0:00:02 > 0:00:04I'm on a journey around the Caribbean Sea,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07with its thousands of beautiful islands.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10And an incredible mainland coast,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12home to millions of extraordinary people.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19It's a vast area spanning a million square miles,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21with a rich and brutal history.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Some of the most dangerous places on the planet.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27GUNFIRE
0:00:28 > 0:00:31It's one of the most vibrant and exciting regions on Earth.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34It's the Caribbean.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40On this final leg of my journey around the Caribbean Sea,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44I travel from the coast of Nicaragua, north through Honduras,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47to finish my journey in Jamaica.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53On one of the world's greatest coral reefs,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I join a research mission and explore the coral kingdom at night.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02That was absolutely incredible!
0:01:04 > 0:01:06In the deadliest city on the planet,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09I witness the brutal results of gang warfare.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12I think he's got a bullet wound on his chest. Look at that.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16'Before ending my adventure...' Oh, my goodness.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19'..on one of the Caribbean's most stunning beaches.'
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I'm just off the beautiful coast of Nicaragua,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36and I'm beginning the third leg of my journey around the Caribbean Sea.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Nicaragua's a former Spanish colony, but the British were in this area,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45and many people along the Caribbean coast speak English.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49A local called Harley Clair
0:01:49 > 0:01:53was taking me back to the area where he lives -
0:01:53 > 0:01:55a village called Monkey Point.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01What a beautiful-looking community.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04- Who's this gentleman? Hello, sir. - Lovely to meet you.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06- Lovely to meet you, too. How are you?- Fine.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08- Are you the head man in the community?- Yeah...
0:02:08 > 0:02:12- No, no, in this area.- In this area. - This area, he's the head man.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15- You're the head man? You didn't say that.- Yeah!
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I will be something like a big chief, you know.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20In the next world, you would say the big boss.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23LAUGHTER
0:02:23 > 0:02:25The people here are Rama and Creole.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28They're the descendants of the original tribes
0:02:28 > 0:02:30who inhabited this coast for thousands of years,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34and former slaves brought here by the British.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37The community at Monkey Point have a reputation
0:02:37 > 0:02:39as some of the best seafarers in the area.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42- Are you a community of fishermen, then?- Yes.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47This is the main thing we do here, like, job, you know?
0:02:47 > 0:02:49- Main job. Fishing. - Yeah, the main job is fishery.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Harley took me out to show me the ropes and give me a lesson.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59- Do you want to try? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01- OK. Grab one.- Right.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05- Again.- Well, I don't want that bit. I'll have this bit.- One.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09You just have to hold - everything you have to hold in one hand.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11- No, no, no. Let go, let go, let go.- OK.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15So, you're going to do like when you're dancing, OK? This one here.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17- And like when you love her. - Huh-huh-huhhh.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- When you get it this way, you let go of everything.- OK, OK.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- But mind your head... - Stay out of the way.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- Go ahead.- Hide. OK?- Yes.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Hooray! You did it better than I!
0:03:31 > 0:03:33OK...
0:03:33 > 0:03:34Hey, have we got anything?
0:03:38 > 0:03:39It's baked beans again tonight.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46- We've got a fish. - Got one fish.- Dinner!
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- Whoa.- Flippin' heck! What's this?
0:03:52 > 0:03:54HE LAUGHS
0:03:54 > 0:03:55This is a conger eel, man.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- A conger eel.- It's a sea snake.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Yes. You've caught him when he's got a fish in his mouth.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- Swallowing a fish. - That's extraordinary.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04When the fish aren't biting,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08life can be tough along this idyllic coastline.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09However, it's a way of life
0:04:09 > 0:04:12that Harley and the rest of the village want to preserve.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19But Nicaragua is on the brink of monumental change.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25This community and the entire country could soon be split in two
0:04:25 > 0:04:28by the world's largest engineering project.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33The government has approved plans to carve a massive canal
0:04:33 > 0:04:36running almost 180 miles across Nicaragua,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39linking the Pacific and the Caribbean.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41One end of it will be right by Monkey Point.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47During the past 500 years,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50the British, Spanish, Dutch, French and the Americans
0:04:50 > 0:04:53have all dreamt or tried to join the two oceans through Nicaragua.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58There have been more than 70 attempts, but they've all failed.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03- This is part of an old train. - No!- Yes.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Part of a steam engine, I'm guessing.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08- Yeah. In the beginning of the 19th century, maybe...- Right.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12..they was trying to construct a dry canal,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and it was going along the way to the Pacific.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19So, this engine dates back to one of the many attempts
0:05:19 > 0:05:25to link the Pacific and the Caribbean sides of Nicaragua.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29In this case, as you said, for a dry canal,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32- so running railway tracks across the country.- Yeah.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36There have been so many attempts in one form or another
0:05:36 > 0:05:39to do this over the years, haven't there?
0:05:39 > 0:05:41- Dozens of them. - So, it can happen again.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46This time, a Chinese-backed consortium
0:05:46 > 0:05:50have been granted the right to build a channel a third of a mile wide
0:05:50 > 0:05:52to rival the neighbouring Panama Canal.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57The Nicaraguan Interoceanic Canal will take supertankers
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and a new generation of giant container ships
0:06:00 > 0:06:02that won't fit through the 100-year-old Panama Canal.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The £32 billion Nicaraguan scheme
0:06:06 > 0:06:08was approved without a public consultation,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10and with very little debate.
0:06:10 > 0:06:11And, of course,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14the project will have a colossal impact on the environment.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Look at this.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Within just a few feet, we are in this extraordinary forest.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29It's beautiful.
0:06:33 > 0:06:39Hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands and forests like this
0:06:39 > 0:06:42will need to be cleared to make way for the canal.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46It will take away the habitat
0:06:46 > 0:06:48of creatures that are already endangered.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50I think they might just end up
0:06:50 > 0:06:55destroying a huge area of pristine wilderness.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06The Interoceanic Canal will divide Nicaragua.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Communities living near the canal will be changed for ever.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16Can we ask some of you here what your view is about the canal?
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Nobody has come here and said to you,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- "This is what's going to happen"? - No.- No.- No-one?!- No.
0:07:35 > 0:07:41What's happened, we hear it on the news.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44We put on the radio and we hear it.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49They not even take the kindness
0:07:49 > 0:07:54and inform us in our language what's going to take place
0:07:54 > 0:07:56on the radio broadcasting station.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59It doesn't sound as though you think
0:07:59 > 0:08:03the canal will really benefit your people.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Look, I love my community, how it sits.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09And tomorrow,
0:08:09 > 0:08:14I see just drastically, my community change,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and probably everything cut down, you know?
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- I think...- That's the future you see for you community here?
0:08:21 > 0:08:27- Yes.- Of a devastated... living on a devastated land?- Yes.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29The Nicaraguan people look at us around here,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32look at indigenous and African descendants,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35like, oh, we're like second-class people.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39We would be, like, having our girl, young girls,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42like, prostituting,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45and for a man, doing the worstest of the job
0:08:45 > 0:08:48to get some food to carry home for the children, you know?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51So, you think that if jobs do come to you from the canal,
0:08:51 > 0:08:56that they'll be very basic jobs, and there'll be enormous problems
0:08:56 > 0:08:59with social problems like prostitution as well as a result?
0:08:59 > 0:09:03- Yeah, yeah.- Totally. Totally change. Totally change.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08It's going to be a new... Nearly like being a new life.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Yeah. Going to be like a new life we're going to have.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Tens of thousands of people
0:09:14 > 0:09:16will need to be resettled away from the canal.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19But new laws mean people displaced by the project
0:09:19 > 0:09:22will receive just minimal compensation for their homes.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Phew, what a long day.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29And it's the room on the right.
0:09:33 > 0:09:34And there's beds.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36WAVES CRASH
0:09:39 > 0:09:40That's all right.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44I think I'll bag this one.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48By the sound of it,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52I'll have a great sea view in the morning.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55WAVES CRASH
0:09:59 > 0:10:01The canal is an enormous project,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03but ordinary people in Nicaragua
0:10:03 > 0:10:07have been left out of the decision-making process.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10There's been nothing like a pesky public inquiry here.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15So, the future for Monkey Point and for Harley looks very uncertain.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18- Farewell to Harley. - All right, brother.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20- Stay safe, all right? Good luck. - Thank you. Thank you.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25- And good luck to you, too. - Thank you, Harley. Bye-bye, mate.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26Let's head north...
0:10:28 > 0:10:30..along the Caribbean coast.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37With no roads into or out of Monkey Point,
0:10:37 > 0:10:39the only way to travel is by boat.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44It's a bit choppy, and it's about to get worse.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Storm force umbrella!
0:10:56 > 0:10:59It was a hair-raising three-hour journey up the coast
0:10:59 > 0:11:01to the town of Bluefields.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Bluefields is a middle-of-nowhere place,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07but it's also the only port of any size
0:11:07 > 0:11:09on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12and it's likely to be an operation, supply and logistics base
0:11:12 > 0:11:14for the canal.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Oh.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Ohh! Dry land.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27I'm going to get the stuff off the boat,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29and then I think we're going to go and have a cup of tea.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Nicaragua's the second poorest country in the western hemisphere,
0:11:39 > 0:11:40after Haiti.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Half of the six million people here scrape by on around a dollar a day.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48And the Caribbean region is the poorest part of the country.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Eight out of ten people in this town are unemployed.
0:11:50 > 0:11:51Oh, gracias.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Enjoy.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And this, actually, is really interesting.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06This is an address given by the wife of the national leader,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08President Ortega.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Apparently, almost every day, she takes over the TV airwaves
0:12:13 > 0:12:15and broadcasts to the nation.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18'There's eight national TV stations here,
0:12:18 > 0:12:22'and seven are reportedly owned by the President's family and friends.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24'The First Lady uses her weekday address
0:12:24 > 0:12:28'to promote government policies and projects like the new canal.'
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Is she on every day?
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Does she talk about the canal?
0:12:38 > 0:12:41The President said if the canal come out positive,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45there will be jobs for a lot of families.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46That's the key for you, is it,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48that it'll bring jobs to the people here?
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Bring jobs for the people here in the region.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Because that is what we need - jobs.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58So, you think the canal could transform life here?
0:12:58 > 0:13:01- Super-transform it. - Super-transform?- Super-transform.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Thank you. The food was lovely.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13'President Daniel Ortega was a hero of the 1979 revolution
0:13:13 > 0:13:16'which overthrew an American-backed dictatorship
0:13:16 > 0:13:18'that had ruled here for more than 40 years.'
0:13:18 > 0:13:20- All right, lads?- Yeah.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24'He then battled the Contras - American-backed guerrillas.'
0:13:24 > 0:13:27But now Ortega's dogged by allegations of corruption.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29He's said to be one of the richest men in the country,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31yet his government claims the canal
0:13:31 > 0:13:34will bring an economic boom to this poor nation.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36I went to meet Johnny Hodgson,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38a member of Ortega's ruling Sandinista Party.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Johnny, what's your view about the proposed canal?
0:13:44 > 0:13:45Do you think it will...?
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Presumably, coming from the ruling party,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50you think it's going to benefit the country?
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Yes, I am convinced of that.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57It is a historical aspiration
0:13:57 > 0:13:59for the people of the Caribbean coast
0:13:59 > 0:14:03to have something that can generate jobs,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07you know, jobs for the people to make a living.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11It's an income that they will get for ever, you know?
0:14:11 > 0:14:16So long as we have the canal, and it is working,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18the people will be getting these incomes.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Let's let these... Oh!
0:14:21 > 0:14:24People have got their daily chores to do.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- Yes, and the streets are very narrow. - Yes, indeed.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29You call this a street. It's interesting.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Yes, this is the way of getting to places, isn't it?
0:14:32 > 0:14:35- You see how a lot of things need to be changed.- Yes.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38But we don't have... we don't have the money.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40We need investment.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Our main objective is to escape from poverty,
0:14:43 > 0:14:48and we are searching for that opportunity,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50and we think we find it.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56The cost of the canal
0:14:56 > 0:15:00will be more than three times the size of the Nicaraguan economy.
0:15:00 > 0:15:01It's a huge investment,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05but not everyone here thinks they'll see the benefits.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06Where are you from, sir?
0:15:06 > 0:15:08From Britain.
0:15:08 > 0:15:09- Eh?- Britain.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Where is that?
0:15:11 > 0:15:14- Well, England is part of Britain. - OK.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17- I like Chelsea, you know? - Chelsea?!- Yeah.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20That's what you know about England, is football.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22The Premier League. You understand?
0:15:22 > 0:15:24How is business for you here in Bluefields?
0:15:24 > 0:15:27- Yeah, well, not so good, you know? - What are we doing?
0:15:29 > 0:15:31The money is very hard.
0:15:31 > 0:15:32Who's this?
0:15:32 > 0:15:34So, we were just asking,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36before you stopped to pick up another passenger,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39what is your view about the canal?
0:15:39 > 0:15:42- Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea?- No, no, no.
0:15:51 > 0:15:52- Why?- Why?
0:16:06 > 0:16:07So, you think the people
0:16:07 > 0:16:09who will work on the canal won't be...
0:16:09 > 0:16:12they won't be Nicaraguan, they'll be foreigners?
0:16:14 > 0:16:15He has a point.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Few Nicaraguans work as civil engineers,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and the consortium behind the canal project
0:16:21 > 0:16:22is apparently planning to import
0:16:22 > 0:16:25up to 50,000 Chinese labourers to build it.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Bye-bye, madam.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Oh, great.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35Small airport, no queue.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44To continue my journey around the Caribbean coast,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48I flew north across Honduras to the island of Roatan.
0:16:52 > 0:16:5535 miles from the Honduran mainland,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Roatan is the country's most popular tourist destination.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09So, we're on an island off the coast of Honduras...
0:17:11 > 0:17:13..in the Caribbean Sea.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Visitors flock here from Europe and North America
0:17:18 > 0:17:21for a taste of the Caribbean, and the chance to get into the water.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27This was home to the original Pirates of the Caribbean.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30By the mid-17th century,
0:17:30 > 0:17:35it's thought that were about 5,000 pirates based on the island.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37You would not want to be sailing past them.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44I was here to see a huge coral reef, the jewel of the Caribbean.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Dr Steve Box is a marine scientist
0:17:46 > 0:17:49working for the Smithsonian Institute.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Steve, what is so special about this place?
0:17:51 > 0:17:55The Mesoamerican Reef is the second largest barrier reef in the world,
0:17:55 > 0:17:56so it's very, very important.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58And for the Caribbean,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02it's an incredible extension of reef systems spanning four countries.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07- The second largest barrier reef on planet Earth is here.- Yes, it is.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09In the Caribbean.
0:18:09 > 0:18:10And we're going to dive on it?
0:18:10 > 0:18:13We're going to dive on the southern extent of it.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26The Mesoamerican Reef stretches 600 miles around the Caribbean Sea,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28from Mexico to these Honduran islands.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33As remarkable as Australia's Great Barrier Reef,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35it's like visiting another world.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37It's home to more than 60 types of coral
0:18:37 > 0:18:41that provide habitat and food for more than 500 species of fish.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44But in just the last few decades,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47half the reef's coral has been wiped out.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Like reefs across the tropics,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52pollution, overfishing and climate change
0:18:52 > 0:18:54are all killing this critical ecosystem.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59It was upsetting to see mountains of dead coral.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05However, some areas of reef here
0:19:05 > 0:19:08still have the highest concentrations of live coral
0:19:08 > 0:19:10found anywhere on the Mesoamerican Reef.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Steve has been investigating why,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19and his research is focused on the likely saviour - the parrotfish.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25Parrotfish can grow to four foot long.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28They're the largest herbivorous fish in the entire Caribbean.
0:19:28 > 0:19:29Scientists have discovered
0:19:29 > 0:19:32that areas with healthy populations of parrotfish
0:19:32 > 0:19:36are better able to survive the problems affecting reefs elsewhere.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45It is so still, and the visibility is just incredible down there.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48And we could see schools of little parrotfish.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50I don't think I've ever seen that before.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52It's a fundamental function on the reef
0:19:52 > 0:19:55for those parrotfish to be taking the algae out of the way.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57So, they're like a team of cleaners.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Kind of like a flock of sheep moving around,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02taking the algae off the reef.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Keeping the grass short.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Keeping the grass short,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08and allowing everything else to grow up around it.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Steve thinks the parrotfish is absolutely essential
0:20:13 > 0:20:14to the health of the coral reef.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19He's trying to learn more about their behaviour
0:20:19 > 0:20:21to work out how best to protect them.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24To do that, Steve's taking samples from parrotfish
0:20:24 > 0:20:27to track their movement around the Caribbean.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31The best time to catch and study them is at night.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35The parrotfish, when we see them during the day,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37they're up in and the reef,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39which actually makes them really hard to catch.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Whereas at night,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43they go and find a nice little crevice to fall asleep in.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46And so we're going to go down with the torches,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49look for where we see them sleeping.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52And once we find them, we will then move them into the net.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55- In the dark.- In the dark. - Under the sea.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57I've never done a night dive.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- Is this going to be a tricky procedure?- It could be, yes.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- Great!- It's going to be exciting. - It'll be fun.- It'll be fun.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16It's an eerie experience to dive into blackness,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18but also completely magical.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Finding the sleeping parrotfish was surprisingly easy.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38When he'd caught one in the net,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Steve took clippings from parrotfish fins to collect their DNA.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46The fins grow back, and the fish are unharmed.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Steve's team are building a DNA database
0:21:50 > 0:21:54that's already uncovering the secret life of parrotfish.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56They're revealing that many of the parrotfish
0:21:56 > 0:21:59floated here as larvae on ocean currents
0:21:59 > 0:22:01from reefs hundreds of miles away.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06So, Steve's research shows us that to save the Mesoamerican Reef,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09marine protected areas need to span the region.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14His work is helping to persuade Caribbean nations
0:22:14 > 0:22:15to set up national parks in the sea,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and ban fishing practices that harm parrotfish.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22That was absolutely incredible!
0:22:24 > 0:22:25Aagh!
0:22:28 > 0:22:30The colours are just so vibrant.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32- A bag of water.- Goldfish.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34A bag of water with this tiny fin clip.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- That's all we need.- That's it?
0:22:37 > 0:22:40It's amazing to be able to work out in the field like this,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44and then take these tiny, tiny samples back,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46and be able to do such amazing science.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47Hopefully, the work you're doing
0:22:47 > 0:22:50is going to make a really profound positive difference
0:22:50 > 0:22:52to life in our seas.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14There are 100,000 people living on the island of Roatan.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17This is a slightly different side of the island.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Many of them moved here to escape violence and crime
0:23:20 > 0:23:22on the mainland of Honduras.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28I went to see someone who had fled here to work.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29Buenos dias.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36- So, this is Delores.- Si. - Delores has a tortilla stand.
0:23:36 > 0:23:37Show me how to make tortillas. Oh, OK.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50You've got a couple there. Look what's happening. They're burning!
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Delores, those tortillas don't look healthy.
0:23:56 > 0:23:57Let's make more.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00I reckon I can get through a good half a dozen of these.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Delores, are you from the island, or are you from the mainland?
0:24:15 > 0:24:16So, how dangerous, how violent,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19was the neighbourhood you were living in?
0:25:00 > 0:25:04So, you came here because you were worried, you were terrified
0:25:04 > 0:25:09that the gangs were going to force your son to become a gang member.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13And what would've happened if he'd refused?
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Delores and her son escaped from the mainland
0:25:22 > 0:25:25with little more than they could carry.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27The gang took over their house.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30As far as Delores knows, they're still there today.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37- How are you doing? - Fine, thank you.- Gracias.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I was embarking on the most difficult and dangerous part
0:25:40 > 0:25:41of my journey around the Caribbean.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46I took a ferry to the Honduran mainland.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49The country is under attack by gangs and drug cartels,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52and it now has the highest murder rate on the planet.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55This is probably the most violent country I've been to
0:25:55 > 0:25:57outside an actual warzone.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- Hello.- How are you, mate? - Simon.- Renato.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Hello, mate. Ah.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07'Renato Lacayo had agreed to be my guide
0:26:07 > 0:26:09'for the rest of my journey through Honduras.'
0:26:11 > 0:26:13A few bits and pieces here.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Flak jackets and everything.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Honduras has endured almost 300 conflicts,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21rebellions and changes of government.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23It's the original banana republic.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Until the mid-20th century,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28foreign banana corporations dominated the country,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30and helped to keep it poor.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Honduras has since suffered military rule, natural disasters,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and now violent crime.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39It's actually much lighter outside than it appears from in here.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45For safety reasons, for security reasons,
0:26:45 > 0:26:49the vehicle we're in has got heavily tinted windows,
0:26:49 > 0:26:50and even windscreen as well.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55It means people can't see there's foreigners in the vehicle.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Renato brought us the newspapers.
0:27:01 > 0:27:07There's just page after page about crimes and murders.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09This is very much everyday news.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11It's normal for us,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14because we're used to seeing the same headlines every day,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16just different faces.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Are you scared of what's happening here? Do you get frightened?
0:27:19 > 0:27:22You can't help but be afraid.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25People you know have had a brother killed,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27they've had their father killed.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30And it just seems like it's catching on, it's adding up,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34and at sometime, it'll catch up to you or your family,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and that's a really frightening feeling.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41It's not surprising Renato's worried.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Across Honduras, there's almost one murder every hour.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48We headed to the city of San Pedro Sula.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50It's the deadliest city on the planet.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54We've arrived in San Pedro Sula.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56This isn't a great time to be driving around,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58so we're going to find a hotel,
0:27:58 > 0:28:04and then tomorrow, in daylight, we'll have a look around.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16San Pedro Sula is Honduras's second city,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18home to just over a million people.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22It looks pretty normal, but violent drug gangs are at war here.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26We're going into one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods
0:28:26 > 0:28:28in one of the most dangerous cities in the world,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31so we need to wear body armour.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37'Almost 1 in 500 people are being murdered here each year.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40'The police force is corrupt and unable to stem the violence,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43'so the military are being sent in to confront the gangs
0:28:43 > 0:28:45'and reclaim no-go areas.'
0:28:45 > 0:28:49There's three military police officers patrolling
0:28:49 > 0:28:51just by the side of the road there.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56They're clearly really trying to project their force into this city.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01We were going on patrol with the military police
0:29:01 > 0:29:04as they went into a poor, gang-controlled area of the city
0:29:04 > 0:29:06called Chamelecon.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11I think it's astonishing that these are the lengths we have to go to
0:29:11 > 0:29:14to be secure going into one of the neighbourhoods in this city.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20DOG BARKS
0:29:25 > 0:29:27This is an extraordinary situation.
0:29:27 > 0:29:33We've got, what, 20 heavily armed soldiers and officers around us.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35There's a bloke with a balaclava
0:29:35 > 0:29:38who clearly doesn't want his face seen.
0:29:41 > 0:29:42The country's two main gangs
0:29:42 > 0:29:45have fought to control this neighbourhood for years,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49using brutal tactics including extortion, torture and murder.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Colonel, what does this mean?
0:29:59 > 0:30:03What sort of size a gang is MS13?
0:30:11 > 0:30:16There are thought to be 300,000 gang members in Central America.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18MS13's the biggest gang.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20It has close ties with Mexican drug cartels.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41It's just completely bare now,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43except for a rather sad toilet there.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47If you don't leave, we're going to kill you - that's what they say.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And people get...
0:30:49 > 0:30:50scared.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55They'll just pick up their stuff, anything they can, and just leave.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57"We just want your home,"
0:30:57 > 0:31:00what, to use to sell drugs or for somebody to live in,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02or...either/or?
0:31:02 > 0:31:05And they also use them to commit crimes.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07They call them crazy houses.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08They come into people's homes,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12they push you out and then they use it to torture people.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Hundreds of homes have been abandoned in this area.
0:31:20 > 0:31:25There are more than 110,000 gang members in Honduras.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27They're tearing the country apart.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39'To combat the gangs, the military police mount regular patrols,
0:31:39 > 0:31:41'and set up checkpoints.'
0:31:41 > 0:31:44What are you looking for when you do a stop like this?
0:32:03 > 0:32:06'Tattoos often indicate gang membership.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08'Under zero tolerance rules,
0:32:08 > 0:32:10'if the police find a tattoo, these boys face arrest.'
0:32:10 > 0:32:13I think he's got a bullet wound on his chest, look at that.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19Huge quantities of cocaine for use in North America
0:32:19 > 0:32:21are trafficked through Honduras.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24So, it's almost inevitable that that's going to result
0:32:24 > 0:32:27in spectacular rates of violence here.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31For me, Honduras and Hondurans
0:32:31 > 0:32:34are victims of America's demand for drugs.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39The main cause of the war here is drugs.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43Estimates vary, but up to £30 billion worth of cocaine
0:32:43 > 0:32:47is believed to pass through Honduras on the way to the US each year.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51How bad did things get?
0:33:06 > 0:33:08There are some signs
0:33:08 > 0:33:11the military are bringing a degree of security to this neighbourhood.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14But they're far from winning the war.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16SIREN WAILS
0:33:22 > 0:33:23A few hours later, we got a call
0:33:23 > 0:33:27saying there'd been an incident on the outskirts of the city.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31We raced to the scene.
0:33:35 > 0:33:36Prisa, prisa.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Commissioner, can you tell us what's happened?
0:34:03 > 0:34:06Two police officers have been targeted?
0:34:06 > 0:34:08It's like a... It's like an assassination.
0:34:19 > 0:34:2451 police officers have been killed in this area?
0:34:24 > 0:34:25Yes.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27That is unbelievable.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Are things getting better or worse here?
0:34:32 > 0:34:37It'll take a long time for things to get better.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39This is... The wounds are so deep.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44You spoke to the workers from the morgue, I believe.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Did they say how many bodies they've collected today?
0:34:48 > 0:34:50They've collected eight bodies already -
0:34:50 > 0:34:52seven homicides and one suicide.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57- Seven murders in one day. - In one day.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03And it's still nine o'clock at night, so we could have more.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07These are the consequences of the drugs trade -
0:35:07 > 0:35:10violence, corruption and a failing state.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24There was only one way to meet the gangs tearing Honduras apart.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30We're now going to what's said to be
0:35:30 > 0:35:33the headquarters for many of the gangs.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35We're going into the city's prison.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39It's said the most powerful gangs
0:35:39 > 0:35:42are now being run from inside these walls.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45The prison's packed with more than 2,500 inmates,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47but it's not exactly a normal jail.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51Buenas tardes.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54'The guards here just control the perimeter.
0:35:54 > 0:35:55'It's a dangerous place,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58'and I wasn't sure what would happen inside.'
0:35:58 > 0:35:59Flippin' heck!
0:36:04 > 0:36:07So, the gentleman in the white shirt there,
0:36:07 > 0:36:08he's the Bishop of San Pedro Sula.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11We just had a quick chat and a meeting with him.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14He is helping us... Well, he is facilitating us being here.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17He is effectively going to be our security,
0:36:17 > 0:36:19we think, in some parts of the prison.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22Being with him will hopefully guarantee that we are safe.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Bishop Emiliani commands respect in areas of the prison
0:36:27 > 0:36:30where the guards don't usually go.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33The Bishop's trying to broker a truce between the government
0:36:33 > 0:36:35and the two most notorious street gangs in Honduras.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39OK, we're about to enter the 18th Street area of the prison,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41and the Monsignor is taking us inside.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45The 18th Street gang has a brutal reputation.
0:36:45 > 0:36:46As in the rest of the prison,
0:36:46 > 0:36:48the guards have given over control of this area
0:36:48 > 0:36:50to the prisoners themselves.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58- Chief of the gang?- Yes, yes.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:37:02 > 0:37:05- They want us to put the cameras down. - Cameras down.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11After some negotiation,
0:37:11 > 0:37:13the gangsters allowed us inside their wing.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Families were visiting, and there were no guards in sight.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19It was astonishing.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22Leaders of the 18th Street agreed to talk
0:37:22 > 0:37:24on condition we didn't show their faces.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17The bishop says the 18th Street gang and its rivals, MS13,
0:38:17 > 0:38:20agreed to the terms of a truce more than a year ago,
0:38:20 > 0:38:24but the Honduran government is refusing to discuss or negotiate.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28Meanwhile, the violence continues.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34The bishop took me to another wing to meet a reformed gang member.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41We've got barbed wire, razor wire, around us. There's a guard up above.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44OK?
0:39:09 > 0:39:13Monsignor, how can we understand this?
0:39:13 > 0:39:18The gangs will take children as young as eight years old.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Honduras is a beautiful Caribbean country
0:39:49 > 0:39:52stuck between the drug producers of South America
0:39:52 > 0:39:54and the drug consumers to the north.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58Its location means the government's fighting a losing battle
0:39:58 > 0:40:00against organised gangs and drug cartels.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Gracias, senores.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05THEY RESPOND IN SPANISH
0:40:05 > 0:40:08The bishop took me away from the gang wings.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14As we headed towards the guards at the gate,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17we entered the main area of the prison.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23- Here we have... - Here are the people working.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25Wow.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28This is incredible.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31You can see there's shoe soles here being cut out.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36There's some people up here, working away.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42'I was still inside the jail. The inmates are in control here.'
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Everybody is working, everybody's doing something.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47'They hand out the food, keep keys to the cells,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50'and decide who gets a decent bed or a punishment.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52'It felt like a combination of sweatshop and market,
0:40:52 > 0:40:54'with cafes and shops.'
0:40:54 > 0:40:57This is astonishing.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00- This is like a town. - Yes. Yes, like a town. Yes.
0:41:00 > 0:41:07Apparently, there is 80% employment inside the prison.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13That's not only impressive in most countries,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16it's a hell of a lot higher than it is outside in the rest of Honduras.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22'Everyone was busy, but this isn't a safe zone.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25'One of the prisoners in charge here reportedly took control
0:41:25 > 0:41:29'after beheading his predecessor and feeding his heart to a dog.'
0:41:30 > 0:41:32I have never seen anything like this.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36We're inside a prison. I have to keep telling myself that.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39'Despite the turmoil created by hundreds of murderers and criminals
0:41:39 > 0:41:41'being thrown together in a tiny space,
0:41:41 > 0:41:45'there's a bizarre sense of order inside the prison.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49'It only highlights the failure of the Honduran state outside.'
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Gracias, senor.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56We all felt a huge sense of relief
0:41:56 > 0:41:58when we made it back safe and sound to the main gate.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02HE SIGHS
0:42:02 > 0:42:03My God, that was...
0:42:05 > 0:42:09That was a very intense and rather overwhelming experience.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12It's very hard to really convey...
0:42:14 > 0:42:16..anything but a fraction
0:42:16 > 0:42:20of the incredible sights and sounds and senses
0:42:20 > 0:42:23that you experience in a situation like that.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28The problems facing Honduras haven't developed overnight.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32And until the river of cocaine flowing through here is stopped,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34it's hard to see an end to the violence.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49I headed on to the last stop
0:42:49 > 0:42:52on my journey around the Caribbean Sea -
0:42:52 > 0:42:54the island of Jamaica.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00It was somewhere I'd always wanted to go.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05And I was hoping to learn a bit more about Jamaica
0:43:05 > 0:43:06than Rastas and reggae.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10The Caribbean...
0:43:10 > 0:43:13is a place of real extremes.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17The crazy situation in Honduras,
0:43:17 > 0:43:23and just extraordinary, raw, magnificent beauty here.
0:43:23 > 0:43:24CHILDREN SHOUT
0:43:24 > 0:43:25Morning!
0:43:27 > 0:43:31I'm meeting a bloke called Nick at this restaurant.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Oh, right, very funny, yes.
0:43:34 > 0:43:35I was told I was meeting him in a blue boat.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41- Nick, hello.- Blue boat on the left. I mean, how can you get that wrong?
0:43:41 > 0:43:43- Simon Reeve.- Nick Davis. Pleasure. Pleasure.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45- Lovely to meet you. - How are you doing?
0:43:45 > 0:43:49Nick, what are you doing here? Your accent's not exactly local, is it?
0:43:49 > 0:43:50Originally from Derby.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53My parents decided that they were going to move back here
0:43:53 > 0:43:54when I was about 16 or 17.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57- I came back. - So, they're from Jamaica?
0:43:57 > 0:43:59They're from here.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01I've discovered the Jamaica they spoke about,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04the place which they talked about when I was growing up.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08And that's been a surprise, a discovery? Revelation?
0:44:08 > 0:44:11You know what's been a real revelation to me?
0:44:11 > 0:44:13So, my parents were always like, you know,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16"Jamaica, it's home, blah-blah-blah."
0:44:16 > 0:44:19I get here and people are like, "Yo, you come from foreign."
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Sorry about my bad patois to all the people who can actually speak it.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24But, you know, basically, "Do you come from abroad?"
0:44:24 > 0:44:27And it was like, "What, really?" THEY LAUGH
0:44:29 > 0:44:30'Nick had suggested meeting here
0:44:30 > 0:44:32'because locals are dealing with a problem
0:44:32 > 0:44:35'that's affecting much of Jamaica and the entire Caribbean.'
0:44:35 > 0:44:39- What are they doing down there? Can we go and have a look?- Yeah.
0:44:39 > 0:44:44They're building gabion baskets, just wire mesh and rocks.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47That's what they hope will kind of keep back the water.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49That's pretty makeshift, isn't it?
0:44:49 > 0:44:52'50 feet of this beach has disappeared underwater
0:44:52 > 0:44:53'in just six years,
0:44:53 > 0:44:55'and like communities across the entire region,
0:44:55 > 0:44:59'people here are fighting to save their homes and businesses.'
0:44:59 > 0:45:02I mean, this sort of situation gets worse when you have storms.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06And for many years, you know, especially my dad's generation,
0:45:06 > 0:45:08you know, they had a big storm in the '50s,
0:45:08 > 0:45:10then never had a big one until the '80s.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Now, you fast forward in recent years,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16there's been storm after storm after storm after storm.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19And the beach just doesn't have time to regenerate
0:45:19 > 0:45:21or to basically just get back to normal.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24You know, people are doing whatever they can, you know,
0:45:24 > 0:45:26to try and stop this happening.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33Something is going wrong in the tropics. The weather is changing.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37And it's often not wealthy people who are suffering as a result,
0:45:37 > 0:45:39but poorer communities like this.
0:45:44 > 0:45:45Our changing climate
0:45:45 > 0:45:49is already having a significant impact around the coast of Jamaica.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Scientists are warning that climate change
0:45:52 > 0:45:55will cause more storms and hurricanes around the region.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00That's one of a number of problems plaguing this small nation.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03It's a fabulous place to come for a holiday,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05but for locals, life here is still tough.
0:46:05 > 0:46:0720% live in poverty,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10and the country has one of the highest national debts in the world.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15- Nick, where are we going? - So, we're heading to Source Farm.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19Issues like high crime, unemployment and economic mismanagement
0:46:19 > 0:46:23have led many of the brightest and best Jamaicans to emigrate,
0:46:23 > 0:46:24mostly to the US.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28It's called the brain drain and it's a huge problem across the Caribbean.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32But Nick was taking me to meet a family who, like his,
0:46:32 > 0:46:35have returned to the island after living and working abroad.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39- Oh, right, here we are.- This is it.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Nicola Phillips sold her restaurant in Philadelphia
0:46:44 > 0:46:46and moved back home to set up Source Farm.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48- This is Simon.- Hello. - Hi, how are you?
0:46:48 > 0:46:49- Lovely to meet you.- Welcome.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55She came back with her brother, a qualified horticulturist,
0:46:55 > 0:46:59her mum, a trained nurse, and her sister, who's a teacher.
0:46:59 > 0:47:00They brought their families,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03and now there's a community of 25 people living here.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08It sounds like you've all come back,
0:47:08 > 0:47:12bringing skills into your family,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15but into the wider community, as well.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18We just want more people to be able to think
0:47:18 > 0:47:22that you can actually come back and make a difference.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25How lucky are you, Mum, to have everybody here?
0:47:25 > 0:47:28I don't call it luck. I think I'm blessed.
0:47:28 > 0:47:29LAUGHTER
0:47:29 > 0:47:32The debate in Western countries about immigration
0:47:32 > 0:47:35concentrates on the effect it has on us.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37But emigration's a shocking cost to countries like Jamaica,
0:47:37 > 0:47:41which has lost 85% of university-educated workers.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45However, the Phillips clan have come back to teach local farmers
0:47:45 > 0:47:47and help this heavily indebted country.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49We have all these wonderful microclimates,
0:47:49 > 0:47:52that we can grow almost anything.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55We were built on agriculture, in terms of, you know, historically,
0:47:55 > 0:47:59and we should be looking back to agriculture
0:47:59 > 0:48:02as a way to get ourselves out of debt.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05That's an idyllic scene.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08And sea behind.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10It's a beautiful space to work.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13One of the things that we do is that we don't put a crop in the ground
0:48:13 > 0:48:15unless we know where we have a market for it.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18and so we are going to be very selective, cos it's a business.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20But we also have the opportunity to bring in the tech stuff.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24It's not just the same old thing that maybe grandpa did alone,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28but we need to integrate the technology that we have as well.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31You've got, obviously, a passionate desire
0:48:31 > 0:48:34- to feed Jamaica and Jamaicans...- Yes.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37..combined with spreadsheets to make sure all the numbers add up.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39- Yes, it always has to add up! - SHE LAUGHS
0:48:41 > 0:48:45Jamaica imports nearly a billion dollars' worth of food a year,
0:48:45 > 0:48:47and it needs to come up with ideas
0:48:47 > 0:48:50that encourage talented people to stay in the country.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52So, Nicola's project couldn't be more important.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01The next morning, Nick took me to the capital - Kingston.
0:49:03 > 0:49:04In recent decades,
0:49:04 > 0:49:08Jamaica's developed a reputation for violence, crime and corruption.
0:49:08 > 0:49:09That's part of the reason
0:49:09 > 0:49:12so many locals have gone to live and work abroad.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14But there's some good news -
0:49:14 > 0:49:16the crime rate here is actually going down.
0:49:19 > 0:49:24Just a few years ago, Jamaica was sliding into something of an abyss.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28The murder rate here was rising uncontrollably
0:49:28 > 0:49:31to levels only seen in a country like Honduras.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34But since then, it's started to turn a corner.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42Jamaica's murder rate has fallen by 40% in recent years.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Cases of rape are down by a quarter.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47A recent report stated Jamaica
0:49:47 > 0:49:50used to be one of the most corrupt countries in the entire Americas.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Now it's one of the least.
0:49:53 > 0:49:58Jamaica has got a long way to go with reducing down levels of crime,
0:49:58 > 0:50:00and corruption as well.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04It's actually doing better than many neighbouring countries.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Things are improving here.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10- Inspector. Simon Reeve.- Hi, Simon.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13- Very nice to meet you. Hello, sir.- Ainsworth.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14Simon Reeve. Nice to meet you.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Inspector Ainsworth Shakes. He's the chief polygrapher.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20- The chief polygrapher?- Yes.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Goodness me. You've looked into people's souls.
0:50:23 > 0:50:24Oh, yeah, I like that.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26THEY LAUGH
0:50:26 > 0:50:28Corrupt politicians, officials and policemen
0:50:28 > 0:50:30hold back so many countries that I visit.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33Finally, it was a joy to see an agency and a government
0:50:33 > 0:50:35doing something about them.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38This elite squad is tackling white-collar corruption
0:50:38 > 0:50:40and money-laundering.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42These are the unsung heroes who crunch the figures,
0:50:42 > 0:50:45and follow the leads and the tracks,
0:50:45 > 0:50:48and go through those complex investigations.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Our focus is on the major players, the kingpins,
0:50:51 > 0:50:53those persons who have amassed a lot of wealth,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56those persons who have reached controlled wealth
0:50:56 > 0:51:00and can fund their illicit lifestyle and other criminal activities.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Now the Jamaican authorities are going after
0:51:04 > 0:51:07hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of criminal assets.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10The motto of this agency is, "No-one's above the law".
0:51:10 > 0:51:12- Have a seat right there, please. - Goodness.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15The video here, CCTV.
0:51:15 > 0:51:16Least of all me.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21We have here the cardio cuff.
0:51:21 > 0:51:26It looks at changes in your heart rate as you are polygraphed.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31Now, I'm going to give you one of these cards.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36- On the underside, there's a number. Don't let me see it.- OK.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Each time I ask you if you had picked a number,
0:51:38 > 0:51:40I want you to answer "No",
0:51:40 > 0:51:44- even when I ask you the number you have under your hand.- I see.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49Did you pick the number 16?
0:51:49 > 0:51:50No.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53Did you pick the number 15?
0:51:53 > 0:51:54No.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57Did you pick the number seven?
0:51:57 > 0:51:58No.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01Did you pick the number eight?
0:52:01 > 0:52:02No.
0:52:05 > 0:52:06And open your eyes.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10This instrument is indicating
0:52:10 > 0:52:13that you have the number eight under your hand.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16So, now I know what it looks like when you're lying, right?
0:52:16 > 0:52:18AINSWORTH CHUCKLES
0:52:18 > 0:52:21- All right. - That's an ominous laugh, Inspector.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25- AINSWORTH CHUCKLES - Oh, yes.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28What the polygraph does - if there's any deviation from the truth,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32ANY deviation, there will be a reaction to the question.
0:52:32 > 0:52:33Who do you get in here?
0:52:34 > 0:52:39The bulk of our examinees have been police officers,
0:52:39 > 0:52:42because one of our major problems here in Jamaica has been corruption.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45- And a number...- Police corruption? - Police corruption, I can tell you.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47There are persons who have come here,
0:52:47 > 0:52:52and they've given us 99.9% of the truth, which is still a lie.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56So, our job is to get 100% of the truth out.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59Why is tackling corruption so important?
0:52:59 > 0:53:02It's important because corruption has...
0:53:02 > 0:53:05One, it has tarnished the image of the Jamaican Constabulary Force -
0:53:05 > 0:53:08it has tarnished the image of Jamaica.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10It has depleted our economy.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13It has driven investors away.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16We realise that we have a job to do,
0:53:16 > 0:53:18and we're going to do whatever it takes to tackle corruption,
0:53:18 > 0:53:20to tackle criminality.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23And this is just one of the tools that we're going to use.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27By polygraphing cops and officials,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30Jamaica's strengthening all of its key public institutions.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34That means better policing and public services.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36Jamaica's emerging as a rare success story
0:53:36 > 0:53:38in the battle against crime in the Caribbean.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43The results are also being felt on the streets.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47Nick took me into a tough Kingston neighbourhood called Southside.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49Once upon a time, you'd talk about Southside -
0:53:49 > 0:53:52it was only known for gang culture.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55Now people are coming in, people are coming into the community.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57There are little restaurants opening.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00And things like that, they wouldn't have happened before.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04So, now, slowly but surely, this kind of community,
0:54:04 > 0:54:05it's reinventing itself,
0:54:05 > 0:54:08and that makes a huge difference to the people who live here.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10Nick had arranged for us to meet a man
0:54:10 > 0:54:13with first-hand experience of Southside
0:54:13 > 0:54:14before life began to improve.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19Narado Bell was a feared gangster and enforcer.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30- Were you armed when you were here? Were you carrying a gun?- Mm-hmm.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31- Oh, yes, you're saying.- Mm-hm.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37- Is that how it was?- Yeah. That's how. Kill or be killed.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40What was the moment for you when you thought,
0:54:40 > 0:54:41"This has got to stop"?
0:54:57 > 0:54:59Narado took us to see a project
0:54:59 > 0:55:01that he believes helped turn both his fortunes
0:55:01 > 0:55:04and the fortunes of his community around.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10To tackle crime, you have to tackle poverty -
0:55:10 > 0:55:13you have to give youngsters an alternative.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16Jamaica's Citizen Security Justice Programme
0:55:16 > 0:55:18works with people from troubled areas,
0:55:18 > 0:55:21giving them an opportunity to learn a trade and get a job.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23Yes, it's on-the-job skills training,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26and what's important about this aspect of it
0:55:26 > 0:55:29is that we are seeking to improve their employability skills
0:55:29 > 0:55:31as well as their technical skills.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33Who are they, and where have they come from?
0:55:33 > 0:55:35From some of our most volatile communities.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Communities where there's a lot of crime, a lot of violence.
0:55:38 > 0:55:39Lots of crime, lots of violence.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41- And a lot of unemployment. - And high unemployment.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44And we do have a motto here, that we say,
0:55:44 > 0:55:46"If you come as a chicken, you leave as an eagle!"
0:55:46 > 0:55:48SHE LAUGHS
0:55:48 > 0:55:50- That's good. You like that. - Yes, I do!
0:55:52 > 0:55:54The project gives people skills and purpose.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57It's a whole raft of measures, and it's had astonishing results.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00Violent crime in some areas where it's running
0:56:00 > 0:56:02has fallen by almost 70%.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04Gangsters have been completely reformed.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08- That's good work. - Yeah, that's a beam.
0:56:08 > 0:56:09That's a good weld.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12- Using the concave motion. - Using the concave motion.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16I would be unfamiliar with that, but I can see it's a good weld.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18'Narado used to carry a gun.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20'Now he's a qualified welder,
0:56:20 > 0:56:23'and certified to instruct even the most hopeless student.'
0:56:23 > 0:56:25You're travelling too fast. Slow that down.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Go, move, move with it.
0:56:28 > 0:56:29OK.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31That was really rubbish.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34You're going to have to chip it all off and start again.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36Could the old you have ever imagined
0:56:36 > 0:56:38that the new you would be doing this?
0:56:38 > 0:56:40No, never.
0:56:40 > 0:56:41Never.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43And what's really lovely to see
0:56:43 > 0:56:47is the pride you've got in your work, as well.
0:56:47 > 0:56:48And you're a really good teacher.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55- Get you! - HE LAUGHS
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Jamaica's showing that it is possible
0:56:59 > 0:57:01to tackle even appalling rates of crime.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05But to do that, you have to go after the big fish
0:57:05 > 0:57:07in parliament or the police force,
0:57:07 > 0:57:10as well as giving street criminals an alternative and a future.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16I was coming to the end of my adventure.
0:57:16 > 0:57:17What had surprised me most
0:57:17 > 0:57:21were the utter extremes of life I'd seen around the Caribbean...
0:57:22 > 0:57:26..from Barbados to Honduras, and from Haiti to Venezuela.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29When we were first talking about
0:57:29 > 0:57:32making this journey around the Caribbean region,
0:57:32 > 0:57:35I never imagined for one moment
0:57:35 > 0:57:42I would find myself on the gang wing of a Honduran prison,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45or hunting venomous fish,
0:57:45 > 0:57:48or going up in the sky in a flying dinghy.
0:57:48 > 0:57:49It's been incredible.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57I ended my journey the same way I began.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00On a beautiful Caribbean beach.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06This is a region with serious problems
0:58:06 > 0:58:08with poverty and corruption,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11and there are enormous environmental challenges here.
0:58:13 > 0:58:14But they're not insurmountable.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20And this place is home to some of the warmest people on the planet.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25And I'm finishing my journey in a time-honoured way.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27For me, anyway.
0:58:27 > 0:58:28Getting my boots wet.
0:58:28 > 0:58:30It's the Caribbean!