Rutger BregmanVerified account

So they decided to go on an adventure. They 'borrowed' a boat from Mr Taniela Uhiela, a fisherman they all disliked. They didn't pack many supplies, and even forgot a compass. David was the only one who knew how to steer a boat. /24

That night, the boys made a grave error. They fell asleep. A few hours later they were awoken by a storm. The sail was torn to shreds, the rudder broke. 'We drifted for eight days,' Mano told me. 'Without food. Without water.'

(Photo's by Alvaro Cerezo, a rugged Spanish adventurer who organises shipwreck expeditions for rich fok with unusual needs. He tried 'Ata, but when a historian/journalist asked him about it later, he said: 'Never. The island is far too tough.' http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2016/11/in-remote-waters.html …) /27

The teenagers had a different experience. Captain Peter Warner gave me his memoir, in which he wrote... /28

'By the time we arrived, the boys had set up a small commune with food garden, hollowed-out tree trunks to store rainwater, a gymnasium with curious weights, a badminton court, chicken pens and a permanent fire, all from handiwork, an old knife blade and much determination.' /29

In pretty much every way, the Real Lord of the Flies is the opposite of the fictional Lord of the Flies. The kids worked together in teams of two, got a fire started and never let it go out, and stayed friends this whole time.

Sure, sometimes, there were fights, but then one of them would go to one side of the island, the other to the other side, they would cool their temper, and say sorry. 'That's how we stayed friends,' Mano told me.