New documentary: Darwin's Nightmare

I saw an amazing documentary last night. It was called Darwin's Nightmare, and as is often the case these days, it had way more drama than most dramatic movies.

It was set around Lake Victoria in the African country of Tanzania. Lake Victoria is the second largest lake in the world. Some decades ago, a new fish was introduced to the lake, the giant Nile Perch. It has by now eaten all other forms of life in the lake, and often feeds on its own young. It's caught by local fishermen and processed at the lake by companies owned by non-Tanzanians. The frozen fish filets are exported to Europe, 500 tons a year.

The heads and bones are eaten by the locals. Apart from those employed in the fish industry, the rest of the locals are terribly poor. Women typically become prostitutes to the fishermen. AIDS is rife. People die all the time.

Consequently, many of the children are orphans. They roam around hungry and get their kicks from sniffing the glue they cook off discarded fish packaging.

The film shows all sorts of people: prostitute who sell themselves for $10 a night to the pilots of the planes that take the fish back to Europe; a handsome man who guards a fish research facility at night with a bow and poisoned arrows; African leaders who meet in big conferences and smugly talk about the positive aspects of their society that outweigh the negatives. I couldn't help but look at these fat cats and get mad at how they must be ripping off their poor citizens.

White officials from trade organizations talk enthusiastically about the local fishing industry. Meanwhile they don't see the local suffering.

Huge cargo planes fly in from Europe and Russia to pick up the processed fish and deliver it to customers in Europe. Eventually the film reveals that these same planes often fly in with guns and ammunition to keep various wars supplied in Africa. As one Russian pilot says, he delivers food to children in Europe, and guns as Christmas presents to children in Africa.

It's a searing film that I cannot get out of my mind. It presents an entire human ecology, with groups of people feeding off each other, the top tier flourishing, and the bottom level suffering terribly. Darwin's Nightmare, indeed. Survival of the meanest.