This film looks back on seven years of human rights abuses in Nauru that were presaged by more than a century of environmental destruction. Strip-mining for phosphate destroyed more than eighty percent of the island’s surface area; the refugee camps were constructed in the old mines. When the twentieth century ended and the phosphate reserves ran out, people—refugees—began the new resource. Through three voices and extensive footage collected during a month spent in Nauru two years ago, this film delves into the intersection of human rights and the environment, presenting a test case of what happens to a society when its surroundings disappear.
- Year2020
- Runtime9 minutes
- PremiereNo
- RatingNR
- DirectorMario de Varona, Jack Lohmann
This film looks back on seven years of human rights abuses in Nauru that were presaged by more than a century of environmental destruction. Strip-mining for phosphate destroyed more than eighty percent of the island’s surface area; the refugee camps were constructed in the old mines. When the twentieth century ended and the phosphate reserves ran out, people—refugees—began the new resource. Through three voices and extensive footage collected during a month spent in Nauru two years ago, this film delves into the intersection of human rights and the environment, presenting a test case of what happens to a society when its surroundings disappear.
- Year2020
- Runtime9 minutes
- PremiereNo
- RatingNR
- DirectorMario de Varona, Jack Lohmann