Palau

Yet another of the many countries of whose existence I was blissfully unaware until I began this book-blog, Palau, which should properly be pronounced Belau, It might have been part of Micronesia, or the Caroline Islands as they call them in the USA, but it chose to go it alone as an independent nation when the US ended its administration of Micronesia under the UN Trust in 1978. It now operates under a “Compact of Free Association” with the US, as do the Marshall Islands and the other parts of Micronesia. Palau, like all these extraordinary Pacific Islands, is a series of volcanoes enclosed by a barrier reef; more than two hundred islands make up the place, and all of them are coral and white beaches. Palau hosts US military bases as part of its deal, receiving vast amounts of “economic aid” in return; the real sharks though are the ones the islands are trying to protect, having declared themselves a shark sanctuary in 2009 and banned all commercial shark fishing from their waters. For the information, the countries to follow their example are the Maldives, Honduras, the Bahamas, Tokelau and the Marshall Islands. Strange to think of Jaws as an endangered species.

Marks for: 200 (one for each island, and take a look at their website if you don't believe me - "Pristine Paradise")

Marks against: Undisclosed (a figure exactly equivalent to the number of US military bases around the world); or 6 (the number of Guantanamo detainees who have now been "relocated" to Palau)

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