Deadliest Roads | Congo Katanga | Free Documentary

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] kameena 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 lumba she's the nation's second city five days ago no one knows when it will arrive 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 EON del or the swallow in English 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 as street vendors at every stop even in the remotest villages the station becomes an instant market 700 francs a shirt 700 francs come on buy my brother's clean clothes for sale francs look at my baby clothes but there's not much time for selling the train is already packed you need to be quick to get what seats remain [Music] [Applause] LeMond has been riding this train for 20 years and knows the drill consider likud all the baggage the passengers have done to the entrance makes getting on board really difficult we get on through the sides set the zoo yellow color here are the toilets we don't know how to get in in that way there are packages and people on board inside them and it's very difficult sometimes people do their business in pots or in bags and they just throw them out that's how people manage people crammed 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 we have to come up here as there's not enough room in the carriages we get by that's how we travel in the Congo in the very heart of the continent the Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest nation in black Africa the iandale crosses half the country from legume Bashi the capital of Katanga to eel a bow and is the only link between remote villages and the outside world it's 1,600 kilometers across one of Africa's last wild frontiers but in the Congo any travel involves problems there you go and all this because of the mud just mud roads maybe in a terrible state and the trains bursting at the seams but nothing seems to dampen the spirits of the Khan Valley's okay let's go 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 choice we don't want our children to do this work it's too difficult and it destroys the body 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 Yandel has been around for over 50 years the old engine was bought secondhand 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. ma Longo has one of the hardest parts of the trip 120 trouble ridden kilometers we're fine here in 809 as we should be arriving seven hours and 50 minutes if the goings 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. milonga is the master on board and supplements his income by allowing ten or so passengers to travel in the driver's cabin it's as close to first-class as it gets on the train Oh Lord guide my spirit and get closer to me I will be safe with you [Music] back in second class the challenges to avoid stepping on someone as you try and move about the carriage it's something Clemen cannot get used to now your buddy who shits on personally I see there are no bunks so you spend the night sitting up you could put three people on this little crew shed and still have enough a hair to go around but there's five or six on one side and then five or six on the other so a 10 or 12 people in the compartment the conditions are terrible everyone has his or her baggage half a dozen each at least yeah path it isn't always know where to put our stuff so for Conan that's why we use nails you see so we can hang them all here and there the fossil truly the ceilings full of holes so during the rainy seasons it gets pretty tough all owners I want to see the family party there is the occasional miracle no more corn on my ceiling my wife and I often take the train she's over there a baby she was born on the train when we were on our travels our babies called console Adam because she consoled us during all of this walking around is really so much luggage and parcels that getting around it's just 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 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 appear on the roof as the trains movement could knock them off [Music] is any fun to climb up here we still do it we have to work even if we have to risk our lives the whales are in poor condition everything's ruined you can feel the bumps right in the 8 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-travellers up on 3rd 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 to 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 you get hit on the head it can knock you out [Music] other forms of transport exists but are hardly in any better condition look at the row down that'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 Lumumba she to Kinshasa the capital it's a vital route for the economy 2,300 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 kameena on the only road into town it hasn't been repaired for over two decades and every year it gets worse Cortana nahi barabara monona well you need an off-road vehicle or four-wheel drive for this kind of surface you'd have a lot of problems if you try and use the small firm in all this mud II could not that diesel minge Deana she move with their Izzie Willie is used to it but overloaded small trucks like this one are a common sight he dreads being stuck behind him for [ __ ] mama no kadriye solidarity because of the state for roads we have to pull them out it's a matter of drivers helping each other either soon and we'll say but after helping and you too might break down because of the lack of fuel or a burst tire we help each other out it's all part of the drivers work [Applause] [Applause] [Music] Willie's troubles are far from over 15 kilometres later a large truck has got stuck as it struggles to get out it only sinks deeper into the mire [Applause] yeah and through luck attest there's a hole and it's really bad in fact there's lots of holes here there's no way around Bessie unless another truck helps tow him out the driver will remain firmly stuck the truck hasn't the power to get out of the hole and it takes a lot of power how long have you been stuck two days we're suffering here getting food is a problem [Music] 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 Willie has another 180 kilometers of this hellish route ahead of him it's quite bad it's been raining a lot there's much too much mud on the road it should take seven days it will probably take two or three weeks this is a very slow road Willie 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 a game when you've blessed eyes that look where they are it's not a good place I hope we won't be stuck here as well [Applause] you have a rope yes we've got one okay here I come Ben [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] reverse a bit just a little where's the other driver come get the rope [Applause] [Music] the bottle [Music] was like module by man it's all because of the mud just mud [Applause] it will take another ten days to cover the remaining 400 kilometers they 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 traveling salesman training in manioc flour oil and palm oil in the villages [Music] the boss is usman cooler eh open area mangia why she would hang here and pick on her bags to sleep in a mosquito nets because we'll spend the night wherever we happen to be so we need to protect ourselves Guzman and his companions head out a Camino to make their way to the small villages that dot Katanga all the way to cast our to 160 kilometres away it will probably take them at least four days [Music] most of the villages are in the middle of nowhere and to reach them means taking the dirt tracks so the Congolese improvised [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 as long and we can only go very slowly because of all the sand and sometimes mud it slows us up and it's making it very difficult it takes remarkable willpower to set out on such a trip moonwalk while I get back really hurts it's really very hard when you have to walk for so long our feet on boots hurt and now my kidneys hurt too after two hours the men are exhausted and take a break in the first village do you have any water we're hungry after walking and it's difficult to be hungry especially up in the hills you mumble 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 sink like the slaves of old but wasn't you over there gentlemen get ready to applaud us we're coming very hot 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 the church and the meal will be the only one they eat that day [Applause] cooking some men yoke 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 we don't want our children to do this kind of work it's much too hard destroys the body we've had to push the bike so hard sometimes that our lungs running out of air we get sick school I never imagined I'd end up my studies would mean I could change my life I never once thought I'd been 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 hoped for a better life [Music] the village of Castillo is 60 kilometers away another three days of hard labor [Music] on the railway tracks the here on Dell is halfway to e label when suddenly mr. Milan go has to break [Music] a 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 he says there's good reason for doing so I stopped you because my wife is sick she needs to have an operation okay well it will take you while the woman climbs on board the other villagers make the most of the situation but mister molango doesn't want to take everyone 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. molango is not just poorly paid he is in fact really paid to get paid sometimes but we rode 18 months in back paid met maybe more it's very hard we have to get food from the fields we had somewhere else to go to or something I'd quit this job eighteen months of pay almost seven years of work seven years of back pay that mr. molango will never receive to survive he depends on tips from the passengers and with his wife he cultivates a small plot of land [Music] 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] [Music] the realms now begin to to bend in a curve like a snake so I slowed right down to stand the tracks and it's like that for several kilometers I taught 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 accidents here a frequent alongside the track are the remains of a train that didn't slow down it derailed and killed 76 people carriage came off the tracks there was too much stuff loaded on it that was why derailed it happened six months ago anyhow often happens because the state of the rails because they're no good it's just not safe [Music] [Applause] [Music] as the EON delve slowly winds its way along the tracks it passes villages such as one Kia in the midst of a traditional celebration [Music] [Applause] long live the king long live the king his majesty got flyer morongo the king of the bay a kid has ruled over his 1 million subjects for the past 16 years despite his debonair appearance he was 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 bloom Kia in the middle of Katanga today marks the anniversary of a historic battle when his ancestor dare defy Belgian colonial rule let's sing for our king let's sing for our king let's dance for our king no one is as powerful as the king that's why he is our guide these celebrations in are of a king date back more than 150 years [Applause] Majesty you can make love to all the women [Applause] take me take me hunting is very important we dance when there's a birth when you pass your school exams and when there's a death to mourn that's how we do it [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] it's how I come afterward whitish oh mama 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 twenty or thirty 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 come on Shiva how are you not well where we follow look Italian yes you need to go into hospital for your Madam's kinetic nerve it's brought on by work in the fields especially the sugarcane what you do on your own Your Majesty tell me how can I manage well how much does it cost I don't know okay Genoa will look after you give me 30 euros so this man can get the proper treatment for his sciatica show me this man has come to ask the King to help find his daughter a job Oh potato come with us sure I just make an initial recommendation sort of a 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 stage with Kinshasa we step in and help out we sometimes smooth things over there here we tell them it's a matter of give and take they say will help you on a political or national level but you you help us find our children work give these 45 euros to Genoa throttle thank you the audience lasts about six hours during which time the King hands out some 600 euros 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 Foster's in Massachusetts I was meant to work for Citibank in Tokyo unfortunately my brother died and I had to return to inherit the crown there are hundreds of such Kings throughout Africa and not just for show to have a political and social role to play on behalf of the people [Music] back in the bush lose man and his two associates have covered a third of their journey but the day's got off to a bad start as one bike has had a puncture the inner tube is punctured again it's the fifth time in one day well it often happens when we're loaded down punctures more easily repairs are problematical the only tool was man has is an old pair of rusty scissors fate seems dead set against them the opinion of the tires yet another puncture and we will start all over again Aparna - wanna fly em we'll take our time and sort things out properly so the bike will work well if we try and hurry there'll only be more problems it don't know we're looking for the hole yeah there it is guzman 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] whose man 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 everything is gridlock there's no shelter [Music] they put up with fatigue hunger and thirst but have barely the strength to push their qinger bikes any further [Music] 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 this kind of life is very bad so we put our faith in God is the only one who can help us 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 hello Big Brothers the bottle is 1 euro so they can come and buy ladies and gentlemen come closer the village chief acts as the hawker the people here have nothing they purchase from itinerant salesmen like Koosman no well I'll get you one it'll be a lot easier guzman charges double for his oil the price of the effort to get here the closest shop is two days away usually we have to go as far as kameena to buy summer so we're happy to see it on sale now 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 that plate so yes very pleased I can't deny that [Music] I'm legume Saleh ladies take care thanks again we'll see you the next time the three companions journey will soon be over and they get home in a week's time they'll have made enough to feed their families back onboard the Hillendale the danger has passed the rails are straight again but just when everything seems more or less normal mr. milonga asked 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. Millan go believes it was sabotage and he suspects it's the vendors who were responsible in Congo they are known as traffickers it's the traffickers that cut this the train stopped because there's no more brake fuel so we need someone to repair ocala camp or complete the circle elevate the risk for today it was a baby those who stopped the Train know what they're doing they also know the repair is quite simple other breakdowns are more complicated and trains usually repaired in a station by young gay is in charge of maintenance but he only has a few spare parts for repairs is where we keep our tools we have Kaiser 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 worst we have the engine towed to this large Depot it's like taking someone to hospital the hearin Del's forced stop is a boon to many [Music] the local salesmen have no other means of making any money in these remote villages people survive on the equivalent of just one euro a day it's the passage as 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 on my soul how much 150 francs buy some Victor's been riding the he rondelle for ten years on this trip is selling soldiering on the next time you'll sell something else either way the train provides him a living so for we traffickers not getting on the train is worse than falling ill it's our work we're like - we need to dig in their holes to get their minerals out tradesmen have to travel on the train our children eat 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 c'mon let's go Victor is pleased that the business he's been able to conduct having managed to sell his entire stock of soldiering 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 I'm a well-trained Congolese man in this isolated village Victor believes the Traveling Salesman provide a vital social link there are villages you can't get hold of salt for oil so we traffickers help [Music] [Laughter] that's 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 at the track though is covered with grass it's a delicate maneuver because the train in front will have to use the abandon track the wheels might slide on the grass and derail the Train the mechanic is spreading sand on the rails to help it along the danger over both trains resume their journeys the oncoming train is transporting cargo and has no passengers apart from a few clandestine travellers [Music] the Yandel 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 8th day of the journey [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 1,532,217

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, dicing with death congo, most dangerous roads congo, deadliest roads congo, dangerous roads congo, dangerous congo, deadliest journeys congo, katanga mining congo, congo katanga, dangerous roads katanga, Congo Katanga

Id: 1DT_ZQ3EkOk

Length: 52min 36sec (3156 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 11 2020