strikes mercilessly,

whoever drives through a puddle and splashes someone,

goes to jail. In bad cases for several hours.

Luckily there aren't many pedestrians,

because everyone prefers driving a car to walking.

From the craziest island in the world,

we travel on to Zhongdong in China.

A very special village in the middle of a cave

as large as an aircraft hangar.

16 wooden huts form a small village.

(speaking Chinese)

NARRATOR: This is Wang Heng's house. He built it himself.

NARRATOR: Wang Heng lives here together with his wife,

his three daughters and his mother-in-law.

They sleep upstairs.

NARRATOR: The cave village Zhongdong.

A total of 18 families, almost 90 people live here,

far from any semblance of civilisation.

The doors are always open. There are no locks.

Food, clothing, electronic devices - all is used in common.

(cock crows)

NARRATOR: Pigs, goats and chickens.

The inhabitants keep their own animals for their survival.

Slaughtering and smoking, they do all of that themselves.

They also grow vegetables.

Whatever is left over is sold on the market in the city,

they live off these earnings.

(speaking Chinese)

NARRATOR: Thanks to the dripstones.

The water comes straight from the mountains.

It's potable and very healthy due to the minerals.

Sometimes during spring or fall it even rains inside the caves

from the dripstones.

Wang Heng has to go herd the cattle now.

NARRATOR: It truly is an unusual place to live

for a seemingly ordinary farming family.

To guide the huge herd up the narrow mountain trails

is a special challenge for Wang Heng.

NARRATOR: But how did this cave village come into being?

NARRATOR: The traditional lifestyle is carried on.

Wang Heng still has to collect fire wood on his way back.

So the huts remain warm even in winter time with temperatures

of 10 degrees below zero.

NARRATOR: The kids are spared from this kind of work.

But they have to attend their own cave school every day.

The teacher Wang Long has been teaching here for 4 years.

He lives in the cave himself.

(speaking Chinese)

NARRATOR: Xiau Feng is an especially keen student.

She has great plans for her future.

NARRATOR: When the school was built inside the cave

the builders saved money on the roof.

NARRATOR: In their spare time, the kids enjoy painting the cave.

But life in a cave can also be dangerous.

NARRATOR: The Damocles sword is constantly hanging over them.

But it's not just the stones that are dangerous.

The isolation also entails dangers.

NARRATOR: They make the best of it.

The cave boys love playing basketball.

And sometimes when it rains other inhabitants of other villages

come here to play "indoors".

The crazy thing about it, there has been no need for the cave dwellers

to live here for a long time!

The government has especially built proper houses for the poorer people

in the area. But nonetheless Wang Heng does not want to move.

NARRATOR: Dilapidated building structures.

And that's not all, there is no water.

Being left high and dry? Unimaginable for Wang Heng.

NARRATOR: And so the inhabitants continue living the lifestyle

of their ancestors in the 6th generation by now.

The cave dwellers intend to attract more tourists in the future.

This is a limestone mine in the middle of the desert.

The men that work here are working on a tough but also important job.

Under extreme conditions, the workers mine lime stone,

which is then processed into tiles, medicine and building material

in other countries.

(speaking Arabic)

NARRATOR: We have an appointment with Kyrillus.

He is foreman of one of the 1500 mines in the region.

Together with his parents, his wife, his two children,

his three brothers and their families he lives in a small house.

He has a particular reason for taking on this tough work every day.

(speaking Arabic)

NARRATOR: Kyrillus wants to be able to send his kids to school.

Something that's not a matter of course in Egypt.

Kyrillus invites us to spend a day in the mine

with him and his colleagues.

We show up at the agreed meeting point at 4.30 AM.

But in this complete chaos, we can't spot Kyrillus anywhere.

We are loaded on board of a pick-up, together with 20 workmen.

And there we find Kyrillus.

The workmen show a timid reaction towards the camera at first.

Kyrillus is the only one who speaks to us and shares an important

piece of advice.

NARRATOR: After half an hour of a bumpy ride through the desert,

we see the first lights.

Is that the limestone mine already?

Kyrillus tells his men to hurry up.

Temperatures are supposed to reach 40 degrees today

and the day's work needs to be done at all costs.

NARRATOR: We can't yet see a great deal of the mine in the darkness.

Dispersed white dust makes it difficult for us to breathe.

The deafening noise roars in our ears.

But as the sun comes up, we see it -

a 10,000 sqm large limestone mine.

We are not allowed to enter by ourselves - too dangerous.

NARRATOR: Carefully, Kyrillus leads us down a steep stairway.

The further down we go, the more we are blinded by the snow-white rocks.

Without sunglasses we wouldn't be able to see anything at all.

A surreal setting like in a science-fiction movie

looms before us.

These strangely clothed men mine simple limestone here.

But the dangers lurking behind the mining are immense.

Kyrillus leads us directly to a danger zone.

(speaking Arabic)

NARRATOR: Special caution is advised.

We are under no circumstances allowed to touch anything.

Kyrillus shows us how to protect ourselves from the sun,

with a scarf.

The scarf has a great advantage,

it protects us from the extreme heat.

Temperatures of more than 45 degrees are not uncommon in the mine.

We begin to realise what Kyrillus warned us about.

Open power cables everywhere.

A merciless heat and biting dust,

which hurts in the lungs with every breath you take.

If the mining is so dangerous,

why do the workers expose themselves to these hazards?

There are two reasons for it,

first of all limestone has a long tradition in Egypt.

The white blocks have been used as building material for graves

and pyramids ever since the first dynasty.

And secondly the work in the mines in one of the best paid jobs

in the region.

But the mining is not just dangerous,

it also demands utmost precision,

in spite of the machines, which are hard to navigate.

Because every single rock must be of exactly the same size,

otherwise the limestone blocks are useless for building

and can't be sold.

NARRATOR: Thanks to the geological conditions in Egypt

there is an almost inexhaustible reservoir of limestone.

The greater part of the limestone originates from the flat sea

and was lifted above sea level by tectonic processes.

The first thing we notice,

in spite of the sharp blades and the power cables

almost all workmen walk around in flip-flops.

Protective clothing looks different.

NARRATOR: The extremely fine dust and the dry heat makes working

much more difficult.

But the machines and the sharp saw blades also pose a threat.

Our cameraman gets too close to the stone saw

and distracts the machine operator.

The machine tilts and leaps out of track.

The workers stop the cutting process and separate the machine

from the power supply.

Parts of the saw blade have come off.

Several of the sharp shafts are missing.

That's what the workers fear most.

The shafts can fly through the air like bullets.

NARRATOR: Luckily nothing happened.

Unfortunately, things have often gone wrong in the past.

Throwing the blades away is out of the question.

One saw blade costs 500 Egyptian pounds, about $30.

And the mine does not yield enough to be able to afford

better equipment.

NARRATOR: To keep costs down is top priority for the mine workers.

Kamel, the owner of the mine,

is hardly able to pay for costly equipment.

In order for the mine to be profitable, here, too, it's,

"Time is money!"

(speaking Arabic)

NARRATOR: Pressure is high every day.

There are many competitors, about 1500 mines in the area.

If you don't deliver, you're out.

That's one of the reasons why Kyrillus and his team

only take a break after four hours of hard work.

And they've truly earned it.

The men regain their strength eating bread and tomato soup.

The first thing we notice, no one eats and rests by himself -

because the team spirit is essential.

NARRATOR: After the break there are only four hours left to fulfil

the daily quota, then it gets too hot.

The guys have to step it up a notch.

The men work eight hours in the blazing sun for about $6 a day.

That's about two days of food for the entire family.

Sunday is the only day off.

The men are proud of their work in spite of all the hardships involved.

NARRATOR: Almost the entire region of Minya lives off the limestone.

Almost 45,000 men work as day laborers in the mines.

They have no health or social insurance.

If you don't work, you don't get paid.

Kyrillus is not just a foreman, he is also the owner's right-hand man.

He is in charge of selling the stones.

One of the customers tries to outwit Kyrillus.

But he smells a rat.

NARRATOR: The foreman takes it with a pinch of salt,

but prevails in the end. Business is business.

In the meantime the heat gets to us.

Temperatures above 40 degrees are too much.

As a precaution Kyrillus takes us into the shade.

We've just been here half a day and are already totally beat.

That alone shows us what a performance

these men are delivering.

After a short break, we look around some more and discover more

workmen at the side of the mine.

NARRATOR: The Egyptian workers try to turn every particle of dust

into money. They waste none of the "white gold".

They can't afford to.

(speaking Arabic)

NARRATOR: After 8 hours of arduous work the men have done it,

the quota has been met.

They have mined almost 50,000 stones today.

Exhausted, but happy that nobody got hurt during the dangerous work,

they enjoy a refreshment.

The truck takes us back to the village together with the miners.

A small group stays behind to guard the mine and the equipment.

Shortly after leaving the mine there's nothing left to be seen

of the snow-white landscape. Just a barren desert.

As is usual here, the workers get their pay in cash every day.

NARRATOR: And so Kyrillus and his men will be toiling

in the snow-white desert once again tomorrow.

There is a very special building among the many multi-story buildings

in this city with its two million inhabitants.

It's completely encircled by a motorway roundabout.

The four lane road leads all the way around the building.

So close you can even look inside through the windows.

- It's really funny because we can go all the way around.

I guess we have to find the way to get to it.

There it is.

NARRATOR: It's surprisingly easy to find the exit,

the house has its own.

Allegedly there are even people living inside. Hard to imagine...

- This is the closest part to the building, isn't it?

Because if you look above...

NARRATOR: What does it look like from up above?

We want to find out and let our camera fly up into the air.

Now the full dimensions are visible,

it is in fact an eight-storey building,

sandwiched by a four-lane road.

Just about four metres between the building and the highway

at the narrowest point.

We learn the highway is not that old.

It's the access road to an important tunnel of the city.

- You can see the building is not really occupied.

- The first floor used to be shops. - Now it's all closed down.

NARRATOR: The building seems deserted,

but we have made an appointment over the phone -

there must be a family living inside somewhere.

We look for an entrance.

There at a side entrance, a decorated door...

We meet 47-year-old Gho, he is a taxi driver.

We ask him how many people live in the house.

(speaking Chinese)

NARRATOR: There are 7 people on 70 sqm.

Gho wants to show us the main building first.

He, as opposed to us, hasn't seen the disastrous building

from up above yet.

Almost all other tenants have fled - in the upper floors directly next to

the highway the exhaust fumes and the noise are unbearable.

Gho would have left, too, but he has a controversy with the authorities.

They deny him the right to an adequate substitution

for his condominium.

Goh shows us the way up to the roof,

up there he says we'll see why everyone has left.

On the inside, the house looks like a ruin.

The reason, in the beginning the government had started building

measures to protect the tenants, but quickly abandoned them.

"Half-done building measures" are a common means by which

the Chinese government gets rid of unwanted tenants.

Because the building is to be demolished.

- New windows? Why did they do it?

- They're just fake windows. You can't even open them.

So they look like the house has windows.

It doesn't look broken from the highway. It looks good.

NARRATOR: Goh improvises a path up to the roof,

he has repeatedly tried to make the authorities realise what the highway

means for himself and the remaining tenants - to no avail.

Up on the roof, we realise it is unbelievably loud.

(loud traffic)

- I'm just saying, it's unbelievable!

NARRATOR: Goh's apartment is encircled

in a raging highway-tornado.

NARRATOR: The controversy with the authorities has been going on

for several months - no one gives way.

Goh does not want to accept the government's offer.

NARRATOR: It's not as bad downstairs says Goh.

That's why he doesn't want to give in and stays on for the moment.

The government wants to demolish the building and create green spaces.

But as long as Goh remains, they can't do that -

a deadlock situation.

Back downstairs, Goh shows us his apartment.

It's narrow - there are 7 people living on 70 sqm.

They try to cover up the sickening smell of the exhaust fumes

by using incense sticks.

And of course it's still loud,

but nothing like the noise on the roof.

Since nobody takes care of the building several pipes have started

to leak, but Goh improvises once more -

perseverance is his motto.

And the law forbids the government to evict the tenants.

But the continuous traffic noise gets to him...

NARRATOR: This is the view from the family's living room.

Goh also shows us the small bedroom.

The family sleeps as far away as possible from the window.

It's impossible to take a rest here after a long day of cab driving.

But it's still better than what the authorities offer as compensation.

- Is he angry because of what's going on?

NARRATOR: And so the yellow and white building will stay

in the middle of the highway a little while longer.

Until, well, until Goh and the authorities

have reached an agreement.

- Subtitles by Sky Access Services