Where is the warmest place on earth
The hottest place on Earth | 60 Minutes Australia
it's unbearably hot uncomfortably bubbly
and unbelievably spectacular
welcome to the ethiopian desert to one
of the harshest most inhospitable places
imaginable this is where the afar nomads
live and our first encounter with them
is a tense one these men are still
fighting rather people around the afar
people are under threat including from
nearby warring tribes so assuring these
men with friend not foe is important so
this time of day
these men are out patrolling they're
making sure their village is protected a
few hundred kilometers further on and
we're much closer to finding what we've
come for
in these parts Valerie browning has an
almost mythical presence out of the
shimmering haze that dazzle of bright
orange and blue is very real Valerie's a
59 year old Australian woman with the
energy of a teenager and the heart of a
set it is been quite a journey
welcome to welcome to where we are who
we are
thank you so much home for the afar
nomads is anywhere within this 500
kilometer swath of northern Ethiopia
bordered by Djibouti and Eritrea and for
the last 25 years this land has also
been Valerie Browning's home I'd love to
have been born in Lima I'd love to have
been born in living in enough our house
yeah I think they have a great life I
really do
[Music]
where Valerie sees prosperity and hope
at first all I see is poverty and the
glint but the small a group she runs is
helping save the afar people by trying
to conquer the worst of third world
conditions the greatest killers enough
are our malaria differently and then of
course tuberculosis diarrhea pneumonia
these are all big killers measles is a
killer how many children died one in
three die before they reach the age of
five one in three
one in three the basics we take for
granted can never be guaranteed it's
often days between a solid meal and the
water we wouldn't let our animals drink
it I wanted to ask you about this what
the hell is this this is their drinking
water Michael and this is it I mean they
don't have another water and as they say
it gives what they say buggy a syrup
which is terrific pain in the stomach I
have bloody diarrhea from it just a tool
yeah well they've got nothing else
they've got nothing else
[Music]
and when you think it can't get any
tougher remember the hate
[Music]
just--how anything or anyone survives
out here is beyond me it's just so hot
at times it's hard to breathe for a soft
westerner like me I reckon I'd be lucky
to last a day on my own
on a hot day the temperature soars to 60
degrees 50 believe it or not is about
average this time of year and they call
that a fine day you can see why the afar
are regarded as the greatest survivors
no other people live in such constant
extreme heat anywhere on earth the calm
scene winds when they hit it's like you
know it's burning the whole face it's
burning everything it's like a furnace
it is it's like a furnace yes
so what's called to you 30s okay but
below 30 is horrible Ethiopia is about
as far away as you can get from where
Valerie grew up Armidale Ian country New
South Wales but in the early 70s a
friend convinced this young and naive
nurse to go and help the poor in
northern Africa over the next decade she
worked all over the region but it was
the plight of the afar nomads which
touched her most and it still does
[Music]
are you worried about the future of the
earth are people desperately worried
I think they are for the world and
expendable people after are on that list
of becoming extinct
they must break your heart it does and
that's the Oh that's a main reason to
fight on we must fight on faster and
harder because we must win they must not
become extinct no one's exactly sure but
there are about a million of far nomads
their worldly possessions fit easily on
the back of a camel their simple houses
dot the landscape they'll be kind enough
to let us have a look inside their house
around here
Valerie's no outsider know missionary or
Western do good and this which are made
into a dome shape and tied together
she's well and truly embraced the afar
people and their way of life
this is what you like your favorite I
love coming off too much I don't know
when to stop
it's your indulgence and where there's a
fire there's always a friend and
hospitality to be found it doesn't get
any better for Valerie than this the
great luxury of camel's milk and to be
offered a taste is an honor
you don't refuse literally fresh off our
beer
you've done it you got it on the nose
there's one thing that strikes you about
the effect for all their struggle to
survive out here they remain a happy
proud race of people and when the word
goes out Valerie's got some guests in
town they come from everywhere to
celebrate it's here we meet Ismael a
fine dancer and Belle's husband for the
last 20 years
she does some amazing work out there
that we've seen yes yes you know whole
her life is work all her life to do
something good and this will be nursing
truth is ismail and valerie both do good
work this muslim man and christian woman
make quite a team over the years their
organization the afar pastoral
development association has trained over
800 local teachers nurses
and community workers and while its run
on next to nothing even out here in the
middle of nowhere
the financial crisis has hit hard we're
really up against the wall at the moment
you despondent by that or do you have
hope you cannot be despondent if you're
despondent then then you know that's
where life finishes uncle hai this
family dad mum the toddler son and baby
daughter have walked for days to find
valerie she's their only hope because
their baby is dying
three point but at eight months old the
babies should be two or three times this
weight valerie organizers some medicine
but more importantly some food it's good
it's excellent stuff she's taking it
she's in 2009 to see a baby so close to
death because of a lack of food should
make us all angry but I just feel
thoughtless
widest pond is so upsetting to save it
you're right in there you deal with it
straight away
yeah because we've got it all the time I
mean as I said to you the other day
you don't really in the west know what
is deaf we know it daily while she
spends much of her time looking after
the afar she's also got another role mum
rum 'add is Valerie and is males very
active seven-year-old son while on the
other side of the world the central
coast of New South Wales is there 18
year old daughter Asia I miss my parents
the people there especially my friends
if we're thinking about a graph or
graphing it earlier this year Valerie
and Ismail made a tough call
deciding Asia should leave Ethiopia and
finish her high school education in
Australia hi mum just wanted to say that
I really miss you and I hope Maria's
going well the separation has been
painful for everyone especially mother
and daughter is there seriously mom so
we were only too pleased to play video
postman hi to everyone especially Modena
and rummy man iodine eats in another
world isn't she thank you I hope to see
you soon love you guys bye wow what a
thing you brought me my goodness it
really stops you still to think of your
own reality like that I mean I'm rushing
today do you speak to the Health Bureau
to speak to the government and there's
my daughter in front of me Wow
for a woman who gives so much to the
afar people it's touching to see Valerie
browning take a brief moment to think
about her own family not that you'd ever
hear any regret or complain about what
she's given up over the years doing your
work here means incredible sacrifice on
your behalf doesn't it no I don't agree
that a lot of sacrifice no not at all
it's a pleasure and an absolute
privilege I'm gonna say I think I've got
a better life than you have you and your
children and your wife okay
and I wish for you that you were here so
you think I'd find peace and happiness
out here absolutely
look I've learnt what is poverty I've
learned what is extreme difficulty you
didn't learn that you haven't had that
lesson and you're deprived because of
that my dream is maybe a little five six
seven goats me and the goats and that's
it that's what I really want but not
anytime soon she's too busy to slow down
as we parted Valerie browning was
loading medicine onto a cranky camel and
heading out to a remote afar village a
day-long Trek on foot in the unbearable
heat it was just no stopping this
wonderful book I can do as fast as any
man I can do as fast as anybody and I
enjoy it I can do 50 60 kilometres a day
and I'm all right 50 or 60 kilometres a
day yeah 1012 hours walk a day is good
who knows I might die tomorrow we can't
be predicting anything but I accept that
too
but I hope I clean up a few messes in
the office before I don't it'll work to
do you hello
I'm Liz Hayes thanks for watching to
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