Caribbean with Simon Reeve (2015–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Episode #1.1 - full transcript

I'm on a journey around the
Caribbean Sea,

with its thousands
of beautiful islands...

and an incredible mainland coast,

home to millions
of extraordinary people.

This is a vast area with
a rich and brutal history.

And some of the most dangerous
places on the planet!

It's one of the most vibrant
and exciting regions on Earth.

It's the Caribbean.

On this first leg of my journey
around the Caribbean Sea,

I travel east from the island
of Hispaniola to the American

territory of Puerto Rico.



In the Dominican Republic, I'm
picked up by the officers battling

drug pushers and cartels.

That is a block of cocaine.

And beneath the sea,
I come face-to-face with

the reality of living
in America's back yard.

It's quite peaceful and
still down there, apart

from this massive bomb!

And I head further off
the tourist trail to see another

side of a country
with a tragic reputation.

And this...
this is the real treasure of Haiti.

I'm starting my journey
around the Caribbean Sea,

here on the exotic island
of Hispaniola.

It's an island
divided between two countries,

the Dominican Republic,
where I am now,



and poor, long suffering Haiti,

where I'll be heading to
later on in my journey.

I headed to Santo Domingo, the
capital of the Dominican Republic.

It's one of the largest
cities in the Caribbean,

and it's where European settlement
of the Americas first began.

This was the first Spanish
city in the Americas.

It was home to the first
European cathedral,

university and monastery
in the New World.

Christopher Columbus
landed on Hispaniola in 1492.

His brother founded the Caribbean's
first European city here.

Hola.

For centuries,
this was a Spanish colony.

It was from here that Europeans
set off to conquer

the rest of the Americas
and, of course,

annihilate many of the indigenous
people already living there.

The fate of the New World
was set here.

Today, the Dominican Republic
boasts some of the fastest

economic growth in the region.

With hundreds of miles of beaches,
the country's

a bit of a Caribbean holiday cliche.

You probably know somebody who's
been here on their holidays, because

this is the most popular tourist
destination in the Caribbean.

Ten million people live here.

They're joined by about five
million tourists each year.

There's sun, sea,
sand and plenty of adventure sports,

without too many boring worries
about health and safety.

Oh, my God.

This is one of those things that
sounded like a really good idea.

I was told this was a flying boat.

It looks more like
a flying dinghy to me.

Where do you sit?

OK.

What am I going to hold on to?

It wasn't the ideal experience
for a traveller with vertigo.

But eventually I calmed down
and started to enjoy

the incredible view.

More than 25 million tourists visit
the Caribbean islands each year,

half coming from the United States.

Many Caribbean islands
have become completely

dependent on their income
from the travel industry.

Bloody hell! You crazy Frenchmen!

That was incredible. Thank you.

You're welcome.

I tell you what, it takes budget
airline to a whole new level.

I know this entire gig
looks like a bit of a cushy number,

but the Caribbean
isn't all paradise.

Away from the tourist resorts

and lush beaches, there's another
side to this country and the region.

This island's always been a key hub
for trade in the Caribbean.

Now it's being targeted
by the international drug cartel,

smuggling cocaine
from the production areas

in South America to users
in North America and Europe.

The trade is fuelling poverty
in the Dominican Republic

and an increasing drug
and crime problem.

We're just arriving
at the headquarters...

of the Police Anti-Narcotics
Division.

Colonel David Rodriguez was briefing
his special operations unit.

The unit is tasked with tackling
violent drug gangs.

This is the other side
of paradise, I guess.

I was joining them
on a drugs raid.

What we're doing is dividing the
teams. There's a couple of guys who

are going to enter the premises
on a motorcycle.

They're like what we call the point.

- OK.
- They're going to radio us and tell us,

"OK, fine, go in."

I never really know
whether to feel safer...

wearing this or
to feel more of a target.

OK, we're off.

We were heading to one of
the city's poorest districts.

Millions of Dominicans
are still stuck in poverty,

and around a third of the people
here live on less than ?3 a day.

We were soon in the gang area,
ready for the raid.

Then, suddenly, two undercover
police officers ahead of us

spotted a wanted gang member,
and we all set off in pursuit.

It's a right warren, isn't it?

How can you
operate in an area like this?

We've basically run
in to a complete warren.

And obviously the people
we were looking for have legged it.

Come and take a look
where a guy just jumped.

Jumped?

He came down this, those stairs,
and jumped through here.

This goes through a tunnel that goes
under the road where we parked.

Wow.

Apparently, he threw part of what
he had in this room.

You could hide
kilos of drugs in here.

Look at this place.

We've got something.

You've got something?
What have we got there?

Marijuana and cocaine.

How much is there approximately?

Over 180 grams, maybe.

So there's a couple of thousand
dollars' worth of cocaine there?

- Yeah.
- So are you happy with this as a result?

- Super happy. Super happy.
- Let's go.

But there are now
tonnes of cocaine being

trafficked into
the Dominican Republic.

The police here know that a small
bust like this is just

scratching the surface.

It's always the same.
They've got about eight sellers,

and each seller or distributor
has the same amount

each and every day.

So that means this,
just this gang, is shifting

a couple of kilos of cocaine here,
just this area, every day?

- Yeah, yeah.
- Thanks for bringing us along.

In recent years,
anti-narcotics operations in South

and Central America have made
the overland drug smuggling routes

to North America more difficult.

The international trade
is increasingly shifting to the

Caribbean islands.

The international drug cartels
are now paying

local drug smugglers

here in countries like
the Dominican Republic.

They're paying them in kind
with their own products,

so with cocaine and guns, basically.

And that, of course, leads to
a massive increase in both drug

usage and, of course, crime as well.

And all the attendant poverty
and suffering that goes with that.

Local drug gangs
are getting wealthier

and more dangerous as they get
access to more powerful weapons.

The murder rate in the
Dominican Republic is several times

higher than in the United States.

To help deal with violent crime,
Colonel Rodriguez's unit trains

at a commando base in mountains
to the north of the country.

David, can you give us

a sense of the scale of the threat

your men and your women are facing?

We have boats coming in
full of cocaine shipments.

We're talking about 1,000 kilos,
1,200 kilos.

Now we have more drug
related murders.

And you see that more
and more here now?

Every day. It's my 24 hours.

Officers here are being trained
in close-quarter armed combat,

and to meet violence with
an overwhelming response.

They're definitely dead.

The Colonel was keen to show me

why anyone with a gun can be
a threat to his officers.

- On the left.
- I'm on the left.

- The other way. The other way.
- Yes, OK.

There you go.

- There you go. To the throat.
- Now that's terrifying.

I'm a complete... Yeah, I'm not
a former soldier or anything,

and you've just... This is
the first time we've done it.

It's horrific, frankly,
that a weapon that is as powerful,

as deadly as this
is so fundamentally easy to use.

To use.
A 14-year-old kid can use it.

- That's the horrifying point, isn't it?
- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

But your officers will confront
weapons like this?

Let's put it this way,
it's called organised crime.

What we've got to do
is organise ourselves.

The Dominican Republic is now
caught up in the international

war on drugs.

It's some sort of training exercise
now, in which we're the suspects.

It's a struggle that is devastating
countries across the Caribbean region.

Oh, bloody hell!

Local Caribbean police forces
are often out-gunned

and under-resourced.
The challenge is huge.

In recent years, the quantity
of cocaine smuggled through here

and on to the US and Europe
has increased by around 800%.

So all these we have here,
was received, you know,

last week from different
towns of the Dominican Republic.

And how much is just in...
How much in there?

Nine kilos.

Astonishing.
So that's 9kg of cocaine.

So that's worth
in the region of

?400,000 to ?500,000...

if a smuggler
can get that to Europe.

Half a million quid, just there!

We helped to create this problem.

Drugs sold and bought on
the streets of Britain

are being smuggled through here.

The UK consumes a quarter
of all the cocaine in the EU.

Look at that.

That is a block of cocaine.

Now where would that have been
going? To the United States?

To the streets of Britain?
Who knows?

But more likely than not,
it was heading on overseas,

because that's
where the big money is.

Drugs with a street value of
around half a billion pounds

are now being burnt each year
at this secure facility

inside an army base.

Astonishing.

The heat is really intense.

I think what you see there is
the Caribbean, of course,

not just as paradise,
which it may well be,

but the Caribbean as victim.

It's in the middle,
between the supply,

which is coming out of Central
and South America,

and the major markets for demand,

which are in Europe
and North America.

It was time for me
to leave the cops

and continue my journey
across the island.

My local guide, Carlos,

suggested a pit-stop at
a quirky local watering-hole.

I didn't know quite
what to expect.

It's a drive-thru bar.

Isn't it amazing? It's lovely.

Incredible. So what can they do?

Look, it's a full pub!

I wanted to have a nice drink
to impress my friend,

- like a very colourful cocktail.
- I want a really big umbrella in it.

He didn't think to say, "Maybe it's not
a good idea for you to have a drink, sir,

as you seem to be behind
the wheel of a vehicle?"

No? Nothing like that?
I'm astonished.

I don't think I've seen this
anywhere in the world.

What's your view, Carlos?
Do you think this is a good idea?

People here say that
the most they drink,

the safer they drive.

Well, that's just stupid.

Carlos, I'm very sorry to say,
but that is just stupid.

I think if you drive
in the Dominican Republic,

you can drive anywhere in the world.

Well... if you survive.

Yeah, you're right.

Oh, look, the
gentleman's got some drinks for us.

- Thank you very much.
- Fantastic. Thank you very much.

That's a passion fruit cocktail.

- Let's give it a try. We should say cheers.
- Cheers, sir.

- Cheers.
- Cheers. Salud.

Flipping heck, that's quite strong.

This is delicious,
but this is not a good idea.

I agree with you.

But, still, a lot of people drink
and drive here.

Gracias, se?or.

Mad.

- Let me take that off you, Carlos.
- Yes.

- Don't you have any more.
- Ooh, look at that!

- I was about to have an accident.
- Yeah, there you go,

and that's not going
to look good, is it?

Thousands of people
die on the roads here every year.

According to the World Health
Organization, the Dominican Republic

is actually the world's most
dangerous place to drive.

Do you know anybody
who's been injured,

or worse, in road accidents?

The son...

of a good friend of mine...

had a car accident
just right here, in this corner,

- 8a couple of years ago.
- Good Lord.

And I'm still suffering. Everybody
in the office is suffering that.

- Died?
- Yeah.

And was alcohol involved?

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

He was drinking or
somebody else was drinking?

Somebody else was drinking, yes.
It was not him. Somebody else.

It's a sad but common story.

There are laws here about
drink-driving and dangerous driving,

but nobody seems to enforce them.

With that firmly in mind,
and with our seat-belts applied,

we set off across the country.

Carlos was driving me to the border
between the Dominican Republic

and its neighbour
on the island-- Haiti.

Nearly 200 miles north-west,

we arrived in the town of Dajabon.

It looked like
it was the monthly market,

but apparently
it's this busy every day,

with thousands of people
crossing the border.

I'd been catapulted
into chaos and colour.

You stand here for a minute
and you start to realise

how the human traffic is flowing.

This way, you've got people
going back into Haiti,

who are taking back stuff
they have bought

in the Dominican Republic to sell,

because Haiti doesn't produce a lot.

Haiti's by far the poorest country
in the Western hemisphere.

Many Haitians have fled abroad.

Up to a million have moved
to the neighbouring,

richer Dominican Republic.

Relations between the two countries
are not great at the moment.

The Dominican Republic's
in the process of kicking out

thousands of Haitians, many
who've lived here for generations.

And, historically,
relations between the two states

have not been good.

This is part of the reason why.

This is the River Massacre,

and it commemorates
a period in the 1930s

when, perhaps, 25,000 or more

Haitians were killed
by Dominican soldiers.

These were Haitians who were
living in the country.

Many of them had been here
for many years,

but the Dominicans identified
who was Haitian or not

by getting them to say
the Spanish word for "parsley",

which Creole-speaking Haitians
had trouble saying properly.

And, on that one word,

often people lived or died.

Many of them were hacked to death.
It's appalling.

Haiti's become a by-word
for poverty and suffering.

It's endured colonial rule,
terrible leaders, bad luck

and a catastrophic
earthquake in 2010.

It has a pretty grim reputation,

but I was hoping to see
a different side to the place.

Simon, how are you?

Jean Daniel?

It's a pleasure to meet you.

Very nice to meet you.

So this is Jean Daniel.

He spotted us.

We have a camera with us.

The first time we've met.
Thank you for coming over.

Thank you for being here.

And Jean Daniel is going to
be our guide across Haiti.

Merci, monsieur.

We are now in Haiti.

It's quite busy here, mate,
isn't it?

It's quite beautiful, too.

This is normal, is it?

Yeah, it's really normal.

Things are not as bad
as people have portrayed it.

- Oh, right.
- You know?

Well, I'm really excited to visit

and I'm really looking forward
to our travels around the country.

Yes, I'm looking forward
to it as well.

Haiti wasn't always poor.

In the 1700s, it was a French colony

and fortunes were made here from
growing sugar, coffee, cocoa,

tobacco and cotton
in the fertile climate.

It was said to be the richest
slave colony in the world,

but not for long.

The story of Haiti isn't
all about suffering.

It's also an extraordinary tale
of struggle and victory

against the greatest powers
in the world.

OK, you want me to get on this one?

Look at my masterful control
of this beastie.

Whoa! Whoo!

I was off to see one of the
wonders of the Caribbean.

Look at that!

Like a castle in the clouds.

Perched on top of a mountain,

the whopping Citadelle Laferriere

is the largest fortress
in all of the Americas.

It's an astonishing place, this.

This is not what people think of

when they think of Haiti.

But I have, I think,

an unfortunately negative view
of the country.

This is absolutely stunning.

It took 20,000 workers 50 years

to build the colossal structure.

Look at the scale of this!

Its walls, up to four metres thick,

seem as sturdy as the
mountain itself.

Its ramparts stand almost
1,000 metres above sea-level.

It's an epic structure,

built to last forever.

Oh, wow.

It's breathtaking.

Goodness me, look how
it dominates the area.

This Citadelle

represents something truly
extraordinary.

Haiti is the only country
to have been formed

as the result of a successful
slave rebellion.

In the late 1700s,

Haiti's slaves rose up against
their brutal French masters.

In wars that followed, they managed
to do the unthinkable--

they defeated the forces
of the French, the British,

even the army of the
Emperor Napoleon.

In 1804,
Haiti was declared independent,

the first free black nation
in the modern world.

Their plan to protect the new nation

from the former slave masters,

particularly the French,

was that if they saw French ships
coming in to retake the country,

they would see them arriving...

In the far distance,
we can just see the sea.

...they would retreat from the coast,
burning everything as they went,

to this fort and others.

And they would then be able to

ambush and attack the French
soldiers on mountain passes

and at choke points.

The Citadelle had hundreds of
cannons and water and food stores

that could supply thousands
of soldiers for a year.

But an attack never came.

Instead, the French used
a different tactic.

The French effectively
blockaded the island

and that was only lifted
when a Haitian ruler,

rather foolishly, agreed to pay
massive reparations to France,

basically paying them for the loss
of their slave plantations.

Those payments went on for decades

and completely crippled Haiti.

By the end of the 1800s,

Haiti was still sending almost 80%
of its national revenue

to France as reparations.

Foreign powers continued to meddle
in Haiti into the 20th century.

America invaded and occupied
for two decades from 1915,

imposing forced labour on the people

and taking huge tracts of land
for plantations.

Since then, the country has
suffered from years of coups

and political violence.

But through it all,
Haiti has kept its unique faith,

one rooted in both Africa and
rebellious slave culture.

It's a faith that has often inspired
mistrust and fear among outsiders.

- Bonsoir.
- How are you, monsieur?

This place is a bit off the
beaten track, eh?

Jean Daniel was taking me
to a voodoo ceremony.

It's important to see voodoo,

because voodoo is an essential part
of our culture, of Haiti's culture.

It has a pretty bad reputation,

it's seen as something scary.

This is the soul of Haiti

and this is why people
don't understand Haiti.

But there is nothing scary
about it for Haitians.

Its origins are said to be
as old as Christianity,

but let's be honest-- Voodoo is seen
by many as sinister mumbo-jumbo.

The ceremony takes place here,
right next to the centre pole.

What do the white markings on
the ground signify?

They are signs that we've inherited
from the Amerindians.

Amerindians who were
living here before...

- Who were living before.
- ...Europeans first came here...

Way before Christopher Columbus
came in.

Way before.

Slaves transported from West Africa

could bring nothing but their faith.

And here, the French forced them
to convert to Catholicism.

Am I right in thinking, voodoo is
a very complicated belief system,

but it's centred around one god?

One god, multiple spirits.

Voodoo became the name given to
the secret religion of the slaves.

It combined the faith
of their ancestors,

the religious symbols of the
original indigenous peoples

of the Caribbean, and the
Christianity of their masters.

They are inviting you to go.

Goodness. OK.

Critics of voodoo
say it's simple superstition,

that it holds Haiti back because
it makes people believe

the spirits control their destiny,

rather than telling them they have
the ability to change their life

by their own actions.

But perhaps you could say
the same of many religions.

I have to say,

I'm not sure if a Haitian TV crew

turned up at
a British village church

whether they'd receive such
a hospitable welcome.

Does voodoo feature in your life?

I live voodoo.

And I have ceremonies.

Doesn't that make you
a voodoo priest?

Yes.

You are a voodoo priest?

- Indeed.
- Do you have a parish?

Do you have an area that
you're responsible for?

I would love to have a parish,

but I'm not a Catholic priest!

Has white European culture
demonised the faith?

You fear what you don't know.

A four-year-old kid who heard
that darkness was bad

is afraid of the dark.

It's the same.

It's a matter of relaxing,

understanding...

and opening your mind to something
that you don't know.

I'm used to having my mind
opened on my journeys,

but I've never seen anything
quite like this before.

In front of our eyes,

a woman was apparently being
possessed by a spirit.

It's said to be a great honour
among followers of the faith.

So really, our Western
perception of voodoo

is really created as
a response to the fact that

it's a faith that inspired
a slave uprising on this island,

and Europeans
just couldn't accept that.

And so, for Europeans, they've
turned it in to something scary.

Voodoo's a recognised religion here.

People say Haiti's 70% Catholic,

30% Protestant,

but 100% voodoo.

The next morning, Jean Daniel
drove me along the coast.

Haiti only has a few hundred miles
of paved roads--

it's one of the reasons behind
the terrible state of the economy.

It's tricky and expensive
to move anything around.

But we stopped off at a place
where a bit of money

is trickling into the country.

This is an amazing sight.

That is one of the largest
cruise ships in the world.

More than 6,000 passengers on board,

almost 2,500 crew.

It's a floating town.

Hundreds of thousands
of tourists cruise into

this Paradise Bay every year.

The cruise company pays
the Haitian government

less than ?10 per visitor
for exclusive access.

They generally don't leave
this little tiny corner.

Apparently, most of them don't
really know they're in Haiti.

- Oh, here come a couple of people.
- What you got me? What you got me?

Pardon? Pardon? We're just
looking at the resort here.

Have you ever met any of the
tourists who come here?

Do they ever come out of this area?

Do they ever go into Cap-Haitien?

10 or 15 off a ship
that holds 6,500 passengers?

Do you think they're benefiting
Haiti by being here?

Very true, sir. Very true.

Travel safe out there.

- Au revoir.
- Au revoir, madame.

Bye.

We continued south
to Jean Daniel's hometown,

the capital of Haiti,

Port-au-Prince.

Built on a natural harbour,

Port-au-Prince was once one
of the major trading ports

of the Caribbean.

Now it's scarred by one of the worst
natural disasters in recent history.

So, here you have the back view
of the cathedral,

of what used to be the cathedral.

Can you see?

Oh, my God.

On the 12th January 2010,

a massive earthquake
rocked Port-au-Prince.

What is this here? This isn't left
over from the earthquake, surely?

Every inch of the entire block
was destroyed during the quake.

And it's still a pile
of rubble years later?

This is nothing compared
to what it used to be.

It used to be a mountain of rubble.

The earthquake destroyed
much of the city.

More than 200,000 people
were killed.

Even more were injured.

One and a half million people
were left homeless.

It was catastrophe
on a biblical scale.

Jean Daniel, where...

where were you when the
earthquake hit?

I was a bank executive at the time.

- A bank exec?
- Executive, yes. Right.

But from the window of my office,

I saw the Citibank building,

right across the street from my bank,

crumbling down.

And then I realised
that it was an earthquake.

And the tremors lasted a very short
period of time, didn't they?

Yeah, it lasted less than 60 seconds.

But it felt like an hour, guys.

You think about everything, you know?

Your family, what's happening.

You know, that few seconds was...

It was extremely moving,

extremely moving,
and it's something that,

as of now,
I still cannot explain very well.

But it changed my life completely.

What was it like
in the street outside?

In the streets,
it was absolutely horrifying.

The entire country was covered
with a white cloud.

My God.

All the landmarks, all the reference
that I had as a kid,

had disappeared.

All the landmarks!

There are no more landmarks that
I knew of as a kid that were there.

So part of my...

Really, part of my...

Part of my...

childhood has totally vanished.

I'm sorry, mate.

Foreign governments
and aid agencies

pledged billions of pounds
in aid to Haiti

in the weeks after the earthquake,

but much of the money
has never appeared

and many people here are still
struggling to survive.

Oh, my God.

There are dozens of places like this
still around the city, aren't there?

Yes, there are,

particularly around the shanty towns.

Almost half a decade
after the earthquake,

and in America's backyard,

more than 150,000 people
were still living in tented camps.

More than 10,000 foreign
organisations and charities

have worked in Haiti
since the quake.

But fundamental problems
like sewers and sanitation

haven't been adequately addressed.

Many local people say money
that was donated to help them

hasn't always been spent wisely.

Many feel abandoned.

I do sense that too many aid
agencies think in the short-term

because they need quick results
to please their donors

and, in reality, what
this country needs

is a long-term plan.

Jean Daniel agreed,
but also explained that

Haitians need to take matters
into their own hands.

I think that we rely too much on
outside promises and influence.

But I think that
once we get together,

that we will move forward,

that we will move into,

really, the development of Haiti.

Haiti's problems go back
well beyond the earthquake.

Haitians need education,

employment and the entire structure
of a functioning state.

They can get help from
outsiders, but ultimately,

the answers will have
to come from within.

The next morning, we went to see
how Haitians are trying to tackle

some of their deep-rooted problems.

Adeline Bien-Aime is working
with some of the city's

most vulnerable children.

Adeline, tell us about this place.
What's going on here?

Restaveks are children
given away by parents

who can't afford
to look after them.

Often they're sent
to live with a relative,

but sometimes
they're given to strangers.

And what sort of life does
a Restavek have?

Are they expected to work
for their new family?

Is it servitude or is it...

Is it, as some people have said,

a form of slavery?

There are thought to be at least
300,000 Restaveks in Haiti.

They're a symptom of
desperate poverty.

Many parents think
they're doing the best

for their children
by sending them away,

but often Restavek children
endure long hours of work,

are vulnerable to horrific abuse

and are seldom sent to school.

Bonsoir.

Bonsoir.

Adeline works for the
Restavek Freedom Foundation.

They find Restaveks,
then teach and train them,

giving them life-skills,
a chance at a job, and a future.

What age range do we have here?

I set up the group. I work with them,

and I have from 12 to, like, 20.

So can we ask then,
who is the youngest here?

Soufonie?

Soufonie. I would say Soufonie
is the youngest.

Soufonie, she's tiny.

- Yeah, she is.
- And Soufonie, can you tell us...

Can you tell us a little bit
about your story?

And does she hit you with her hand

or does she hit you with something?

Soufonie, do you have any
hopes for the future?

Do you have a dream of what you
would like to be?

I'm very honoured to hear
stories from you

and learn more about
the lives that you live.

The Restavek Freedom Movement
in Haiti is gaining momentum.

Adeline's Foundation
has helped hundreds of children,

like Soufonie,
to go through school.

But part of the key to ending
the whole Restavek system

is raising public awareness.

And while I was in Haiti,
the Restavek Freedom Foundation

were putting on
a little concert in the capital,

to help remind Haitians that
the life of a Restavek

is no life for a child.

Oh, my goodness!

It's an incredible number.

I thought it was going to be a
small, almost private little affair.

But there are...

Well, there are
thousands of people here.

It was the finals
of a national competition.

Singers from around the country
were performing songs

they'd written
about the Restavek issue.

Adeline! Hello, dearest,
how are you? Can we have a kiss?

Two, please.

Adeline, what is the point
of this concert?

What is the aim of it?

- Good luck, OK?
- OK.

And good luck to you, Amanda.
Bonne chance.

- Bye-bye!
- Bye-bye!

She wants to get rid of us,
she wants to enjoy the concert.

Go on, go and dance.

Many of the girls from the school
were also enjoying the concert.

They seem a little excited.

It's really quite uplifting.
It feels like we might be here

at a turning point in Haiti's
history on this subject.

For them to hold this concert
in the National Stadium

and for there to be
that many people there

shows that this is no longer
Haiti's dirty little secret.

There's a degree
of openness about it.

And that, hopefully,
will lead to change.

But real change will only come
to Haiti if the economy improves

and people are lifted
out of poverty.

Across much of the Caribbean,

tourism has helped
to lift national economies.

Tourists spend billions
of pounds a year

to experience
the beauty of these islands.

Back in the 1970s,
Haiti was a tourist hot spot.

Even wary American
tourists came here.

But the country's desperate
troubles since then

have left hundreds of miles
of beautiful beaches empty

and totally undeveloped.

Flipping heck! Look at this place!

- This is stunning!
- It is stunning.

No, not just stunning.

This looks like a bit of paradise.

And that place here, this really
tells a story, doesn't it?

Look at its position right
on the beach here.

This gorgeous beach!

I don't know about you, but if
that was a hotel, I'd stay here.

Merci, monsieur.

We'd arranged to meet
an American teacher from Florida

who's fallen in love with
this bit of Haiti's coast.

Hello! Jamie?

- Hello, Jamie.
- Hi!

- Can we come aboard?
- Absolutely. Come on.

- Jamie, hello. Simon.
- Hi. Nice to meet you.

Lovely to meet you, too.

- It's a pleasure to meet you. Hi.
- Pleasure!

He doesn't...
He doesn't really like the sea.

That's OK. We'll make him
a fan of the sea soon.

Jamie Aquino set up and runs
the Haiti Ocean Project.

When she first visited here
eight years ago,

Jamie soon released
that this undiscovered part

of the Caribbean was exceptional.

There is an underwater topography
in Haiti that's unique.

There's two giant
underwater canyons.

Starting at one mile off the coast,

they drop to about
2,000 or 3,000 feet.

In the middle, about ten miles out,

they're down to 15,000 feet.

It's incredible! So just off
the coast, you basically...

The ground drops away
underneath the sea

and there is a vastness.

The vast, deep ocean is right there,

it's just off the coast of Haiti.
And what lives there?

Lots of marine mammals.
Pilot whales, bottle-nosed dolphins.

There's quite a population
of sperm whales.

I've also run into about a thousand
spotted dolphins

around the boat, as well.

- Well, that would be spectacular.
- Yeah.

I'm not going to be able to take
my eyes off the sea now.

Jamie is encouraging local youngsters
to get involved with conservation

in the hope they can establish a
marine tourism industry in the area

and help to protect
this unique environment.

- Let it go?
- Yeah, just don't want to get it tangled.

By popping the microphone
into the water,

she can detect noisy dolphins
or whales within a two-mile radius.

I've never heard the ocean
like that.

That's not the waves at the surface.
Right, right.

That is the sea.

There you go, listen.

Isn't that special?

Rather than just
being a body of water,

this shows it much more
as a living thing, I think.

Hold on. I think I hear dolphins.

I'm hearing, like, a "Eeer".
Listen.

- Can you hear? Yeah.
- I can hear dolphins!

- They really are.
- Yeah, they're really close.

"Eeer-eeer!"

- Wow, they're having a right old gossip.
- Yeah.

With dolphins nearby,
we were all on high alert.

Where?

Straight down.
The same line as the boat.

- Oh, yeah!
- Just here, coming right across!

Look, dolphins!

Oh, my goodness! Look at them!

There was a pod of at least 30
pantropical spotted dolphins.

There have been few
scientific studies about life

in this unique corner
of the Caribbean Sea,

but Jamie's convinced that
deep below us is a breeding

and feeding ground for a population
of endangered sperm whales.

What is clear is that this
is a home for some of the most

magnificent creatures in our seas.

And this...
this is the real treasure of Haiti.

Judging by the excited reaction
of the youngsters on the boat,

Jamie's project has
a real chance of success.

It's her hope that spectacles like
this will encourage more tourists

to visit this beautiful country,

which could help it economically...

but could also change
the image of Haiti

as just a place
of trouble and suffering.

It was time for me to leave
the island of Hispaniola

and head east on my journey
around the Caribbean Sea.

Look at the size of it!

We're off to America... sort of.

Caribbean Fantasy!

The whole Caribbean exists
in the shadow of the United States,

but now I was off to a place
that's basically the 51st state.

Oh, blimey! A bit of razzamatazz.

Hello, ladies.

Right, I think I'd better
find my cabin.

6139.

Phew!

Oh! Oh, I'm glad to get that off.

Let's have a look, quick!

View!

What a glorious view.
It'll change soon.

We're off across the Caribbean.

We sailed through the night
across the Mona Passage

to the island of Puerto Rico.

Well, that's how to arrive!

This island is the spoils of war.

Puerto Rico is actually
a territory of the USA.

The United States took
control of the island in 1898

following the
Spanish-American War.

Look at this!

We've just come into
the capital of Puerto Rico,

and, honestly,
we've arrived in the States.

It couldn't be more
different to Haiti.

At first glance,
it looked like people here

are living the American dream.

Are you from here, Jose?

Born and raised down here, yeah.

Life looks pretty good here.

Well...

It's... It's...

It looks like that.

But you're a territory of
the richest country in the world.

Surely everything is just going
absolutely swimmingly here.

It doesn't work like that.

We're not on equal terms.

Driving around the capital,
San Juan,

I could see there were areas

hit hard by bankruptcy
and an economic downturn.

See how buildings
are closed over here?

Oh, yes, look at this.
Closed. Closed.

Closed. Sale or rent signs up
over here. Closed.

- Not good.
- No, not at all.

Energy, food and other costs
are much higher in Puerto Rico

than on the US mainland.

And the local government here has
got itself into financial troubles,

spending more than it can afford
and getting deep into debt.

So, how is all this impacting
on people here?

People are scared.
Job opportunities are reduced.

Most of the professionals that
are graduating from our university,

they jump into a plane
and they go to the United States

and find a job over there.

From 2000 to 2013, over
200,000 people left Puerto Rico.

My wife is one of them.
She just moved to Florida.

- Your wife...
- Yeah.

- ...has moved to Florida?!
- Yeah.

She landed a job with the same
company she was working for here.

She's going to be making over three
times what she was making here.

- Three times more?
- Three times. Same company.

How on earth does that work
for you as a couple?

Well, it's a sacrifice,
but I'll be moving shortly.

There are now more Puerto Ricans
living in mainland America

than in Puerto Rico.

The problem's often called
the brain drain

and it's a huge issue
across the region.

In some Caribbean countries,

70% of the educated workforce
have emigrated.

Cheers, Jose!

I headed to a small island
off the coast called Vieques.

Wild horses.

It's quite a special place, eh?

It's also a place where the impact
of America has left deep scars.

Great view.

It looks, um... peaceful
and magnificent now, doesn't it?

But for decades, this was actually

one of the United States'
military's principal firing ranges.

It was a bomb-testing area,
basically.

For more than 60 years, the
United States Navy used Vieques

to test weapons it would use
in conflicts around the world.

Huge quantities of munitions
were kept at that end of the island,

then flown up to that end
and dropped.

It's still restricted and we're
not allowed to go there,

but that end of the island
is said to be

as cratered as the surface
of the moon.

The US military bombarded
the island

with hundreds of thousands
of tons of bombs.

They even used the chemical
Agent Orange.

I met up with local fisherman,
Cacimar Zenon,

who lived through the bombing,
to find out what it was like.

The constant explosions
shook houses

and made life here intolerable.

Islanders began a campaign
of protest and direct action.

People from the island are coming in

on a protest boat

to try and disrupt

the firing and shooting.

Goodness me.

I mean, this is such

a graphic illustration

of the heavy hand

of the United States.

After a local man was killed
by a stray bomb,

protests reached fever pitch.

And in 2002, the US was finally
forced to end the bombing.

The US military claims it's now
carrying out an enormous clean-up

operation on the island, but
they denied us access to film it.

Many islanders who make their
living from the Caribbean

say there's also
an enormous threat in the sea.

Cacimar took me out for a dive.

Out of the depths,
I could see a dark shape looming.

At least 12-feet long, with
its nose buried in the ocean floor.

Fishermen here say there are
thousands of unexploded bombs

and munitions littering the seabed.

They fear a disaster
if any get drawn into their nets.

It sure is quite peaceful
and still down there...

apart from this massive bomb!

Unbelievable.

That was the most terrifying thing
by a long way I've seen underwater.

I... I can't quite get my head
around it, I really can't.

There's, um...
And I don't know what's madder,

diving down onto it, or sitting
on a boat on top of it.

Look how close we are to the coast.

People fish in these waters.

Completely surreal.

Fishermen here are pleading
with the US military

to clean up the seabed.

Until they do, we can't be sure

whether the device I saw
is likely to explode.

Aside from the risk of detonations,

Cacimar and experts believe
the bombs pose other dangers.

They fear the munitions are

leaching dangerous chemicals
into the food chain,

affecting the fish that
the local population then eat.

A report by a Puerto Rican
scientist showed

that there were 30% more deaths
from cancer on Vieques

than on the Puerto Rican mainland.

The US government refuses
to accept there's a link

between the bombing
and cancer rates.

But Cacimar and many islanders
are not ready to give up the fight.

They want compensation
and a faster clean-up.

I'd reached the end of
the first stage of my journey

around the Caribbean Sea.

It's completely breathtaking.

It's been a fascinating
adventure so far.

A bit frightening at times,

but through an absolutely
stunning region of our world.

And I can't wait to continue
my journey around the Caribbean Sea.

On the next leg of my journey,
I visit one of the Caribbean's

most gorgeous islands and get
an unusual taste of paradise.

Yes, baby!

I travel through Venezuela's
lawless border country.

And in the coastal mountains
of Colombia,

I meet one of the oldest surviving
civilisations in the Americas.

Original Air Date:
March 22nd, 2015