Nauru, located near the equator in the western Pacific Ocean, is a mythical and rich island country. Coconut trees sway on the island, only seabirds fly, without the harassment of snakes, insects and gnats, and the environment is beautiful and quiet. The islanders live a leisurely and prosperous life, not worrying about unemployment and food and clothing. They live in villas surrounded by mountains, seas and green trees, and every family has modern daily necessities such as cars, refrigerators, color TVs, air conditioners and telephones. Not only do children not have to pay tuition fees, but the government also gives them pocket money. Adults are arranged by the government, earning money without paying taxes, and all medical care and medicines are free. ...
Nauru is the smallest country in Oceania, covering an area of 22 square kilometers, with only 19 kilometers around the island. Even on foot, it only takes half a day to go around the island.
Before the 20th century, Nauru was an unknown island. Islanders make a living by fishing and hunting birds, but they are also comfortable. The only regret is that the water on the island is always salty, so we have to drink coconut juice all day to quench our thirst. But one day, a textured stone on the island was given to an Australian friend as a gift by a sailor. A curious British company employee happened to see it, so he peeled a small piece for testing and found it was a high-grade phosphate rock.
It turns out that Nauru used to be a place where seabirds gathered. Over time, bird eggs and bird droppings piled up layer by layer, and after a long mineralization, they became phosphate rock. Almost everywhere is 10 meter thick phosphate rock, with a total reserve of about 65438+ 1 100 million tons! Moreover, the purity of phosphate rock is as high as 84%. No wonder the water on the island is salty, so that neither snakes nor mosquitoes can survive.
Nauru is suddenly worth a hundred times because of the discovery of phosphate rock. As long as you dig it out and sell it, you can get a lot of foreign exchange It's a treasure island. Nauru began to mine phosphate rock from 1907, and now its annual output reaches 2 million tons, making it the fifth largest producer of phosphate rock in the world. The bird droppings exported every year bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the people of Nauru. Because there are few people, the per capita national income ranks first in the Asia-Pacific region, making everyone rich.
Because of the huge wealth brought by bird droppings, Nauru people live a carefree life, eating imported bread and beef and eating big fish and meat every day. If there is no fresh water, drink beer. Today's islanders are round, fat and overnourished. Diabetes has become their new worry, with an average of 1 person suffering from diabetes in every 5 people. To this end, the government has specially set up "dieting" officials to guide the health and life of the people.
These islanders said humorously, "We are happy, fat and rich, and we live in a paradise full of bird droppings."
Nauruans certainly understand that once the phosphate rock is exhausted, the good times will not last long. The government has been taking precautions. Every year, 50% of phosphate rock income is used as living capital after resource depletion for overseas investment. For example, in Melbourne, I bought a piece of land bigger than myself and invested a lot of money to build a 52-story building for rent. The building was named "Nauru House", but the outside world nicknamed it "Bird droppings tower".
In order to make a living in the future, the government is also actively developing agriculture and industry, especially the tertiary industry, and setting up navigation, aviation, shipbuilding, fisheries, finance, tourism and other undertakings so that people can learn various skills so as to have a better way to make a living in the future. In order to improve the country, the hollowed-out mines were filled with garbage, and fruit trees and vegetables were planted on them to develop agricultural production.