It's a ghost station in southern Congo. Kamina. The train hasn't run for five months
but it is back in service. He left Lubumbashi, the second
town in the country, five days ago. No one knows when it will arrive. It must be said that in Congo, we are used to it.
In this country, the train runs when it can. The one everyone is waiting for has a funny name. His name is Swallow. The news of his arrival has
spread at the speed of light. It was the tom-tom of the bush, the rumor that announced it. If there are so many people, it is because
that this train is the cheapest in the Congo, And that it stops at all the stations like an omnibus. Half of the passengers are street vendors. Each time the train stops in a
remote village, the station is transformed into a market. 700 francs, the shirt! It's 700 francs! Come buy my brothers! Buy clean clothes! 700, the shirt! You, the one who is pregnant! Come here !
I have plenty of stuff for the babies! No time to haggle for long. On board, there are already people and you have to
be quick to hope for a place. Clément, knows the uses. He's been on this train for 20 years. As it's barricaded with parcels from some passengers, It's hard to get through the door
main, we enter from the sides. This is where the toilets are but you can't get in, There are packages, there are also customers on board, inside. We really have difficulties. Sometimes people
who defecate in pots, in bags, And then they throw them away. That's how people get by. In the smallest space, we pile up as we can. Nearly 2000 people, three times the capacity of the train. Those who have not found a place or who have not
money to pay for their ticket settle on the roof. We have to come here because there is
not enough space in the carriages. That's why I'm going up on the roof. I manage. That's how we travel, we Congolese. At the heart of the continent, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, the largest country in black Africa. The swallow train has been crossing half the country since
Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga, to Ilebo. It is the only link between the most remote villages, 1600 kilometers of travel in one of the last African Far West. In Congo, when you travel, it's always a problem. Lo and behold, all because of the mud! Just mud! The roads are disfigured, the trains crowded. But there is nothing to dampen the good mood of the Congolese. Ok come... here we go! They have learned to adapt, whatever the circumstances. Even if sometimes it is at the risk of their life. By train, by bike or on foot, the Congolese have no choice. We don't want our children to do this
work. It is too hard. It destroys the body. The Congo is also a land of celebration. Where we celebrate an amazing king, one
of the most powerful on the African continent. The Hirondelle train has been running for more than 50 years. It's an old machine bought second-hand in South Africa. To make the 1600 kilometers journey,
he needs ten railwaymen. The driver is 63 years old. Monsieur Molongo has one of the hardest stretches to do. 120 kilometers of a route strewn with traps. If there is no problem,
in eight, nine hours, we can be there. 7:50 am, if we drive well! In the 79s, 80s, it was good,
it took 4 hours. The way has become very bad. The maintenance service does not intervene as it should. Mr. Molongo is master on board and he derives small profits from it, Like that of allowing a dozen passengers to
travel against supplement, in his cockpit. A first class, in a way. Oh my God, get inside my mind, And bring me closer to you. With you, I will be safe. In second, the difficulty is not even to move forward,
it is to walk without trampling someone. Watch out dad! Clément still can't get used to it. There is no berth. We spend a night sitting on
this little bunk, we could fit three, We would still have room, but since we
is 5, 6 on one side, on the other side, 5 or 6, So with ten or twelve people in this
compartment, the living conditions are deplorable. Each passenger travels with their packages.
At the very least, half a dozen per person. There is no place to put the packages. That's why we put nails, we try to expose the parcels here and there. The ceilings have holes, so during the season
rains, it rains almost every day, So it's really hard to live. Sometimes, however, a miracle occurs. My wife and I often take the train. She's there. And here is our baby. She has it
born on the train while we were traveling. Our baby is called Consolade, because
may he console us for all this. Moving forward is complicated, especially since there are
a lot of luggage, there are a lot of parcels. It's painful, really, to walk. The train is full of traps. When the train is rolling, sometimes these bumpers here open and when it closes, it can easily cut your feet, If you jump when it opens wide, you can
easily fall and you easily lose your life. Last year, those jawbones crippled a few travelers. Those who frequent the roof, the third class,
know that they are traveling at the risk of their lives. They are at the mercy of the slightest shock. It is forbidden to climb but we climb anyway. We have to go to work and too bad if we risk our lives! The rails are in very poor condition.
Everything is destroyed. Do you feel the tremors? For eight years that I take the train, I
I can tell you that I faced many dangers. Wrecked cars, people
who die. I've already had eight accidents! But hey, I'm not afraid. If the train
derail again, God will protect me. The day before, this young Congolese fell from the roof. They
miraculously came out with just a cut on his cheek. I fell on the rail. I almost died. I was lucky because God saved me.
It is thanks to him that I am in front of you. The companions in misfortune of the third
class must not relax their vigilance. The slightest moment of inattention can be very costly. I prefer to lie down. Standing up, you can end up cut in half. The danger is not only
above the heads, it is also on the sides. Even at 30 km/h, a tree branch can cut like a machete. I have already taken a tree. It's really dangerous to get that in the eye. You risk being blind. There are many other means of transport than the train, But they are not in better condition. Watch the road. It is deplorable! Trucks like this try despite
everything to pass through the villages. Hey ! Driver ! My brother ! This track which runs along the railway line is National 1. The biggest road in the Congo. It connects Lubumbashi to Kinshasa, the capital. It is a vital axis for the economy. 2300 kilometers of impassable tracks in the rainy season. Willy is a driver for an NGO. He goes to look for humanitarian workers in Kamina and
it is the only road that leads to the city. For more than 20 years it has not been maintained, Every year it gets worse. To take such a bad road, you need an all-terrain car, a car that has four-wheel drive. Because if you drive a van,
you will have a lot of trouble with this mud. Willy is used to it. too many vans
loaded like this, he comes across them all the time. It's his obsession, because they block the way. Because of the bad condition of the road, they have to be pulled from there. It's solidarity between drivers. After helping him, we may also break down, Because of fuel or a flat tire. We help each other on the road. This is
that's also the work of a driver. Willy is not at the end of his troubles. fifteen kilometers
further on, a heavy weight fell into a hole. By dint of getting bogged down, each
vehicle digs a little deeper into the mire. There is a catastrophic hole. Here, it's totally isolated and there are a lot of holes, there's no way to get through. Without another truck to pull it from
there, the driver will not get out of it. The truck has no more strength, so it
takes a little force to leave the hole. How long have you been here? Two days. We also suffer
to eat is quite a problem. So much for solidarity. Willy continues on his way. A little further, another hole. It is so old that the
drivers nicknamed him the ancestor. Willy still has 180 kilometers to progress in this hell. It's not terrible, it rained too much. There is way too much mud on the road. It was supposed to take seven days. It will be
maybe two or three weeks. We move slowly on this road. Willy doesn't want to waste any more time. You have to drive at night. I clean the headlights so they shine a little better. But a little further, he still has to push. Look where they are. It's a very bad place.
I hope we won't get stuck with them. Do you have a rope? Yes, we have one. Alright, I'm coming. Step back a little ! A tiny bit. Where is the other driver? You ! Come take the rope. Lo and behold, all because of the mud! Just mud! It will take another ten days to cover
the remaining 400 kilometers. Sometimes trucks take more than two weeks. We are in the most remote regions of Katanga. At the first light of dawn, three
men are preparing for a long trip. They are itinerant traders. They are going to sell cassava,
flour, palm oil in the villages. Ousmane is their leader. We also have luggage for sleeping. Mosquito nets. Because where the night
will find us, that's where we'll sleep. So we have to protect ourselves. Ousmane and his companions depart from Kamina towards the small villages of Katanga as far as Kaztatu, 160 kilometers. A trip that can last more than four days. In Congo, most villages in Katanga are far from everything. To access it, you have to take one
of these rare earth paths. So, as always, the Congolese manage. They tinker with city bicycles which they reinforce to transport in improbable conditions, Up to 300 kilos of goods. This bike made in Congo is called the Kinga. The first kilometers are tough. It's a sand track. Impossible to pedal, you have to push. The road is very long. Besides, we are moving slowly. All because of the sand and sometimes mud. It slows us down! It gets really painful. It takes uncommon fortitude to embark on such a journey. My back hurts me a lot. It is really very difficult. When we walk too many miles, our feet suffer
in our boots and suddenly my back hurts. After 2 hours of effort, the men are exhausted.
They take a break in the first village. Madam, do you have any water to drink? We walk with hunger and hunger is very hard to bear, Especially when you get to the hill. - Thanks.
- You're welcome. The hill. The men regain their strength to face it. It starts there. A slope of five kilometers. Impossible to move the bike forward alone. Men should help each other. Step by step. One bike after another. It takes time. So, to give yourself courage
like the slaves of yesteryear, they sing. Gentlemen, get ready to applaud us, we're coming!
We are very hot! We are the strongest! As night fell, they reached a village. This time they won't sleep on the
side of the road, but in a church. This meal will be the only one of the day. I am preparing cassava. The dough must be very heavy so that it fills our stomachs well. I must have strength so that tomorrow morning, when I wake up,
I feel able to go to our destination. We don't want our children to do this work. It's far too difficult. It destroys the whole body. We've had to push the bike so hard before, That our lungs were out of breath and our hearts ached. When I went to school, I never thought
not find myself in such a situation. I thought that thanks to studies, we could change our lives. No, I never imagined doing that. I wanted to go further in my studies,
do law. I had to stop. But if God had helped me, I would have become a magistrate. I expected much better. The village of Kaztatu is 60 kilometers away. Three more days of effort. On the road, from Ilebo, the Hirondelles train is halfway. When suddenly... Monsieur Molongo has to stop him. There is a red flag. There is a red flag. A man is on the way with his family.
Waving a scarf of red color, He managed to stop the train in this small village lost in the middle of the bush and he claims to have a good reason. Hello dad, I stopped you because my wife is
sick. She has to go to Mwene-Ditu to have surgery. Ok, I'll take it. As the woman climbs aboard, the others
inhabitants of the village benefit from it. But Monsieur Molongo can't take it all
the world. He decides to restart the train. We have a baby: We have to go up! And so it is all the time. hard work
and a small salary, hardly more than 100€ per month. Mr. Molongo is not only
badly paid, he is also rarely paid. We are paid, but "salaries" have
a delay of 80 months, see more! We have a lot of difficulties. We go to the fields very often, to find something to eat. But we don't know where to go. If there was something... or somewhere we
can search, a possibility, one would have given up. 80 months salary. It does all of
even almost seven years of work. Seven years of arrears that Mr. Molongo will never touch. So, to live, he makes do with tips from
train passengers and cultivates a field with his wife. But for now, what worries him,
it is especially the state of the rails. Speed should be reduced to less than 10 km/h. From here, the rails aren't really straight anymore. Beginning of the snake!
See, it's ahead. I slow down to lose speed.
That way, we'll pass. And it's like a snake, that's serpentage. And so it is for several kilometres. When it is hot, the rail expands. As it expands, it “deforms”. Especially since there is not enough space, it is very dangerous when the winding is accentuated. There is a risk of derailment. On this line, derailments are frequent. On the side of the track, the wreckage of the last damaged train. It went a little too fast. Balance sheet, 76 dead. The wagon derailed. There are people who
stacked the goods on the wagon. It is because of this, the wagon was overloaded and it derailed. It was six months ago. This often happens because of the condition of the track. The route is not good at all and it's scary, it's scary! On its journey, the swallow train
makes you discover the Africa of traditions. That day, in the village of Bunkeya, the people are jubilant. Long live the king ! His Majesty Godefroid Munongo, King of the Bayeke
for sixteen years, reigns over 1 million subjects. Beneath her debonair monarch airs,
he is one of the most powerful men in the Congo. His kingdom is as big as Belgium. He's stretching
in three countries Congo, Zambia and Tanzania. His palace at Bunkeya is in the center of Katanga. Today we celebrate a historic battle. the
day when his ancestor dared to defy the Belgian occupier. Let's sing for our king! Let's dance for our king! We are honoring the king in song. No one is tall like the king!
That's why it's our guide! It's been over 150 years that people have been making a
such a ceremony to honor the king. Majesty, you can make love to every woman! Dance is very important. We dance when there is a birth, we dance when we pass the baccalaureate, When there is death, we dance. It's like that. I'm going to work. You go to mom. The next day, the King put away his coat
of pageantry to put on the costume of the notable. This morning he has an audience. Twenty people are already there. Those are
merchants, peasants, the King receives them one by one. The sun comes up, you open the door, 30, 20 people in the morning. It's a full time job.
We give more than we receive, but we give with passion, Because we have been initiated and trained to
that since we were very young. In Africa, a great King is a generous man. He can settle disputes, unblock situations and here, everyone has their problem. - How are you ?
- It's not okay. Yes yes. You have to go to the hospital, the sciatic nerve. All this is because of the work in the fields,
especially sugar cane which you take care of alone. Majesty, what should I do? Tell me how much it costs. I do not know. Wait, Jeannot, go take care of yourself. Get me 30€ for him to go
have his sciatic nerve treated. This man comes to seek the intervention of the King,
so that her daughter could find a job. It's just a small recommendation, a small stamp
to facilitate his commitment to the mining company. A foreign mining company based in our area. When they have problems with the state
at the level of Kinshasa, we help them, We also intervene on the other side in order to appease, And when they stay here, then we tell them give and take,
we help you at the national political level, But you, help us by taking our children to work. Take 45€ at Jeannot for your transport. The hearing will last 6 hours, during which
the king will distribute around €600. He has the means. He is a rich man. He is a member of the board of directors of the most important companies in the country. He is also a senator and he is an excellent businessman. I was educated in Boston, Massachusetts.
Political Science and Economics, Business Economics. Afterwards, I had to go to Citybank, in Japan,
in Tokyo, but unfortunately, we lost our brother, And I was called to succeed to the throne. The great kings. In Africa, there are hundreds. It's not folklore. They also have a
political and social role with the populations. In the bush, Ousmane and his two
companions have already made a third of the journey. But today, the day started badly. Alex just died. The inner tube is punctured. Once again. It's his fifth puncture of the day. It often happens when you are too loaded, it bursts easily. The repair is not easy, Ousmane has only one
tool, an old rusty pair of scissors. At the moment of leaving, decidedly, the fate is relentless. The tire punctured again. We will have to start all over again. We'll take our time to sort everything out.
That way the bike will ride well. If we leave in a rush, we will still have a problem. We are looking for where the hole is. He's there. Ousmane has neither patches nor a new inner tube, he repairs with a piece of rubber salvaged from an old inner tube, And he prays that it holds. Ousmane and his companions are still
30 kilometers from the next village. When it rains, it's difficult. There is a lot of mud in the middle of the path and everything is blocked. And above all, we have no place to shelter. They endure fatigue, hunger, thirst, But they can no longer push their kinga alone. So like every time they have to go
seek strength within themselves. They sing. Strong and determined men...
Strong men, let's go! A life like ours is very bad. That's why we rely on God. He is the only one who can help us. Our lives belong to him. He alone can improve them. God heard their prayers. The rain has stopped. They finally arrive. Big brothers, hello! Big brothers, you can come. I come to do business. How much is the bottle? The bottle is 1 euro. Call customers to come buy. Ladies and gentlemen, come closer! Come, come! It is the village chief who does the
reel. Here, people have nothing. They source from the only
merchants passing by on bicycles, like Ousmane. - Do you have a funnel?
- Nope. We will look for one, it will be much better. To the people of this village, Ousmane sells his oil for twice as much. The price of effort. Because the store
the nearest is two days away. We are happy to have oil. Usually we
is obliged to go as far as Kamina to buy it. Today, to see it sold here, it gives us
makes happy. He did well to come. I am delighted because everyone wants to buy my oil. I am satisfied. My business is doing very well. My children will have something to eat. Yes, I'm very happy. Well, I can't say otherwise. Ladies, take care of yourself.
Thanks again. See you next time ! The trip of the three accomplices ends soon. When they get back home, in a
week, they will have earned enough to feed their families. On board the Hirondelle train, the danger has passed. On the rails, no more meandering. While everything seems normal. It slows down the train! Mr. Molongo has another problem. He feels that his train is losing speed. He even ends up stopping. The stoppage of
train in the middle of a village is no coincidence. For Mr. Molongo, it is sabotage. It is sure that they are traders
of the train that did the hit. In the Congo, they are called traffickers. The traffickers who are there cut you off. Between the two wagons, there, when you cut it, the train stops. He brakes because he is not going fast. So you need someone to couple,
so that the train can continue. Those who want to stop the train know well
combines it. They know repair is easy. For many other failures, it is more complicated. Trains are repaired at the station. Chief Bayuke is the maintenance manager. For repairs, he has only a few spares. That's our tool cabinet. We have
keys, we have measuring devices, We have some spare parts like that. It's an alternator. We have headlights
for lighting, for lighting at night. The other parts, the Congolese bring them from South Africa. It may take 2-3 months for
which the train is not running. The forced stop of the swallow train
does everyone's business. First, street vendors in the region
who have no other means of earning money. In these remote villages, people live on less than one euro a day. But those who benefit the most are the passengers. They live from the petty trade they do thanks to this train, each time it stops, they have time to do their trading. - Come and buy welds!
- How much ? 150 francs, buy them, sir! Victor has been taking the Hirondelle train for ten years. Today, he offers barrettes
of tin, for soldering. Tomorrow he will sell something else. It is this train that feeds him. For us traffickers, don't ride
on this train, it's worse than getting sick. It's our job! We're like a miner who has to come in
in its hole to get out some ore. We traffickers have to travel on this train. Our children eat, go to school, live thanks to this train. After 20 minutes, finally. Climb, climb, climb! The train is repaired. Hear, the Congolese people!
I'm going to Kinshasa. Come, let's go! Victor is happy. Today he did good business. He managed to sell all his stock of pewter bars. Victor is in a hurry to get back to his compartment
where Gabriella, his wife, awaits him. Since they were married, she has never left him. It's my wife ! It's my wife ! I am well trained Congolese! I am well trained Congolese! In these isolated villages of the Congo, Victor thinks
that traders are an indispensable social link. He has villagers who suffer a lot to find
clothes, to find salt and to find oil. We, the traffickers, we help them! That's for eating. Yes, yes, it's for eating. Suddenly, again, the train slows down. On the same track, another train decided to pass. There is a crossover. There is a machine
which is already there, coming. There's a second way out there, In the grass you see. The track is covered with grass. The maneuver is tricky. Because the train opposite
going to have to take this abandoned path. The wheels could slip on the grass and the train could derail. A mechanic spreads sand on
the way for him to move forward. The danger averted, everyone goes their own way. The train coming in front is a freight convoy.
It does not take passengers, apart from a few illegal immigrants. The Hirondelle train also resumes its journey. He only has 900 kilometers left to go.
to arrive at Ilebo, his final destination. Driving day and night, with breakdowns and
delays, it should arrive on the morning of the eighth day.
