Deadliest Roads | East Timor: The Mysterious Land | Free Documentary

[Applause] [Music] tv [Music] is yeah in timor a trip into town to sort out administrative problems quickly turns into an adventure and that is exactly what is troubling the grandmother of this family me beyond this emerald forest awaits a road which at one time made the lives of timorese people easier but now the tarmac has disappeared and a lack of maintenance has transformed the road into a disastrously dilapidated track the grandmother of the dos santos family is even wondering whether she will survive the journey [Music] [Applause] is [Music] it's this kind of errand which heimer really could do without with every journey he becomes less sure of whether his old truck will be able to keep up [Music] the dos santos family has now been enduring this trying ordeal for three hours what's more they have to hurry up as the administration office closes at 1 pm this lorry crawling along in the middle of the road isn't exactly helping the situation if it doesn't speed up the dos santos family and their grandmother risk having gone through five hours of torture for nothing on the silk road lies the old portuguese colony of timor wedged between bali and australia after 25 years of merciless war against the indonesians the island was cut in two from above timor looks like the stuff of dreams yet day-to-day life here is far from a dream for everyone here the way is paved with sacrifice and hardship all routes lead to dilly the capital but at a price for an average of one euro a day the timorese people fight to survive [Applause] and when that's not quite enough they turn to their faith left to them by the portuguese for the dos santos family the journey is not yet complete their grandmother remains stoic and never complains she has experienced much worse in her long life for the children on the other hand the jolts and shakes of the lorry provide more amusement than a fairground ride at the end of the five-hour obstacle course they finally arrive in suwai the administrative center they're right on time only to realize they may have endured the journey all for nothing apparently only one person would have needed to attend to sort out the problem with their papers but nobody stops smiling life here is so tough that the timorese people learn to be philosophical from a very young age and this young girl knows a thing or two about rain timor is often subjected to mother nature's wrath including cyclones and tidal waves during monsoon season just like today the country faces an onslaught of tropical storms agostino and genova are resigned to taking this route despite the risks they're farmers and so for them the rain is a blessing but it also has a downside they are hoping their journey will take less than five hours but this is looking unlikely [Applause] they've left their village hattobuiliko and are driving to dilly the capital it's only 160 kilometers but in timor when the rain plummets down it's difficult to go faster than 10 kilometers an hour in the cab the tension is rising agostino's composure is fading away bit by bit foreign if they don't arrive this evening at the market in dilly their load of cabbages will instantly be lost despite all the risks that they've taken to get them there after one hour of bumpy road they hit their first obstacle [Music] huh [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign thank you wow in the back of the truck are three boys one girl and only one umbrella but there's no chivalry to be seen [Music] is still around 100 kilometers away but in timor under heavy rainfall it can take as much as three times as long to cover the distance after three hours of the deluge the weather takes a turn and finally provides a bit of respite um agostinho makes the most of the lull in the rain by driving down some side roads which lead to the surrounding farms these roads are in an even worse state of repair and could put his truck out of action for several days but he's committed to his mission in the valley he is one of the very few who own a truck without him farmers would not be able to sell their vegetables in the capital on every farm his arrival is awaited with anticipation as if he were the messiah [Music] foreign the next farm is an hour away by road and the rain has made the path almost impossible [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh foreign [Music] agostino often wonders whether the risks he takes are worth it this next farmer for example is known to be a formidable haggler every journey she pushes her lucky is and his men will have to make up for lost time if they want to reach dilly before nightfall their battle is far from over further down in the valley the heavy rain of recent days has caused flooding it's yet another test for the villagers [Music] [Music] but for the older inhabitants on the island these floods provide a way of expanding their land and adding to their food stocks as this shepherd knows all too well uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the crocodile king is neither a god nor a spirit he is called amindo this man claims to be able to communicate with the fearsome creatures the villagers have entrusted amindo to keep the crocodiles at a safe distance but we can't take any unnecessary risks before amindo demonstrates to us his methods we must first participate in a ritual [Applause] foreign [Applause] [Music] amindo's technique is simple he shows the crocodiles that he's not scared and that he is the master of the land but he has nothing to fear according to him the crocodiles are part of his family [Music] hey a magnificent specimen is lurking close to him amindo enters the water fearlessly on the opposite bank the crocodile watches him closely he approaches the beast without hesitation as if by magic the crocodile makes its exit as if fearing a mindo the crocodile king as long as a mindo rules over the land the villagers are happy in east timor an even more powerful god can be found on all buses all over portraits of jesus are proof of the long portuguese occupation over this country and its catholic influence the image of christ is also present to reassure drivers and passengers in timor surviving each journey is nothing short of a miracle adelino is the conductor of this bus which serves dilly the capital [Music] his mission to fill up the bus by any means necessary and when there aren't enough passengers he makes a few exceptions [Music] until the bus is full it drives around the city and its suburbs after an hour it still hasn't set off on its way [Music] at three dollars a ticket many inhabitants of these poor areas cannot afford to take the bus often the roof and seats are occupied is my [Music] the bus is finally full but there remains one thing to be done as the journey promises to be a long one adelino and his driver have a special concoction to help them overcome tiredness on every market stall a powder with seemingly miraculous properties is sold battle is a cocktail of palm leaf and lime which vastly reduces fatigue for those who abuse it however battle leaves its mark [Music] [Applause] [Music] mama it is certain that too much battle causes you to lose touch with reality especially when it comes to refueling [Applause] is is it the battle which causes adalino to forget the most basic safety regulations or is it really the case that people from timor fear nothing since christ is watching over them [Music] the bus has barely set off when it gets stuck at the foot of the mountain [Music] the recent tropical storm proved to be relentless in two places the heavy rain has caused landslides on the road creating a giant traffic jam [Music] our little blue minibus somehow manages to squeeze through to make matters worse a truck has broken down in the middle of the road esther key its owner is transferring its goods to another truck which has now arrived foreign [Music] this time it's not just a simple breakdown it looks more serious and it's not going to be easy to fix [Music] [Music] foreign not discouraged in the slightest esther key and his team decide to take apart the axle on the side of the road with nothing but a small toolbox no mean feat [Music] this is what remains of the axle foreign [Music] removing the axle is a delicate operation to say the least the truck can no longer rest on its back [Music] wheels but not for very long the woods used to stabilize the truck is given way everyone tries to keep the truck upright which proves more dangerous than it does effectively um after hours of hard work the axle is finally removed [Laughter] a new axle now needs to be found which isn't exactly easy in the middle of these mountains the job falls to the rescue vehicle it's out of the question to abandon the truck for the night it will be vandalized within hours by nearby residents a driver volunteers to keep watch whilst they wait for the replacement parts it's going to be a long night [Music] living in timor means survival at all costs whether in the mountains or on the coast like on atauro island which lies four hours by boat to the north of dilly 100 square kilometers of volcanic soil on the sunda islands a massive rock the size of paris [Music] it's the same story all over the world when it comes to going to school many students drag their feet but this group of school pupils has a good excuse there is no public transport to take them to school they walk 20 kilometers a day which takes four hours overall on this particular day they're all the more reluctant as their teacher has given them a task which has tired them out before they even reach school on the walk to school each pupil must carry a palm branch but it's not for their science class or gardening in fact it has nothing to do with their [Music] education [Music] [Applause] the 500 pupils must rebuild the fence surrounding the school which was destroyed by the most recent typhoon but they must have their wits about them the headmaster is far from being a soft touch the strictness is almost military but for those falling behind in their academics this chore allows them to improve their marks the aim is to finish the new fence by the end of the day [Applause] [Music] given timor's current situation it's clear the state has priorities other than this forgotten school [Music] amelia [Music] foreign five hours later the new fence is finally starting to take shape though it is highly likely the next typhoon will once again tear it apart [Music] the majority of these pupils are the children of fishermen when school finishes they immerse themselves not in their homework but in the sea in order to help their parents in order to do this they need a piece of equipment which only now or knows how to make [Music] [Music] on this beach it's the harpoon which helps feed the masses [Music] here two hours later he gives us a demonstration all the fishermen on the beach use harpoons made by now and this family is no exception when in the hands of mario this weapon is one of formidable precision [Music] [Applause] mario and his family are lucky the sea floors of ataro have not yet been emptied by overfishing [Applause] mario doesn't have to go very far to sell his fish most of the time it's the buyers who come to him [Music] sadly the same cannot be sent for agostino who hasn't moved he still has 100 kilometers to go before he reaches the market in dilly it's 8 p.m and it's now been 14 hours since he set off with his load of cabbages and watercress and there's still no lettuce the truck must take a detour [Music] morale amongst the passengers is at an all-time low it's 9 p.m and the road to dilly seems endless [Music] [Applause] in the cab jennifer is not losing sight of her goal to sell her cabbages here foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] but a few kilometers down the road they hit yet another obstacle the truck is forced to stop wait yeah the detour turns out to be a dead end they must retrace their steps and it's already 10 pm the market closes in an hour hey let's go [Applause] [Music] around one o'clock in the morning they finally arrive in dilly it has taken agostino 21 hours to cover 160 kilometers but as they've arrived so late it's very unlikely the market will still be open luckily for them due to the rain many other trucks have arrived very late the wholesalers have been waiting patiently in a corner of the market dozens of customers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of agostino's truck several minutes later they stormed the [Applause] truck [Music] [Applause] tries to control the situation but the crowd of customers is too dense the watercress is passed from man to man in a feverish disorder foreign [Applause] all the watercress has been sold within 10 minutes it's a recorder [Music] [Music] foreign he is quickly persuaded to the delight of the more cunning ruthless buyers when it's time to count up their takings jennifer receives a nasty surprise jennifer is devastated just a hundred euros while she was hoping for 180 which is almost three weeks worth of income all that patience all these problems and all for so little it's a bitter lesson to learn for these sellers who are slaves to the road [Music] the next morning glorious weather has returned to timor [Music] the sun has barely had time to dry out the roads when dozens of trucks descend upon dilly it's sunday some are transporting a certain animal which could earn them a lot of money cockerels and they're not just ordinary cockrells they're cockerels which have been trained like athletes and like all good athletes before facing its opponents its coach tries to make sure it's relaxed [Music] aren't taking their cockrell to a beauty contest despite its impressive appearance once it's been dried two men are civil servants their two-footed champion could double or even triple their salaries in just one afternoon but to do that the cockerel must fight the fights take place in small discreet [Applause] [Music] [Applause] arenas the bets are always made in american dollars showing the significance of the stakes they are often dizzyingly high for such a poor country [Laughter] foreign [Applause] foreign by betting 30 from his own pocket he's just 180. his friend however is less fortunate he can't find an opponent the same size as his cockerella the fight is over in 10 seconds both urzolinia's cockerel and his dreams have been crushed he's just wasted three weeks worth of salary in one fell swoop [Music] from deadly roads to devastating rain to poverty timor-leste is holding out hope for brighter days to come and they may well be just around the corner as some promising oil deposits have recently been discovered just off the coast of dilly [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

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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, deadliest journeys East Timor, dicing with death East Timor, dangerous East Timor, most dangerous roads East Timor, dangerous roads East Timor, deadliest roads East Timor, East Timor

Id: JHCcB_9QWQ0

Length: 48min 10sec (2890 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021