Movie Analysis Essay on Peru: "The Curse of the Inca Gold" and "Paradise Lost - Nauru"

Introduction

The documentaries "Peru: The Curse of the Inca Gold" and "Paradise Lost - Nauru" present stories that share traits of commonalities and differences on how exploitation of critical natural resources can turn a country to be poor. It is evident that the two countries had natural resources that would have changed the fortunes of the country and improve the quality of loves of the citizens. However, the mismanagement and massive corruption of the leaders have led to the resources being used to satisfy the needs of the few. The main similarity in the two cases is the extent to which corruption can destroy a country. Peru was a country that had rich gold deposits, but the government failed to harness these resources for the benefit of the country.

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On the contrary, the leadership of the country savored on corruption through kickbacks to avoid accountability that could have benefited the entire nation (Black, 2005). The case of Nauru reveals how corruption and massive misappropriation of resources could turn a model country to be beggars. Nauru had grand plans of investing its wealth in other countries to earn revenue that could sustain the state (Journeyman Pictures, 2008). However, poor management by the country's leadership and misappropriation of resources have turned the investment into losses that might never be recovered. The other commonality is that both cases have a nuance of hope from the citizens and future leaders. The citizens of Peru have risen to address the issue by environmental conservation and demanding the corporates in the country to be more responsible. In the case of Nauru, there is a glamor of hope of fixing the country to prevent further suffering of the citizens.

The main difference between the two is that Peru's case does not reflect the desire of the entire country. Peru is a large country that has numerous sources of wealth. However, the gold mines are situated in an area that is vastly being exploited, and soon the entire will be affected. Nauru is a country that entirely relied on phosphate deposits to transform its economy (Journeyman Pictures, 2008). However, the mismanagement of these resources has left the country in a poor state and unable to generate further income.

Additionally, Nauru has failed to address these injustices are continuing to elect leaders that should have been charged. The current leadership represents individuals who looted the country dry. Peru has moved to address these past injustices which have seen corrupted leaders being locked in prison (Black, 2005). Besides, the citizens are now getting a say in the affairs of the country. The recent demonstration seeking to stop the expansion of mining activities shows the determination of a country to fix issues that have continued to affect the livelihoods of its population.

The two cases provide valuable lessons to countries that are endowed with natural resources. The first lesson is that there is a need to have a comprehensive plan on how to manage natural resources on behalf of the country. The two cases exposed the failure of the two governments to plan for the revenues generated from the natural resources comprehensively. Even though there were good plans on the part of Nauru, poor planning on how to sustain these investments were evident on the failure of the country (Journeyman Pictures, 2008). The other lesson is the need to fight graft in a country. Corruption benefits a few people at the expense of the entire country. Nauru's failure is much attributed to corruption and the failure of the government to address corruption. On the other hand, it was through corruption that private companies were awarded contracts to mine gold in Peru without submitting any returns to the country. These two lessons should serve as an example to countries that have minerals.

References

Black, N. (2005, Oct 25). Peru: The Curse of the Inca Gold. [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/watch/player.html?pkg=404_peru&seg=1&mod=0

Journeyman Pictures. (2008, Jan 24). Paradise Lost - Nauru. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRl5ctx-S1M