In the midst of all this, the people residing here were offered a repeal of taxes and free goods if they agreed to not question the activities of the people at the top. Your children could study in Australian universities and at the government’s expense. You got medical, dental care, everything. Bus transportation was free, you got government newspapers, Most people were employed in a government job or in the phosphate industry.
Everything was going quite well. For some people, it was the same as living in heaven. That was in 1982. The same year, an article was published in the New York Times. The author of the article predicted that The phosphate in the country was limited. And within 10 years, the phosphate would be depleted. How would they mine phosphate then? How would they earn then? How would they continue their lifestyle? Back then, Nauru’s Finance Minister James Bop replied to this article by saying that
“Tomorrow will take care of itself.”
