VANUATU: AGAINST ALL ODDS | France 5 | Les Routes de l'Impossible

In Vanuatu, a small archipelago lost in the vastness of the Pacific, paradise comes with a daily struggle. Cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and rising sea levels constantly threaten the inhabitants of a country considered one of the most disaster-prone places in the world.
On the island of Malekula, Bosko and his taxi transport farmers, patients, goods and schoolchildren every week through jungle roads where the slightest downpour turns the tracks into quagmires. “When you drive on this road, you mustn’t panic. You have to be tough.”

The only way to reach their destination is to put the passengers to work. They push vehicles out of the mud, move rocks and clear obstacles. Journeys of several hours can cover just a few dozen kilometres. Here, mutual support is often the only alternative to the lack of infrastructure.

On the island of Pentecost, some traditions seem frozen in time. The inhabitants still use a form of traditional currency made up of woven mats and wild boar tusks, used to pay for weddings, medical care and ceremonies.

And that is not the only tradition to have survived the centuries. At 22, Atanas takes part in Nangol, the forerunner of modern bungee jumping. With nothing but simple vines tied around his ankles, he plunges from a 22-metre-high tower. He wants to prove his bravery and impress the young women of the village. “I prefer to close my eyes when I jump.”

Further north, on the volcanic island of Ambae, residents live under the constant threat of Mount Manaro. Eruptions destroy crops, contaminate water supplies and force some families into exile. On other islands, climate change is causing sea levels to rise, eating away at the land and villages year after year.

Between impassable roads, ancestral traditions and natural disasters, this film tells the story of a people determined never to abandon their roots.