In our mini section of disappearing countries, we were on to another island country, Nauru. First, this isn't a chain of islands. No, it's one tiny island, like 8 square miles tiny, out there in Micronesia to the northeast of Australia, kind of between the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. It is the smallest island nation in the world. It's just behind Vatican City and Monaco in size. It takes less than an hour to drive all the way around the island. The population is right on par with Tuvalu, with just over 10,000 Nauruans.
But this tiny county has a fascinating lesson attached to it, a cautionary tale for all of us. There's even a documentary about it called Nauru- Paradise Ruined.
It all started thanks to some bird poop. Yes, bird poop. Phosphorus was discovered on the island in the 1980's. It was deposited on the island by thousands of years of bird's pooping on the land and made for an excellent fertilizer. (If you need a quick, simple Phosphorus lesson you can click here.)
When word spread of the find, people came from all over to mine the stuff, and the country got rich off of it. In fact in 1980 it was the second richest country (per capita) in the entire world.
Rolling in the riches, the people of the country totally abandoned their traditional ways. They quit their jobs and went on huge frivolous spending sprees. They started to enjoy some rather unhealthy things that were now being brought to the island, including cigarettes, alcohol and fatty and sugary foods.
You can probably guess what happened next.
The phosphates eventually ran out along with the nation's primary income.
With so much of the island mined, all that was left was an environmental wasteland riddled with decay. It's so bad, 75% of the island is uninhabitable.
The people indulging in all those unhealthy habits have been faced with expanding waistlines and serious health problems. The country was and still is one of the fattest most unhealthy countries in the world (95% of the population is said to be overweight). Diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses hit the country hard. Life expectancy has plunged to 50 years old.
The citizens of Nauru had spent all their money, and the government froze wages. 35 years later the estimated yearly income is about $2000 US Dollars.
But they weren't the only one's who mismanaged their riches. The government nearly went bankrupt. Eventually they had to turn to Australia to bail them out. So, they owed Australia.
And Australia is taking advantage. They now use the island for refugees coming from places like Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The Australian government calls it a 'regional processing center.' Critics call it prison.
And that is the story of Nauru, pretty crazy right? It reminds me of the people in Walle.
That's basically what there is to tell about the country. Our landmark was the Nauru airport, basically because there is nothing else. The airport cuts across 3 of the 12 miles of road. The only traffic lights on the island are used to stop the traffic and allow the plane to cross the road to get to the terminal.
The boys made their Nauru postcards, and you can probably guess they had some, well, rounder stick people.
Calib's postcard featured the traditional 'sport' of catching noddy birds. The birds go out to sea during the day, and when they return in the evenings, bellies full, hunters catch them in giant nets. They're then cooked and eaten (apparently they taste like fishy chicken).
Peyton's featured the area of the island that is totally uninhabitable, and a bird pooping money.
The country has tons of sunshine and often faces droughts, so Hayden said even 'my sun is sweating'.
Nauru's favorite meal, to nobody's surprise, is not healthy at all. They actually love their french fries- but more so than that, their Coca-Cola and fried chicken. I had planned on just snagging a Publix fried chicken meal, but Nauru day was the day before Peyton's 'Fake Birthday' (because the poor kid has to be in Hawaii on his actual birthday, oh the humanity!), and Peyton wanted PDQ chicken tenders for his fake birthday lunch. I suggested we have it the night before, so we didn't have fried chicken two meals in a row, and call it Nauru day, and everyone was on board with that. Plus, until the end of June they have BOGO on platters.
Since it was Peyton's fake birthday country, he got to pick the color and color it in. But the light green tiny country out in the South Pacific is pretty hard to see, so the boys are lobbying for a redo.
That is 95 countries down, 98 to go!
Next Up: Luxembourg
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