All language subtitles for Bbc.indian.ocean.with.simon.reeve.S01E02.MVGroup.English-WWW.MY-SUBS.CO

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The Indian Ocean.

Home to the world's
most exotic islands.

And beautiful and rare wildlife.

I'm travelling through 16 countries
around the edge of this vast ocean,

that stretches 6,000 miles
from Africa to Australia.

'Steeped in history, the Indian
Ocean is vital to world trade.

'It's a journey of extremes.

'From stunning islands,

'across pirate-infested seas,

'to remote villages...'

Salama!

GUNFIRE

'..and war-torn lands.'

What was that?
MORE GUNFIRE

This is a journey about much more
than just what's under the waves.

It's about the lives
of the millions of people

who live around this,
one of our greatest oceans.

'On this leg of my journey
I am exploring the tropical islands

'of Madagascar, Mauritius
and the Seychelles.

'Remote and exotic, this is the
Indian Ocean of picture postcards.'

If you're going to try
and imagine paradise,

that's it.

'But it's a region battling
the threat from Somali pirates.'

It's the 21st century

and you're going after pirates
in the Indian Ocean. Yeah.

'I discover the truth
about Madagascar's unique wildlife.'

Such a cute scene.

'And in the beautiful Seychelles,
I get a taste of paradise.'

Bat? Yeah, bat.
Vampires and all of that!

I'm just about to land on an island

of the south-west coast
of Madagascar.

And I'm beginning another leg of
my journey around the Indian Ocean.

Madagascar is the biggest island
in the Indian Ocean,

more than twice the size of Britain.

I was heading for Andambatihy,

one of hundreds of tiny islands
that pepper Madagascar's coast.

So this is Gildas. Gildas is going
to be guiding me around Madagascar.

Say hello, Gildas. Hello!

Let's say hello to the locals
as well. Salama! Salama!

'The island is home to a fishing
community of just 20 families.'

Who's the boss in the village?

There is the boss.
This is the boss, OK. Salama.

And what's his name?
Foringa. Foringa.

LAUGHTER

My pronunciation always
gets a laugh. I'm Simon.

'The coastal people of western
Madagascar are known as the Vezos.

'They depend entirely on the
Indian Ocean for their survival.'

I'm just looking around us
as we come into the little village.

And you can see all of the tools
and stuff of fishing.

Obviously you've got the nets here.

Then you've got a pirogue,
a sort of canoe through there.

If you just look around here,
they're drying some of their catch.

Tiny little fish.

'But drying fish can be tricky
in the rainy season.'

A storm is just starting now,

so everybody is pitching in

to try and gather up
some of the fish to keep them dry.

Small hands and big hands.

I think this is going to be
quite a feature of this journey.

We're going to have to endure
quite a lot of stormy weather,

because we are in the path
of the monsoon.

This is part of life
in the Indian Ocean.

And at this point,
at this time of the year,

we're going to get
a lot of rain on us.

At least we have -
we're taking shelter in this hut.

But we have got some entertainment
from the locals here.

Hello, hello! Hello, hello!

Hello, hello. Hello, hello.

Welcome... Welcome.

To our... To our.
Island. Island.

We could just stay here and start
an English class, maybe. Yeah.

Because there's no school here.
So we'd be the first school here.

Can we ask the young lad here,

has he got any idea what job would
he like to do when he's grown up?

He said fishing.

It's not entirely surprising, is it?
It's not surprising.

Really, that would be
the only life they know?

Yeah. This is every day, every day.

Big smiles. Big smiles.

With no schools
and little healthcare,

life on these islands
is pretty basic.

There's no roof. There's no roof.
No roof. No roof.

Anyway, we've got to put one on.

'Monsoon clouds
were lurking on the horizon,

'so putting a roof on the hut
where we'd be staying

'seemed like a good idea.

'We used a sail
from one of their boats.'

Ah, hang on. Yay!

There's no mucking about here.

Bish, bash.

That's not too bad, you know.

'By the morning the sky had cleared.

'And with better weather,

'Foringa, the village chief,
took me out fishing.'

Is it just that I've got a very
large arse? Why are these so narrow?

You'd think they would make them
a nice comfortable large seat.

'The Vezos are nomadic,
migrating from island to island

'around this part of
the Indian Ocean,

'sometimes travelling hundreds
of miles to find the best fishing.'

Come on, son,
put your back into it!

'I was heading out with men
who were born to fish.

'It was going to be
a struggle to keep up.'

All right,
so let's go spear fishing.

'Holding their breath,
Foringa and the other fishermen

'can stay under for more
than five minutes at a time,

'and dive to depths below 20 metres.

'I couldn't manage half of that.'

And they've gone down again.

They have got lungs...
lungs the size of barrage balloons.

I can't stay down for anything
like as long as they can.

I'll have another go.

'As well as using simple spears,
the Vezo fishermen also use harpoons

'made from wood
and strong rubber bands.

'It was tough going.'

They've caught two small fish.
But they're really not very big.

They're not going to feed
the family, that's for sure.

'Finally, Foringa landed
the catch of the day.'

Exhausting. Exhausting?

But look. But look at this. Wow!

How did you do to catch this?
You're a very funny guy!

'Even with a disappointing catch,
Foringa wanted to share it with us.

'It soon became clear

'this community has been
struggling in recent years.'

Thank you very much.

This looks fantastic. How long have
you been fishing in these waters?

And how has the fishing
changed over that time?

TRANSLATION:
I started fishing when I was 18.

Then I got married and had a family,
so I had to feed them.

Back then there were lots of fish
and they were easy to catch.

But nowadays it's really hard.
You have to work hard every day.

Before, we'd only go out for two or
three hours to catch a lot of fish.

How many children do you have,

and do you imagine that they'll
become fishermen in years to come?

Er, I... I...

I've got...

SHE SPEAKS

..seven.

So you couldn't remember
how many children you've got!

Your wife had to tell you
how many children you've had.

It's because I have too much
to think about.

I couldn't remember.

OK.

That's completely fair, and we know
you've got a lot to think about,

and you're working
very, very hard for your family.

'Seven children is not a big family
in this part of the world.

'In recent years, there's been a
population explosion among the Vezo

'that has led to
too many fishermen, overfishing,

'and a decline in fish stocks.

'I said goodbye to Foringa,

'and headed to
the mainland of Madagascar,

'where most of the Vezo live.

'My guide Gildas works for a British
conservation group, Blue Ventures.

'They've set up a marine park

'to try and protect the fish stocks
in the area

'and the precious coral reef
they inhabit.

'On the mainland,

'the evidence of
a booming population

'became even more obvious.'

Salama!

Salama!

There's a lot of them!

They're pushing me and Gildas
out of the way to get to the camera.

We can't be having that, really!

Two presenters are enough. Yeah!

'Blue Ventures have realised

'they can't hope
to protect the environment

'without doing something
to address the population boom.'

About 53% of the population
is under 15 years old. Really?

Really.

So most of them are here? Yeah.

At the moment, we try to address
the population problem

by implementing
the family planning project.

So you started out, then,
as conservationists,

looking to protect marine areas,
but then through that,

you've realised that that you've got
to work with the people to... Yes.

..protect them, but also introduce
family planning. That's fascinating.

Yeah, yeah.

'It's a radical move
for a conservation charity.

'Blue Ventures have helped introduce
a family planning programme

'covering thousands of villages
in the area,

'handing out condoms
and other forms of contraception.

'Madagascar has one of the fastest
growing populations in the world,

'high rates of illiteracy
among women,

'and lack of access
to contraception are a key cause.

'Conservationists are often afraid
to discuss the impact

'of human population growth
on the environment.

'After all, rich foreigners
telling poor villagers

'to have fewer children
is controversial.

'But the staggering growth of
the human population on our planet

'is a catastrophe
for the natural world.

'And here at least, Blue Ventures
is bravely doing something about it.

'It was time for me
to head along the coast

'and explore more of this island.'

We're not sure what the road
conditions are going to be like

because it's been raining,
it's the rainy season,

it's going to rain again,

and there's some rivers that we may
or may not be able to get across.

The road's rubbish.

Don't know how long
it's going to take,

but hopefully,
we're going to get there.

Shall we go? Yeah.

ENGINE SILENT

'It wasn't a promising start.'

You've got power, though?

Battery. OK.

Push? Push.

Oh, my god, this is a tank!

ENGINE STARTS

Oh, brilliant.

Not too bad. No.
I'm sure we'll have worse.

'Southern Madagascar is stunning.

'The Indian Ocean coastline
is almost completely undeveloped.

'The island separated from the rest
of Africa millions of years ago,

'and its parallel evolution means
that many plants and trees here

'are found nowhere else.

'Travelling inland,
we hit our first major obstacle.'

It's not looking good, is it? Yeah.
I think they took the wrong way.

What the hell were they doing there?

As you can see, there's a
four-wheel-drive stuck in the river,

and there's lots of villagers
offering to help to get them out.

For a fee. We don't want
to be in the same situation.

It's all right now.

Well, that looks like
what we should do, surely.

We should go across the river
just there.

Yeah, but you have to enter this land
to be able to do that,

you have to pay this guy.

I think we might have to pay
the guy. We have to pay him.

So how much?

He say 2,000. 2,000.

Is that for both cars? Yeah, yeah.

So that is about 70 pence. Yeah.

For both cars
going through his field? Yeah.

Well, that seems a very fair sum
for us to pay in the circumstances.

Let's give slightly more
as a little tip for his generosity.

OK. OK?

Thank you very much.

Is he happy with that? I think
he's very, very happy. Very happy?

There's a sort of wry smile
playing across the lips.

'There's always been flooding here
in the rainy season.

'But the problem's getting worse.

'Trees help to soak up floodwaters,
but there aren't many left.

'Movies and wildlife documentaries
always paint an image of Madagascar

'as a forested paradise
teeming with wildlife.

'The reality
is completely different.

'I met up with Charlie Gardner from
the conservation organisation WWF.'

Where are the trees?
Well, they've been cleared.

This is land that's been deforested,
used for cultivation,

then been abandoned
because it's lost its fertility.

But it would have been
a very diverse native forest,

filled with as many as a couple
of hundred different species of tree.

A couple of hundred? Yes.

Just in this area? Just in
a relatively small area, absolutely.

In Britain, we have 30-odd
species of native tree.

In Madagascar, we have
approaching 1,000. That's incredible.

'A staggering 90%
of the forest in Madagascar

'has already been chopped,
logged or burned.

'The trees have been cut for fuel
or to clear land for crops.

'But without trees to bind land
together and store rainwater,

'humans can pay a huge price.

'Charlie took me to see what happens

'when vast areas of forest
are destroyed.

'The Onilahy River
is one of the biggest in Madagascar.

'As we drove along, I could see
it had just burst its banks,

'flooding farmers' fields.'

So we're just going in search of a
farmer who's got fields in this area

that we think might be down where
the river has broken its banks.

Salama! Salama.

THEY SPEAK IN DIALECT

It turned out this farmer had lost
all his crops to flooding.

Is this problem getting worse?

TRANSLATION:
Yes, it's getting worse and worse.

Once the Onilahy floods,
it destroys everything,

the manioc, the cassava, the rice.

There's no food.

You just have to try
and fill your stomach with air,

and close your mouth,
because there's nothing to eat.

I can just see people
walking across the flooded area now.

You can see how deep it is.

Look, they're up to their necks.
They're having to swim, almost.

I'm just going to go back and try
and see if we can meet the villagers

who have just swum across
these flooded fields.

They're just coming out
of the water now.

Salama, salama, salama.

Can we ask the guys,
where have you come from?

You're actually coming here,

you're swimming here to look for
somewhere to stay, then, presumably?

This is really just another
consequence of the deforestation,

I think, isn't it?

Yes. This is part of the problem.

Flooding is very linked
to deforestation.

Most of Madagascar
used to be forested.

So when it was forested,
and when it rained,

the vegetation in the roots helped
the water infiltrate into the soil,

so the forest acts
like a sponge, really,

and then the water drains really
slowly into the rivers over time.

Whereas once you clear those forest,
when the rain falls...

As has happened?

Yes, as has happened,

then when the rain falls,
it comes off these slopes in sheets.

There's nothing to retain it,

and when it's coming down
in sheets like that,

it's bringing soil with it.

'The loss of the fertile topsoil has
devastating long-term consequences

'for the environment, and for
millions of subsistence farmers.

'Gildas and I travelled on,

'across Madagascar
to a place called Berenty,

'in the south-east corner
of the island.'

Of course, it's not just the trees
that are being destroyed.

I think we need to go
and find out a little bit more

about the wildlife that's being lost
when the forests are chopped.

'There's a wildlife reserve
in this area

'that's featured in countless nature
documentaries in recent decades.

'The reserve was established in the
1930s by a French plantation owner.

'It's become synonymous with
Madagascar's most iconic animals.'

We've come to one of the most famous
wildlife reserves on the island,

and we're looking while
we're creeping through the bushes,

looking for Madagascar's lemurs.

WHISTLES

'But spotting lemurs here
is not so easy,

'and it was more than an hour
before we saw anything.'

(They're just on the trees
over here.

(Can you just see them up there?)

'Here in Berenty,
you can see sifaka lemurs,

'and the most famous,
ringtail lemurs.'

(Such a cute scene.)

'Lemurs are unique to Madagascar.

'Scientists believe
they're descendants of primates

'that travelled across the
Indian Ocean from the mainland

'millions of years ago, on logs
or rafts of matted vegetation.'

This place is beautiful, but,
and it's a huge but,

this reserve contains a large chunk

of the only remaining forests
of its kind in Madagascar,

and this place is actually tiny.

It's not much bigger
than some London parks,

and this on an island that's
the fourth largest on the planet!

The lemurs
have really got nothing left.

'After hours of searching
for lemurs in the forest,

'it was time to go back
to the visitors' lodge.

'We were greeted
by an amazing display.'

Are you all right? Are you lost?
No, hopefully not.

Chances are, if you've seen lemurs
filmed in Madagascar,

it was shot here, and it turns out,
we're reliably informed,

that almost all of the shots
are generally filmed

in an area around these buildings,
bungalows,

with the cameramen straining to keep
the buildings out of shot.

We're not going to do that,

because I think you should see
the reality here.

I think if you take the buildings
out of the shot,

this place generally
might give the impression

that there's a lot of wilderness
of wild paradise left in Madagascar,

and that is not the case.

'Completely surrounding
the nature reserve

'is an endless expanse
of agricultural land.'

So, look.

Ooh! This is what's outside!

Vast, vast plantations of sisal.

My goodness!

Far as the eye can see.

Thousands
and thousands of acres of it.

In some instances,

it's used for making environmentally
friendly packaging for Europe.

'The founders of Berenty
cleared huge areas of forest,

'and left just a token sanctuary
that now provides habitat

'for a small number of lemurs.'

It's ironic, really,

because the reserve is now seen by
conservationists as a huge success,

but if anyone had said back
when this place first started up,

I think in the 1930s, that what
the owners were going to do

was going to cut down thousands
and thousands of acres

of pristine forest,

and replace it with millions
and millions of sisal plants,

and leave one tiny little area
of forest for the lemurs,

I think the conservationists would
have been absolutely up in arms!

Well, that's what's happened.

'The environment here
has taken a hammering,

'but Madagascar's still poor,

'plagued by bad roads and
a chronic lack of infrastructure.

'I headed on, travelling just 50
miles in six bone-crunching hours.'

So that was the bus to Tana,
the capital of Madagascar,

from Fort Dauphin, a city in the
south that we're heading for now.

It's amazing, really,
to think this is the main road,

the main thoroughfare
in this part of the country.

Bloody awful!

'This is one of the poorest
countries in the Indian Ocean,

'with high unemployment
and more than two thirds

'of its people
living on less than £1 a day.

'Madagascar does have
valuable natural resources,

'but is there a way of providing
people with jobs and salary

'while protecting
what's left of the natural world?

'Just outside Fort Dauphin,

'there's a controversial project
that some think offers a solution.

'The road to it
was certainly an improvement.

'The road services a mine

'which is owned by the multinational
conglomerate Rio Tinto.

'The mine provides jobs
for several hundred local people,

'extracting hundreds of thousands
of tonnes per year

'of an obscure mineral
called ilmenite.'

This is a giant floating platform.

It's like a big vacuum cleaner,
ready.

It receives a lot of the dirt,

the sand, and it's sucked up
by a dredger over there,

and it processes it to take out
the black stuff in the sand here.

That's then turned into ilmenite,
which I was not familiar with,

but turns out it's the principle
whitening agent

used in everything from white paint
to toothpaste to white plastics

to white computer keyboards.

Basically, the stuff of life,
the stuff of everyday life.

And it comes from places like this.

'The mine was bitterly
opposed by conservationists,

'because creating it involved
clearing an area of rainforest.

'The company claimed the forest
would have been logged anyway,

'with few long-term benefits
for locals.

'International pressure did force
the mining giant to establish

'a conservation project
including a plant nursery.

'Rio Tinto have promised to replant
some of the forest

'after they've finished mining.

'So the mine could provide jobs

'while minimising damage
to Madagascar.

'Johnny is a botanist
working for the mining company.'

Johnny,
where are you taking us to now?

TRANSLATION: This is where
we prepare the seeds.

We're working in partnership
with Kew Gardens

and the Millennium Seed Bank
in England.

You can see here a sample
of the biodiversity from 600 species

growing in the forest.

This is a treasure
for future generations

and for mankind.

Madagascar is such a desperately,
desperately poor country.

Maybe, just maybe this could be
part of the solution.

Concentrated development in a small
area employing lots of people

and respecting the environment.

It might just work, so long as
they do actually replant the forest.

'It was time for me to leave
Madagascar

'for another island treasure
of the Indian Ocean.'

So, here we go.

From one of the poorest countries
in the Indian Ocean

to one of the richest.

'I headed east to Mauritius.

'Although Mauritius is 250 times
smaller than Madagascar,

'it's more than 15 times richer.

'It's also one of the world's
premier tourist destinations,

'with fabulous beaches.

'The luxury on offer here seemed
a million miles from the poverty

'I encountered in Madagascar.

'Local oceanographer Vassen
was going to show me around.'

Vassen? Hello, Vassen.
Simon Reeve, BBC. Hello.

Thank you very much for coming
to meet us here. Pleasure, pleasure.

You're looking as though you're
about to go in the water. Yeah.

You're going to do the same thing,
so I hope you have your bathing suit.

I've got some swimming trunks.
Swimming shorts, I should say. OK.

You should be OK. All right.

Vassen, this is a nice boat.
Thank you.

'As part of his work,
as a conservationist,

'Vassen studies the coral reefs
around Mauritius.

'He took me to see a reef
on the south-west of the island.'

Now, this is more like it.
This is the Indian Ocean.

'Coral reefs
are among the most fragile

'and precious environments on Earth.

'Vassen took me down to see
beautiful coral,

'and rare and exotic fish.

'There was a red lionfish
with its poisonous spines.

'And butterfly fish,

'which lived with the same mate
until the end of their lives.'

This is one of
the most extraordinary

and beautiful environments
I can ever remember being in.

Such a special place.

'You'd expect to see
beautiful beaches

'and coral reefs in Mauritius,

'but what I didn't know was that
the capital, Port Louis,

'was an industrial hub.

'It's home to one of the biggest
container ports in the Indian Ocean,

'and a multi-million pound
tuna fishing industry.

'There's two huge
canning factories here,

'and Mauritius is the biggest
exporter of tinned tuna to the UK.

'To learn more about
that side of life in Mauritius,

'we've been given permission
to film in the port.'

And this is the head of the Mauritius
ports authority. Passport here.

And you need the letter?
Yeah, the letter, please.

'The port had already granted us
access,

'so getting our entry pass
should have been just a formality.'

Oh!

Well, very interesting.

So, basically,
we've being refused the chance,

we've been refused permission
to film any fishing inside the port.

They've banned us, effectively.
Very strange situation.

They say that you would be allowed
to film ALL commercial activities

happening in the port area,
and now, suddenly,

the situation has changed

and you are not allowed to film
any fishing activities,

so I do suspect
that some private operators

may have made some pressure on the
authorities to reverse the decision.

'The international fishing fleets
had stopped us from filming,

'but then we spotted
a huge European fishing trawler,

'offloading a massive catch
of frozen tuna.

'In recent decades,

'commercial fishing fleets have
plundered the Pacific and Atlantic.

'Many species are facing extinction.

'Now, with fish stocks
wiped out elsewhere,

'the fishing fleets
are turning their attention

to the Indian Ocean.'

So this fish is being discharged,
it's being stowed in cold rooms

and then it goes to the processing
factory, the canning factories,

and that's the fish you are eating
in the UK in your cans.

Why are they being so secretive
about this?

They care about their customers
because this is their business.

One-third of all the fish
swimming in the oceans

have disappeared
because of over-fishing.

50% of the stocks are fished
up to their limits

and they're starting to collapse.

Maybe in 10, 15 years, we won't see
any fish any more in the oceans,

and that's a worry of many people.

Now the consumers
start to be aware of this.

So they're worried
that people will start to realise

we're fishing our oceans to death?

Exactly.
I think it is a clear conclusion.

We are fishing our oceans to death.

It's a frightening thought
but not far-fetched.

According to a UN report,

there could be no wild fish
left by 2050.

It's not just the fishing fleets
that are expanding

their reach into the Indian Ocean.

For centuries, the great powers have
competed for control of Mauritius,

which has a key strategic location.

Now the new superpowers

have their eye
on this little chunk of paradise.

Vassen took me to a new
Chinese development called Jinfei,

a free trade zone
for Chinese businesses.

So this is all part
of the Chinese zone?

I think it's the main road
in the middle of a Chinese zone.

The size of it!

This is incredible.

One of the first businesses
to arrive in Jinfei

is a Chinese restaurant.

While the site
is under construction,

meals are served in tents
called yurts.

The owner has huge plans
for this site.

So you're going to build the hotel,
the recreation centre...

Casino, karaoke, massage.

Wow. This is just the beginning
of your vast project here.

You are a very rich lady?

SHE SPEAKS IN HER OWN LANGUAGE

She says, "Little, little."

You're going to need
more than a little

to build all this, aren't you?

Thank you, Mrs Rich Lady.
You're welcome.

So this is just one huge plot
of land? Yeah.

It's a small China in Mauritius

where they're going to have around
40,000 people, 40,000 Chinese,

and they're going to live here,
sleep here, work here...

and maybe give birth here.

BOTH LAUGH

So it's going to be like
a Chinese colony?

Yeah, like a Chinese colony
in Mauritius.

'Jinfei is
a huge commercial enterprise,

'but it represents just
one small part of Chinese plans

'for expansion in many countries
around the Indian Ocean.'

We're in a sort of Mongolian yurt,
part of a Chinese restaurant,

in Mauritius
in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Yeah, you're not in Mauritius
any more.

This is quite an unusual place. Mmm.

Are you going to try one of these?

I'm sort of tempted.
But I do like the hats. Yeah.

Don't look, don't look. Aw!

I'm not trying to suggest in any way

that you're not
an entirely serious guy.

HE LAUGHS

OK. You don't look very serious,
Simon.

No, well, I'm not a very
serious person, quite frankly.

But the Chinese
are not the only ones

rying to stretch
their influence in the region.

Indians have travelled across
the Indian Ocean

for hundreds, if not thousands,
of years.

Two-thirds of the population
of Mauritius are of Indian descent,

and Hinduism
is the biggest faith here.

The Indian government and military
are piqued at the Chinese incursion

into what they see
as their backyard.

An Indian construction company is
now building a rival commercial city

at the cost of 1 billion,
which will compete with the Chinese.

It's not just the influence
of India and China

that's felt here in Mauritius.

America is still
the dominant military superpower

in the Indian Ocean

and America has an island airbase
to the north east of here

called Diego Garcia that's like
an unsinkable aircraft carrier.

Diego Garcia is the most important
American military installation

outside the US.

It sits on the Chagos Islands which
are a British overseas territory

leased by the British government
to the Americans in the 1960s.

'When Britain
gave away their island,

'the local Chagossians
were forcibly evicted.

'Families were uprooted
from their homes,

'their pet dogs
were rounded up and killed.

'Many of the Chagossian people
ended up here,

'living in the slums of Mauritius.

'Rita was living in the Chagos
when Britain forced out the locals.

'She is now 85.'

Bonzour. Bonzour.

Bonzour. Bonzour.

How did you come to leave
the island?

What brought you here to Mauritius?

TRANSLATION:
When the island was sold in 1965,

I was still living there.

We didn't know the islands had been
sold, we were like children.

We didn't know anything.

At that time,
I had a 17-month-old daughter

who had just started to walk.

I was told I had to go to Mauritius
to get her treated.

But after we got here,
the child died.

I told the authorities
I had to go back to my country

because I couldn't bear
the miserable life here.

I was told I couldn't
go back to my native country

because the island had been sold.

'Rita's friends and family
have been preparing

'a traditional Chagossians meal
for us.'

I'm just pulling some glasses off
a metal tray here

that Rita's got of London.

And she's got pictures up around
the house of the Royal Family.

One of the things
that particularly upsets me

about this situation
is that the Chagossian people

generally still feel
very fond of Britain,

and yet Britain has treated her

and the Chagossian people
appallingly.

'The Chagossians
are still campaigning

'for the right to return
to their homeland.'

Rita, do you really want
to go back to Diego Garcia

and the Chagos, even now?

TRANSLATION:
They have got to decide.

Either they give us
back our island

or they give us compensation
for the rest of our lives.

Those are the two things
we're asking for.

The British government say
they regret the forced resettlement

of the Chagossians, but they did
offer some compensation at the time.

We wish you the very best of luck
in your campaign.

We can only hope you'll be able
to return to your island home.

Aw.

Thank you, Rita.
Can I have a kiss goodbye?

'But the American military

'seem unlikely to give up
their crucial base,

'especially now that China
and other rival powers

'are increasing their presence
in the Indian Ocean.'

Well, that's the end
of the Mauritius bit of our journey.

It wasn't
what I was expecting at all.

But now we leave Mauritius

and we head to the final country
on this bit of the trip,

which is the Seychelles.

To the north of Mauritius,

the Seychelles is an archipelago
of 115 islands

scattered over a vast area
of the Indian Ocean.

I was flying to the capital,
Victoria.

'At the airport,
I was met by my guide,

'a local newspaper journalist
called Rita.'

Rita? Yeah. Hello, Rita. Hiya.
Nice to meet you. Simon. Hello.

'Even more the Mauritius,

'the Seychelles has a reputation
as paradise.

'First off was a quick trip
to see what all the fuss is about.'

So this is what the Seychelles
can offer you as a beach.

As a beach, just a beach.
Just a beach. Come on, straight in.

BOTH LAUGH

Ah! Rita, it's absolutely gorgeous,
what's wrong with you?

It's cold, it's cold, it's cold!
It's not cold. It is too.

I tell you what...

it is absolutely beautiful.

This is, I think, the clearest sea,

or the clearest seawater,
I have ever been in in my life.

The beaches may be five-star
but what about the local grub?

It's lunchtime on Sunday,
beautiful beach,

Rita has brought us to
a lovely beachside cafe for lunch.

But what is under the plate, Rita?

Shall we have a look?
Yeah, why don't we?

What is it?
Oh, doesn't look too bad.

Fruit bat curry. Bat?

Yeah, bat. Related to the vampires
and all of that.

It's only got little...
what is that? A leg or a wing?

I prefer not to know. What do you
mean you'd prefer not to know?

How often do you eat this?
Do you want to know something funny?

This is my first time having bat.

Your words just before were,
"This is a delicacy here." I know.

You've never eaten fruit bat? No.

It's quite bland, really.
I'm getting curry. Yeah.

And that's about it.

It's not as bad
as we thought it'd be, is it?

I didn't think it would be too bad

but I think you've been putting off
this moment for your entire life.

I feel quite privileged
to be here with you

as you finally have some fruit bat.

I'm working my way
through the bat curry here.

I tell you, chicken any day.

I mean, this is enough
to turn somebody into a veggie.

It's hard to get a real sense
of what's so extraordinary

about the Seychelles from sea level.

There are literally hundreds
of secluded beaches,

and with just 85,000 inhabitants,

the Seychelles has the smallest
population of any country in Africa.

This is amazing.
Just look at this place!

If you're going to try and imagine
paradise, there you go. That's it.

Just look at the colour
of the water down here.

That is proper tropical seas.

Environmental legislation
is very strict here

and the Seychelles is a world leader
in eco-friendly tourism.

Nearly half of its total landmass
is under conservation.

I tell you what's
particularly nice to see

after we were in Madagascar

where they've chopped down
all their trees,

it's so nice
to see just forested land.

The Seychelles
isn't some rocky desert island.

Look at this,
look how verdant this is.

You might not be surprised to learn

that tourism is now the single
biggest industry in the Seychelles,

employing nearly
a third of its people.

What the Seychelles
is perhaps best known for

is its luxury high-end resorts.

Just look at this place up here.

This is the sort of thing
you see in a Bond film.

This is how the other half live, eh?

'Many of the islands in
the Seychelles are privately owned

'but they are not
all inhabited by

'billionaire business types
or pop stars.'

Look at this!

This is like something from a dream.

Nobody lives here.
This isn't real, surely?

Come on, Rita.
DOG BARKS

I'm Simon. Simon Reeves.

You're Simon. And you are?
This is Craig. Craig.

And who is the smashing lady?
And this young lady is Rita. Rita.

Nobody neater. Aw!
SIMON LAUGHS

'Yorkshireman Brendon Grimshaw
bought Moyenne Island in 1962

'for the princely sum of £8,000.

'He lives alone on the island,
though it's open to visitors.'

So this is your home?
Yeah, this is where I live.

Whoa! What do you see?

That I was not expecting. What?

There's a giant tortoise
on the steps to your house.

They come in sometimes.
They're welcome. They?

Would you like to join one
for lunch? It can be arranged. They?

How many have you got? 120.

120? And they're totally free.

They go where they like.

'Giant tortoises are indigenous
to the Seychelles

'but have been killed off
on most islands.

'Over the years, Brendon has been
gradually reintroducing them

'to his corner of the Indian Ocean.'

These are one year old. Oh, my
goodness. Careful he doesn't drop.

Oh, he won't drop.
Plus, it has got a hard shell, Simon.

It's a hard shell,
it's not a crash helmet.

What I can't find is my little one.

Brendon, you've got another tortoise
that's so small it disappears? Yeah.

Where? In here? Where?

THEY LAUGH

You've got another tortoise
that's so small it's vanished? Yes.

Is it in there somewhere?

I think it's...

How the hell did it get in there?
You found it! Yes.

What you doing in there,
you silly thing? Huh?

You are one of my favourites.

How old would this one be?

He's about two weeks.
He was born in my bedroom.

'Giant tortoises are among the
world's longest living creatures.

'They have been known to survive
for more than 180 years.'

I love this.

"Please respect the tortoises.
They are probably older than you."

Yes, they are. But there
is no tortoise older than me.

Really? Mmm-hmm. How old...?

So they have to behave themselves
when they see me around.

Brendon, do you mind if I ask,
how old are you?

I'm getting on for... 86.

86.

Do you think that
because you've had such a passion

and you've been working for
so long protecting, looking after,

creating the island
in the first place...?

I think it's knocked
decades off you.

It certainly helped me
to keep alive, yes.

It's given me something to do

and also something
that I know is worthwhile.

Brendon's island, Moyenne,

was recently declared a national
park by the Seychelles government.

It's thought to be the smallest
national park in the world.

There were only four trees
in this area. Four!

I brought in,
altogether, 16,000 trees.

SIMON GASPS

We were not doing it to make a
national park or anything like this.

No, no, no. We were doing it
to make the place habitable for me.

Look at this!
Yeah. It's rather beautiful, eh?

You've created paradise here,
Brendon.

People say that.
I wouldn't go as far as that.

What would you call it? Hard work.
SIMON LAUGHS

Brendon,
would you ever sell the island?

The only reason somebody
would want to buy this island

is to build a big hotel.

And have you never been tempted?

You must have been
offered millions, surely?

I have been offered millions, yes.
And you've said no every time?

And I've said no.

What's been achieved here

has happened with a huge amount
of hard work

and an extraordinary amount
of planting

while the rest of us have been busy
tarmacking over our front gardens

to turn them into car parks.

He might be
an accidental conservationist,

but by his actions, Brendon has
created a little patch of heaven.

All the best.
Thank you very much indeed. Bye.

Bye-bye!

In the 18th-century,

these isolated tropical islands
were a haven for pirates.

And in the 21st-century, the problem
has returned with a vengeance.

Modern-day pirates operating
from their bases in war-torn Somalia

have launched hundreds of attacks
on ships and boats

across the western Indian Ocean

and around the waters
of the Seychelles.

'We met up with
Colonel Michael Rosette,

'the head
of the Seychelles Coast Guard.'

Those are some of the skiff

which we have taken over when
we apprehended Somali pirates.

So these are the pirates' boats?
Yeah, those are the pirates' boats.

Normally, they are equipped with a
40 or 60 horsepower outboard engine.

They have enough speed
to overtake any bigger boats.

The thing that really strikes me
is the idea that the Seychelles,

which I would consider
paradise islands,

have been more affected by piracy

than any other country
after Somalia.

There are other southern countries
which are suffering

but not as much as the Seychelles.

We are in the centre,
or the eye of the storm, as we say.

So most of the activities have been
revolving around the Seychelles.

Some of the areas where fishermen
used to go fishing,

now it's not safe for them
to go fishing

because we have seen cases where
local fishermen have been hijacked

and taken hostage by pirates.

The pirates arrested by
the Coast Guard in these boats

were standing trial in the main
court in the capital, Victoria.

Seychelles is actually
one of the few countries

to have captured pirates
and to put them on trial.

The Seychelles government estimate
that as a result of piracy,

revenue from fisheries is down 30%.

Tourism has also been hit.

At the same time, they're having
to spend an extra £2 million a year

to combat the pirates.

These 11 men are accused of
attacking a Seychelles fishing boat

and seizing seven fishermen.

How do you feel when
you see them up close like that?

It's mixed, actually.

You feel pity because you might have
an idea what he's trying to escape

but at the same time you feel angry

cos they are taking part
in criminal acts

and we have to foot the bill

and it's not our fault they have
problems in their own country.

We have nothing to do with that. But
somehow we are paying for it as well.

We later heard the pirates
each got ten years in prison.

The Seychelles main prison
can accommodate 450,

but as attacks continue,

a new high-security wing
is under construction

to house dozens more pirates.

'Somali gunmen are striking across
a huge area of the Indian Ocean

'and the Seychelles
is at the centre

'of international
counter-piracy operations.'

A NATO warship has arrived here
in the Seychelles

on anti-piracy operations

and they are going
to let us on board.

My goodness. Thank you very much.

It's huge.

'The De Ruyter is a Dutch frigate,

'part of NATO's operation
Ocean Shield.

'The task force commander
is Commodore Michael Hijmans.'

How many pirate attacks are you
recording in your area per week,

per month, per year at the moment?

At this moment,
we have dozens of attacks already.

Almost every day,
there are three to four attacks.

Three to four attacks every day?
What are the pirates going after?

What sort of ships
are they trying to attack?

At this moment, the pirates
are after almost every ship

they can lay their hands on.

They attack small dhows,
small fishing vessels,

which they also use as mother ships

and they use the crew
to be held hostage.

And that's one of
the main problems we face -

on all these mother ships,
there are hostages,

so it's very difficult
to attack them

without harming
these innocent seafarers.

We have had reports of severe
torture, of fake executions,

of strangulation, of beatings

and a lot of other bad things
are happening to the crews.

The De Ruyter is one of just
a handful of Western warships

that are patrolling
an area of Indian ocean

twice the size of mainland Europe.

With pirates capturing
ever bigger vessels

and keeping hostages on board,

NATO is deploying
more sophisticated warships,

equipped with helicopters
and Marines.

I was allowed to join them
on an exercise.

It was a joint operation
with the Seychelles Coast Guard

to practise rapid boarding
of larger pirated vessels.

It's extraordinary
that this is happening now.

It's the 21st century

and you're going after pirates
in the Indian Ocean.

Did you ever think this would happen
when you joined up? No.

OK, so the plan is, we're going
to approach the target vessel

and the Marines are going
to rappel down using this rope

and take control of it.

I imagine it's all
going to happen extremely quickly.

That's the whole idea.

The Marines rehearsed
rapid rappelling onto the ship.

They moved quickly,
because in a real assault,

their lives and the lives
of hostages would be at stake.

While the Marines secured the target
ship, I headed back to the frigate.

They're taking the Marines off
the target vessel now.

Soon they'll be back on board here

and then this ship will be off
patrolling the shipping lanes

to keep them free from pirates.

This is the end of this part of
my journey around the Indian Ocean.

On the next leg, I'll be heading
back to the African mainland

and travelling through
the pirate-infested Horn of Africa,

one of the most dangerous regions
of the world.

'Next time, I visit
the most important river delta on

'Africa's Indian Ocean coast...'

SIMON GASPS

You have succeeded. Yay!

'..and I go to the front line
in the world's most dangerous city.'

How does he know it's out of bounds?
GUNFIRE

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