The Pitcairn Islands, a volcanic outcrop halfway between South America and New Zealand, is the UK’s only overseas territory in the Pacific Ocean and home to only 46 people.
One of the most remote places on Earth, all of its inhabitants live in the capital, Adamstown.
However, even here, people have not escaped the drama that has dominated British politics since 2016 — Brexit.
Pitcairn has its own well-equipped medical facility and a resident doctor, but for emergencies and longer-term conditions, the nearest hospitals are in French Polynesia, about 2,170km to the northwest, and New Zealand, about 5,300km to the southwest.
With no access to the islands by air, that can mean at least two days’ sailing, depending on weather conditions.
Pitcairn Mayor Charlene Warren fears that vulnerable islanders could fall foul of restrictions usually associated with the length of time British holidaymakers and those with second homes can stay in EU member states.
“Brexit has definitely affected us for going to Tahiti [the largest island in French Polynesia], because we’re no longer in the European Union,” Warren said. “We’re now only limited to three months in Tahiti, which with some medical issues that we have can roll over three months.”
For Pitcairn’s aging population, healthcare is a pressing concern, even with recent support from the government in London, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Next month, there will be no minors left on the island when the last three schoolchildren, their mothers and their teacher leave Adamstown for New Zealand.
More than half of the remaining population will be aged over 60.
The Pitcairn Islands were colonized in 1790 by the mutinous crew of the Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty, led by the master’s mate, Fletcher Christian.
On Pitcairn — the only inhabited island of four scattered hundreds of kilometers across the ocean — there is only one grocery store, open three times a week for two hours at a time.
The islanders are proud of their Polynesian heritage, speak English and local language Pitkern.
“For me, I’m a Polynesian because I was born here,” said policewoman Brenda Lupton Christian, 69, adding that she is a descendant of Fletcher Christian. “This is my home, I wasn’t born in England.”
Pitcairn depends on trade with the EU, especially the sale of rich, fruity island honey, and wants access to EU markets.
However, selling honey, stamps — once so popular among philatelists that they supported two-thirds of the islands’ budget — and souvenirs to cruise ship passengers is no longer enough.
“We used to get some financial funds from the European Union. That has stopped as well with our aging community,” Warren said. “We’re only 46 people living in Pitcairn and our vote doesn’t even count.”
Eleven people, including a former minister, were arrested in Serbia on Friday over a train station disaster in which 16 people died. The concrete canopy of the newly renovated station in the northern city of Novi Sad collapsed on Nov. 1, 2024 in a disaster widely blamed on corruption and poor oversight. It sparked a wave of student-led protests and led to the resignation of then-Serbian prime minister Milos Vucevic and the fall of his government. The public prosecutor’s office in Novi Sad opened an investigation into the accident and deaths. In February, the public prosecutor’s office for organized crime opened another probe into
RISING RACISM: A Japanese group called on China to assure safety in the country, while the Chinese embassy in Tokyo urged action against a ‘surge in xenophobia’ A Japanese woman living in China was attacked and injured by a man in a subway station in Suzhou, China, Japanese media said, hours after two Chinese men were seriously injured in violence in Tokyo. The attacks on Thursday raised concern about xenophobic sentiment in China and Japan that have been blamed for assaults in both countries. It was the third attack involving Japanese living in China since last year. In the two previous cases in China, Chinese authorities have insisted they were isolated incidents. Japanese broadcaster NHK did not identify the woman injured in Suzhou by name, but, citing the Japanese
YELLOW SHIRTS: Many protesters were associated with pro-royalist groups that had previously supported the ouster of Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin, in 2006 Protesters rallied on Saturday in the Thai capital to demand the resignation of court-suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and in support of the armed forces following a violent border dispute with Cambodia that killed more than three dozen people and displaced more than 260,000. Gathered at Bangkok’s Victory Monument despite soaring temperatures, many sang patriotic songs and listened to speeches denouncing Paetongtarn and her father, former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and voiced their backing of the country’s army, which has always retained substantial power in the Southeast Asian country. Police said there were about 2,000 protesters by mid-afternoon, although
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
RSS