0:00:03 > 0:00:09There are people on our planet who are more at home in water than on land.
0:00:10 > 0:00:11CHILDREN YELL
0:00:16 > 0:00:19In a distant corner of the Western Pacific lies the Coral Triangle.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25These waters are the richest on Earth
0:00:25 > 0:00:30and the people here have adapted to ocean life like nowhere else.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35BOTH CHAT
0:00:35 > 0:00:38My name is Will Millard.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41I'm a writer. And for much of the last eight years,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44I've been working and exploring in this remote region.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Cor, this place is a minefield.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Now I'm off to live with three of its extraordinary communities.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54I've never met a shark finner before.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59I want to understand the unique bond these people have with the ocean
0:00:59 > 0:01:01at a time of great change.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02WHISTLE TRILLS
0:01:02 > 0:01:04I can't really figure out who's exploiting who.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08CHILDREN YELL AND CHEER
0:01:08 > 0:01:12I'm beginning at the centre of the Coral Triangle,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14in a fishing village built entirely at sea.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18There's an octopus under the house!
0:01:22 > 0:01:27These are the Bajau, ocean nomads who are settling for the first time.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30For these people, these fish represent everything.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Every single day, these guys are on a tightrope.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39I want to find out what the future holds
0:01:39 > 0:01:42for these last hunters of the South Seas.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58In all of my reading about the Coral Triangle,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00there is one group of people
0:02:00 > 0:02:03held up as having the closest relationship with the ocean.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14They are the Bajau, a group of nomadic fishermen,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17who have roamed the seas around Indonesia for centuries.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22It is only recently that they have finally settled.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25We've been travelling for three days to get to this moment.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28But now, finally, this is the last bit of our long journey.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30We're on a little wooden ferry boat,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33heading out to a village called Sampela.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35And there's a very, very special group of people there
0:02:35 > 0:02:37that I've heard so much about.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Sampela is found at the Coral Triangle's heart.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46It lies off the coast of Sulawesi,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49within the boundaries of a national park.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51For the last 50 years,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53this is where Bajau fishermen from across Indonesia
0:02:53 > 0:02:56have been building a village.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59From what I've heard, only two generations ago,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03these people were living their entire lives at sea.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04And they've since come together
0:03:04 > 0:03:07to form one, single community...
0:03:07 > 0:03:09on stilts,
0:03:09 > 0:03:10in the middle of the open ocean.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18For centuries, the Bajau lived exclusively on boats.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Under government pressure, they moved into houses,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25but the village they've constructed is built entirely on the water.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Must be almost 600 metres from land.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34A kilometre to the nearest village.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37This is fairly low tide, as well,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40so there's no way you can do anything without a boat here.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44It's so much bigger than I was expecting.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46This is a serious community.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50How do people, who have wandered the oceans,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53adjust to life in a fixed place?
0:03:54 > 0:03:56All of the foundations are on dead coral.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59That is just extraordinary!
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I've never seen anything like this before.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06It looks like this is it.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13CHILDREN YELL
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Hello! Hello!
0:04:15 > 0:04:16Hello!
0:04:16 > 0:04:17Hello!
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Hello! Hello!
0:04:25 > 0:04:28OK. I'm going to try and find the headman's house.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Sampela has an elected headman,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35who decides which family any visitor stays with.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Hello.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Oh, fantastic. This is the man.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50The headman has agreed to take me to one of the families
0:04:50 > 0:04:52who first settled in the village.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Oh, yeah. Hello!
0:04:58 > 0:05:00There's a pool hall under here.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Yeah?
0:05:10 > 0:05:11- Yo!- Hello!
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Yo!
0:05:13 > 0:05:15There is no formal structure to Sampela.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17It has simply grown
0:05:17 > 0:05:20as more Bajau families have left their boats and settled.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Over 1,500 people now live here.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Cor, this place is a minefield.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54I think this might be where I'm staying.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12My host, Kabei, lives with his wife, Mama Pek,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14and their three children
0:06:14 > 0:06:18in a two-room house eight foot above the water.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20Yeah.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Yeah?
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Fantastic.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Is it a bedroom with a view? Wow...
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Yeah?
0:06:31 > 0:06:32Oh, God...
0:06:33 > 0:06:35I'm so worried about destroying the house.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37You could fall straight through the floor.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39It'd be incredibly impolite.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43Yeah?
0:06:44 > 0:06:48This is the kitchen. That's the bathroom. Wow!
0:06:49 > 0:06:53The Bajau diet is almost exclusively fish.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57All family members share whatever's been caught that day.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01Yeah.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Oh...
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Eat the whole skull?
0:07:12 > 0:07:15I get the feeling not a lot gets wasted here.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Kabei...
0:07:43 > 0:07:45- Really?- Yeah.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46That's unreal.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57There is no electricity in Sampela.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00And as the sun goes down on my first night,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02the village quickly becomes very dark.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12It's really late at night and I've got to go to the toilet.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14HE SIGHS DEEPLY
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Absolute nightmare.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18I've got to be so careful here.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22I was considering not drinking whilst staying here.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25But it's dehydration or...
0:08:26 > 0:08:29..death by falling through the floor into the poo area!
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It's one hell of a time to find out I've got a weak bladder.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37URINE SPLASHES INTO THE SEA
0:08:41 > 0:08:43COCK CROWS
0:08:43 > 0:08:45The next morning, as Sampela stirs,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49my toilet trip is discovered by Kabei.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06My glasses have gone down the poo hole.
0:09:06 > 0:09:07They're in the sea.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Oh, Kabei...
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Oh, God, I can see them.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Kabei's trying to fish them up.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Well done! He's got them!
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Oh, Kabei!
0:09:27 > 0:09:29WILLIAM LAUGHS
0:09:31 > 0:09:32You are a genius!
0:09:35 > 0:09:38COCK CROWS
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Days begin early in Sampela.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Canoes return from overnight fishing trips...
0:09:46 > 0:09:51..and everybody moves from their houses down towards the water.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Everyone is working.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57You never really walk along and see people just sort of sat around.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It's, er... Everybody's doing something, you know?
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Women paint their faces with rice flour
0:10:14 > 0:10:17to protect themselves from the sun's glare.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23And every day, both young and old head out into the ocean to fish.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27It is a very exciting day today.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30We're going to try the spear guns.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34And this really is what these people are famous for.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It's certainly the most evocative scene
0:10:37 > 0:10:41that I ever saw of these guys before I came to this village.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42So, Kabei...
0:11:18 > 0:11:19Here we go...
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Kabei works alongside his father Kakei and brother Laoda.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39They are one of the last families in Sampela
0:11:39 > 0:11:41to use traditional spear guns,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44as most other fishermen have moved on to nets.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The Bajau are unique in the water.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06With virtually no body fat,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10they can reach the bottom with nothing more than a few kicks.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43For this family, fishing seems to be more than just providing food.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48It defines who they are and separates them from anybody else.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Their reputation in the village is as hunters of the ocean...
0:13:09 > 0:13:11..rather than simply fishermen.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49Even at 75, Kabei's father can find fish at more than 15 metres.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14It's the first time I've seen these boys in the sea.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16And it is something to behold.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18I've never seen anything like it.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20The... The economy of movement.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22The symmetry in the water.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Their eyesight.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26It's like watching underwater ballet.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32By late afternoon, we have enough to feed the whole family.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36This is the way the Bajau have traditionally fished.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Enough for today and perhaps tomorrow, but no more.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45For the sea always provided when they lived on boats.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Kabei's parents are one of the few couples still alive
0:14:51 > 0:14:52who were born at sea,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56before Sampela was built.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03The Bajau trace their roots to an old myth
0:16:03 > 0:16:07that tells of a king whose daughter was washed away in a flood.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12And he sent forth a child to find her.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19For many years, this child searched the seas...
0:16:19 > 0:16:22and when he did not return,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24the king sent out others.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34Many of these went to land, but some remained in the water.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Over generations, these people learnt to survive entirely off the seas,
0:16:42 > 0:16:47as comfortable below the water's surface as they were above it.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51These are the Bajau.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56And they lived on boats, rarely coming in to land.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04For in the myth, the sea gave them all that they would ever need.
0:17:08 > 0:17:09Kabei...
0:17:11 > 0:17:13There's an octopus under the house!
0:17:25 > 0:17:27Kabei, camera...
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Oh, Kabei, you've dropped it!
0:17:33 > 0:17:34Oh, ink!
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Oh, my God!
0:17:37 > 0:17:39The worst fisherman I've ever seen!
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Do you know, it's a fascinating system.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50You go to the toilet and there is a smorgasbord of creatures under here
0:17:50 > 0:17:55ready to recycle whatever you want to deposit into the sea.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59So, there's swarms and swarms of bait fish under there.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03So, during the day, the children are fishing these out.
0:18:03 > 0:18:04Their dads are then taking them
0:18:04 > 0:18:06to go and fish at night for the big fish,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09sticking them on the hook and live-baiting them through the water.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12And then, underneath it all, in all the mud,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15are all of these little mussels and clams
0:18:15 > 0:18:17that are just processing all of the waste
0:18:17 > 0:18:19that are coming out of people's bums.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24It's a sewage treatment works and a fishery all rolled into one.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Sampela's built on a narrow bed of sea grass.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35And every low tide, Kabei's extended family
0:18:35 > 0:18:38harvest sea urchins and sea cucumbers in the shallows.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41These were once the currency of the Bajau
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and traded for vegetables and rice.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48But half the village has now turned away
0:18:48 > 0:18:50from such traditional activities.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54I've just been told, "You can go for a walk
0:18:54 > 0:18:57"but you've got to be back in ten minutes for your food."
0:19:00 > 0:19:02CHILDREN CHATTER LOUDLY
0:19:05 > 0:19:06Right...
0:19:08 > 0:19:09So, something you begin to notice,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12when you get away from that half of the village,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14which is much more traditional,
0:19:14 > 0:19:15and you start heading towards here,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17immediately the walkways are better,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20the walkways to the houses are much better.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22And the houses themselves...
0:19:22 > 0:19:24You've got a satellite dish,
0:19:24 > 0:19:25potential electric going in,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27tin roofs,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29and some of the houses have tiles.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31And this part of the village is...
0:19:32 > 0:19:34..much more money-conscious.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Everybody here, when it's the time for the call to pray,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40goes to the mosque, which is in the middle of the village.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Whereas, down my end, I've not seen anyone go yet, at all.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47CALL TO PRAYERS
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Not long after the village was founded,
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Islam arrived in Sampela.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Soon after came modern fishing practices and nets...
0:19:57 > 0:19:59..eagerly embraced by many families.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05In Kabei's neighbourhood,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08traditional Bajau beliefs and fishing practices still dominate.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11People rely on handmade spear guns
0:20:11 > 0:20:13and a daily catch to sustain their families.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Right, we're off to the market today with the girls.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24I'm going with Maria and Maria's aunt
0:20:24 > 0:20:27and all the fish that her husband caught last night.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Even small fish is better than no fish, right?
0:20:34 > 0:20:36The nearest market to Sampela
0:20:36 > 0:20:38is found on the neighbouring island of Kaledupa.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44This is a journey that has to be made every single day...
0:20:45 > 0:20:47..just to get your daily essentials.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52This is where the Bajau paddle to buy fresh water
0:20:52 > 0:20:55and to sell their most valuable fish.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58Here we are.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03It's as close as many of them will come to land.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06PEOPLE CHATTER
0:21:17 > 0:21:19This is such an unusual set-up.
0:21:19 > 0:21:25All of the women from Sampela are sat down here selling their fish
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and we are, basically, underneath the bridge in Kaledupa
0:21:29 > 0:21:33and the Kaledupans are looking down on us
0:21:33 > 0:21:37and the market forces are very much with them.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40They don't have to buy their fish from us,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43because they can go elsewhere, you know?
0:21:43 > 0:21:45There's lots of other markets around Kaledupa.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47But these women,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50they HAVE TO sell their fish to these Kaledupan people.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54The Sampelan women only have small canoes
0:21:54 > 0:21:59and Kaledupa is the one market they can reach safely.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04The islanders appear to have a stranglehold on all Bajau trading.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44I have to be honest, the tone feels slightly derisory.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48I saw someone spit down on one of the women earlier.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52The prices are really low.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57People are selling tuna over there for about £1, £1.50 a throw.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00And these guys have pretty much just got to take what they're given.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04And the Kaledupans here, they know that.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06And they've got them over a barrel.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Maria's just saying, there's no point us waiting any more.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19The market is saturated with better fish than what we're selling.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22And if we wait much longer, these fish are going to go bad
0:23:22 > 0:23:24and then we can't sell them tomorrow, either. So...
0:23:25 > 0:23:26That's quite serious, actually.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29That means that Maria is now unable
0:23:29 > 0:23:31to get fresh water for her family.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44When I first arrived here and I first went fishing with those guys,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46I was absolutely awestruck
0:23:46 > 0:23:50by what they can achieve and what they can do in the sea.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55And I think it's easy to be fooled into thinking...
0:23:56 > 0:23:57..that life here is easy.
0:23:59 > 0:24:00But the fact of the matter is,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04all of your eggs are in one basket in Sampela.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Everything relies on you being able to sell your fish.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11And if you've got fish to sell, then that's good, if you can sell them.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13But if you've got fish that you can't sell
0:24:13 > 0:24:15or you haven't been able to catch fish,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17you're in real trouble.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21So we've come back now with a boat that's empty,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24bar two dozen rotting fish.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And Maria said to me, "Well, my husband's just going
0:24:27 > 0:24:29"to have to catch big fish tonight."
0:24:29 > 0:24:31It's as simple as that.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Later that day, the rain hits
0:24:42 > 0:24:44and nobody goes fishing.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50Stuck in Kabei's house,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54it's his oldest son, Lobo, who provides most of the entertainment.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Honestly, mate. Thin ice, my friend.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38For two days, the rain continues.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Nobody fishes.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46LOBO SINGS
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Lobo and I run through every game we know.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01Wow!
0:26:39 > 0:26:41By the third day,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44people are beginning to worry about food supplies.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47CHILD CRIES
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Being surrounded by water,
0:26:50 > 0:26:51combined with bad weather,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53means that everybody is stuck here.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56You just have to sit here and wait it out.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14That night, Kabei decides to risk the storm.
0:27:23 > 0:27:24OK.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33The wind has picked right up and, er...
0:27:33 > 0:27:35the rain's come in
0:27:35 > 0:27:37and everyone's a little bit tense now, to be honest.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39A little bit worried.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Kabei was going to go for two hours and then come back.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00But he's been gone for three.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06But the weather's settled down now, so that's a good sign.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08You know, he's probably fine.
0:28:09 > 0:28:10Oh, Kabei!
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Yeah.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25I'm glad to see him.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29That is one tough man.
0:28:30 > 0:28:31Yeah.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39COCK CROWS
0:28:40 > 0:28:43The day after a storm is a busy one in Sampela,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45as everybody needs to get out fishing.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Kabei's family opt to hunt octopus on the closest reef to the village.
0:29:20 > 0:29:21We've got an octopus!
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Now, it's only a small one.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25It's quite a lot of effort as well, you know?
0:29:25 > 0:29:28It's been a good 20 minutes of fighting the current.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32One little hole, a four-foot spear...
0:29:34 > 0:29:37..and that's what we've got for four people. So, we'll need a few more.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44It soon becomes obvious that this reef is in poor health.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Despite their skill, Kabei's family have little to choose from.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Our afternoon's work has caught enough to feed the whole family,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10but not much more.
0:30:13 > 0:30:14For the Bajau,
0:30:14 > 0:30:18the blame for this lies with people outside their village.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Sampela sits within a national park.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Nobody, except the Bajau, have licence to fish the waters.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00But this law seems rarely to be respected.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28I'd seen big boats on the horizon before,
0:31:28 > 0:31:30skirting the edge of the national park.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35But in my second week, one anchors not more than a kilometre away.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39It's a boat the headman knows well.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05This is a serious problem. A very serious problem.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10And I've got no idea how we're going to be received going up here now.
0:32:36 > 0:32:37What's that?
0:32:37 > 0:32:39They're just fixing their machine and then they're going?
0:32:44 > 0:32:45Let's have a look in the hold.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13You can't tell me, every single time you come here,
0:33:13 > 0:33:15your boat breaks down in the middle of a national park.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39It is, what, 200 metres from Sampela,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42where every day we go out and all we catch are tiny, little fish?
0:33:42 > 0:33:45I've seen one big pelagic in the whole time I've been here.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48And, you know, these guys can scoop up more than those guys
0:33:48 > 0:33:52can probably manage in two months in about 15 minutes.
0:33:53 > 0:33:58Do I believe that they break down here every single time that they come through? No, of course I don't.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01But can we prove anything otherwise? No, of course we can't.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02So, what do we do?
0:34:02 > 0:34:03I guess we get back in our boat
0:34:03 > 0:34:06and we go back to Sampela, where there's no fish.
0:34:06 > 0:34:07Brilliant. OK.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Just look at this contrast here now.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26You've got three boats.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31One over there catching maybe three fish in the next three hours.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Some women over there eating sea urchins.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36The village here, full of impoverished people.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38And then a boat there
0:34:38 > 0:34:41that can collect 100kg of fish in about ten minutes,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43right from underneath their noses.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46It just makes me so angry, though, you know,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49that it's just so obvious and there's just nothing being done.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51Nothing at all.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57Kabei's reaction to the fishing boat is surprising.
0:34:57 > 0:34:58He doesn't seem upset.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03It's only later that evening I learn why.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10We've just been going through the Sama language
0:35:10 > 0:35:13for all of the books in my coral reef book,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16and we've come across a very interesting fish and it's this one.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19Kareo tokeh, the bamboo shark.
0:35:22 > 0:35:23Yeah?
0:35:27 > 0:35:28God...!
0:35:30 > 0:35:31Wow!
0:35:39 > 0:35:40Ah-ha!
0:35:40 > 0:35:42So, it's a shark finning trip.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44They go shark finning.
0:35:45 > 0:35:46Yeah.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56Wow!
0:35:57 > 0:35:59I've never met a shark finner before.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02It's a bit strange, really,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05because I've actually campaigned against shark finning.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08I follow the Shark Trust.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11And I guess I've always seen them as the bad guys.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14And yet, you know, I love Kabei and I love his family.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19And every two years, ten million rupiah. That's a...
0:36:20 > 0:36:23That's a vital chunk of cash for his family.
0:36:23 > 0:36:29So, a way of topping up your wages is to go shark finning.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32And the other thing they do here is collect these
0:36:32 > 0:36:34for the Chinese medicine market...
0:36:35 > 0:36:37Seahorses.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Ten million rupiah every kilo.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47Kabei and many other Bajau join these illegal fishing boats every year,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50fishing out the very waters they depend upon.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53They do it not just for the money,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55but because they still believe the ocean
0:36:55 > 0:36:57has an infinite supply of fish.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Bojango is the god of the sea,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34who determines the fate of each fisherman.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39According to the Bajau, it's he who controls the health of the ocean.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18I find this belief system difficult.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24It seems so at odds with the emptiness of the sea around Sampela.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51I think this idea that the sea is infinite,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54that it's going to constantly keep giving fish
0:38:54 > 0:38:57and that there's going to constantly be work for the men here
0:38:57 > 0:38:59in catching those fish...
0:38:59 > 0:39:02And it just isn't true. It's not true at all.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05I can count on one hand the amount of decent,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08commercial-sized fish I've seen caught.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12That's not enough to sustain 1,000 people and their livelihoods.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Not by a long chalk.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17And yet, they believe that everything's going to be fine.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19And they'll just turn round to you and smile and say,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21"No. You know, everything's fine. Don't worry."
0:39:22 > 0:39:25But I do worry. I do worry. I worry about this place.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28I worry about this place a lot. I worry about what's going to happen.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30I worry about what's going to happen in the future.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39That future came knocking at Kabei's house the next morning.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44Two men dressed in motorbike helmets and carrying a large wallet.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07Loan sharks from the island of Kaledupa
0:40:07 > 0:40:09are now daily visitors to Sampela.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13Mama Pek's in trouble with the moneylenders.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16So, she says she's paid and they say she hasn't.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29She hasn't paid for a long time.
0:40:34 > 0:40:35OK.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Kabei's wife isn't the only person with debts.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13Over two thirds of the village owe money to the loan sharks.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17I can sense a complete change in the atmosphere in Sampela
0:41:17 > 0:41:18following these guys.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21It's not the happy, rosy, joyful place
0:41:21 > 0:41:23that I've become accustomed to.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26These people are not liked.
0:41:53 > 0:41:54Two generations ago,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57most Bajau families bartered for their daily needs.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01It's only since settling that a cash economy has developed
0:42:01 > 0:42:05and some people are still struggling to adjust.
0:42:31 > 0:42:36So, this is the place where the money that they've just gathered
0:42:36 > 0:42:39gets redivided out, recounted
0:42:39 > 0:42:41and then taken back out and reloaned to the village.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51The money has been in her hands for less than three seconds
0:42:51 > 0:42:53and already she has to give a commission.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57So, for her small loan of 300,000,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00every day she has to pay 12,000 back to these guys.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02And that's just interest.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05That's not taking anything out of the original loan.
0:43:10 > 0:43:11They can't write.
0:43:13 > 0:43:14Every single contract here
0:43:14 > 0:43:17is finished with the thumbprint of the lady.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20And the moneylenders leant into me and they said,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22"Oh, it's because she can't write." And I'm sat there thinking,
0:43:22 > 0:43:25"Well, if she can't write, she can't read, either."
0:43:25 > 0:43:28It's a double-sided contract with all of this writing on it,
0:43:28 > 0:43:31all of these obligations that they have to fulfil.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33And you can't help but notice that...
0:43:34 > 0:43:38..these people have absolutely no education.
0:43:38 > 0:43:39There's no other income stream.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41If the sea stops giving,
0:43:41 > 0:43:43or if something happens to her husband out to sea,
0:43:43 > 0:43:44what's she going to do then?
0:43:44 > 0:43:47These guys are going to keep knocking and keep coming.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50And she's just going to get in deeper and deeper debt.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56THEY CHAT
0:43:58 > 0:44:01I've now been in the village for three weeks.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05And during this time, I've grown extremely close to Kabei's family.
0:44:05 > 0:44:06HE YELLS
0:44:21 > 0:44:23In this part of the village,
0:44:23 > 0:44:27all the children spend their days in and around the water.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48But one child remains quite separate from the rest.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53And that is my friend Lobo.
0:44:55 > 0:45:00Lobo, who I'm probably closest to out of the whole family,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03has a disability...
0:45:03 > 0:45:04erm...
0:45:04 > 0:45:08that I've been told is only going to get worse
0:45:08 > 0:45:11and he can't swim as a result.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15Which means he can't do what Kabei does,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18which is provide for the family.
0:45:18 > 0:45:19And I'm going to have to ask Kabei
0:45:19 > 0:45:22about what he thinks Lobo's future is.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25And it's an awkward question to ask,
0:45:25 > 0:45:28because I probably don't want to hear the answer, either.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31Because I suspect I won't like it.
0:45:33 > 0:45:38Lobo is thinner than the other kids and walks with some difficulty.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41He's often left out of village activities
0:45:41 > 0:45:44and it's only Kabei who is prepared to talk about him.
0:45:45 > 0:45:46Kabei...
0:46:43 > 0:46:45That's not very long.
0:47:20 > 0:47:21Yeah.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30HE SPEAKS KABEI'S LANGUAGE
0:47:31 > 0:47:34COCK CROWS
0:47:34 > 0:47:41It's early morning, after we discussed Lobo.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43And, er...
0:47:43 > 0:47:46it's a bit weird talking about him when he's lying right there.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50The longer I've spent here, the more I begin to realise
0:47:50 > 0:47:53that people are actually quite embarrassed about his condition.
0:47:53 > 0:47:58They make jokes and laugh at him and generally aren't very nice.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02And I guess it all boils down to fish.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04If you can't fish,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07then you are not part of the community.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11And that's something I find extremely frustrating
0:48:11 > 0:48:13and very upsetting.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Well, you're not going to get sunburnt today, Lobo.
0:48:34 > 0:48:39In many respects, Lobo is almost like the canary in the coalmine.
0:48:39 > 0:48:40You know, I almost want to say,
0:48:40 > 0:48:42"You should be looking at Lobo and using him
0:48:42 > 0:48:45"as almost the first person in your family
0:48:45 > 0:48:47"to go out and to get skills away from fishing,
0:48:47 > 0:48:49"because there might not be any fish
0:48:49 > 0:48:51"for you to survive on in the future."
0:48:51 > 0:48:54And they always come back with the same answer, which is,
0:48:54 > 0:48:56"There's always going to be fish."
0:48:59 > 0:49:01The traditional beliefs that Kabei holds
0:49:01 > 0:49:04are not shared by everyone in Sampela.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06CALL TO PRAYERS
0:49:06 > 0:49:09In other parts of the village, change is happening
0:49:09 > 0:49:12and a new Bajau identity is beginning to emerge.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Along with the arrival of Islam came an Indonesian school.
0:49:23 > 0:49:24CHILDREN YELL
0:49:28 > 0:49:29I've got a uniform!
0:49:29 > 0:49:32BELL RINGS
0:49:35 > 0:49:38This is the oldest students.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40So, I think these are around 16, 17 years old.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42So, they should be leaving school soon.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46It'll be interesting to hear what they've got to say about where they want to go.
0:49:48 > 0:49:49Hello!
0:49:50 > 0:49:51OK.
0:49:57 > 0:49:58OK.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02Everyone's parents works in the sea.
0:50:07 > 0:50:08OK. Kasih banyak.
0:50:57 > 0:50:58Right.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01It's great that there's children here
0:51:01 > 0:51:04that have ambition outside of just being a fisherman,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06that there are children here that want more.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09But...
0:51:09 > 0:51:10all of the jobs that they want
0:51:10 > 0:51:12will take them away from this island.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17And, I guess, what I'm wondering is what's this island going to be like
0:51:17 > 0:51:20when all of the ambitious, educated children
0:51:20 > 0:51:23have already left and gone elsewhere?
0:51:23 > 0:51:25Is there just going to be subsistence fishermen here
0:51:25 > 0:51:28eking out a living until there are no more fish
0:51:28 > 0:51:31and then they move on and Sampela is no more?
0:51:32 > 0:51:33I've got no idea.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37OK...
0:51:37 > 0:51:38Shhh...
0:51:39 > 0:51:40Stand up!
0:51:41 > 0:51:43Someone's going to get it.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45Who gets it first wins a big prize. Stand up!
0:51:45 > 0:51:47Bagus!
0:51:48 > 0:51:50Stand up. Bagus.
0:51:50 > 0:51:51Bagus. Stand up.
0:51:53 > 0:51:54Sit down!
0:51:55 > 0:51:56Stand up!
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Sit down!
0:51:58 > 0:51:59Stand up!
0:52:39 > 0:52:44Separate sides of this village seem to see the future in different ways.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Some turning towards the land
0:52:47 > 0:52:52and others facing out to an increasingly empty sea.
0:52:54 > 0:52:55OK, Lobo, have you got it?
0:52:58 > 0:53:00OK, do I like Bajau people?
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Yes! I love Bajau people.
0:53:02 > 0:53:03OK, Lobo...
0:53:13 > 0:53:14Aw...
0:53:23 > 0:53:26Close proximity in this room. It's quite nice.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44The next day, we fish for the final time.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Three generations facing very different futures.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01Fishing is all they do because it's all they know.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03You know, it's all they've ever known.
0:54:05 > 0:54:06And it's hard to watch them go out
0:54:06 > 0:54:09and to put so much time and effort into their fishing
0:54:09 > 0:54:12and then just come back with so little.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Meanwhile, just the other side of the island,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20someone catches 100 kilos of fish in five minutes.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24People look down their noses at the Bajau.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26They see them as backward and primitive
0:54:26 > 0:54:28and they don't see that other side to them,
0:54:28 > 0:54:32that incredibly deep-thinking,
0:54:32 > 0:54:35loving, humble people.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37They just want to exploit them.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43I am really worried about people like Lobo
0:54:43 > 0:54:45and people that don't fit into the system here.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49I hope he doesn't know that people think he's cursed
0:54:49 > 0:54:53and I hope he doesn't know that people think so little of him.
0:54:55 > 0:54:56Because I certainly don't.
0:55:27 > 0:55:28Hey, Lobo...
0:56:02 > 0:56:03OK, bagus.
0:56:06 > 0:56:07OK, go on, then.
0:56:33 > 0:56:34I'm going to cry.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39Oh, Mama...
0:56:52 > 0:56:54Dear me...
0:56:54 > 0:56:56Mama...
0:57:02 > 0:57:05WILL SIGHS HEAVILY
0:57:06 > 0:57:07Come on, buddy.
0:57:19 > 0:57:20Oh, God!
0:57:20 > 0:57:21OK, let's go.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23OK, dah-dah.
0:57:25 > 0:57:26Dah-dah.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31That's it.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34We have to go. It's so sad.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45Oh, my God!
0:57:45 > 0:57:47Mama Pek's last stand.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49WILL LAUGHS
0:57:49 > 0:57:52How could I have thought I could have just walked off the island
0:57:52 > 0:57:54without another massive meal?
0:57:56 > 0:57:57Oh, makasih.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22What a place...
0:58:22 > 0:58:23What a place.