All language subtitles for Bbc.indian.ocean.with.simon.reeve.S01E03.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...

THEY GREET EACH OTHER

..and war-torn land.

What was that?

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 travel from Kenya to Somalia,

and through the Horn of Africa.

In one of Africa's most spectacular
river deltas, I meet the villagers

defending their homes
and their way of life.

You have succeeded.

CHEERING

I travel north from Kenya's
wild and beautiful coast

on the most dangerous leg of
my entire Indian Ocean journey,

to war-torn Somalia

and the front line of a battle
against piracy and terrorism.

How does he know it's al-Shabaab?

That side, that side's al-Shabaab.

My last stop is in Somaliland,

a country which
doesn't officially exist,

where I join youngsters on
a very special trip to the seaside.

The Indian Ocean!

Indian Ocean.

I have reached Kenya on my journey
around the Indian Ocean,

I'm heading towards Somalia
and the Horn of Africa.

It's going to be a tough trip,
but Kenya's Indian Ocean coast

is spectacular.

Whoa!

Quick, quick, quick,
look, look, look, look!

Dolphins!

They're all around us,
there's dozens of them.

Whoa!

It's just an incredible sight.

From the spectacular
Kisite Marine Park,

I was travelling
the length of Kenya's coast

with my guide Michael Kaloki.

Michael.

Michael Kaloki.

The national parks and beaches
down here in the south

are a huge draw for tourists.

More than a million people
visit Kenya each year

for a mix of sea, sand and safari.

We're on the road,
we're heading up the coast,

and our first stop is
the port city of Mombasa.

Kenya's second city has been

an important Indian Ocean trading
centre for more than 1,000 years.

It's now home to a million people.

Mombasa is actually on an island,

so we just need to take a little
ferry to get across to it.

Here we go, we're going on board.

On the ferry to Mombasa!

So, look, they let the cars on first,
and then come the foot passengers.

The ferry is the main way into
the city from the south coast,

for people, vehicles,
goods, everything.

So this is the port of Mombasa
just here.

It's one of the biggest ports
along the East African coast,

if not the biggest.

Mombasa's port is a vital trade hub
for this entire region,

handling almost 20 million tonnes
of cargo a year.

Hundreds of years ago, merchants
traded ivory, grain, spices and gold

from here across the Indian Ocean
to India, and even as far as China.

And it's not only
mega-container ships

that are now bringing
the world's goods

to Mombasa. Through the back alleys
of the old town, Michael took me

to see the more traditional side
of modern Indian Ocean trade.

So, Simon, this is the old port.
Yes.

Of Mombasa.

'Aging wooden dhows,

'like those that have plied
the Indian Ocean for centuries,

'still offload their cargo here.'

Oh, there are some people in there.

Hey, hello! Hello.

Where have you come from?

INDISTINCT SHOUTING

From Pakistan?

I think they might be coming
to get us, Michael.

'They'd sailed across
the Indian Ocean from the north,

'where I was heading.

'I was keen to hear
what lay ahead for me.'

Is it OK to come aboard?

Salamu alaykum!

So this is the captain.

He's got a very fine outfit on.

You are the captain,
and where have you come from?

You came from Pakistan? No.

Pakistan, Mogadishu,
Kismayo, then Mombasa.

Pakistan, to Mogadishu in Somalia,
Kismayo in Somalia, then Mombasa.

Captain Hafeez Baloch
and the crew of the Al Faisal 2

had sailed through dangerous waters,

arriving the day before
with 800 tonnes of cargo

including rice, sugar
and cooking oil.

Oh, little hatch
to post myself through.

This is a beautiful ship!

Now, this, captain,
this is a great sight.

A proper wheel. Too many ships now,

they just have
a little computer here,

some little joystick
to drive the ship.

This one. Oh, you've got one!

This one, no need anybody.
Autopilot.

You say, "I want to go
from Karachi to Mogadishu,"

and vroom, you're off?

I am sleeping!

'On my journey, I was planning
to visit Mogadishu,

'the war-torn Somali capital,
possibly travelling by boat.

'The captain had other ideas.'

Do you think it would be safe
for us to travel from Mombasa

in a ship to Mogadishu?

No. Not safe?

Sometimes pirates come
inside the boat.

Really? Yeah.

They take our food
and the telephone.

Satellite phone. Television.
Sometimes take clothes.

Take your clothes off you.
Incredible.

Incredible.

And they are holding a gun at you,
presumably? Yeah.

And this has happened to you?

Yeah, RPGs.

Really? So that's a sort of
rocket-propelled grenade?

Yeah, RPG. Really big.

My goodness.

Mogadishu is more difficult.
Mogadishu very, very difficult.

Now, I mean, Mogadishu blast.

I come from Mogadishu,
there are too much problem now.

Blast, you mean conflict, war?

Yeah. Fighting?

Suicide bomber. Suicide bombers.
Right. In the port, yeah.

I'm ready to my mind,
when I go in Somalia,

maybe I not come back in my home.

What does your wife say
when you leave to go towards Somalia?

She prays every day for me.

For you to return safely?

The waters off Somalia
are the most dangerous in the world

for shipping and sailors.

I'd need to find another way
to get to Mogadishu.

In the meantime, I left Mombasa
and headed north up the coast,

towards the region of Kenya
that borders Somalia,

and has its own security problems.

We're heading into an area where there's
been bandit attacks in the past,

and we've been told we need
to take police guards with us.

Michael, it feels a little bit like
we've entered the badlands.

Well, I would say
this is more or less seen

as perhaps a sort of
frontier district in some way.

I wanted to visit an area of
international ecological importance,

that's now at the centre
of a bitter dispute.

The Tana Delta is where Kenya's
longest river meets the Indian Ocean.

It's a great view, eh?

Indian Ocean all the way
along the horizon, of course,

and for quite a bit of a way beyond.

And just down here,
this is the mouth of the Tana river.

And this is what
we're going to explore.

The Tana river delta
is not on Kenya's tourist trail,

but it's one of the most important
wildlife sites in the whole of Africa.

There's a crocodile over there.

It's a whopper!

Certainly don't want to leave
your fingers in the water.

Not a good idea.

The delta is a refuge
for both larger animals

and more than 350 species of bird.

UK charity the RSPB has identified it

as a wildlife site
of global importance,

and is campaigning
for its protection.

Because this is
a twitchers' paradise.

So we think that's
a malachite kingfisher.

(WHISPERS) Right underneath
a fish eagle just up here.

Magnificent.

We've come round a bend in the river,

and where there was forest before,
now the view has opened up.

And the tragedy, though,

is that developers are planning
to come in here

and carpet this whole area
with sugar cane.

And that, of course, is going to be
an absolute disaster for the wetland

and for the birds.

The Kenyan government
is trying to sell off the Tana Delta,

so vast areas of sugar cane
can be grown on the land,

some of it to sell to Europe
as an ecofriendly biofuel.

This won't only affect the wildlife.

Around 90,000 people
live in and off the delta

by fishing and grazing their
livestock on its fertile grasslands.

After you. Thank you, mate.

After a five-hour boat ride
we came to a settlement.

The villagers had only
recently arrived here.

They were thrown off their land
elsewhere in the delta by TARDA,

a Kenyan government
development agency.

In the last few years,

TARDA has evicted thousands
of families in the area.

I went to meet the village chief.

Jambo!

THEY EXCHANGE GREETINGS

Good to meet you, sir.

Salaam. How are you? Hello.

CHIEF SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

Ah, OK.

He says welcome, you are free
to walk wherever you want,

you are free to sleep
in our village.

So you're welcome.

Asante sana. OK. Thank you.

'It turned out the villagers had been
evicted several times by TARDA.'

So you've been forced to move
from one place to the other.

Can you explain to us what happened
when you were evicted?

HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

TRANSLATOR: The bulldozers
gathered around the village

and started to clear the ground.

When they got near to the huts,
the children ran away.

When they tried to enter our houses,
we resisted.

Then they brought the police,

and they started to beat us
and used tear gas.

One of the villagers was shot.

But surely TARDA have compensated you

in some way
for taking away your land?

We didn't get any compensation

because they said
it is not our land.

It's theirs, and we have to leave.

As you can see, there are some houses
that are being constructed now.

'Maulidi Diwayu
is a committed local campaigner

'who is fighting for the rights of
the people of the delta.'

So they've been forced
to move to this location?

Yeah, utterly. They have been
forced to move anywhere,

because they were
not identified a place.

Oh, really? So they were
just told, get out.

They were just moved without
caring where they were going.

Could we help these women at all?
Could we help them...?

I don't know if they will agree.

If a man is seen building
this house,

he is considered not to be
a full man.

Well, I'm quite happy
to suffer that indignity.

You have volunteers!

So there's one here,
and there's one here.

This is the door.

Yeah. This is the door, OK.

Oh, dear.

I missed.

Diwayu's hole is significantly
wider and deeper than mine.

There we go!

Oh, no! Disaster!

You are not a sharpshooter.

That's enough! That's enough?

You have succeeded.

CHEERING

A doorway emerges here.

How many people
will be living in this home?

This house is going to be occupied
by about ten people.

And presumably they must be
hoping and praying

that they don't get evicted again.

Of course, yes.

They're going to be evicted again.

This one now is still in TARDA land.

So they could actually
be evicted again?

Yes, of course.
They have to be evicted again.

25 villages and more than
30,000 people face eviction

under the government plans
for the Tana Delta.

They'll lose their homes as well as
grazing land for their livestock.

All of us will lose a vital habitat
for birds and wildlife.

Instead, companies will farm sugar
cane to make fuel for foreign cars.

The government says
the project will boost the economy,

but corruption is rife in Kenya,

and I doubt locals here
will see any benefits.

So this is where we're staying
tonight? That's right.

This is going to be our home
for the night.

The toilet facility
is around the side.

Excuse me one moment.

You don't have to come, Michael!

How's the food looking?
Ah, the food is looking delicious.

The goat meat is ready.

Excellent. That was one of the best
bits of goat meat I've ever had.

What can be done to save the delta
and save the people who live here?

The community
have started some initiatives.

They are actually resisting,
and already some community members

have taken TARDA to court
so that they could block their land,

from losing their land.

So, basically, you all need to shout
loudly and say, "This is ours."

Exactly. And that is
what we are doing.

Because the local people
are making all these noises,

one day we are going to win
and we'll get back our land.

Diwayu is a resourceful campaigner,

and it was good to hear that
villagers are fighting back

and using the courts.

SIGHS DEEPLY

What a day.

It's an absolutely beautiful area.

But I fear that protecting it is...

not a battle that the little guy
is necessarily going to win.

The RSPB has joined the battle
to project this delta,

but its future is by no means clear.

Next day, we took a plane
back out towards the coast,

flying over the Tana Delta.

The whole area
is absolutely gorgeous.

Lush, beautiful, spectacular.

And, at the moment, still pristine.

But for how much longer?

We're back to the Indian Ocean.

We're going to bank left
and then head up the coast.

At the far north of Kenya's
Indian Ocean coast

is an island called Kiwayu,

just next to the border with Somalia.

Around Kiwayu Island, the azure
waters teem with marine life.

Few tourists venture up here...

..and the long white sandy beaches
are virtually deserted.

It's a remote and beautiful corner
of the Indian Ocean.

But the community here is linked to
the rest of the planet

in a surprising way.

WOMAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

We've met up with some villagers

and we're walking across
the island with them,

because the ladies here are about
to do a bit of beachcombing.

Because when you get
down onto the beach,

you see that it's not quite
the perfect paradise.

You can see the high-tide mark just
here all the way along the beach,

and you can see as well

there's a fair bit of rubbish
on this beach,

almost all of it plastic.

Just a few years ago,

tropical beaches like this
really were pristine and untouched.

But, thanks to our global addiction
to plastic,

beaches and seas are now polluted

by millions of tonnes
of plastic waste

that swirls around our oceans

and washes up onto the sand.

It's a catastrophe
for the Indian Ocean and the planet,

and nobody's really doing
anything about it.

What is this? Some sort of
storage bottle, some sort of...

Yeah, look.

This will not biodegrade.

Right? This will photodegrade,

so the sun and the movement of
the waves and the sand et cetera,

and the wind, this will break
this down into smaller pieces,

and it will turn this
one heavy plastic container

into a million smaller fragments
of plastic.

A generation ago,
this plastic just wasn't here.

It's now one of the most serious
pollution threats to the Indian Ocean.

But the women of Kiwayu
have hit on a way

to help clean up at least some
of this tidal wave of rubbish

at the same time as earning a living.

Bihawa, I know you're looking
for something specific,

or one thing in particular,

but can you explain to us what it is
and why?

TRANSLATION: We come to clean
the beach and clear up the plastic.

The most important thing for us
is to collect flip-flops,

because we use them
for our business.

Villagers on the island
collect flip-flops from the beach

and turn them into ornaments
and souvenirs to sell to tourists.

And there's no shortage
of raw materials.

So I suppose now, then,
what we need to do is gather up

as many flip-flops as possible.

Come on, Mike, get those Masai eyes
scanning the beach.

Flip-flop!

They are everywhere, look!

Look at this!

Come on, Mike! I'm looking!

Put your back into it, son!

Cos the Brit here is steaming ahead.

Look at this!

This is from a walk of
100, 150 metres.

It's just incredible!

SHE CHEERS

Not bad!
THEY LAUGH

What's he got? Look!

Is that good?

Oh, you want me to carry it.

Oh, these ladies, they know
how to work the men, don't they, eh?

THEY LAUGH

TRANSLATION: We know how to make
something out of flip-flops,

but we'd like help
to get rid of the other plastics.

If anyone knows what we can do with
this plastic, we'd like their help.

I think, in reality, Bihawa,

there isn't really anybody who knows

what to do with all the plastic
that we've put into the sea

and that is washing up
on our beaches.

What you're talking about
in relation to your beach

is a question that I think
needs to be asked on a global level.

So, I think we should head back
and see what you do with these.

Look at this! This is our shop.

Oh, my goodness! Mm-hm!

Everything here...

This is made...

This is all made from flip-flops!

Look at this!

The villagers make more than just pocket
money from recycling this ocean waste.

Most of their handiwork
is shipped to Nairobi for sale

and exported to order. You can
even buy them on the internet.

How has life changed
for people in the village

since you started
creating flip-flop products?

TRANSLATION: Some people didn't
have houses, but now they have them.

Some people didn't have livestock,
but now they do.

We've bought a lot of things.

Some of us couldn't send our children
to school, but now we can educate them.

That's the thing I put first.

The income from
their cottage industry

is now doubly important
for this community.

The ladies were just telling me

that the guys here have had problems

with Somali pirates
in recent years...

..and while they've been out at sea
in these sort of boats,

pirates have harassed them,
taken things from them...

..and even forced them to carry them
up the coast to Somalia.

And the women were saying that
some of the men

are frightened of going to sea.

So while the men can't really
go to sea,

it's the women who are
making an income

from turning

washed-up flip-flops

into toys and art!

It's a very 21st-century story,
really, isn't it?

Just a few weeks later,
the horror of Somali piracy

struck the island itself,

when British visitor David Tebbutt
was shot dead on Kiwayu

and his wife Judith
was kidnapped by a Somali gang

and taken back across the border.

Most of Somalia is
controlled by warlords

and Islamic militants
linked to al-Qaeda.

I took a flight to Mogadishu,
the capital.

It's not a journey
I undertook lightly.

Mogadishu is described
as the most dangerous city on earth.

But since almost the start
of my journey in South Africa,

and even in the paradise islands
of the Seychelles,

piracy had been a recurring issue
on my Indian Ocean travels.

Somalia is the source
of the piracy epidemic

affecting millions of people

and the whole of
the western Indian Ocean.

It was somewhere I felt
I had to visit.

Welcome to Mogadishu.

I was greeted by chaos
the minute I stepped off the plane.

It's par for the course here.

Par for the course? Yeah!

The airport is under the control

of an African peacekeeping force
called AMISOM,

who are fighting
the Islamic militants in Somalia.

The airport's within
AMISOM's military base,

which was the safest place
for me to stay.

They don't want to show
inside the camp,

because that could provide the enemy

with the location of targets.

So we'll stop now and pick up later.

Conflict has raged in Somalia
for decades.

In the 1970s and '80s,
it was ruled by a dictator.

In 1991, there was a civil war.

Government collapsed.

Then warlords took over
and battled endlessly.

There's since been famine.

Foreign powers
have tried to intervene,

but all previous attempts
to save the country have failed.

At least one million people
have died,

and amid the constant instability
and anarchy, piracy has flourished.

The reason I really wanted
to come here

is because the violence and chaos
ripples out from this place

to affect the whole of
the Horn of Africa

and the entire western Indian Ocean.

In this, perhaps the poorest
and most violent place on earth,

the job of the AMISOM peacekeeping
force is to try to stabilise Somalia.

We are ready to go.
We are ready to go. Over.

The soldiers are from
Uganda and Burundi.

They're backed by the United Nations

and indirectly
by some money from the West.

Leaving their base meant travelling
in armoured personnel carriers.

On the streets of Mogadishu, the soldiers
face the constant threat of attack

from anything from car bombs
to shoulder-launch rockets

or suicide bombers.

I was travelling with Ugandan
Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda.

All the buildings look as though
they've got bullet marks.

Well, that's the truth
of the matter.

Fighting has been
to every corner of this city.

We're talking about 20 years

of statelessness, no government,

people have guns, shooting about,

so the result is what you see.

Since 2007, AMISOM has been locked
in a bitter struggle with al-Shabaab,

a heavily armed, exceptionally
violent Somali Islamic group

which has close ties with al-Qaeda
and takes a cut from local piracy.

Al-Shabaab controls
a large area of the country,

terrorising its own people,

and, until just a few weeks before
my visit, it held most of Mogadishu.

So, this is now the front line.

AMISOM aren't just
peacekeeping security guards.

I was being taken to the front line
of a full-scale war.

We show you the positions

that belonged to the al-Shabaab
just five days ago, so...

And are you still taking fire
at this position?

Are the soldiers still being shot at?

Yeah, because you'll see

that those are firing positions.
Those are gun points.

It was reported
that scores of AMISOM soldiers died

in the fight for this position
just days previously.

So... obviously, we're safe
behind these barriers.

Is it OK to... I mean,
we can look out?

So, what are we looking out
onto here?

That is the Deyninle trading centre.

It's our next target.

In there, there are al-Shabaab.

You see that building with a mast?

And that's what,
an al-Shabaab stronghold?

Yeah.

This road was actually constructed
by the al-Shabaab.

In order to join Deyninle
with Bakara market

they had to build this.

MORTAR FIRE

Jesus!
GUNFIRE

Oh, they have seen
a vehicle of the al-Shabaab.

And when they see a car, they shoot.

'AMISOM's plan was to spread out

'from this position
and retake Somalia.'

So this is an absolutely key point,
then.

Very key indeed,
because the moment we get that town,

I think then the next stage is
to move out into the entire country.

But this is too open, guys.

This is too open?
This is too open for you,

so take... take off your head
from the firing line.

'Paddy wanted us to move on

'before al-Shabaab retaliated
with gunfire or artillery.'

It's really important
we all understand

that this isn't just the front line

for the Burundian and Ugandan
soldiers who are fighting here -

this is the front line
in the war on piracy as well.

Al-Shabaab is linking itself
more and more closely to al-Qaeda.

AMISOM and Western intelligence
agencies believe that Somalia

is becoming a training ground
for international terrorism.

Paddy took me
to the national stadium to see where,

until recently, al-Shabaab
had their base.

Right.

This would ideally be
a symbol of nationhood.

Yes.

Now, if you want to see
how destroyed this country is,

you come to some of these symbols.
Yeah.

This is the Emirates, or the...
Emirates Stadium...

Yeah... the Highbury...

Al-Shabaab did use this stadium
for its own sinister public events.

They actually used to execute people
here in the stadium.

Al-Shabaab would... they would bury
people in the ground up to their neck

and then they would stone people
to death.

That's what used to happen here.

It was time to head back

to the relative safety of
the AMISOM base for the night.

This is such a bizarre place.

And I have to have...

blast boxers, I think they're called.

It's underwear
that's got a special panel in it,

this yellow bit here, that...
well, it won't stop a bullet,

but it will stop
small bits of shrapnel

from wiping out my vital parts.

I'm only allowed to film in here,

not outside in the camp,
for security reasons.

A few nights ago, an intruder got
over the wall of the base

and was shot dead.

A couple of nights ago,
there was another intruder.

He's since confessed to being
a member of the al-Shabaab group.

He has a GPS locator with him,

which he was supposed to use
to identify targets here.

It's all incredibly nerve-wracking.

Next day, we hit the streets
of Mogadishu again.

Somalia's enormous problems don't end

with piracy, chronic instability
and conflict.

When I visited, the country was
suffering the worst drought in 60 years

and a famine
that affected millions of people.

Tens of thousands of refugees
have flooded into Mogadishu,

and we're now going
to a feeding centre

where many of them
are being looked after.

Even here at the feeding centre,

we needed protection
and weren't safe.

But in this country, nobody is.

There are dozens of centres like this
across the city,

offering a simple but life-saving meal
to Somalis who've lost everything.

There'll be families here

who've walked for miles across
the burning desert to get here.

Some of them will have lost
family members along the way.

And, to be honest,
these are the lucky ones as well -

these are the fittest
and the strongest.

The weakest just don't make it.

One of the reasons many people have
fled to Mogadishu in search of food

is that al-Shabaab have prevented
foreign aid agencies

from working elsewhere in the country
in regions destroyed by drought.

The militants have helped
to turn the drought into a famine.

Musa Usublay and his family
walked much of the 250 miles

to get here from
the southern city of Kismayo.

Why did you want
to come here to Mogadishu?

Was it because of
the lack of food in the south?

You can imagine how bad life
is in the rest of this country

for this place to be a paradise
for people coming here.

Outside Mogadishu,
al-Shabaab has control.

The West worries about them
training terrorists,

yet AMISOM is under-resourced
and underfunded.

AMISOM had made some
significant gains

against al-Shabaab
just before my visit,

but they're a relatively small force
battling a fanatical enemy

who are able to hide
among the local population.

I was just telling the driver
to be very careful

and follow the right roads,

otherwise the roads
can be misleading -

you may find yourself
in al-Shabaab territory.

Seriously? Yeah.

Paddy took me to the edge of
AMISOM's area of control

in the north-west of the city.

Here, too, the Ugandans were locked in
tough urban warfare against al-Shabaab.

GUNFIRE

BLEEP. What was that?

What's going on? We need to
find out what it was. Yeah.

GUNSHOTS

My goodness.

Now we emerge
and we're in somebody's back garden.

In this close-quarters fighting,

gains and losses
are made one street -

and sometimes one garden - at a time.

That side of the wall,
you have al-Shabaab.

GUNFIRE

Here, Simon, left, left!

Are they preparing
to launch an attack?

They're running?

Are they holding guns?

Yes.
GUNSHOT

They are coming to attack.

How does he know it's al-Shabaab?

That side, that side,
that's al-Shabaab now.

That side.
The whole of that side could be...

Everybody on that side?
GUNFIRE

The world is not safe
if Somalia is not stable.

It is just as simple as that.

And it doesn't matter in which
capital of the world you are,

because al-Qaeda can reach there,

so you need to hit them
where they are training from,

and this is Somalia.

What do you need to do the job?

Well, a lot of things.

I mean, we... we have some troops
here, just about 9,500 soldiers.

Is that enough? It's not enough
at all - we think that to,

to take the whole country,
we need about 20,000.

We need helicopters -
we don't have a single helicopter.

Not a single helicopter?
Not even a single one.

We all know piracy is such
a huge problem in the Indian Ocean

for shipping
from around the world.

This is where the piracy comes from.

This is the capital of the country.
GUNSHOT

That's true, that's true.

The piracy does not start
on the water.

Actually, piracy starts on the land.

This is where they launch from,
it's where they train from,

this is where they have
their leadership.

You need to deal with them
from the land.

Let's go.

Al-Shabaab fighters
were gathering on the other side,

preparing to attack our position

with shoulder-launch rocket-propelled
grenades.

So we're being pulled back and we'll
leave the Ugandans here to fight...

Well, to fight the world's war,
it feels like to me.

The Ugandans are taking
heavy casualties

as they battle to save Somalia,

with completely inadequate backing
from the rest of the world.

They're supposed to be securing
an entire country,

but they don't even have
any helicopters.

Yet with more support
from the international community,

it's just possible
the militants could be defeated,

that AMISOM could be successful,

and that Somalis could have

the long-term stability
they're so desperate for.

I'm leaving Mogadishu now, but what
I take away from my visit here

is the absolute conviction that

the problem of piracy
in the Indian Ocean

has got to be solved here on land,

starting in the capital, Mogadishu.

It seems absolutely crazy to me

that the world isn't doing more
to support AMISOM,

because peacekeeping can work,

it does work
and it has to work here.

The world needs a secure
and stable Somalia.

It's not all chaos
and violence in the Horn of Africa -

just to the north of Somalia is
Somaliland and its capital, Hargeisa.

Thank you!

'There's no need for a flak jacket
and helmet here,

'and it felt great
to be welcomed by a familiar face...'

Hello, hello!

How are you?

I'm very well, thank you so much!

I met Fatima when I was here
several years ago,

and I'm delighted to say Fatima is
going to be showing around this time,

and we're going to spend
a little bit of time with her

and see a little bit more of
Somaliland.

I tell you what, this is all
a bit different to Mogadishu, eh?

But it's a country
that doesn't really exist.

Somaliland separated from Somalia
in 1991 after civil war.

But the rest of the world refused
to recognise the new country

and still considers it
part of Somalia.

So it's an unrecognised state
with no seat at the United Nations.

Checking out the ears.

Fantastic!

There we go, look...

International Airport
here in Hargeisa.

In Somaliland, a country
that officially doesn't exist,

if you ask the rest of the planet.

There you go, a stamp
to prove it's here.

Our first stop was the main market.

So here we are.

As you can see,
we don't need armed guards,

we're not afraid that a stray bullet
is going to hit us,

we're not afraid of being kidnapped
or held hostage.

People are just getting on with life.
Everybody's... Nobody really cares!

Such a difference with...

benighted, suffering Mogadishu.

Fatima, one thing we've got
to clear up is your accent.

Tell us where you've been.

I've spent 42 years in Wales, in
Newport, which is my home town,

and worked in Cardiff, where I
have many, many of my relatives.

I needed to change a few quid
for myself and the film crew,

and it wasn't hard
to spot the money-changers.

Take your pick - there you are.

Oh, my goodness - you mean
this is how we change money?!

Yes. On the street?!

Look at all this! Unbelievable!

Where are the armed guards here?

There's no armed guards.

Come on, Fatima, let's go!
You've got to be kidding!

We're not going to get very far!
It weighs an absolute ton!

Maybe that's why they're not
worried - nobody can carry it!

What looks like a small fortune
is really just a few pounds.

Somaliland's largest bank note
is equivalent to only five pence.

How much is this worth? Eight.

8. OK, so about £6.

We need some money
for the next few days

and we're going to start with 400

and see if we can carry it.

Is this all ours?!
This is your money.

Oh, no, just feel free, give us more!

That's ours as well.

Into the... Whoa!

Have you seen such a sight?

We could walk around
with a barrow full of money

because Somalilanders have built
a safe, functioning state

with low corruption and low crime.

Unlike in Somalia, there's a justice
system here - law and order.

Somalilanders are even tackling the
scourge of the Indian Ocean - piracy.

They've put dozens of pirates
behind bars.

I've been given permission to meet
some of them in Hargeisa prison.

There's a general ban on what's
not allowed into the prison.

Everything from guns to rum.

Finally, I had a chance
to meet some of the men

who are terrorising ships and sailors
around the Indian Ocean.

So the gentlemen here in yellow
are the pirates?

Salamu alaykum. Salamu alaykum.

Farah Ismael Elih was caught as he headed
out to sea in a heavily armed boat.

He's now serving six years.

Like many Somalis,
he claims the piracy began

when Somali fishermen took up arms

to defend their part
of the Indian Ocean

against large foreign trawlers

that were depleting
their fish stocks.

TRANSLATION: I believe
that these illegal fishing trawlers

should be expelled
from the Somali coastline.

If that happened,

fishermen would go back to sea
and do their normal work.

It sounds to me as though, initially,

Somalis started going to sea to drive
away the foreign fishing fleets,

but at some point, it seems to me
that a line was crossed,

and now piracy seems
like it's big business.

There's a lot of people
making vast sums of money from it.

The first decision
was to defend our waters.

After that, a lot of money was made,

and more and more people
got involved.

Because of that,
it's turned into a business.

There's no problem taking a ship -

it will only be taxed
and then released safely.

There's no country in the world
that doesn't take taxes.

In a small country with no government,
the small militia catches a ship

and takes some taxes from them
and then releases them

without harming or killing them -

there's nothing wrong with that.

I have no doubt that, initially,

many of the men we now call pirates
went to sea

because they were angry about
foreigners fishing their waters,

but now terrible, terrible crimes
have been committed -

hundreds of people right now
are being held hostage

along the coast of Somalia
by pirates,

and vast sums of money
are being paid.

Vast sums of money
are being made by the pirates.

OK?

Getting out of a prison -
always a tricky one.

The problems
of neighbouring Somalia

cast a long shadow over Somaliland.

Because it's considered
part of Somalia,

it's extremely difficult to attract
tourists, aid or economic investment.

Conflict in Somalia is also felt here

because for decades the turmoil has
uprooted people across the Horn of Africa.

There's still vast numbers of people
moving around in this region,

trying to flee war or looking
for food and escaping from famine,

and we've come to
an area of the capital where...

Well, it's basically
become a refugee camp.

Somaliland might be
an unrecognised country,

but tens of thousands of people have
flooded into Somaliland from Somalia,

many to avoid getting caught up
in the ongoing fighting.

Fatima took me to meet
some of the refugees.

I've met up with Mohammed here,

who lives in the camp, and he's just
going to take us back to his home.

You've been here three years -
what led you to come to the camp?

What led you to come to Somaliland?

TRANSLATION: I either had to join
the al-Shabaab fighters

or leave the country.

I came all the way here.

Sometimes I walked,
sometimes I hitchhiked.

At times, I didn't eat
for three days.

Mohammed came with his family
on the 500-mile trek from his home,

just inland from Mogadishu.

Eight of them now share
this tiny shack.

So we're in a place that's not
a whole lot bigger, frankly,

than many people's garden shed.

Mohammed, this...

this is tough.
I can see this is tough for you.

You have a tough time here,
a tough life...

but, still, this is better
than being in Somalia?

Uh, yes.

TRANSLATION: Yes, we prefer it here.

This is better for us.

If we could go somewhere
better than here, we'd love that.

But we don't have that chance,
so we're here.

Life in Somaliland is better for us
than Somalia.

Mohammed narrowly avoided
being forced to join al-Shabaab,

the Islamist militia in Mogadishu.

But in a conflict-ridden region
where jobs are scarce,

life as a fighter or as a pirate

is all too tempting
for many young men.

To counter the lure of the gun,

Fatima runs a project which offers
help, education and a future

to boys and young men
from the refugee camps.

Today, she was taking Mohammed

and other young refugee lads
on an outing.

We're going to the coast!
This is exciting!

What's "we're going
to the seaside" in Somali?

FATIMA SAYS IN SOMALI
AND SIMON REPEATS

SIMON REPEATS AND CHEERS

We were heading back
to the Indian Ocean.

Fatima, why are you doing this?
Why are you taking them to the coast?

For children
who have actually witnessed murders

and people being killed
in front of them,

so they have no childhood,

there's no sense of
what childhood should be like.

You're drawing them away from potentially
bad things that they could be doing -

things like piracy,
joining gangs or joining militias.

All right, I'll tell you what, put your hands
up if you haven't seen the sea before.

FATIMA TRANSLATES

Whoa! This is very exciting!

Mohammed, you've not... never
seen the sea?

Never?

Whoa!

Can you see the ship out there,
Mohammed?

We're here! Come on, let's get off!

OK, let's go to the sea.

My goodness.

It's beautiful.

Beautiful!

I suppose I've become a bit blase,

travelling alongside the ocean
for a few months now.

Coming here with them and they're
seeing it for the first time...

I suppose I see it through
their eyes.

For the first time!

I think it's quite a privilege for me
to be here with you.

Look, feel it!

The Indian Ocean, Mohammed!

Yes! The Indian Ocean!

Indian Ocean.

There you go. A tiny crab, look.

HE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

Tell us what you think.

It's the first time
you've seen the sea.

What thoughts go through your mind?
What are you thinking now?

TRANSLATION:
I'm happy. I'm very happy.

It's been a good trip.

It's good for my eyes,

because I haven't left Hargeisa
since we got there.

Well, Mohammed, it's a real...

it's a real privilege
for us to have been allowed

and able to accompany you on your...

on your first visit to the ocean!

This is a major milestone for me,

because this is the end of my journey
up Africa's Indian Ocean coast.

I'm halfway round
the Indian Ocean now.

I've still got
a long, long way to go,

a lot to see, a lot to do
and many more people to meet.

I've got time for a paddle first.

Come on, let's get back in the sea!
OK!

It's warm, it's beautiful -

it's the Indian Ocean!

Next time, I travel to the biggest
city in the Indian Ocean.

It feels like the whole of Mumbai
is out on the beach.

And in the tropical paradise
of the Maldives,

I go fishing the old-fashioned way.

HE CHEERS

I caught a tuna in the Indian Ocean!

Sustainably!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd