"The Refugees Of The Blue Planet" is a very sad and truly moving documentary by Quebecois filmmakers, Hélène Choquette & Jean-Philippe Duval, about the ever growing phenomenon of environmental refugees. These are people who have been displaced as a result of the ever growing number of natural disasters (which the documentary argues are a result of global warming), or as a result of the negligence of corporations and governments who makes deals to extract hazardous resources on peoples land, utilize practices which degrade the environment, or force people off their land for the creation of monoculture farms. "They are constantly growing in number and often have no legal status, even though their right to a clean and sustainable environment has been violated." (nfb.ca) In numbers they have now surpassed the number of political and war refugees in the world (25 million:23 million). Oh and did I mention that these refugees aren't limited to third world and developing countries......it could be anyone.
We are taken to three very different parts of the world where people are suffering from three very different problems, all of which have made them environmental refugees. These stories are juxtaposed with interviews made by numerous scholars, human rights and environmental activists.
One of these areas is the sinking islands of Maldives. Constantly bombarded by heavy waves and tsunamis, these humble folk are taking the brunt of the effects of global warming. As they walk among the ruins of their houses and town, they talk about how their island is noticeably sinking and how they believe that it will soon be gone. They also tell stories about sleepless nights as water would fill the bottoms of their houses during heavy storms. Suffering a truly sad fate these people are being forced to move to the mainland where the government is supposed to be building them houses- with over a three year wait- as conditions are quickly becoming unlivable.
Next we are taken to Brazil where thousands of previously self-sufficient farming families were forced to sell their plots to a corporation who created a Eucalyptus plantation of which 90% is used to make toilet paper. The land which previously provided sustainability for 15000-20000 people now employed only 1500 and has become a literal desert. Sure there is green- but no life; no other plants; no animals; no insects. The trees which cover thousands of hectares have sucked up all the water making the land barren and useless. We are shown a small family based community which has, until this day, resisted to sell their plots and continue to live in the middle of the plantation. But they are barely able to live. They have no potable water- they must drink from a water hole which they don't believe is safe because of all the pesticides used by the plantation. Their crops fail, they are plagued by termites (which have been driven to their tiny plot due to pesticides), and they don't see much of a future in the place where they had lived for generations. They too are now environmental refugees.
The third area which Choquette and Duval bring us to is rural Alberta, Canada- oil country, the Texas of the North. Here the provincial government has the rights to all resources in and under the soil, and they contract the rights to develop these deposits to private corporations, who will do so- even if it means building a pumping station on your land. Now everyone hears about the oilsands in Alberta, but the majority of oil resources come in the form of what is called "Sour Gas", which is a nasty and toxic combination of sulfuric acid and crude oil. There are approximately 200,000 exploratory sour gas pumping stations in the province with plans to build 200,000 more. Most people don't have an issue with these because they receive annual payouts from the government and aren't directly exposed to the hazards they bring, but the farmers in the rural areas have it different. They are the ones who are forced to put up with companies building insecure pumping stations in the direct vicinity, if not on their property- when at any point in time without notice or warning these stations could spring a leak and instantly kill everything in the area. The worst part is that leaks are undetectable and the people in these areas suffer from long term exposure to these chemicals which have drastic health effects. Alberta now has one of the highest percentages of MS in the world and their private hospitals (the only in Canada, minus the technically illegal one in BC) are funded almost entirely by oil money. One family we meet has not only been displaced from their home at a financial loss, but their son has contracted MS from exposure the H2S fumes which the refineries pump out into the air at ridiculous rates during the process which separates the crude from the sour gas. These people do not go down without a fight but it is often in vain- when they are told to move they do because it is not worth losing your life over.
This documentary had me in tears, a truly moving plight that these people-often, though not always, from the poorest countries in the world- have to face. The documentarians are critical to these major corporations who disregard peoples' right to a sustainable life and livable environmental conditions, as well as to the politicians and governments who do nothing to protect these environmental refugees- before or after. Makes you truly question your way of life as in conclusion they point out that if everyone were to live as we in industrialized nations do- we would need five planets like earth. Its time to change.
