Deadliest Roads | Malawi: The Spirits of the Mist | Free Documentary

[Applause] [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] for the villages that run alongside the roads of malawi the arrival of a car is often a sign that there's a bit of money to be made even the best 4x4s fall into this trap [Applause] [Music] oh it's always like that when it is [Music] these men take huge risks all for a few cents and this is only just the beginning [Music] not exactly the best idea six men up against 10 tons of steel it's a recipe for disaster foreign [Music] the men give it all they've got without any concern for their own safety um everyone is in shock but five hours later at nightfall they're still there [Music] [Music] [Music] in malawi mother nature shows no mercy for reckless travellers this little country is considered the birthplace of mankind at almost 2 million years bc humans were already settled here unlike many african countries malawi has never been victim to war it must be said that it's not a very rich country its whole economy is based on agriculture but this is threatened by a climate which fluctuates between drought and flooding as for the highway system out of the sixteen thousand kilometers of routes that make up the road network more than half of it is unpaved [Music] okay try our best to travel to the immunization point footing because a car even a motorcycle cannot move [Music] in the wilderness it's best to keep alert [Music] without weapons to defend themselves or even to hunt the malawians have developed ingenious traps in order to feed themselves these swallows won't live to see another day every time the country becomes unstable the supernatural takes over and men are persecuted due to fear of the unseen ruling people despite the calamities that wreak havoc on it the country is rapidly growing needless to say the malawians have a lust for life [Music] [Music] there are plenty of bush taxis in malawi except that the timetables are rather unreliable today there are three departures but the passengers are taking no risks and throw themselves onto the first one leaving [Music] yeah it's okay [Laughter] [Applause] but in reality the old pickup truck is having trouble setting off gray also a taxi driver can see that he's losing a large portion of his profit from today's events [Music] we are trying to take people from here to chill sometimes we get few people sometimes more people like today they are not coming meet many people the bush taxis play a key role in the malawian economy the country only has an old railway line so without them harvests and merchandise could not be transported across the country [Music] their old vehicles are now also a vital social link between villages [Applause] foreign um [Music] with so few passengers grey barely has enough money to pay for fuel yeah it's furious here this half is for going there and this half is for coming back here because that side don't have feeding station film station is just here ray's truck has traveled almost three million kilometers in total but miraculously he still has his keys the only problem is that the ignition died a long time ago [Music] [Music] the pleasant tarmac road soon gives way to unpaved dirt track but this is the only connecting route to the mountains in the south where more than 200 000 people reside the passengers backs are severely tested but that's not the only misfortune that awaits them one day the rain started from ma was it took us for 10 hours to reach there when strain is very hard way grey has never had the money to set up a tarpaulin oh you know the baby that is suffer from some disease despite the cold and their shivering the passengers never once complained throughout the journey they each just accept it as their fate [Music] after eight hours of torrential rain and 60 kilometers later the sun is finally coming out it's the end of the journey well not for everyone the truck does not stop at the villages furthest away because it's not profitable enough for a taxi driver [Music] [Music] hey [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] me [Music] it takes a lot of courage to do this trip several times a month [Music] malawi a farming country sometimes suffers from severe drought famine is always just around the corner so over the years the inhabitants have learned to make use of even the most unexpected natural resources [Music] [Music] these flying ants are actually future queens they won't have time to create new colonies however their protein is a good substitute for meat which the children rarely eat [Music] the following morning before setting off for a new destination gray makes sure that his bush taxi will not lose any parts along the way i get it from my family my father cannot get the man to raise to send me back to school so he just gave me this to run this business [Applause] [Music] gray takes advantage of rainy days to double the price of the ticket much to the annoyance of his passengers a good moment because we charge more money we use more fuel when there is too much rain it's dark eh yeah so i just go through this road i can't drive it very fast because i can't see where because of the fall either way on foggy days gray is sure to have plenty of customers no one ventures out to walk along these mist-filled paths [Music] in malawi old habits die hard and superstition occasionally leads to public hysteria this heavy fog is one of the signs that marks the arrival of the animapoppers the bloodsuckers [Music] [Applause] in this country vampires have nothing to do with the living dead they are supposedly humans with supernatural powers they don't have large canines and they draw blood using large needles [Music] and [Music] legend has it that their blood is used for satanic rituals foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] vampire hunting has spiraled out of control in malawi military forces have formed to drive out these blood-sucking monsters several innocent people have been killed in the process stoned to death by the villagers [Music] mabuka the great traditional leader of the region narrowly escaped this mass hysteria a crowd gathered in front of his house and accused him of leading a group of vampires [Music] um tried to speak to them and help them come to their senses but his attempts [Music] [Applause] it seems this is the reason for this attack according to mabuka and his wife one of the leaders of the village most likely spread the rumor in order to take his place [Music] [Music] as long as malawi ranks amongst one of the poorest countries in the world the fear of vampires will prevail superstitions thrive off of poverty and deprivation [Music] gray the bush taxi driver got out of the fog without a problem [Music] although greg doesn't encounter too many problems that's far from the case for his friend joelle a man who it would seem has bitten off far more than he can chew he has overloaded his truck according to him it's the only way to earn a bit of money my [Music] did [Music] subject to the bumpy roads the goods that were hurriedly piled on begin to give way after just a few kilometers [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] in overloading his truck joelle also overplayed his hand the people of malawi tend to say if you want the rainbow you must first face the rain but for joel the nightmare is only just beginning gray is also encountering some issues until recently this road was in better condition before the region took a turn for the worst [Music] because of the road there is no factories there is no companies to employ people [Music] southern region of malaga is hard for people to live because people were feeding on bananas but bananas were infected two years ago the banana was everywhere you can stand here you cannot see the other side because of the sea of bananas how many people work with the banana industry almost everybody and to make matters worse the region suffered from drought periods and flooding caused by heavy rainfall in 2016 famine put 3 million people at risk of which 500 000 were children [Music] today in the mountain communities of the south people are still going hungry [Music] as the banana monoculture drained the soil farmers are struggling to reinvent themselves so each farmer counts up his seeds and replants them as much as he can [Music] to survive the children of the region have created crafty devices they fish for swallows [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] 1000 [Music] this evening they will eat their fill these flying swallows represent something of another dream grey's dream to fly far far away towards a better life [Music] [Music] when i was at school i was learning french but i couldn't go far because of the money i know bonjour bonjour [Music] yeah at the end of the day a storm is forecast grey stops for a break in his village since the bananas died out the hamlet is in decline grace family used to run a grocery shop his mother worked at the counter and his father would provide the farmers with food and pesticides today they're all out of a job if it weren't for grey they would have had nothing left [Applause] again [Music] foreign even in times of prosperity the village has never had enough money to install running water let alone [Music] the inhabitants have a forlorn hope the government has promised to give them a new variety of banana that is resistant to diseases [Music] once there is more money available they intend to modernize the village meanwhile buildings abandoned by the banana industry have been repossessed by a young self-starter [Music] foreign [Music] indeed so [Music] [Music] did my friend [Applause] [Music] for as long as the rain falls gray remains stuck without a tarpaulin on the back of the truck the passengers refused to continue on their trip [Music] on the other side of the mountain the weather is much milder his cargo well tied together joelle attempts to make up for lost time but in another unfortunate twist of fate problems start to arise one after the other hello in fact joelle has a spare tire but it's punctured and that's another matter altogether [Music] he is crossing the naika national park an area of wild animals even the slightest breakdown could put the passengers in danger [Music] a few kilometers later the inevitable happens and that wasn't the only setback without weapons to protect themselves from the wild animals the men resort to the oldest trick in the book i'm pitching fetching files joelle asks his boss to send him a spare wheel no one knows when it will arrive and that's exactly what is worrying the passengers they're not particularly thrilled to be spending the night in the company of elephants and lions the arrival of rangers comes as a relief for them if the guards agree to take them none of them will have to pay joel that's the bush law taxis are obliged to reach their destination foreign foreign oh is m his passengers having abandoned him his pay will end up in the ranger's pockets according to malawian folklore under the midnight moon no lion dares to disturb the sleep of a broken man the next afternoon joelle and his two assistants will receive help [Music] his multi-coloured motorcycle is well known throughout the region and the music it plays is the sign of good news lives are going to be saved [Music] we are going at the touro this is where our vaccination takes place we try our best to travel to the immunization point footy because a car even a motorcycle cannot move [Music] the whole village has been waiting for him for a few weeks but no one would dare criticize him emmanuel is the only medical assistant in the district of 28 000 inhabitants his arrival is a sheer blessing [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] vaccinations against polio diphtheria tetanus hepatitis are perhaps the only medication they'll ever receive their whole life [Music] when it is a very difficult situation because the villagers themselves they should have to arrange for the transport to carry their patient from here to them to the facility it's their own task so a patient can die on the way they can even die when they have just arrived at the hospital [Music] sick people walk up to 40 kilometers to reach the health clinic where emmanuel works sometimes in vain the medical office lacks the most basic resources foreign [Music] fast [Music] he carried the the boy on on his back and moving about 22 kilometers from there he will be big [Music] the child mortality rate remains very high in malawi and having to battle with superstition makes matters even worse when push comes to shove some patients put their lives in the hands of witch doctors [Music] today is saturday with the dance of on wednesdays and saturdays vimboosa is danced at night [Music] we call it a healing dance when one is sick can be sick for a number of years once he or she has been diagnosed by their experiences all the village have assembled around the sick people to pray to the helping spirits the sick people go into a trance and dance their illness away [Music] she is always dumb sometimes at night she doesn't sleep shivering like malaria is malaria but when they go for traditional leaders they say no no no she's but now that you have [Music] the uniforms they are wearing are the instructions from the studies [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we africans when we are sick we go for traditional medication the decision here are everywhere most people are here and there but this are all over so they know what our problems are the meaning of the name malawi is sparkling sunlight in order to emerge from the shadows this little country will need to strike a delicate balance between age-old traditions and modernity [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 Malawi, dicing with death Malawi, dangerous Malawi, most dangerous roads Malawi, dangerous roads Malawi, deadliest roads Malawi, Malawi

Id: s4EmCPa4euY

Length: 50min 54sec (3054 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 13 2022