Deadliest Journeys - Congo: The Last Train in Katanga

[Applause] [Music] [Music] hey [Music] yes [Music] [Music] so kamino is a ghost station in the south of congo [Music] there'd be no train service for five months but now it's running again the train left lubumbashi the nation's second city five days ago no one knows when it will arrive in congo it has to be said that's the way things work or not including the railways the train everyone's waiting for has a surprising name the iondel or the swallow in english [Music] word of its arrival spreads like wildfire and it's the so-called bush telegraph that has helped pass on the rumor it's the cheapest rail service in the congo and stops at virtually every station like a bus and because of this it attracts huge crowds of passengers [Applause] half of them are street vendors at every stop even in the remotest villages the station becomes an instant market come and buy my brothers clean clothes for sale 700 franks are sure madam yes you who's pregnant come and look at my baby clothes [Applause] but there's not much time for selling the train is already packed and you need to be quick to get what seats remain [Applause] climate has been riding this train for 20 years and knows the drill all the baggage that passengers have dumped in the entrance makes getting on board really difficult we get on through the sides we don't know how to get in in that way there are packages and people on board inside and it's very difficult sometimes people do their business in pots or in bags and they just throw them out people cram into whatever space they can find nearly 2 000 people all together three times the officially permitted capacity for those who weren't able to find a place or who can't afford a ticket there's always the roof in the very heart of the continent the democratic republic of congo is the largest nation in black africa the irondale crosses half the country from lubumbashi the capital of katanga to ilebo and is the only link between remote villagers and the outside world it's 600 kilometers across one of africa's last wild frontiers but in the congo any travel involves problems here you go and all this because of the mud just mud roads may be in a terrible state and the train's bursting at the seams but nothing seems to dampen the spirits of the congolese okay let's go [Applause] they've learned to make do whatever the circumstances sometimes even at the risk of their lives by train bicycle or on foot the congolese have little [Music] we choice want our children to do this work it's too difficult and it destroys the body [Applause] [Music] [Applause] people like to party in the congo and one of the biggest celebrations is in honor of an unusual king one of the most powerful in africa [Applause] the rondelle has been around for over 50 [Music] years the old engine was bought second hand in south africa [Music] a relay of 10 train drivers is needed to cover the 1600 kilometer long journey [Applause] [Music] the driver is 63 years old mr molongo has one of the hardest parts of the trip 120 trouble-ridden kilometers we're fine here in eight or nine hours we should be arriving seven hours and fifty minutes if the going's good in the old days we used to do it in four hours but the tracks become very bad and there's no proper maintenance these days mr molongo is the master on board and supplements his income by allowing 10 or so passengers to travel in the driver's cabin it's as close to first class as it gets on the train [Applause] oh lord guide my spirit and get closer to me i will be safe with you back in second class the challenge is to avoid stepping on someone as you try and move about the carriage it's something clemont cannot get used to the couchette there are no bunks so you spend the night sitting up you could put three people in this little couchette and still have enough air to go around but there's five or six on one side and then five or six on the other so with 10 or 12 people in the compartment the conditions are terrible [Music] everyone has his or her baggage half a dozen each at least [Music] there's nowhere [Music] the ceilings are full of holes so during the rainy season it gets pretty tough there is the occasional miracle my wife and i often take the train she's over there here's our baby she was born on the train when we were on our travels our baby's called consulate because she consoles us during all of this there's so much luggage and parcels that getting around it's just awful the train seems full of booby traps as the train is moving along this sometimes opens up and when it closes up again it could take your foot off or when it opens up wide someone could fall through it and be killed last year these snares maimed several passengers and those in third class risked their lives up here on the roof as the trains movement could knock them off [Music] condition everything's ruined you can feel the bumps right in the eight years i've been taking this train i've had to face a lot of danger carriages that get derailed people killed i myself have been in eight accidents but i'm not scared if the train derails again god will protect me a day earlier this young man had fallen off the roof miraculously he survived suffering just a cut on his cheek i fell onto the rails i nearly died but i was lucky because god saved me that's why i'm still here his fellow travelers up on third class have to remain alert any lack of attention could be fatal i prefer to lie down if you stand you might get chopped in too the danger comes not just from above but also from the sides even at a moderate speed of 30 kilometers an hour a tree branch can cut like a machete i've never been hit myself but it would be dangerous to get hit in the eye by a branch if you get hit on the head it can knock you out other forms of transport exists but are hardly in any better condition look at the road down there it's just terrible the trucks though still try and get through to get to the villages [Music] this track which runs alongside the railway is national route 1 a major road through congo running from lubumbashi to kinshasa the capital it's a vital route for the economy two thousand three hundred kilometers of impassable tracks in the rainy season [Music] willie drives for an ngo and he's on his way back to pick up aid workers in kamina on the only road into town it hasn't been repaired for over two decades and every year it gets worse well you need an off-road vehicle a four-wheel drive for this kind of surface you'd have a lot of problems if you try and use a small van in all this mud [Music] willie is used to it but overloaded small trucks like this one are a common sight he dreads being stuck behind them because of the state of the roads we have to pull them out it's a matter of drivers helping each other but after helping you too might break down because of the lack of fuel or a burst tire help each other out it's all part of the driver's work [Applause] um [Music] willie's troubles are far from over 15 kilometers later a large truck has got stuck as it struggles to get out it only sinks deeper into the mire [Applause] there's no way around them unless another truck helps tow him out the driver will remain firmly stuck the truck hasn't the power to get out of the hold and it takes a lot of power how long have you been stuck two days we're suffering here getting food is a problem so much for solidarity as willie keeps going further on there's another pothole which has been there for so long that the drivers have dubbed it the ancestors willy has another 180 kilometers of this hellish route ahead of him ah it's quite bad it's been raining a lot there's much too much mud on the road it should take seven days but it will probably take two or three weeks this is a very slow road willy wants to wait no more time and has to drive through the night the headlights are brighter when i clean them but just a little further on he has to push again look where they are it's not a good place i hope we won't be stuck here as well do you have a rope yes we've got one okay here i come then [Music] [Applause] hey come and get the rope [Music] [Music] just mud [Applause] it will take another 10 days to cover the remaining 400 kilometers it can take trucks more than two weeks sometimes [Music] these are amongst the most remote areas of katanga as dawn breaks three men are getting ready for a long journey they are travelling salesmen trading in manioc flour oil and palm oil in the villages [Music] the boss is uzmann we've got our bags to sleep in and mosquito nets because we'll spend the night wherever we happen to be so we need to protect ourselves usman and his companions head out of kamina to make their way to the small villages that dot katanga all the way to castatu 160 kilometers away it will probably take them at least four days [Music] most of the villagers are in the middle of nowhere and to reach them means taking the dirt tracks so the congolese improvise [Music] they convert and reinforce their bicycles to withstand the poor conditions and up to 300 kilos of merchandise the congolese bike is called a kinga the first few kilometers are tough along a sandy track where it's impossible to pedal so the bikes need to be pushed and it's making it very difficult it takes remarkable willpower to set out on such a tripongo after two hours the men are exhausted and take a break in the first village do you have any water especially up in the hills awful thank you not at all the men gather their strength to face the hills this is the start [Music] a five kilometer climb [Music] the men have to help each other push one bike at a time [Music] it's painfully slow [Music] but to boost morale they sing like the slaves of old [Music] now but we're the strongest by nightfall they reach a village for once they won't sleep on the side of the road but in a church and the meal will be the only one they eat that day the paste has to be heavy so it fills us up i need to be strong tomorrow when i wake up and to feel i can make it to our destination [Applause] destroys the body i never imagined i'd end up like this i thought my studies would mean i could change my life i never once thought i'd be doing this sort of thing i wanted to continue my education and study law but i had to stop if god had helped me i would have become a magistrate i had hope for a better life [Music] the village of castatu is 60 kilometers away another three days of hard labor [Music] on the railway tracks the hirondell when suddenly mr molongo has to break man and his family are on the tracks by waving a red scarf he's been able to stop the train at this tiny village in the middle of the bush [Music] he says there's good reason for doing so hello papa i stopped you because my wife is sick she needs to have an operation okay we'll take you while the woman climbs on board the other villagers make the most of the situation but mr malongo doesn't want to take everyone and decides to start up again we have a baby we have to get on it's often like this hard work for little pay the equivalent of barely 100 euros a month mr molongo is not just poorly paid he is in fact rarely paid we do get paid sometimes but we're owed 18 months in back pay maybe more it's very hard we have to get food from the fields and if we had somewhere else to go to or something i'd quit this job 80 months of pay almost seven years of work seven years of back pay that mr molongo will never receive to survive he depends on tips from the passengers and with his wife he cultivates a small plot of land right now though his main concern is the state of the tracks he has to reduce speed to less than 10 kilometers an hour at this point the rails are not really aligned anymore [Music] the rails now begin to bend and curve like a snake so i slow right down to stand the tracks and it's like that for several kilometers when it's hot the rails expand and there's not enough ballast to keep them in place so they they move which is really dangerous and could derail the train [Music] accidents here are frequent alongside the track are the remains of a train that didn't slow down it derailed and killed 76 people the carriage came off the tracks there was too much stuff loaded on it that was why it derailed it happened six months ago and it often happens because the state of the rails because they're no good it's just not safe [Applause] [Music] as the eondell slowly winds its way along the tracks it passes villages such as bunkaya in the midst of a traditional celebration [Music] [Applause] long live the king long live the king [Music] his majesty godfrey monongo the king of the bayeke has ruled over his 1 million subjects for the past 16 years despite his debonair appearance he is one of congo's most powerful men his kingdom is as large as belgium and spreads over parts of the congo zambia and tanzania his palace is in bunker in the middle of katanga [Applause] today marks the anniversary of a historic battle when his ancestor dared defy belgian colonial rule [Applause] [Applause] let's dance for our [Applause] no one is as powerful as the king that's why he is our guide [Applause] 150 years [Applause] majesty you can make love to all the [Applause] women take me take me [Music] [Applause] hello when you pass your school exams and when there's a death to mourn that's how we do it [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] the following morning the king has divested himself of his robes in favor of a business suit he's holding an audience about 20 people have already shown up merchants and farmers whom the king meets one at a time the sun rises open the door and there will be 20 or 30 people to meet in the morning oh it's a full-time job i give more than i receive but i'm glad to do it it's what we've been trained for since we were small in africa great kings are generous they can solve disputes and sort out difficulties and out here everyone seems to have a problem uh come on how are you not well where are we yes you need to go to hospital it's brought on by work in the fields especially the sugar cane which you do on your own your majesty tell me how can i manage well how much does it cost i don't know okay we'll look after you give me 30 euros so this man can get proper treatment for his sciatica show me this man has come to ask the king to help find his daughter a job i'll just make an initial recommendation a little fee to facilitate her being hired by the mining company it's a foreign company based near here if there's a problem with the state with kinshasa we step in and help out also we know we sometimes smooth things over when they're here we tell them it's a matter of give and take they say we'll help you on a political or national level but you you help us find our children work give these 45 euros to genoa for transport thank you the audience lasts about six hours during which time the king hands out some 600 euros [Music] he can afford it he's a rich man he's on the board of directors of one of the country's biggest companies and he's also a senator and an excellent businessman i studied political science and economics business economics at boston in massachusetts i was meant to work for citibank in tokyo but unfortunately my brother died and i had to return to inherit the crown [Music] there are hundreds of such kings throughout africa and not just for show they have a political and social role to play on behalf of the people back in the bush oozman and his two associates have covered a third of their journey but the days got off to a bad start as one bike has had a puncture ah the inner tube is punctured again it's the fifth time in one day anymore well it often happens when we're loaded down it punctures more easily repairs are problematical the only tool usman has is an old pair of rusty scissors fate seems dead set against them the if we has neither a repair kit nor a new inner tube instead using a piece of rubber from an old one and then it's a matter of hoping for the best [Music] [Music] guzman and his companions still have another 30 kilometers to go to the next village when it rains it makes things difficult with all the mud on the track and everything is gridlocked and even worse there's no shelter [Music] they put up with fatigue hunger and thirst that have barely the strength to push their kingdom bikes any further so as they do every time they dig deep and find the force they need by singing strong and determined men strong men let's keep going [Applause] oh oh [Applause] our lives belong to him and so he's the only one who can make them better [Music] and maybe god has heard their prayers the rain has stopped and they finally arrived [Music] i'm here to do some business ladies and gentlemen come closer the village chief acts as the hawker the people here have nothing they purchase from itinerant salesmen like guzman do you have a funnel no well i'll get you one it'll be a lot easier usman charges double for his oil the price of the effort to get him the closest shop is two days away we're happy to have oil usually we have to go as far as kamina to buy some so we're happy to see it on sale now here he did the right thing to come as everyone wants to buy my oil i'm satisfied business is very good and my children will have some food on their plate so yes i'm very pleased i can't deny that [Music] ladies take care thanks again we'll see you next [Music] the time companions journey will soon be over when they get home in a week's time they'll have made enough to feed their families back on board the hirondell the danger has passed the rails are straight again but just when everything seems more or less normal mr molongo has to deal with another problem he can feel the train losing speed and eventually it comes to a complete stop [Music] [Applause] the fact that it does so in the middle of a village is no coincidence mr molongo believes it was sabotage and he suspects it's the vendors who are responsible in congo they are known as traffickers it's the traffickers they've cut this the train stopped because there's no more brake fuel so we need someone to repair it now those who stop the train know what they're doing they also know the repair is quite simple other breakdowns are more complicated and trains are usually repaired in a station [Music] is in charge of maintenance but he only has a few spare parts for repairs [Music] this is where we keep our tools we have keys measuring instruments a few spare parts like this alternator and we have some lights for night time the other parts have to come from south africa and can take up to three months to arrive during which time the train doesn't run to avoid the worse we have the engine towed to this large depot it's like taking someone to hospital the herendel's forced stop is a boon to many the local salesmen have no other means of making any money [Music] in these remote villages people survive on the equivalent of just one euro a day it's the passengers though who reap the biggest profits they survive off the small trade the train provides and every time it stops they have the chance to do some business come and buy soldering iron how much 150 francs buy some victor has been riding the hirondell for ten years on this trip he's selling soldering iron the next time he'll sell something else either way the train provides him a living [Music] for we traffickers not getting on the train is worse than falling go to school and live because of the train finally 20 minutes later all aboard the train has been fixed hey people i'm going to kinshasa come on let's go victor is pleased at the business he's been able to conduct having managed to sell his entire stock of soldering iron he's keen to get back in the compartment where his wife gabriella is waiting since they were married she has never left his side [Music] this is my wife i'm a well-trained congolese man [Laughter] in this isolated village victor believes the travelling salesman provide a vital social link there are villagers who can't get a hold of salt or oil so we traffickers help [Laughter] something to eat it's to eat yes once again the train begins to slow down [Music] another train is heading in their direction on the same track there's a crossing you see and there's a train that's already there on its way and there's a second track in the grass you can see over there the track though is covered with grass [Music] it's a delicate maneuver because the train in front will have to use the abandoned track the wheels might slide on the grass and derail the train the mechanic is spreading sand on the rails to help it along [Music] the danger over both trains resume their journeys the oncoming train is transporting cargo and has no passengers apart from a few clandestine travelers the irondale 2 continues along its way there's just another 900 kilometers to go to e-label her final destination by traveling day and night and allowing for stops and repairs it should arrive by the morning of the eighth day of the journey [Music] you

Channel: Best Documentary

Views: 138,453

Rating: 4.8124561 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, roads, National Geographic, waterways, travel, Deadliest Journeys, most dangerous roads, free documentary, dicing with death, ADVENTURE, DISCOVERY, Deadliest Roads

Id: FVGQJM2MVNY

Length: 52min 29sec (3149 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 30 2020