For five euros,
Theo, the driver, just offered
the arms of two workmen. The slaughter can begin. Theo is not
the only one to participate. Each day,
hundreds of trucks heading for the beach
John Obey Beach in Sierra Leone. They come to loot his treasure, the sand. Finally some sand
there aren't many left. Two years ago, this place
looked like a little paradise. For construction workers, the beaches are the last
place where you can buy sand. In Sierra Leone, careers are exhausted then
prices are skyrocketing every day. We bought some
sand to these men, but we misunderstood
on quantity and price. They did not want
fill my truck. There, I have to give six euros
for the extra sand. The beach, or everything
minus what's left, belongs to this village
slum-like fishermen. The six euros requested in
supplement will be used for the community. For two years,
fish is scarce. So, preserve the coast
is the last concern of these inhabitants. We do not have the choice,
it's the only job we have left. In this country, the government
is unable to find us work. If one day he asks us
to stop sand mining, it would be up to us
say to go steal to survive. In a few years,
their beach will have completely disappeared. Theo wants to get ahead
the coming clouds. It has been raining a lot since
this morning and when it rains too much, the road becomes very
dangerous and impractical, but thank God,
we manage to pass. In addition, the truck
is fully charged. I have to be even more careful,
nothing should happen to us. If I have the slightest accident,
my boss will fire me on the spot, Too bad, the clouds
were the fastest. Water seeps into the sand
and the truck gets heavier. Look over there, it's a bridge
which has been there since colonial times. Every time I pass here,
I'm worried. Théo carries 14 tonnes of sand. With the water, its loading
now weighs nearly 20 tons. You see what we live here,
the road is really rotten, but that's how it is,
you have to work. Tomorrow I will return
and I will pass over this bridge, because I have no other
choice if I want to survive. Advance despite the floods, pass and pass again where the danger
waiting for you for a few euros. The daily life of
Sierra Leonean is not simple, but they are like
of their emblem, the lion. Their rage to get by does not fail,
despite the scourges that strike their country. With the war, the country passed
stalled, everything fell apart. A war fueled by one of
main wealth of the country, the diamond. Their brilliance has fueled human madness. The little black stones in the center there, this shows that the
diamonds are not far away. Here, everyone calls them
blood diamonds. For them,
120,000 people died. Today, the country counts
50 percent illiterate. There is almost no drinking water
and electricity is rather scarce. As for some trucks,
given their condition, they could take
the scrap road. Yet they ride day and night
and the drivers prefer to laugh about it. It's really a mess,
we are soaked. Here is our dinner
just a piece of bread, no butter,
no cheese, just bread. Thanks to the wonderful
will of its inhabitants, the country is recovering little by little,
even if everyone still suffers. This road is hell
it's bad for business. Teo doesn't move faster than a man
on foot, to the chagrin of his workers. We don't have rain gear. We only have sweatshirts like
so as not to catch a cold. Sierra Leoneans have a saying, "Good humor costs less than a
coat, but gives just as much warmth". Apparently the worker
looks warmed up. Of course I keep smiling,
now I'm used to it. I work in these
terms for a year. Theo, he does not have the spirit to flirt. All his attention
is devoted to the truck. The noise that escapes after
five hours on the road is not a good sign. The rear axle broke
when we started this descent. Can't move forward?
- No, too dangerous. The truck is overloaded and
there is still a long way to go. You have to constantly fight. If he fails to repair, the penalty
will be severe, Theo will lose his place. In Sierra Leone,
a good driver, he is also a good mechanic,
without that, it is useless. In the country,
most roads are tracks and there is no other alternative. The trains have stopped
riding since the 70s, lack of means
to maintain them. As for the plane,
there are no domestic flights. The boat remains, but 90 percent
transport is by road. The border that seals Sierra Leone
in Liberia looks like a field of ruins. The two countries have never been in conflict, but both suffered
devastating civil wars. Today calm has returned and good humor
reappeared. If some are having fun, others are
really in a really bad mood. Vandy directs
a transportation company. One of these drivers asked him
to bring a spare part after having had an accident,
but above all not to worry, because the truck is still driving. Only here is in which
state he found his machine. Apparently this is not
Not really the driver's fault. The brakes let go,
I was driving fast and suddenly, there was a mechanical problem.
I had no more brakes. I started to swerve
and the truck overturned. That dented the side
passenger and the windshield exploded. I waited three days before
come get me. I didn't drink anything
nothing eaten, nothing smoked. It was really hard. It's nothing next to
of what awaits them, 150 km of pitfalls and stress
to join their garage in Kenema. With his cabin smashed, the little
white truck is not a pretty sight, but it remains
a formidable franchisor. Completely the opposite
Vandy's truck. It's the only one he had on hand
to come and help his driver. As you see it,
the road is not good. It's gonna be hard to reach
our destination with this truck. There, it will be necessary to cut the contact for
let the mechanics protect the engine. They will cover the air filter with
the bag we bought at the border. The engine should not
especially not to take water. That's what had to
get to the truck there. Water should not
enters the air filter. The air intake on this truck is
low and water gets in easily. You see the truck over there,
it did not block access to the filter. As a result, the water must have entered
its engine and now it's screwed, so we know what's going on
to do to cross this margin. Clever the trick of the plastic bag and you need tips
to snatch the miles. Especially with a truck
equipped with old tires, very smooth,
threadbare. With every problem,
Vandy has a parade, but will it be enough? By placing the gravels there, the truck will drive over it
and manage to climb this small climb. A little climb
with great potential for difficulty. The rear axle is blocked,
the rut is too deep, so we fill it with stones
to gain grip. The wheels can rest
on it and we'll get out of this hole. Is this the best method? - Yes, given the situation. No one can take us out
from there we would need a trail. Vandy and his men prepare
to sweat for long hours. It is not easy.
- Is this the most complicated place? For now, yes, but
after Zimmi, there is even worse. Worse ?
- Yes, just before Kenema. How long can this last?
- That, you can never know. In Vandy's eyes, the hill
now looks like Everest. At the other end of the country, Theo, the sand transporter,
tries to save his head. If he fails to fix
his truck, he'll be fired, as he says. Theo's future is finally clear. The sun comes to illuminate
his journey and he is welcome. Between the rain and the breakage,
Theo wasted a lot of time. If he has no more problems, he can
make another load of sand. He and his workers will pocket
two extra euros. Only nothing good
does not appear on the horizon. A pipe is drilled, this time,
a little glue should suffice. bet won,
Theo and his men will have time to do
another rotation of sand. Sand, Sierra Leone
consumes a lot of it, it is in full reconstruction. After 11 years of war
calendar which ended in 2002, growth has returned. In Freetown, the capital, buildings
come out of the ground at great speed, but in this country in the midst of a renaissance,
the money often runs out, stopping work altogether. Fatimata and her seven
children live in a house which will probably never be finished. my husband is dead
a few years ago already. This friend of my brother
agreed to accommodate us all. His house is not finished,
it is still under construction, so it's sometimes
difficult to sleep. Despite this,
we pray to god everyday to thank him
for finding us this roof. Come with me, I will
show you our room. An unsanitary place for which
Fatimata does not pay rent. Unlike the other three families
who share the place with her. It's not too tidy,
but pay no attention. This room, or rather
this eight square meter closet, was the only one available. You see, this is our bed,
at night it is very cold there. Besides, there are leaks everywhere,
we have to be very careful. During the dry season, it is
very hot inside the house and during the season
rains, it is horribly cold. Look at the mattresses, they are
wet, they begin to mold. There it is the same,
everything is damp, everything is rotten. Water floods the whole house
and everything is soaked. Our living conditions are very
difficult, but we have to face it. We have no other choice. Fatimata does not complain
no, she remains hopeful. Recently,
she found a job unlike the
half of Sierra Leoneans. She works with her seven
children to Bobo's quarry. Here, no crusher or grinder, the granite is reduced to the state
of gravel by force of arms. To more easily break the
blocks of granite, we set them on fire. To properly heat the stone
and be able to make gravel out of it, we use
old truck tires. Finally, the work
doesn't get any easier. Even heated, granite
remains extremely hard to break. A hundred men and
women wear themselves out here every day. Fatimata and her children
are at the end of the chain. My children don't go to school,
yet they should all be there. Instead they come here
with me to break stones. We have to do
like that, we have no choice. If we want to survive,
they must help me here. We don't win
money all the time. Sometimes we spend a month or
two without earning a single penny. When we manage to sell,
we touch a dozen, twenty, even around thirty euros,
it depends. It all depends too
of a man's good will. He reigns supreme
on the convicts of the gravel. The slightest dispute
and that is career exclusion. Almost a life or death right. Amara, the foreman
reigns terror. It's me who commands everyone here,
all these people are under my orders. I am the chef,
I tell them what to do. man is tough
as smart as he is. He quickly realized that
rebuilding the country was going to explode
gravel demand. The career does not belong to him,
but he negotiated the right to exploit it. This career that
you see there, that granite, he belongs to a
construction company. They sell wholesale
granite blocks outside and those they don't sell
no, they leave them to us. Do you buy granite?
- No, it's completely free. A very good
operation for Amara. Before the Civil War,
it was good to live in Sierra Leone. The country was developing well. We lived well, we had
a bright future ahead of us. With the war,
the country has come to a standstill. Everything collapsed. Now we're just trying to
survive, but it's really very hard. Getting up from 11 years old
civil war takes time. Especially since
State resources are limited. Lack of public services
and rampant corruption plague the country. The road that connects
Sierra Leone to Liberia is a trade route
major between the two countries. However, it is almost impossible
to travel during the rainy season. Vandy and his small business
of transport suffer from it every day. It's been four hours
that he tries to pass this coast and his second truck is too
damaged to get him out of this mess. Maybe he can tow them? Short-lived hope. In Sierra Leone,
mutual aid does not seem appropriate. Travelers think of themselves first. You are going to pass
over there with your car? Yes.
- Are you sure it's possible? Yes, if I remove the earth,
this will pass. His driver rushes off. Successful passage, but
the driver refuses to try to pull the truck out of the quagmire. In Sierra Leone,
it's every man for himself. We are relieved because we
thought to spend our day here. Sometimes we can put more than
five hours to reach our goal. For how many kilometers?
- To travel only 150 kilometers. Every time
that I take this road between Liberia
and Sierra Leone, I suffer. I've been coming here for years
and it's always the same thing. The government does nothing. How long have you been on this road?
- For ten or 15 years That hasn't changed? No, the roads are
still just as bad. It's complicated for anyone who
pass through here and for their business. umpteenth attempt
of the day for Vandy. This time, his men have
carpeted several meters of tracks with stones
and branches. 15 meters from the top of the coast,
the wheels of the truck no longer grip. We have to start all over again. It's almost 11 o'clock and we
left at six in the morning. So we only did
13 kilometers in five hours. Bush taxis
blocked do not dare to pass. Their clients,
too tight inside, prefer to face the rain and attend
at the show without moving a finger. Except one. Under pressure
of this authority of passage, a taxi accepts
to lend them a strap. Taxis refuse to pull the
truck then the men stick to it. Like a snub to Vandy, the truck driver
white goes smoothly where his boss took five hours. A small shower
Here we go again. There are always
the action on this road. Aren't you fed up?
- A little. We spend a lot of time
to go from one point to another. It's long,
but that's how it is. The only problem is that we
damages our trucks a lot, but it is one of the roads where we
earns the most money in Sierra Leone. You don't earn as much elsewhere. What's this ?
- Meat. From here,
there is no longer a big village, so this is the last place
where you can buy food and drink. If you miss this village, you're bad. Civil war
is not solely responsible of poverty
that reigns in Sierra Leone. Twelve years after the ceasefire, another plague has stopped short
the country's growth recovery. Between 2014 and 2016,
the Ebola virus has wreaked havoc, nearly 4,000 dead. I was driving the ambulance
during the Ebola crisis. We were four in all for
cover the whole Kailahun district. During the crisis, I sent
all my family away from here. I was left alone,
here alone. Because you were afraid
to contract the Ebola virus and contaminate them? Yes, because I was going everywhere
where there was Ebola, everywhere. To contain the epidemic, the government introduces a curfew
dramatic for Sierra Leoneans. Closure of schools, ban on
get together with more than four people, thus preventing rice harvests,
cassava and sweet potato. The worst of all
was banned from driving. Economic life has come to a standstill. Since the Ebola virus disappeared,
the country has come back to life. As always in Africa,
Nothing is lost, everything is transformed. The yellow jumpsuits that
doctors wore at the time serve now
to protect themselves from the rain. Yoko and her brother
Bondi had the right idea to drop their groceries
to become Taxi-brousse. How many people in the car?
- Twelve people. Is it good for 12?
- Yes it is OK. Finally, the car is
planned for seven people, but the two brothers pile it up
12 without counting the children of course. A total of 17 people,
but there is still room for... In the region,
there are not many taxis so when an 18th customer
shows up, no one protests. During the Ebola outbreak,
it was very hard for us. Our business was at a standstill. We couldn't drive anymore
there was no more movement. Only trucks
goods could move. Big trucks bringing
food to the people. No cabs?
- No, no taxis either. Yoko is bondi serve all
the small villages along the track. Passengers have an interest
to have a strong heart. We are suffering,
everyone is suffering here. Like the roads
are in poor condition, there are very few taxis and therefore
we have a lot of passengers. As we can always fill the taxi,
I only ask five euros per person. We are tight like that
because the road is not good. If the road was good, there would be more
taxis, so there would be no more space. There would be buses, it would be
surely faster and cheaper. You do not have the choice ?
- No, we have no choice. We have to take
these taxis to go to Kenema. Yoko and Bondi will put
almost five hours to browse in
their rolling washing machine the 108 kilometers
which separate them from Kenema. Vandy, he continues
the galleys, 18 hours on the road and its convoy of trucks
is only halfway through. How are you ? No, it's not too good. Why ?
- I am too cold. In the end, it's
perhaps he is the best off. Comfortably seated
and sheltered from the rain, in contrary
to the men in the cabin. They don't have a windshield,
they take a good shower. It's really a mess,
I'm soaked. Here is our dinner
just a piece of bread, no butter,
no cheese, just bread. Here we really are
suffering. It's dark, it's raining. The truck does not light much. There, we really suffer too much, it's hard. The story repeats itself
for Vandy and his men. Like this morning, he finds himself face to face
to a coast which is a real skating rink. What worries the driver the most,
it's the ditch that runs along the road. If I arrive straight
by controlling my wheels well, with the gravels, we should
pass as before. We're going to put it all the way
and we should not slip. Will the gravel be enough?
- No, it's more complicated here. The truck is in bad shape
posture, it could tip over. To prevent
his truck to overturn, Vandy has only one solution,
reinforce the side of the track. Many vehicles use
this road, big or small. The ruts get bigger and everything
the world uses stones to pass. The following start again
and move the stones. Everyone does
what he can to move forward. The men are exhausted. As a good leader,
Vandy motivates them. It is absolutely necessary that we
find a way out of there. We really want to get there
we don't want to sleep here. We do not have a choice,
we must continue on our way. We've suffered too much
suffered far too much. Now, I'm really very hungry,
cold too, my body is frozen. After 24 hours and 150 kilometers
of suffering, the convoy finally arrives. Literally, Sierra Leone
means, the hill of the lion. part of the beast
slumbers in its inhabitants. All fight with the same rage
to live and rebuild their country.
