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.”
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
RSS