MALAYSIA, TO LIVE IS ALREADY TO LIVE | France 5 | Les Routes de l'Impossible

The third largest island in the world, Borneo is now one of the most spectacular—and most disturbing—theaters of deforestation. Every day, acres of primary forest disappear under the teeth of bulldozers. Loggers cut trails through the jungle to transport their enormous trucks loaded with logs… These trails also allow Malaysians to travel from one village to another, but at what cost? In this magnificent yet threatened setting, men and women struggle daily to preserve their way of life while adapting to a changing world. Kara is one of them. A member of the Penan tribe, one of the last nomadic peoples of the forest, she has a unique story: the daughter of a Penan woman and a French adventurer, she became a nurse. Every year, she braves the rough trails and rivers to care for her people. The chief of her village also passes on ancestral knowledge about medicinal plants to her—before they disappear under the rule of loggers.

Malaysia is the world’s second largest producer of palm oil. While this crop devastates the environment, it is also a lifeline for many small farmers. But they still have to be able to deliver their harvest… During the rainy season, driving a loaded truck becomes a race against mud, torrents, and landslides.

And offshore, another population is fighting for survival: the Bajau, also known as the “sea nomads.”

For centuries, they have lived on stilts or on their canoes, following the rhythm of the tides.

Today, their villages are being destroyed to make way for luxury tourism, while fish are becoming increasingly scarce. In Borneo, nothing is simple. But everyone, in their own way, still finds a way to live, resist, and hope.