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they seek comes at a price. | 0:00:00 | 0:00:03 | |
A handful of raw sapphires. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:10 | |
Beautiful and valuable. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:17 | |
But they also pose a threat to this,
the indri lemur, one | 0:00:17 | 0:00:19 | |
of the rarest animals on Earth. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:25 | |
Poor people in their thousands have
invaded the animal's home, | 0:00:34 | 0:00:36 | |
seeking their fortune in the remote
forests of Madagascar. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:43 | |
Are you rich? | 0:00:43 | 0:00:44 | |
No, not yet. | 0:00:44 | 0:00:51 | |
Not yet? | 0:00:51 | 0:00:52 | |
LAUGHS. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:53 | |
Not yet rich! | 0:00:53 | 0:00:54 | |
They mine the land,
but for little reward. | 0:00:54 | 0:00:56 | |
Very hard, the life here. | 0:00:56 | 0:00:58 | |
In the rush for sapphires,
there's a price to be paid. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:05 | |
In Ocotober 2016 in
eastern Madagascar, | 0:01:27 | 0:01:28 | |
there was a chance discovery
of sapphires, sparking a gem rush. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:31 | |
Tens of thousands of people
flocked to the area. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:33 | |
And we are now following
the route they carved out. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:37 | |
When the road ends, we walk. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:46 | |
About one hour in, six to go,
and I'm carrying half | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
the weight these guys are. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:57 | |
But in these hills there
are hidden dangers. | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
Disease, bandits. | 0:02:02 | 0:02:07 | |
And every journey to
the mine has its risks. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:13 | |
Time to visit the Vatto
Mesina, sacred stones. | 0:02:13 | 0:02:18 | |
An offering to ancestors ensures
safe passage and good fortune. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:26 | |
After this the going gets tougher. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:30 | |
A once narrow forest path churned
to mud by thousands of feet. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:38 | |
As we walk, the trees
close in on us. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:43 | |
And then we hear them. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
LEMURS CALLING. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:52 | |
Indri, right above us. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:57 | |
The mining trail leads directly
through their territory. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:06 | |
Naturally timid, we have
to go to a national | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
park to get this close. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:12 | |
The indris live on the
fourth-biggest island on the planet, | 0:03:12 | 0:03:17 | |
500km off the coast of east Africa. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:21 | |
The wildlife is
spectacular and rare. | 0:03:21 | 0:03:24 | |
Many species live
here and only here. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:29 | |
It is a privilege to see them
in their natural habitat, | 0:03:29 | 0:03:32 | |
but for how much longer? | 0:03:32 | 0:03:39 | |
This has taken more than nine hours
of walking, but we are finally here. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:43 | |
We are right at the centre
of what is the latest sapphire rush, | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
the biggest sapphire rush. | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
For at least 20 years,
and still they come, | 0:03:49 | 0:03:53 | |
men, women and children. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:59 | |
Building homes of wood and plastic,
creating a makeshift town | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
in the heart of the forest. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:08 | |
There are shops, and bars... | 0:04:08 | 0:04:18 | |
..but no hospital,
school or police station. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:31 | |
No-one wants to be here long. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:45 | |
But they will stay as long
as it takes to get lucky. | 0:04:45 | 0:04:49 | |
And the bluer the sapphires,
the more money they're worth. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:59 | |
These are poor men, working hard,
hoping to get rich. | 0:05:01 | 0:05:11 | |
Tens of thousands of people have
moved here to clear the land | 0:05:11 | 0:05:16 | |
and dig for gemstones. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:23 | |
This was once virgin rainforest. | 0:05:23 | 0:05:28 | |
But now look. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
Mineshafts and spoil
heaps scar the landscape. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:36 | |
There are thousands of men right
across this valley working all day, | 0:05:36 | 0:05:39 | |
every day, down these pits,
digging out hundreds of bags | 0:05:39 | 0:05:43 | |
of sand, and all of them are looking
for something no bigger | 0:05:43 | 0:05:48 | |
than the size of my fingernail. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:51 | |
And this is what they are after. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:54 | |
A handful of stones. | 0:05:54 | 0:05:58 | |
It took Bruno and his team many
days to dig them out. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:02 | |
He comes from the other
side of the island, | 0:06:02 | 0:06:05 | |
more than 1000km away. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:08 | |
He has invested all
his money on this. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:13 | |
Every morning, the work
takes him down into the dark. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:20 | |
The pit is deep. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:25 | |
Very deep. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:29 | |
The job is cramped,
backbreaking and dangerous. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:35 | |
None of these men are locals. | 0:06:58 | 0:06:59 | |
They have travelled
from all over the island, | 0:06:59 | 0:07:01 | |
because there isn't any
work at home. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:05 | |
So they come here, hoping to find
a sapphire that makes their fortune. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:11 | |
This one took days to find,
but is worth only about $200, | 0:07:11 | 0:07:16 | |
split between a team of four. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:21 | |
What does it feel like
when you find a sapphire? | 0:07:21 | 0:07:27 | |
But it's always a gamble. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
Stephane has been here for months
and has nothing to show for it. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:47 | |
University-educated,
now he works these pits | 0:07:47 | 0:07:49 | |
to support his family. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:54 | |
The future, I don't know. | 0:07:54 | 0:07:57 | |
Do you want to be here? | 0:07:57 | 0:08:02 | |
For this moment. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:04 | |
I am here. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:06 | |
But when I don't have
money to live here, maybe | 0:08:06 | 0:08:13 | |
I will go back to my home. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:17 | |
Do you have family,
children, a wife? | 0:08:17 | 0:08:19 | |
Yeah, I have a wife,
one daughter, and three sons. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:25 | |
Yeah. | 0:08:25 | 0:08:27 | |
And you come all the way
here to help them? | 0:08:27 | 0:08:30 | |
Yeah, that's why I came here. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:34 | |
What do you want for
them, your children? | 0:08:34 | 0:08:38 | |
I want them to have a good life. | 0:08:39 | 0:08:47 | |
It is not greed which drives
men here, but poverty. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:52 | |
Madagascar is one of the poorest
countries on earth. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:57 | |
80% of the population lives
on less than $1 a day. | 0:08:57 | 0:09:03 | |
There are few jobs
for men like these. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:10 | |
Keen eyes sieve and search, a
promise of wealth in every handful. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:20 | |
Have you found any sapphires? | 0:09:25 | 0:09:27 | |
Many, but not very good. | 0:09:27 | 0:09:31 | |
So are you rich? | 0:09:31 | 0:09:33 | |
No, not yet, not yet rich. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:40 | |
But the wealth they
seek comes at a cost. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:47 | |
The mines eat away at the forest. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
The villages that spring
up pollute the water, | 0:09:49 | 0:09:51 | |
and threaten the habitat
of the indri lemur. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
LEMURS CALLING. | 0:09:55 | 0:10:00 | |
Can you hear that? | 0:10:00 | 0:10:01 | |
That's the sound of indris singing. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:04 | |
They are on that side
of the valley and are singing | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
to the indris on this side. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:10 | |
They are critically endangered
and they only live in a very | 0:10:10 | 0:10:13 | |
small area of Madagascar. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
They cannot survive in captivity. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:18 | |
So when they're gone from here,
they're gone for good. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:28 | |
We travelled to Mitsinjo,
a conservation project | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
where the indri are able to thrive. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:36 | |
The biggest of all the lemurs,
they spend most of their lives | 0:10:36 | 0:10:41 | |
in the trees, eating and sleeping
in the branches. | 0:10:41 | 0:10:46 | |
They produce few young, only
breeding every two or three years. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:53 | |
This is extraordinary. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:55 | |
These indris come down
from the forest canopy. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:57 | |
They live in small family groups. | 0:10:57 | 0:11:01 | |
This is a group of five,
two adults and three juveniles. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:04 | |
They eat nothing
but leaves and seeds. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
They need a bigger range,
a large territory to live in. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
So as the forests are cut around
them, they have to retreat | 0:11:11 | 0:11:14 | |
to smaller and smaller areas. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:17 | |
But when those forests
are gone, they will die out. | 0:11:17 | 0:11:23 | |
In this park, our guide is one
of the world's most foremost | 0:11:23 | 0:11:28 | |
authorities on lemurs. | 0:11:28 | 0:11:35 | |
That's really sad. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:21 | |
He's horrified by what we show him. | 0:12:21 | 0:12:23 | |
You can see the scale. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:25 | |
Yeah. | 0:12:25 | 0:12:27 | |
It's huge. | 0:12:27 | 0:12:28 | |
Oh, yeah. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:30 | |
And make no mistake,
this is all illegal. | 0:13:21 | 0:13:26 | |
On paper, the land is protected. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:36 | |
But the authorities seem unwilling
or unable to stop it. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:47 | |
Here in Madagascar, there
are fortunes to be won or lost. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:55 | |
The miners who dig up sapphires
sell them on to dealers. | 0:13:55 | 0:14:01 | |
They call this man 'The President'. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
He holds court, waiting
for the sapphires to be brought | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
to him so he can inspect them
and offer a price. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:12 | |
Notice the torch -
every dealer needs one - | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
and the rings - you'd have thought
business was good. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:18 | |
But far from it. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:23 | |
But getting a good price
for sapphires means | 0:14:30 | 0:14:32 | |
keeping them safe first. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:35 | |
This man stores them
in his mouth because, | 0:14:35 | 0:14:40 | |
he says, he has no pockets. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:44 | |
TRANSLATION: It's calm
here but beneath the surface, | 0:14:44 | 0:14:46 | |
there's fear too. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:48 | |
He said they need security
because when you walk from the city, | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
from town to here, there are some
people who attack you. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:55 | |
Bandits? | 0:14:55 | 0:14:56 | |
Yeah, bandit. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:57 | |
Is he scared? | 0:14:57 | 0:14:58 | |
Yes, yes, we are afraid of that. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:05 | |
Sapphires are sold in England,
in France, for rings... | 0:15:05 | 0:15:08 | |
Yeah. | 0:15:08 | 0:15:10 | |
..necklaces. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:12 | |
Uh-huh. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:13 | |
Do you think those rich people
understand your life here? | 0:15:13 | 0:15:21 | |
I think they, yeah,
they understand the life | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
here but they don't care, maybe. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:31 | |
When I talk about the government,
the government in Madagascar, | 0:15:31 | 0:15:34 | |
you know, they don't care about us. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:38 | |
Deep in the forest, a day's walk
from the nearest road, | 0:15:38 | 0:15:42 | |
the authorities can seem remote,
indifferent, and powerless. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:52 | |
Vibrant, polluted,
and poor - Antananarivo, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:58 | |
Madagascar's capital city. | 0:15:58 | 0:16:00 | |
From here, the country's elite
monitor the sapphire rush | 0:16:00 | 0:16:07 | |
with great interest. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:08 | |
The sapphire trade is
a sensitive issue here. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:11 | |
The government really doesn't
like to talk about it, | 0:16:11 | 0:16:13 | |
and some journalists have been
arrested for trying | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
to expose the nepotism
and corruption at its heart. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
The authorities claim they are
trying to regulate the industry. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
But still, the illegal
mining goes on. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:28 | |
In recent months, ministers have
talked of reform, to tighten the law | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
and control small-scale mining. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:35 | |
But NGOs working in conservation say
what really stops effective | 0:16:35 | 0:16:38 | |
policing is a lack of money. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:42 | |
Officials on the ground can't even
buy fuel for their vehicles. | 0:16:42 | 0:16:48 | |
These are in national parks, often,
where it's happening. | 0:16:48 | 0:16:51 | |
The authorities seem powerless. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:55 | |
Yes. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:56 | |
Unfortunately, most
of the sapphires, gems, | 0:16:56 | 0:17:02 | |
even gold rushes that we've had have
been in protected areas, | 0:17:02 | 0:17:07 | |
sometimes national parks. | 0:17:07 | 0:17:14 | |
And it's all illegal,
of course, but then, | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
there is very little capacity
to enforce legislation | 0:17:17 | 0:17:22 | |
generally in Madagascar -
especially in very, also remote | 0:17:22 | 0:17:27 | |
areas, because you have, I mean,
they are usually remote areas | 0:17:27 | 0:17:32 | |
so it's even more difficult
to enforce the law in this case. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:38 | |
Do you think the government
wants to enforce the law? | 0:17:38 | 0:17:42 | |
I wouldn't dismiss also
that there is maybe a lack | 0:17:42 | 0:17:44 | |
of willingness to act. | 0:17:44 | 0:17:49 | |
Which means gems from illegal mines
continue to flow to the capital | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
and on into backstreet workshops. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:58 | |
Here, skilled hands and sharp
eyes work to unlock | 0:17:58 | 0:18:06 | |
the value of the gems. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
Stones will go through several pairs
of hands before they reach | 0:18:08 | 0:18:11 | |
the capital Antananarivo and a place
like this, where they're cut | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
and polished for export. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:18 | |
A stone sold by a miner
for £25 will be sold | 0:18:18 | 0:18:21 | |
by a dealer like this for £250,
and when it is in the US | 0:18:21 | 0:18:24 | |
or in Bangkok or in Dubai,
will go for more than £5,000. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:27 | |
Shaolin is happy to show this stock. | 0:18:27 | 0:18:35 | |
The mining may be against the law
but the trade isn't. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:40 | |
This is his favourite, sold
in the US for more than $2 million. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:46 | |
Some sapphires are mined
legally in Madagascar | 0:18:46 | 0:18:49 | |
but how can a buyer know? | 0:18:50 | 0:18:53 | |
The truth is, they probably cannot. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:55 | |
Most big dealers come
from Sri Lanka or Thailand. | 0:18:55 | 0:18:58 | |
In Shaolin's view, they buy
up Malagash sapphires | 0:18:58 | 0:19:01 | |
to pass off as their own. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:06 | |
But now, there are calls
for greater transparency, | 0:19:25 | 0:19:28 | |
demands that each gem be traceable
to the mine it came from - | 0:19:28 | 0:19:32 | |
a worldwide agreement
to reform the trade. | 0:19:32 | 0:19:37 | |
There could be some kind
of international regulations | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
on the trustability of gems. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:46 | |
So that, at the retailer's side,
you can know where this came | 0:19:46 | 0:19:53 | |
from and how it was produced,
whether it was in a sustainable way. | 0:19:53 | 0:20:02 | |
So you would call for some kind
of international accord, | 0:20:02 | 0:20:06 | |
rather like that which regulates
the trade in diamonds? | 0:20:06 | 0:20:10 | |
Yes, yes - and we have
started this discussion | 0:20:10 | 0:20:12 | |
with the Malagasy authorities. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:18 | |
It has just started,
so I think that with also | 0:20:18 | 0:20:24 | |
international support and pressure,
this discussion could move | 0:20:24 | 0:20:30 | |
forward more quickly. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:31 | |
How urgent is that need? | 0:20:31 | 0:20:32 | |
That would be urgent
because we are not protected | 0:20:32 | 0:20:40 | |
from the next rush. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:43 | |
It can happen anytime,
anywhere in Madagascar. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:47 | |
And so, it would be urgent to act,
it would also help us in the future. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:57 | |
That sounds like a good
place to start. | 0:20:57 | 0:20:59 | |
But for Jonah Ratsimbazafy,
the lemur expert, real | 0:20:59 | 0:21:03 | |
change can't wait. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:08 | |
We're almost out of time. | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
There are valuable gems
beneath this red soil. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:47 | |
Unique wildlife in the trees above. | 0:21:51 | 0:21:58 | |
The question for the people
of Madagascar is how do | 0:21:58 | 0:22:03 | |
they profit from one
without destroying the other? | 0:22:03 | 0:22:12 | |
And for those who buy sapphires,
it's impossible to know the real | 0:22:12 | 0:22:17 | |
origin, or the true cost
of the gems they wear. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:23 |