Indonesia (2/3)
This is also part of this series: Equator (3)
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Subjects:
Anthropology, Environment, Geography, Global Issues, Human Rights, Political Science, Poverty |
Grade Level: SrH-Adult
Producer: BBC
Closed Captioned: No |
Running Time: 60 mins
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Study Guide: No |
Copyright Date: 2006
Available in French: No
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Simon Reeve continues his epic journey in Asia and finds himself on a sun-kissed island in the far west of Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation - a collection of perhaps 18,000 islands that are home to more than 220 million people speaking hundreds of languages. Children on the island have never seen a foreigner before, but locals welcome their visitors and invite Simon hunting. On mainland Sumatra, he hears fears about bird flu and meets the matrilineal Minang people. Men live as guests in their wives' familial homes, and women propose marriage (Minang men call their daughters “iron butterflies”). In Kalimantan, conservationists warn that hundreds of orang-utans in Borneo - the only great apes living outside Africa - are killed each year as a result of illegal logging; a large tree can be worth $10,000. Three Christian schoolgirls were recently beheaded on the island of Sulawesi, which has a long history of violence between Muslims and Christians. Simon visits a camp of militant Muslims who refuse to answer any questions about their involvement in the fighting; Simon tries to break the ice by joining them for a game of football. On Indonesia's beautiful Togean Islands, Simon stays in a village of “sea-gypsies” who live in stilt-houses. Expert divers, they take Simon fishing for octopus, and then let him win an underwater breath-holding contest. |
Links: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/equator/
