Exploitation in Papua New Guinea | DW Documentary

When ExxonMobil started drilling for oil in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, many people sold their land. They were hoping that the license fees promised to them by the energy giant would give them a better life. But for many residents of the region, things turned out very differently.

Today, the unspoiled highlands of Papua New Guinea are a magnet for tourists in search of exoticism and foreign oil companies looking for new reserves. Tribes get paid to dress up for visitors, while a local Huli family and their clan have agreed to sell their land to ExxonMobil in the hope that this will bring them a step closer to modernity. But the money never arrived, and now they’re now caught up in a trap between rival tribes, greedy politicians and one of the most powerful multinationals in the world. Meanwhile, tourists film dances that have lost their meaning. And a world is disappearing without a sound.