Along the Amazon in Peru | DW Documentary

the city of Iquitos on the Amazon River is home to some half a million people surrounded by water and rainforest it's the biggest city in the world that can't be accessed by road people who can't afford air travel or have too much luggage can only reach the city by boat if at all once we were stuck for three days we had to wait on the ship until the water rose high enough immediately the Peruvian government has plans to change that situation the ether aveer project involves dredging the Amazons tributaries to create a multi national network of deep water highways that can be navigated by big ships all year round it will improve the transportation of goods but local people will also benefit but many of the people who live here are skeptical all too often in the past they've seen promises of development only bring them hardship who does the river belong to our journey is full of encounters with magical river spirits but primarily with people for whom life by the river means everything [Music] [Music] Larvik is a porter he's glad to have the work but it's a back-breaking job a sack of rice on your back weighs 50 kilos so that's 100 kilos for two sacks every day we unload a truck full which adds up to several tons Lodwick and his colleagues spend about three hours loading and unloading then they have to take a break it takes quite a while to load up a boat this size we're in the port city of uri magua's this is where the road ends everything that needs transporting to Iquitos or even further to Brazil has to be packed onto boats the edoardo 3 is an aging cargo ship that also transports passengers this is the only large boat that we'll be setting off from Yuri Magua over the next few days while the workers load the last sacks and boxes of cargo on board the Harbormaster talks optimistically about the future we'll see progress here soon Peruvian and Brazilian and all other boats passing through here we'll be able to travel in all seasons and with more cargo the Harbormaster dreams of one day seeing a fully fledged container terminal here that's what the Peruvian government is planning although so far there's only a promotional video heed Robbie Amazon eager the ether oviya is a sprawling infrastructure project involving the dredging of three major tributaries of the Amazon the aim is to create shipping channels that are at least 56 metres wide and deep enough for larger ships a Chinese company is set to begin work soon initial investments amount to just under 100 million dollars the additional costs for expanding and maintaining harbour facilities along nearly 3,000 kilometers of river are nearly impossible to estimate building an expansive system of shipping waterways that will open up new opportunities right now when the water level is low ships can only operate during the day not at night this project will significantly improve transportation links but that's all in the future for the time being traitors and passengers remain dependent on boats like the edoardo three it will take three days and three nights to make it to a ketose assuming nothing goes wrong [Music] say impair says the ship's captain he's been sailing the Amazon for 25 years for him it's not just a job but a calling woodshop but I mean I'm navigating your way along these rivers is a real art I inherited the talent from my father I'm his only son to have carried on the tradition and I hope the generation after me will continue it - better than me was - yeah it means a lot to me in a bigger mucho [Music] these days captain Perez doesn't spend much time at the helm he now has other people to do that job for him like water Salazar who's also been on the job for decades sailing on such shallow waters takes a great deal of experience [Music] you have to be familiar with the river and keep a lookout for shifting sand banks they're really dangerous if you run into one anything can happen the ship can capsize smaller boats are at an advantage in the shallow waters but they are mainly used for shorter distances they're essentially River buses the tickets are expensive and there's a limit on how much luggage you can take on board the ferries make frequent stops along the shore seemingly in the middle of nowhere to pick up or drop off passengers Ezreal galeano lives in the Peruvian capital Lima with his children and his wife Adriana the family's going to visit Israel's parents who live in the town of Laguna's deep in the Amazon ezra hasn't been home in 15 years even if I'm here I'm going to introduce my family to my parents I want my wife and children to see where I grew up I want to show them our customs and what life is like in the Amazon it's lovely here so much nature and no air pollution it's so loud in the city here you feel much more free I love that Adriana does admit she feels a bit uneasy she's nervous about her first meeting with her parents-in-law but also about the water this is the first time I've been on a boat so I am a bit afraid but I'm sure that we'll arrive safely they'll be spending a few weeks in Laguna's compared to the city in two different world they're welcomed with fresh fruit Israel and Adriana's young son seems to be taking it all in his stride it's been a long journey once the bags are loaded the family heads off [Music] meanwhile at the small Harbor in Laguna's locals await the arrival of the edoardo three a snack stand serves up Kiwanis rice with meat and fish wrapped in banana leaves it's a popular snack at all times a day if you prepare it today it's still good and tasty for another 1 or 2 days you eat it cold once everyone's eaten it's time for a game of football by the river the players are amateurs but the commentator has the trappings of a pro [Music] [Music] back on board the edoardo three passengers swap stories at the Amazon Francisco Hidalgo is on her way to see her family in Iquitos she's looking forward to the new river highway on past journeys the boat was often left stranded the woman in a hammock next to her is on a special mission and hopes she won't fall behind schedule we're here on behalf of the Education Ministry to bring mattresses and beds to remote Amazon villages once the ship has docked the porters bring the supplies donated by the government on to shore even if no one really seems to have been waiting for them relations between local people and the central government is strained many local people are part of the indigenous community or have indigenous roots they have suffered a long history of persecution and injustice and are still discriminated against Leoni depe kaya is a member of the coup comma people she's one of the last who still speak the Kakuma language mainly market tip market we notice that means how are you and where are you from Leonie de has a visitor today Casilla de pinche is an activist who's committed to preserving kokomo culture she fears that the government's new infrastructure projects will do lasting damage the new technology and the machines they'll bring in will have a devastating impact it will destroy a lot of things the river means life for us and for the animals the water is everything here that was heated with them you better listen it's as important as having air to breathe for the KU comma people the rivers and lakes of the Amazon are central to their culture in the Kokomo religion there is another world underwater where their ancestors gather people animals spirits all live together under water for the KU comma any harm that comes to the rivers and lakes destroys everything [Music] Casilla runs a painting school the pictures she and her students paint depict the underwater world of the ku Karma a world full of myths spirits and colorful creatures isn't a Linda this is about a legend of the per hour the / Wawa's home to all living beings in the depths of the river when the log without it there would be no river and no fish the per Wawa is a house but it's a house that looks like a snake like a boa Gaza better represent Akuma no more for the cou , these creatures of the river are best left undisturbed the massive ether of year project would invade their spiritual realm but the protests against the new water highway also have a very practical dimension just look at the course of the river says Castle de Pinchak and you'll see the dredging and channeling are a bad idea [Music] the river here is constantly changing the old people say that as well a small stream will grow large and split up again it's best not to interfere many leading scientists also have reservations about the project environmental engineer Jorge Abad has spent years researching the Amazon he says the network of waterways here has shifted constantly for millions of years small rivers large rivers one that transport more savings are more there and one there are more dynamic than others we never have done a characterization of these rivers so we don't know enough he evaluates samples and satellite images and takes measurements of the waterways but it's a time-consuming process and he says the government doesn't want to wait for the results of his research but the government's own studies are inadequate our commercial interests simply too powerful basically I mean what I feel is that they are applying sometimes I think they want to remain blind because that may be showing that maybe you don't need to dredge or maybe naturally the river is going to you know basically it all run by itself dredging the river at the wrong place could have disastrous consequences he says upsetting the ecological balance and endangering biodiversity Jorge says the ether of you could have benefits in theory by focusing on expanding the use of existing waterways rather than building new roads he could help prevent deforestation but badly implemented the ether of ear project could be a nightmare all this isn't relevant to the operators of the edoardo 3 right now they just want to transport their cargo as quickly as possible get it unloaded and continue on their way this time the porters were surprisingly quick while she was handing out the mattresses Susanna yayi missed the ship's departure but a boat brings her back on board [Music] [Music] for some the most important section of the ship is the kitchen where Martin and I Jose Bo are in charge the 20 euro ticket includes three meals a day passengers have to bring their own plates and bowls today a stew is on the menu for us the job means getting to know the entire Amazon region all the different villages and above all making a lot of new friends the cruise of the cargo ships take pride in their knowledge of the rivers and also of the people who live there the arrival of the edoardo 3 is always a major event it's not just goods that arrive the ship also brings the latest news gossip and rumors there's very limited cellular coverage here so these conversations are also a lifeline for the community [Music] what a couple are open we're always on the move we now know practically everyone living by the shore we've known them forever and we get on really well with everyone continue upon a hint of Oregon captain say in Paris has mixed feelings about the plans for the river highway he understands the reservations of the people who are critical of the project but welcomes the idea of progress for him personally the project means he might one day be able to captain bigger and more modern ships up and down the river I'd like that I want to move on and further my career I'm not happy making do with what I can already do I want to develop it's the second night on our journey it's crowded below deck the mattress is brought along by Susanna yayi as donations come in handy [Music] but while the passengers get some rest down below the crew up on the bridge have to be on high alert jóska Rida it's not easy it's extremely dark with a lot of rain and fog oh yeah I plan to be faster than this but now we're behind schedule but I guess we'll be arriving in outer ten in the morning as dawn breaks and the passengers wake up the jungle is now visible again by the shore and a couple of hours later now tur also comes into view this is where the Marigny on and oka yollie converge and form the river that from this point is officially called the Amazon [Music] the name road in Nauta is where the radio Okumura offices are located the local broadcaster is also a popular meeting place and informal community center for indigenous people the ether aveer project is a major topic of conversation as is their own identity konami thought yeah when we make our personal stories public these aren't just personal stories they're also part of the history shared by our community all the people in our lives it has a huge communicative power and gives us strength leonardo Tello says that strength and courage are two things that people here need my father died two years ago at the age of 99 he was one of the last slaves to toil away here during the rubber boom we were unaware of this when we were kids but when we started listening to the radio and hearing bad stories from other people we asked our parents about their stories and then we heard about things that were really traumatic from rubber and gold to wood and crude oil the history of the exploitation of people in nature along the Amazon goes back a long way in Peru and the region as a whole the Nardo believes that the memories of this suffering are still affecting people today now tur has a high suicide rate especially among young people the pain felt by victims in the past is passed on from one generation to the next that's what we believe here the same applies to the inability to talk about bad experiences that might be why so many people today take their own lives the next morning Leonardo and a few colleagues head out onto the river to reach the tributaries where the jungle comes right up to the water's edge [Music] they conduct research and talk to other activists about their latest findings among them is filmmaker Pedro Pineda he's travelling through the Amazon region to talk to local people while also using his camera to document environmental pollution [Music] oil extraction in the area is a major polluter many of the pipelines leak Pedro will use his video footage to show that pipeline maintenance and cleanup operations are not working nearly as well as the government claims here in the middle of my country in Peru we're confronted with the reality where there's nothing other than pollution there's no drinking water and that makes me afraid you can die if you drink the water here Pedro accuses the government of putting profit before people in the region he doesn't believe things will be any difference with the Amazon infrastructure project so they tell us how things will improve the government says the big ships coming up here from other countries will buy our products but that's not how things would be nobody's going to stop here to buy our fish it's all this information the government rejects these accusations saying that the ether of Eire will also benefit local communities the indigenous people will benefit enormous Lee it will help them get around quicker when going to the doctor for example the new infrastructure will make a lot of things easier but we don't have to remember that we'll have a lot of work explaining the project to people Leonardo and his team believed that government representatives have not been taking them seriously they want to see respect for mother nature and for their culture and religious beliefs if you disturb the river you destroy everything the balance between the world underwater and the villages by the riverbank is under threat we live up here our ancestors down below like a family he and his fellow activists realized their protest is unlikely to win over the people in charge but they are determined to continue their resistance this rap song says the river is our queen it's a declaration of love to their treasured river and of their hope that it will be preserved meanwhile the edoardo three is on the final daytime stage of its trip it started raining again that doesn't bother Francisca or the other passengers who are staying dry as long as it rains the river will not subside water levels will remain high enough to keep the ship afloat rather than foundering on a sandbank [Music] after three days and three nights dead wardo three reaches Iquitos and gets a grand welcome it's time for the porters to unload all the cargo captain Perez and his crew have once again mastered the tricky currents even managing to make up time for the brief holdup it's been their fastest trip for quite a while we've arrived safely the ship is securely moored and nothing bad happened and that's the most important thing for me just a few kilometers from the harbor but a world away is the promenade of Iquitos the more expensive restaurants are popular with the tourists almost all of them come here by air so they have little feel for the vast expanse of the Amazon River and it's tributaries it's lunchtime at the Fitzgerald Oh a restaurant run by Carlos Manuel Kula a Peruvian with German roots [Music] when Allah they are the number the name comes from the via Hedgehog movie Fitzcarraldo it was shot here in Iquitos in 1980 it's a film about an eccentric European businessman obsessed with bringing opera to the Amazon played by maverick German actor Klaus Kinski today Iquitos is home to people who have built an entire city in the middle of the jungle home to nearly half a million people with no roads connecting it to the outside world [Music] Akito says residents are proud of the bustling market square from the shore of the largest river on the planet if the government's controversial plans go ahead Iquitos will continue to grow and become the main trading hub between Brazil and Peru the ether ouvir project is set to create a new commercial corridor linking the Atlantic with the Pacific for China and other global players that's an appealing prospect the fight for the future of the Amazon continues for now all that captain Perez knows for certain is that he will set off again in a few days time with a ship loaded with cargo passengers and stories we're just regular people going about our work as soon as our next job comes in we set sail and then we'll be back on the river [Music]

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 1,336,468

Keywords: Documentary, Peru, Amazon, China, environmental destruction, indigenous peoples, Environemnt, South America, DW Documentary, Nature, River, dw documentary inequality, indigenous, documentary, environment, climate change, pollution, travel

Id: Xaj1Gj7oXFM

Length: 28min 20sec (1700 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 04 2019