Compilation Island Stories

Lundy Island off the coast of south-west England -

remote, alluring, unique.

Islands, no matter what the country or where they are,

fascinate outsiders.

We marvel at their independence and detachment from the wider world.

Life often evolves rather differently

and those who live there are fiercely protective of their identity.

The BBC's language service reporters have travelled the globe,

from Indonesia's archipelago to the Caribbean,

to discover some of the world's most curious and captivating islands.

With its rich tropical landscape, Buru is a far-flung island

hidden within Indonesia's immense archipelago.

The islanders have traditionally survived off the land

on eucalyptus farms and paddy fields. Four years ago, everything changed.

According to local legend, a woman dreamt that there was

something precious hidden in these mountains.

She immediately began searching this vast landscape

and amazingly found what she was looking for.

Word quickly spread and thousands followed her to Mount Botak,

lured by this life-changing discovery.

Buru was laden with most precious resource of them all...

gold.

The hillsides were pulled apart and the digging began.

There are workers digging down this mineshaft right now,

40 metres below the surface.

They'll be in there for 12 hours in the dark.

There are environmental and safety concerns

but the desire for riches is simply too great.

Mahani was once a eucalyptus farmer, working for just 6 a day.

As a gold digger, she earns five times that.

-TRANSLATION:

-The gold is a gift from God to the people here in Buru.

It changed people's lives - some can afford to buy a car,

some can renovate their houses.

It's dangerous but people fight for a better life.

At schools across Buru, it's a lively start to the day.

UPBEAT MUSIC

The island's new-found wealth has meant more children can buy

books and clothes. More of these pupils can afford high school, too.

They say that they'd like to be doctors, teachers and policemen.

For some families, daily life hasn't changed at all.

They're just telling me it takes an hour to get home.

They need to cross a river, climb a hill

and then take a boat all by themselves.

THEY CHAT IN OWN LANGUAGE

Nania Otseko and Algin live on their own island.

This rickety commune is run by their guardian, Mama Ronja.

She came here from another island and belongs to the Bajo tribe.

They're well known for living in houses on stilts.

Mama Ronja's been here for 30 years.

-TRANSLATION:

-I would love to go to Jakarta

to see the lights in the city.

They say there are trains there and I've never seen a train.

But it is just a dream. I want a different life for the kids.

They should be whatever they want to be, finish university,

maybe even become president!

160,000 Indonesians live here and it feels like almost everyone

hopes to make their fortune in these hills of gold, whatever the risk.

One woman's dream has fundamentally changed Buru

and its islanders.

Europeans once believed that this was the end of the world.

El Hierro is the smallest, remotest part of the Canary Islands,

one that tourists tend to miss.

It never stops blowing on El Hierro.

This iconic wild juniper tree has been battered for years...

..which explains the unusual shape.

But for the islanders, the wind has become a valuable resource.

-TRANSLATION:

-The island of El Hierro, the remotest,

the most neglected of the Canary Islands, has been

fighting for more than 30 years to become energy self-sufficient.

And we a dream of converting the wind into electricity,

to improve the quality of life for the people.

Wind energy isn't new but the genius of this island's system

is that they have combined wind and water.

-TRANSLATION:

-When we have enough wind in the wind farm,

we produce electricity and distribute it through the grid.

We use what's left to pump water from a lower reservoir to

a higher one.

When it stops blowing, we let that water fall

through a set of hydraulic turbines

and we generate electricity again for the population.

El Hierro will soon be powered completely through this setup,

making it the world's greenest island.

Whilst the wind is powering turbines down in the valley,

up above the clouds it's propelling thrill-seekers through the skies.

-TRANSLATION:

-It's the feeling of freedom,

to be able to take off from these surroundings

with a sea of clouds at your feet.

Go through them and pass by the 1,500-metre-high cliffs.

And all of this all year round, in a place of incomparable beauty.

Welcome on El Hierro!

Despite the abundance of wind on the island,

fresh water is more difficult to come by.

There are no rivers or natural lakes on El Hierro.

So the islanders were forced to look elsewhere, deep underground.

More than half of this island's water comes from wells like this,

rainwater seeping through the volcanic rock.

The rest is from three desalination plants.

Of course, this water is more natural and people say it tastes better.

The islanders often queue to fill their bottles

straight from the wells.

Wherever you are, the terrain grabs your attention.

Look up, and the view can be just as absorbing.

Their unique system for powering an island may be too costly for some,

impractical for others,

but El Hierro could become an example to the world -

a self-sufficient island on the road to a cleaner,

more sustainable future.

Now from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

Zuhura Yunus from BBC Swahili takes you on a trip to the African

island of Anjouan.

Daily life is a struggle for the islanders.

The choice is stark -

stick with it, or attempt a treacherous voyage

to a more prosperous neighbour.

Off the coast of Mozambique

is an island where traditions are upheld and fragrant flowers grow.

Life on Anjouan is hard, but the drive to prosper is evident.

If you're scared of heights, you might struggle here.

It's a volcanic island where mountains tower above you.

The landscape is breathtaking.

And hidden in these spectacular hills,

a precious and prized commodity...

..the ylang-ylang flower.

A key ingredient in the world's most luxurious perfumes,

Anjouan is the world's top producer

and these women pick up to 40kg every day.

Echa started out as a flower picker.

Today, she runs her own plantation.

-TRANSLATION:

-We planted ylang-ylang and other crops

but it's ylang-ylang that still generates an income today.

I worked in the fields picking flowers

and eventually made enough money to buy the land.

Working ylang-ylang is very difficult in every way.

And it comes at a cost, too.

Trees are chopped down to fuel the 350 distilleries.

Production continues all year round.

The challenges of life on Anjouan encourage young people to

strive for something better.

Jemaldin's big brother left Anjouan three years ago.

They haven't seen each other since

and they only speak every three months.

It seems like virtually every family here has a story

of a loved one who's moved to a neighbouring island.

Jemaldin's brother lives 40 miles away on the more prosperous

island of Mayotte.

As a French colony,

it provides more jobs as well as free health care and education -

opportunities that Anjouan can't offer.

Ousmani is here illegally but is willing to take his chances.

-TRANSLATION:

-Here, you can make things happen.

Everything is possible.

I've decided to do DIY so that I can make some money.

Many prefer to live in Mayotte because of the strength of the euro.

If I can't start a business here, I will do everything

I can to start a business in Anjouan and live there with my friends.

Back in Anjouan, the population is young and growing rapidly.

This new generation will have to decide

whether to leave or keep Anjouan as their home.

Blanketed in jungle, fringed by beaches.

Bugala Island is the biggest in Uganda's Ssese archipelago

in Lake Victoria.

For Ugandans, Ssese used to be a shorthand for remoteness.

Today, Bugala's abundant forests

and thriving waters are drawing people to its glittering shores.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that we're in the middle of an ocean.

And it's the sheer size of this lake that makes the island so remote.

But it is also what has sustained the people of Bugala.

In the forests, there is life on every branch,

and an income in each tree trunk.

MUSIC PLAYED ON BALAFON

Jude Kagame became a boat builder to put himself through school.

-TRANSLATION:

-The boats we build are built for transporting people,

food and animals and for fishing.

Some of the wood we get from here on the island and some comes from Congo.

The trees we use are getting more and more scarce,

which is why we look to other countries.

Much of the forest has been cut down for palm trees.

Palm oil is in demand around the world.

Growing it can bring wealth, but it comes at a cost.

Precise rows of palm encroach on what was once wild jungle.

And it's not just the landscape,

islanders' livelihoods are visibly changing.

He tells me five years ago,

there were no more than four cars on the island.

Now he'll repair more than ten cars a week.

And you'd need one to traverse

the new roads which carve through the island.

But look around, and it's a world of water.

Every morning, fishing boats arrive at the Nakatiba landing site,

owned and run by the formidable Mama Sylvia.

As a young woman, she'd fish in a small boat without and engine.

Now she presides over an empire.

She came to Bugala in the '80s, and things were different then.

-TRANSLATION:

-The reason I was attracted to this place

was because where we were, the stocks had completely vanished

and this place was teeming with fish.

When we came here, there was no electricity.

But we have started getting piped water and the roads are being constructed.

In the coming years, Bugala's going to be so much better than it is now,

because everything is being put in place.

This community is an example of what it means to persevere

patiently through tough times.

Once considered distant and mysterious, Bugala is a place

that a growing number of people are now calling home.

The island is bursting with potential,

but its resources aren't infinite.

For now, though, Bugala continues to hold promise and to provide.

In a moment, we'll take you spear-fishing with Rastafarians

in the Caribbean but first, Andriy Kravets from the

BBC's Ukrainian service uncovers a story of mysticism and legend.

A tiny island in the middle of the mighty Dnieper River with

a big role in Ukrainian history.

For centuries, Khortytsia has provided spiritual sanctuary

and helped define Ukrainian identity.

After all, this is the birthplace of the national icon,

the Zaporozhian Cossack.

In Ukraine, when you want a little boy to stop crying, you tell him...

HE SPEAKS UKRAINIAN

"Be a Cossack."

It's an old expression and it's all about being a warrior.

TRADITIONAL FIDDLE MUSIC

In the 15th century, men came here in search of freedom,

democratic self-rule and independence.

They trained, they fought, they defended their faith

and became the stuff of legends.

Here, being a Ukrainian Cossack is something to be proud of

and to show off to visitors.

-TRANSLATION:

-The Zaporozhian Cossacks were very brave,

decisive and courageous people.

Our main task is not just to act, but to live like Cossacks.

We are trying to find the essence of what Cossacks had and to transfer

them into our modern life, so we work a lot with schoolchildren.

In our times, the war has kindled the spirit of patriotism in society.

So it seems to me that Cossacks will have a lot of work to do now.

The waters around the island are brimming with

remnants of its history.

Dmitry Kobalia is one of many archaeologists painstakingly

restoring these treasures.

The ship was found right next to Khortytsia.

It was built in 1737 and it's based on a Cossack design.

Forcibly sunk at the end of the Russian-Turkish War,

the boat is now part of Ukraine's unique past.

It's not just Khortytsia's history that makes this place so special.

On the other side of the island, in the stillness of the trees,

there's something else that draws people here.

With the touch of a flame, pagans start their ancient rituals.

Orthodox Christianity dominates the country

but at the island's ancient standing stones,

it is nature that is worshipped in a 1,000-year-old Slavic tradition.

-TRANSLATION:

-For us, to be a pagan is to respect our land,

our culture and to develop the future of our nation.

Khortytsia is a sacred island for us.

The first time I got on this island, I got lost in the forest.

Suddenly I felt that my legs were growing into the ground.

I became part of the earth.

Contemporary politics of the country have had an impact on people here.

With both ancient traditions

and modern history preserving the island, it's seen as crucial

in defining national identity and forging the country's future.

On Old Providence, time ticks that little bit slower.

If you want to do something quickly, you've come to the wrong place.

Old Providence is one of the few places in the Caribbean that

hasn't been overrun with tourism.

And the people want to keep it that way.

You can see why!

Yet work is hard to find

and many grumble about the lack of opportunities.

Only the ocean offers regular reliable employment.

-TRANSLATION:

-Every day, you need to get up and make it your own.

Here, you can't say, "I'm off to my job,"

because there are no businesses, no multinational companies,

none of that.

Only the ocean.

The sea is our biggest economy and it doesn't matter if it's legal or illegal.

Not everyone operates honestly in these waters.

Too many islanders are lured into drug smuggling.

This is the biggest threat to their way of life.

Nobody denies this but nor do they dwell on it.

Yeah, man! Whoop!

Here, they are incredibly protective of their culture,

even if outsiders disapprove.

In many parts of the world, cockfighting is a big no-no.

But for the islanders, this is pure entertainment.

They love to gamble.

From the beach to the street, big booming tunes pump out everywhere.

BOOMING MUSIC

With a new recording studio, there is the chance to capitalise

on this passion, encouraging young talent to flourish.

# Yeah

# Yeah... #

I think the music studio is a great opportunity for the young peoples,

you know, because they have something new to do.

# Yeah, yeah... #

THEY SING IN SPANISH

I write about how guys treat ladies.

They treat ladies like garbage.

And I know it will be one day that we get to it

when ladies take over this island, because this is ours, not for them.

Nah!

SHE LAUGHS

When you visit, you have little idea of the threats facing this island.

In Old Providence, your soul is easily swept away with the Rastafarian vibe.

Every day feels like a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Island living requires creativity, ingenuity, and endurance.

Islands have become worlds of their own -

worlds we've come to know through people's Island Stories.