The video discusses "non-state spaces," areas of the world that are difficult for governments to control due to their remote and rugged geography. The narrator visits the Himalayan mountain range, specifically the border between Nepal and Tibet, China, where the Bon community has lived for 1,200 years, preserving their culture and tradition.
The community was once able to move freely between Nepal and Tibet, but the construction of a fence by the Chinese government in 1999 restricted their movement. The narrator notes that the fence marks the end of the community's stateless days, as they are now subject to the control of the Chinese government.
The video also discusses the construction of a road through the Himalayas, which is changing the relationship between the local communities and the outside world. The road is bringing new economic opportunities, but also threatening the traditional way of life of the communities.
The narrator visits a Bon community that is struggling to adapt to the new economy, and notes that many young people are leaving the community to pursue education and economic opportunities elsewhere. The community is trying to preserve their culture and tradition by building a school that teaches the Bon language and customs.
Overall, the video explores the tension between the desire for modernization and the need to preserve traditional ways of life in the face of encroaching government control.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. For thousands of years, humans have drawn lines on the earth to divide the planet into nations.
2. There are some parts of the world that no empire, nation, or state has been able to tame due to their rugged geography.
3. These areas are called "non-state spaces" and are usually high up in mountains, far from the reach of any government.
4. The people who live in these areas often fled there to evade expanding government forces or to escape capture.
5. Examples of non-state spaces can be found all over the globe, including in Africa, the Arctic, North Africa, and the Amazon rainforest.
6. There are approximately 5,000 indigenous groups living in 90 countries, numbering around 370 million people worldwide.
7. 70% of these groups are in Asia, and most have integrated into countries, but for those who reside deep in the mountains, geography has largely held off the influence of centralized government.
8. The Himalayan mountain range is particularly rich with examples of non-state spaces.
9. Anthropologists argue that this region should be its own region, which they call "Zomia."
10. Zomia encompasses 100 million people and runs through eight countries, but is on the periphery of each.
11. The diverse set of peoples living in Zomia have a varying degree of interaction with their country governments.
12. In 1950, China annexed Tibet, and the yak grazers in the region continued to graze their animals deep into Tibet.
13. Over the years, China started to project its influence and protect its borders, which led to the construction of a fence on the border in 1999.
14. The fence marked the end of the unfettered mobility that the people in the region had depended on for centuries.
15. The governments of Nepal, India, and China are building the first roads in the region, which is reshaping the relationship between the communities and the outside world.
16. The road is shifting the economy from bartering to cash-based markets, where residents can create businesses around cheap goods from China.
17. The construction of the road has also led to changes in the culture and traditions of the communities in the region.
18. The Bond community, whose customs had been well-preserved in the mountains, has also felt the effects of the road and is working to preserve their tradition and culture.