The Last E-Refuges on Earth

www.ozy.com [OZY]() Leisurely reads. Quirky tips. Meet your weekend BFF with the lowdown on the coolest art, culture, food, travel, TV shows, music and more. Dec 05, 2021 TODAY The tragic murder-suicide involving Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie have enraptured Americans for months. Day in, day out, we learned more about a man who left his Florida home without his wallet or phone, then disappeared, only for his body to be found in a swamp on October 20. With Petito missing for weeks before her body was found in a Wyoming park on September 19, their separate, weeks-long disappearances beg the question: With all our telecommunications capabilities, how can people still disappear? In today’s Weekender, we’re looking at the people who intentionally packed it in and vanished with the help of “night-movers,” a controversial and gargantuan Soviet-aesthetic social experiment/art project — and some of the last places in the world where you can truly switch off. — Based on reporting by Zuzia Whelan Into the Wild: The Last Untouched Places 1 - Momos With Altitude The last village on the Indo-Tibet border, [Chitkul](, in Himachal Pradesh, is high in the Indian Himalayas and a favorite for nature lovers, backpackers and photographers. As you might expect at almost 15,000 feet above sea level, accessibility is a major issue. There’s [also no internet or phone signal here](, no market and no medical facility or fuel station — so make sure you come prepared. The valley is famous for its characteristic wooden houses and a 500-year-old temple to the goddess Shri Mathi, a non-Buddhist deity specific to the area. When you’ve had your fill of boundless forest, you can head to the Aakhri Dhaba — the “[last café in India](” — for [momos]( and hot tea. 2 - The Valley of the Shadow of Tech Famous the world over because of some sneaky Star Wars scenes filmed on the fabled Skellig Michael, County Kerry in Ireland is truly an out-of-the-way gem. In one of the county’s most lonesome corners lies the Black Valley, a (very) small and picturesque village of about 70 people. What it boasts in breathtaking scenery it makes up for in lack of telecommunications. It was the last place in Ireland to get electricity — in 1976 — and only received phone [landlines in 2007](, on account of its rough and mountainous geography. Some residents have even been [unable to dial emergency service]( phone numbers. But hope has come in the form of billionaire Elon Musk, who has recently rolled out a [pilot connectivity project]( via his Starlink satellite systems. 3 - Alaskan Wilderness Tucked away in a remote bay in the Gulf of Alaska, the town of Yakutat has a lot to offer those seeking silent refuge. It’s, surprisingly, known as the [surf capital of Alaska](, and has a rich history of First Nations culture, intertwined with Russian fur trappers and gold-searchers. These days, the [community of about 650]( depends mostly on [fishing and tourism]( — thanks to a breathtaking landscape of mountains, bays, rivers, forests and glaciers. Disconnected from the state’s main road system, and [without grid infrastructure](, internet isn’t exactly easy to come by out here. If you’re looking to unplug for a while, you’ll certainly find that here. But for an isolated rural community with a 15% unemployment rate, better connectivity could make a big difference to residents. The town expects its first roll-out of broadband infrastructure in the coming weeks or months. 4 - Herbs and Honey The village of Maly Turish was dying. Situated deep in the heart of the Ural Mountains, it was a collective farm during Soviet times. But since then, there have been few job opportunities and the mostly retired population was left to find its own way. But in 2014, Guzel Sanzhapova, whose grandmother is from the village [set up a business]( producing local honey, herbs and preserves with her father’s beehives. Depending on the season, Sanzhapova employs about [25 of the town’s 50]( inhabitants. The village doesn’t get many visitors, and it’s only just beginning to be discovered by fellow Russians. But Sanzhapova’s longer term hope is to change that, while helping rebuild the community. [Read more]( Seeking it Out — When a Mini-Break Doesn’t Cut It 1 - How to Disappear We’ve all thought about it, right? Taking the bare minimum, closing the door and never looking back. When Doug Richmond wrote How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found in 1984, it was a lot easier to do that. Now we have a whole internet to contend with — but that’s also a big help. There’s a host of online resources to help you disappear, starting with [wiping your social media](, and online guides on how to effectively [lie to friends and family](, inconspicuously drain your bank accounts, pack a “[bug out bag](” and leave your car where it will be [successfully stolen](. 2 - Forgive and Forget If you live or work in the European Union, you probably remember the borderline panic of the GDPR laws put into effect in 2018. The General Data Protection Regulation is the world’s [toughest privacy law]( and gives people the right to demand that organizations such as Google delete any personal data they have from them. Change is coming to America, too. Known as the [State Right to be Forgotten Policy](, this initiative allows individuals to expunge online records containing certain types of information. If it’s something you’re considering, remember it doesn’t apply in all cases — like if your data is needed in a legal case or is considered “for the greater good.” 3 - Into Thin Air Can a person evaporate? Absolutely. In Japan they’re often called the jouhatsu; the [thousands who vanish]( into thin air each year, leaving behind loved ones, homes, jobs — on purpose. There are even special companies — [not just in Japan]( — that can help you wrap up your life without a trace, called “night-moving companies.” Sometimes people disappear for financial reasons, sometimes it’s “social” reasons — like a loveless marriage. “What we did was support people to start a second life,” Sho Hatori, who founded one of these companies in the 90s, [told the BBC in 2020.]( 4 - Table for One? More than half of [Sweden’s households]( are single-person ones. Something to mull over next time we’re all working from home with our partners, kids and cats. Speaking to OZY pre-pandemic, [author Anu Partanen]( pointed out that this is largely to do with the strong social supports in the country — essentially that large numbers of people are able to afford living alone. “The conversation is focused on this idea that if people live alone, the social fabric has broken down, that people . . . don’t form relationships anymore,” said Partanen. “I don’t think that’s true at all.” Today, the proportion of Americans living in one-person households is [about a quarter.](Would you live alone if it were more affordable, or do you want to share your space with others? Let us know at: ozycommunity@ozy.com Next Level, Or Too Far? 1 - No Internet? Try the Intranet Does North Korea technically have internet? Yes. Is it the internet we, outside of the hermit state, know it to be? Not exactly. While access to the global web is the privilege of a select few, regular citizens can use [Kwangmyong]( — a kind of intranet. The network is reportedly fiber optic, and the cables exist only within the country’s borders — making it [nearly impossible to get into]( from the outside, or venture out of. But don’t be fooled — while a strictly centralized connection helps regulate information within its borders, the country’s top brass have been busy using the global web to [dodge sanctions and mine crypto](. 2 - Let’s Get Metaphysical It started out as a movie, and descended into madness. DAU, the project, the films and the universe, are the creation of Russian filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky. Over the course of 10 years, Khrzhanovsky had a cast of actors live the lives of Soviet citizens in a self-contained world, cut off from the real one. Based on the life of Soviet scientist Lev Landau, the project [bore 14 films]( and premiered in 2019. Nicknamed the “[Stalinist Truman Show](” it also has a whiff of the [Stanford Prison Experiment]( about it. Most of the actors were non-professional, and the project has been under scrutiny for alleged [assault]( on set, and courted controversy by having a former KGB agent play a real one — including interrogations. 3 - The Off Switch In India in August 2019, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi [revoked the autonomy]( of the Kashmir region — one of the conditions under which it had agreed to join the Indian union in 1947. What followed was almost a year of telecommunications blackout under the guise of “curbing terrorism.” Phone lines, mobiles and broadband internet services all cut practically overnight. “Mobile phone and internet blackouts in Kashmir are standard,” wrote OZY author Maroosha Muzaffar, reporting at the time. This time though, they had also cut the landlines. Some 175 days in, [the region came back online]( — but with a government established 2G network and about 300 websites. “In 2019 alone, internet in Kashmir — which the U.N. has declared a basic human right — was suspended at least 51 times,” writes Muzaffar. [Read more]( 4 - Come With Me if You Want to Live While the rest of us were living our pre-COVID-19 lives blissfully unaware of the hellscape ahead, the preppers were already getting ready. Regarded as [weird and extreme]( for many years, preppers are having a moment. Going above and beyond bean-hoarding, the culture of survivalism has grown from quirky American hobby to something [more people have started paying attention]( to. Not only have we been hit by a pandemic, but the world is [literally on fire](, thousands of refugees are [fleeing Afghanistan]( and [Haiti](, and there’s [extreme weather](. Is it any wonder that a growing number of people want to know how to get out alive when crisis hits? It couldn’t hurt to be prepared, right? [Read More]( [OZY on Instagram]( Widen your world. Catch up with OZY on Instagram! [FOLLOW OZY]( ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. [www.ozy.com]( / #OZY Welcome to the New + the Next! [OZY]() [TV]( | [PODCASTS]( | [NEWS]( | [FESTIVALS]( A Modern Media Company OZY Media, 800 West El Camino Mountain View, California 94040 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Read Online](