Asia: Secret Lives, Hidden Places (2013–2015): Season 1, Episode 4 - Paradise Found - full transcript

(mystical music)

[Voice over] A place
where men walk underwater.

Where angry spirits
rule the land.

And nature's drama
is ever present.

In one of the world's most
beautiful marine parks.

An arch of volcanic islands
rises from the heart

of Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

Local people call these
islands the Sleeping Lady.

She reclines on her
back, facing the clouds.

Two and a half million years
ago, a volcano erupted here.

The crater is now filled with
hundreds of different species



of fish and coral.

Such a variety of marine life
exists here, that the park

has been compared to
Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

But it's only a
thousandth of the size.

Two thousand people
also live here.

This is the story
of what happens

when humans and nature
share the same home,

above and below the water.

(children laughing)

Atusiyah is Samma Delout woman.

She came to this area
before it became protected.

Samma Delout live all of
their lives on the sea.

Use the ep of a boat
is very expensive,

some like Atusiyah's
people have built their



basic homes right
over the water.

Our ancestors tell
us women of the sea

that our livelihood
is none other than

(speaks in foreign language).

Foraging for seafood.

We have to go out in our boats.

That is part of us.

(woman speaks in Malaysian)

[Voice over] Samma Delout do
not eat animals from the land.

Any sea produce,
any types of fish.

Those are the things we can eat.

(laughs)

Big fish too!

But we don't eat dolphin.

[Voice over] While
the women of the sea

forage for seafood,
the men fish.

Sometimes they catch
enough fish to sell

and can buy things
for their homes.

But often they struggle to
feed their extended families.

Since the area has beca marine p

fishing has become
a bit of a gamble.

Atusiyah's husband
Yukai and his brother

have a simple philosophy.

You can never be sure
whether you'll get

a good or bad catch.

It all depends on luck.

Now we'll just float
out onto the sea

and try our luck.

If the fish talk to us,
then we'll catch a lot.

That's what we hope for.

[Voice over] There's
plenty of fish out there.

Tun Sakaran Marine Park is
part of the Coral Triangle.

More different marine
species live in the seas here

than anywhere else in the world.

The park itself covers
350 square kilometers,

in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

Since the area became
protected in 2004,

many reefs have been closed
to fishing and foraging.

Samma Delout people like
Yukai and his brother

can still live inside
the park, as long as they

only fish in the
legal fishing zones.

Every throw hooks a fish.

But none of them are
bigger than 15 centimeters.

There's hardly
enough for dinner.

Even though eight different
types of fish have been hooked.

There are more than
250 species of coral

and 600 species of fish in
the Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

From these waters, lionfish
and nitty branches,

sea feathers, and
other corals are born.

Before the area became
protected, marine life

was caught indiscriminately.

The big fish disappeared.

But the incredible
diversity reed.

Scientists have discovered
that the park has at least

five different types of
underwater environments

where marine life breeds.

Few places in the world
have such a variety

of nursery grounds
in such a small area.

Now these nurseries are
completely protected.

And the little fish are
being given a chance to grow.

Big animals do visit.

Green turtles come to
feed and be cleaned.

They line up at cleaning
stations, where surgeon fish

make quick work of parasites
attached to their shells.

The fish only deal with
one customer at a time

until the next turtle in
line signals time is up.

They're called green
tes because that's tolor

of their body fat from
eating so many sea plants.

Their favorite food is seaweed.

But this seaweed is growing in
the middle of a shallow reef

where the turtles
don't often venture.

On a seaweed farm,
owned by Julanrhi

and his only child Mesal.

Father, do we have to
harvest all the seaweed?

Yes we harvest it all.

[Voice over] A 200 meter
line carries about 600 kilos

of fully grown seaweed.

How long will it take?

[Julanrhi] Not long.

We just have to bring it in.

Not long.

After that we go home?

Yeah.

[Voice over] Home for
Mesal is a water world,

on top of a reef that's
been specially put aside

for seaweed farming.

Seaweed farming doesn't
have an adverse effect

on the marine environment.

It's also cheap to start up.

Success relies on
free family labor.

Because Mesal is an only
child, his cousins help out

every two months when
harvest time comes around.

The seaweed is used
in the manufacture

of cosmetics and food.

Julanrhi's buyer will
be in the area soon

to purchase this latest harvest.

But first, the plants
have to be sun dried.

When work on the
farm is finished,

the sea animals that
live below Mesal's house

should be on their guard.

He's a fearless and
efficient collector of crabs.

He uses them as fishing bait.

The family don't have
to rely on catching fish

ie the marine park to survi

unless something happens
to their seaweed crop.

If the wind is very strong,
it can damage the seaweed.

The big waves will make
the ropes spin really fast

until they snap.

And then, the seaweed
will drop to the sea floor

and be lost.

[Voice over] Julanrhi has
harvested before the arrival

of the strong winds.

But there is another threat.

The southeast monsoon
is about to bring rain

that could delay the
seaweed drying process.

The imminent monsoon
brings opportunity

to thirteen-year-old Mesal.

I just kept practicing
until I got it right.

[Voice over] He makes kites.

Mesal has never been to school.

He's taught himself
basic aerodynamics.

He finds kite flying
similar to fishing.

The power of a monsoon wind,
like the pull of a big fish,

demands a strong fishing line.

It'll look beautiful
when it flies.

(mystical music)

(laughs)

[Voice over] In the deep,
beyond the seaweed farms,

a female green turtle
is looking for company.

She is normally a lone traveler.

But when she wants to mate,
she invites the neighborhood.

The more partners she
can attract, the better.

She wants the sperm of
as many males as possible

to fertilize her eggs.

The males will bite and
bleed to get to her.

And she will stoically
persevere, because the more

genetic diversity her
offspring have, the better

their chance of survival.

(dramatic music)

Now a big journey will begin.

She will return to the very
beach where she was born

to lay her eggs.

But her beach lies outside
of Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

To get there, she will
travel through deep waters

where danger lurks.

On the island across from
the Samma Delout village

in Tun Sakaran Marine
Park, Yukai and his brother

are building a boat.

They want to return to the
traditional Samma Delout

way of life.

Their restrictions on fishing
inside the marine park

since 2004 have made
it almost impossible

to feed their families.

We're building a boat this big

because we plan to live on it

and sail great distances
to seek our fortune.

We're free to go where
there's plenty of seafood

that we can collect
to eat and sell.

[Voice over] The boat
will look like this.

Fifteen people will live on it.

If we don't have enough
cash we can't complete

the boat on time.

All our efforts will be futile.

I will go (speaks in foreign
language) with some others

so we can earn some money.

Because Yukai and
his brother are busy

working on the boat, I
have to earn money for us

to buy food.

I'll be going to the
Philippines to search for clam.

I'll be away on the
sea for many tides.

Probably around two weeks.

[Voice over] Atusiyah will
travel over 100 kilometers

in a borrowed boat
to reach familiar

clam collecting areas.

Raging for clams on the
reefs of Tun Sakaranine Park

is now illegal.

But this task will expose
Atusiyah to many risks.

There may be strong winds.

We may be attacked by pirates.

We could even be caught
by the Philippine navy.

That makes my husband worry
for me while I'm away.

I'll come home when
I've found enough clam.

[Voice over] And with
any luck, she'll be able

to pay for the boat
she's had to borrow.

Seven species of giant
clam live in the waters

of Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

They can grow to over a meter
and live for a hundred years.

Prized for their meat,
many have been collected

to near extinction.

Now, giantms have been
planted in the park

to replenish the population.

Soon they will reach maturity.

Outside of the marine
park, another Samma Delout

is trying to survive.

Sulbin is a renowned free diver.

His extraordinary ability has
been seen around the world.

But even for Sulbin, fishing
is becoming difficult.

Our lives are gettting harder
because the fish around here

are becoming scarcer.

We don't want to use the
methods that other people use

like fishing with dynamite.

We just fish using
spears and hooks.

[Voice over] And Sulbin
uses something else.

His breath.

He will hold it for two and
a half minutes on this dive.

Sulbin doesn't have to equalize
the pressure in his eardrums

for a pain-free descent.

He ruptured them early
in his free diving career

and is now partially deaf.

There's only one person
who can free dive like me,

and that is my son.

Some people can
dive but no one else

can walk on the seabed.

So many fish passing through!

I have to get
closer to the coral.

[Voice over] Sulbin's
success is partly to do

with his lean body.

With almost no body fat,
he doesn't need weights

to take him down 20
meters to the seabed,

where he can bound
across the corals

like a slow motion runner.

(dramatic music)

Sulbin's fishing
grounds are not far

from Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

One day the marine park may
give back the livelihoods

it now threatens.

If the fish that live in the
park are allowed to mutliply

and grow, they will spill out
into the legal fishing zones

for people like Sulbin to catch.

As long as I can catch
fish, my livelihood

is out here on the open sea.

(tranquil music)

[Voice over] The southeast
monsoons bring intermittent

cycles of rain and sun to
Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

At the seaweed farm above
the reef, Julanrhi's latest

harvest is still
hanging out to dry.

He's had to pay for
some help so the seaweed

can be moved when
it starts to rain.

The window of opportunity to
dry the seaweed and deliver

it to the buyer is closing fast.

(thunder rolling)

At the Samma Delout
water village,

Yukai the fisherman
watches the weather.

He's concerned about
his wife Atusiyah.

While rains hit the
islands of the marine park,

she is at sea in an open
boat collecting clams.

(heavy raindrops)

Atusiyah has gone to
the Philippines where

the tropical storms are much
more devastating than here.

Tun Sakaran Marine
Park is situated below

the typhoon pathways.

But the monsoon brings
plenty of rain to nourish

the Sleeping Lady's
tropical forests.

And her volcanic past
has given rise to rocky

nooks and crannies where
animals find food and shelter.

(relaxing music)

The world's second largest
gecko, the tokay gecko,

lives here.

The pied oriental horn bill
likes to eat plump geckos

and bananas from
the island's farms.

The long-tailed
macaque can eat crabs

but prefers to
raid fruit gardens.

The farmers who were
here before the islands

became part of the marine
park, are allowed to carry on

farming as long as they
don't clear any more forest.

Imambakati carved out
a fruit orchard here.

When we arrived
here 30 years ago,

the place was covered
in thick jungle.

So we chopped it down
and planted mango trees.

[Voice over] The Imam built
houses with the forest timber

and connected them
with walkways.

He married three women
and had 28 children.

They all work
together on the farm.

Today they prepare paper packets

so the Imam can cover
the ripening mangos

to protect them from
birds and insects.

But Imambakati has not
cleared all of the forest

for his orchards.

30 years ago, when
he first came here,

disturbing things began to ha.

One day after I was
chopping down some trees,

a spirit visited my mother
in a dream and asked,

"why don't you stop your son
from chopping down our trees?"

But by then it was too late.

A lot of trees were
already felled.

Nothing could be done about it.

After that I was almost
hit by a falling tree.

I'm sure it was a
coincidence, I think.

It seems they hide
in this big stone.

Their home is probably
on top of the cliff.

And they go back and forth
between these two places.

[Voice over] The belief in
spirits that inhabit trees

and rocks is much
older than Islam here.

Muslim missionaries
integrated animist beliefs

from these islands with
their own Sufi mysticism.

The Imam's eldest son
is also a believer.

The spirits are usually
benign, but visitors

can do the wrong thing
without realizing it.

That's when they
can be big trouble.

[Voice over] But one man
didn't know the rules.

And he paid for it.

Armstrong's trouble
began on the day

he walked into the Imam's
garden, and unwittingly

urinated on the rock
where the spirit lives.

When I came back down I
suddenly had a burning

pain in my thigh.

[Voice over] The pain
was so bad that Armstrong

was taken to the
nearest hospital.

But doctors could find
nothing wrong with him.

I was still very sick
and when I went home

I dreamt two women came to me.

They asked me why I went
to the forest to their rock

without permission.

In the dream, they said
I hadn't informed them

that I was coming.

[Voice over] Today, Armstrong
must return to the rock.

The idea fills him with dread.

He returns with instructions
from a Malay medicine man.

The healer has told
Armstrong he must personally

delivery offerings
to the angry spirits.

These gifts, a chicken,
some colored flags,

and saffron rice with egg,

must be accepted if
Armstrong is to find relief.

But the medicine man has
been unable to tell Armstrong

when will happen.

So now, he must
wait for an answer.

The leader of these
spirits is a woman.

And she wants to tempt
us to come and join her

in her unseen world.

If we neglect our own religion,

the spirits can lead
us to a dark place,

where we'll lose our way.

That's the real danger
that exists for us.

[Voice over] Imambakati
and his family

have learned to live peacefully
with the island spirits.

And Armstrong didn't have
to wait long for his answer.

When I was sick, I couldn't
sleep day and night.

It was so painful before
I brought the chicken.

But now I'm cured!

(chicken caws)

[Voice over] The Sleeping
Lady's spirits have shown mercy.

And the sun has
shone long enough

for Julanrhi's seaweed to dry.

It's now a completely
different color

and a tenth of
its original size.

I've lived out here off
and on since I was eleven.

When I started learning
how to farm seaweed.

[Voice over] 150 families
lease seaweed farms

in Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

It is one of the only livelihoods
that has a future here

because it doesn't affect
the marine environment,

which makes Mesal's
prospects quite buoyant.

If there's any luck,
when Mesal grows up,

he could be the big boss.

(laughs)

[Voice over] Around 100
kilograms of dried eed

are packed for transport.

Julanrhi expects to
receive the equivalent

of around 88 euros
or $120 for the crop.

This is just a small harvest.

Sometimes he can earn
double that in a month.

His buyer is waiting in the
nearby town of Semporna,

a one hour trip by boat.

All of the family will
go to buy fresh water

and perhaps some
little luxuries.

(uplifting music)

Julanrhi and his family
head into the waterways

of Semporna, where
their buyer waits.

Meanwhile in another part of town,
the daily market is in full swing.

Semporna has a
major fish market.

Malaysia has one of the
highest per cap it a

seafood consumptions
in the world.

And international demand has
doubled in the last few years.

It may look like
there is plenty here,

but the big fish
are disappearing

from the fishing zones
of southeast Asia.

The market wants more
than nature can supply.

The reefs around Tun
Sakaran Marine Park

can help boost nature's supply
by protecting marine life.

Because once the
fish grow bigger

and populations increase,
some of them will leave

the park boundaries
to feed the fishery.

(ominous music)

Fish know no borders.

Neither do turtles.

The female green
turtle is on a journey

to the beach where she was born

to lay her eggs.

She's now swimming
outside of the marine park

where tuna boats
cast their nets.

Marine turtles can
remain underwater for

up to six hours when resting,

but will use up oxygen
within minutes if caught

in a fishing net.

Men from the tuna
boats dive into the net

to guard escape holes.

(exciting music)

In the act of
keeping the tuna in,

the net guard saves the
green turtle from drowning.

She can resume her
journey to the island

where she will lay her eggs.

While the skipjack tuna
will soon be on their way

to Semporna market.

Back inside Tun Sakaran
Marine Park, on a beautiful

island called Mantabuan,
another fisherman

is hard at work.

This is Diyam, a
Samma Delout man.

He collects plastic
washed up on the beach

and melts it down to
make fishing lures.

I was diving on
Mantabuan reef one day

and saw an octopus
hunt a crab and eat it.

I thought maybe I
could make a lure

that looks just like a crab
and catch an octopus with it.

So I made one and
took it out fishing.

And do you know, I
caught an octopus!

[Voice over] Diyam's
lure was very successful

on the reefs of Mantabuan,
where lots of octopus

hide beneath the coral.

Diyam made more lures and
caught so many octopus

that he started to sell
them for a good profit.

He left the traditional
Samma Delout way of living

where he was always on
the search for seafood,

and he settled on Mantabuan,

right next to his
supply of octopus.

Samma Delout are people of sea

but the sea does belong to them.

They have no identity papers.

Diyam and his
relatives were allowed

to stay on Mantabuan until now.

We have to leave the island.

Because it's part
of the marine park.

We village people can't
stay here anymore.

[Voice over] Mantabuan
reef has been made

a no fishing zone.

Diyam and his close family
will go to another island

outside of the park.

His wife is already concerned
about what this means.

I'm disappointed we have
to move to Kalapuan.

It's too far from the
legal fishing zones.

It will be hard for Diyam
to go out fishing every day.

Here on Mantabuan
it's much better.

I'll be worried about
him a use if there's

a sudden storm, he won't be
able to get to land quickly.

[Diyam] We're simple people.

We don't speak other languages.

We Samma Delout are just
looking for happiness

and enough to eat.

(emotional music)

[Voice over] The octopus
are now safe from Diyam's

deadly lures, and
Mantabuan reef will recover

from the impact of humans
living on its shores.

Diyam and his family have
lost their sanctuary.

Today they leave paradise,
if he can start his boat.

Their destination
is two hours away.

The sun is beating down, and
the humidity is unbearably

high by the time they finally
head away from Mantabuan

and Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

(boat engine starts)

(uplifting music)

Another traveller has almost
arrived at her destination.

Using the Earth's magnetic
field, the green turtle

has navigated to the
place where she will

lay her eggs.

The island of Sipadan.

She began life as
a hatchling here,

two decades ago.

Now she returns to drag
herself up the beach

to build a nest.

But not until dark, when the
sun's heat won't bake her

inside her shell.

Still, there is a dark
place beneath the water

that is just as lethal to
a turtle as the midday sun.

A cave where tired
turtles often enter

on a journey of no return.

(ominous music)

A maze of caverns
that leads the turtles

deeper and deeper in
until they run out of air.

Remains of unlucky travelers
litter every chamber.

Including mothers whose
eggs will never hatch.

But not this one.

She has survived...

To glide through
Sipadan's fish metropolis.

(uplifting music)

A parade that happens every day

where the reef
drops into the deep.

For many decades, Sipadan has
been protected from fishing.

The result is a place
where fiave grown large

in size and number.

(tranquil music)

This could be a vision of
Tun Sakaran Marine Park

in the future.

Under the stars, the
female green turtle

lays up to a hundred eggs.

She won't wait until they hatch.

She returns to the reefs
of the Sleeping Lady.

At the Samma Delout
water village, inside.

Tun Sakaran Marine Park,
Atusiyah has finally returned

to her family.

She's been away for two weeks,

collecting clams
in the Philippines.

I had to cope with strong
winds and heavy rain.

And when it didn't rain,
I had to bear the heat.

[Voice over] And she
did it all for this.

A bucket of giant clam meat.

This is one of Asia's most
sought after delicacies.

And being a delicacy,
Atusiyah and her family

will not eat them.

After two days of drying
in the sun, the clam meat

will be cleaned for the market.

We have to clean them
well or the buyer

might cut down the price.

[Voice over] These
clams promise a future.

They could help
Atusiyah and her family

leave Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

The money we'll earn
from selling this

will keep us surviving
while my husband

builds the boat.

[Voice over] The boat will
take them out to the open sea

where they are free to
fish wherever they want.

The seaweed farming family
that live in the marine park

have sold their crop.

Mesal has a kite from
the Semporna market.

It's big and beautiful.

The most important
thing about a kite

is that it flies well.

Even an ugly kite that
flies well is good.

[Voice over] But the market-bought
kite has a weak frame

held together with string.

Mesal is modifying the design.

Before I started, I
measured it carefully.

Then I bent the wood
for the crossbar.

This part has to be pliable.

But the spine has to be
hard, otherwise it will snap.

[Voice over] Mesal
says that flying a kite

is like fishing.

The pull of the wind
feels like a big fish

on the end of the line.

But Mesal hasn't
caught a big fish

in Tun Sakaran Marine
Park for a long time.

Perhaps by the time he is
boss of the seaweed farm,

the big fish will have returned.

In the meantime, he'll hone
his skills fishing the winds

above Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

In an open boat, just
like the one she traveled

all the way to the
Philippines in,

Atusiyah and her husband Yukai

set off on the
journey to Semporna,

where a buyer is already
waiting for the dried clams.

(boat engine starts)

(uplifting music)

(people speaking in Malaysian)

We got around $100
for six kilograms,

but I had to pay back half of
that for the boat we rented.

It's good.

Even if we had wanted
more, that's all we got.

We now have some money to spend

and for that we are thankful.

[Voice over] This family's
future will no longer be tied

to Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

A green turtle's eggs have
hatched on the island of Sipadan.

The hatchlings look
to the bright horizon

and go towards it
as fast as they can.

Only a few will reach maturity

to swim in the waters of
Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

(uplifting music)

In the lagoon, where
a volcano once erupted

and a sleeping lady lies,
schools of fish are returning.

And the giant clams spawn.

To safeguard their futures,
some people will stay.

And some will go.

(uplifting music)