World's Most Dangerous Roads - Tanzania: Life Force

[Music] [Music] maybe [Music] yes [Music] [Music] in the dry season it's one of the most beautiful tracks in tanzania a straight trace of ochre carved into the green of the forest but when the rainy season arrives this snippet of the garden of eden becomes the way of the cross [Applause] since dawn mohammed the bush taxi driver has been cursing the skies such tantrums aren't out of the ordinary for mohammed but today is different he is driving a sick man and the only hospital in the region is an 18-hour drive away or rather an 18-hour trek through the mud [Applause] [Music] we don't know whether the car will hold out very long on this bumpy road mohamed's primary concern is his passenger who's in a bad way as the pickup bounces along he gets knocked about mohammed hopes that he will make it to the hospital at kasanga the sick man could have taken another karma mode of transport to the city of casanga the boat karma but not as safe [Music] the liemba is an old boat that sails on lake tanganyika the liamba takes three days to reach casanga provided all goes to plan [Music] tanzania gives the impression of a lost paradise whilst always retaining a helping of hell for the citizens of tanganyika returning to the village is always an adventure the travel conditions are extreme and invariably provoke conflict women and children are crammed into the hole in an overwhelming heat [Music] it's no wonder tensions run high tanzania is a magical country where witchcraft still plays an important role in village life their superstitions are sometimes [Music] murderous to the north of lake tanganyika is the city of kigoma it's the home port of the honorable liemba and the only port to connect the shuttle with the most remote of villages there are problems for the sailors right from the word go they have to deal with a lot of freeloaders the boat only makes this journey two or three times a month the traders load the hold with everything that's needed in the south rice flour oil and spices and once the hole is full the decks are commandeered and it's at that point that confusion sets in especially when two fruit producers stack the same goods right alongside each other for a long time now the captain benjamin has avoided going down to resolve conflicts 28 years of navigation have taught him to keep his core i wanted her i needed to take care because first of all for the passengers because we carry a variety of passengers local people to control the local people sometimes it's very difficult because some of our passengers they don't know either to use our our items in on board the service provided by the liamba is very old-fashioned first and second-class seats can be deemed acceptable however the passengers occupying the third class seats must have a strong stomach they're lodged in the hold just above the engine with no windows and the added benefit of the smell of oil but the price of the ticket is unbeatable two pounds and eight points a strong dose of courage is necessary to travel on the world's oldest boat in circulation the liamba is a vestige of colonial germany a gunboat built to patrol the lake tanganyika during the first world war [Music] now this belongs to us because you're maintaining us this is not dangerous it's still stable and the stability of the ship is [Music] excellent [Music] each time the boat leaves the 650 passengers ask themselves the same question will the antique boat survive the journey captain benjamin tries to predict the unpredictable the mechanism was renovated thoroughly 20 years ago but the diesel engine still brings him out in a cold sweat it's always worrying him the captain estimates that the journey will take three days but he knows that it all depends on the temperament of this collection of scrap [Music] metal [Music] [Music] meanwhile mohammed the bush taxi driver hurries to get the sick man to hospital as quickly as possible of course that doesn't stop him from picking up more passengers by setting his prices so low mohammed is never able to make a lot but each new passenger allows him to add a liter or two his old korean pickup is gas guzzling at the best of times but at this time of year it's even greedier there's always the risk that it will pull one on mohammed foreign in the back zakaria the sick passenger has been jolted around for more than five hours he endures his ordeal in silence zakaria does not want to choose between the witch doctor in the hospital he passes from one to the other in tanzania witchcraft is alive and kicking spiritual healers are much cheaper than doctors many of whom are situated more than a five-hour drive away [Music] the witch doctors live in the villages this one has some very surprising methods for curing the pains this man complains [Music] put simply the man has apparently fallen victim to a terrible fate okay [Music] now that the evil is left via the wounds the witch doctor prepares a protective potion for the patient [Music] all that's left to do is check whether the remedy has worked the sick man is hit not hard but hard enough to leave a mark [Music] certain witch doctors turn into complete savages when it comes to earning a huge amount of money incantations that help one to make a small fortune or achieve business success are in high demand amongst politicians and gold diggers yet these men know that someone has to pay in flesh for this and sometimes with their life these albinos are the victims of a murderous superstition which doctors assign supernatural powers to albinos when it comes to casting spells and crafting talismans the witch doctor claims a part of their body this professor gathers the albinos in his refuge but for elizabeth it's already too late [Music] foreign foreign one hand sells for around 450 pounds for the body of an albino a witch doctor can claim up to 60 000 pounds the huge poverty that reigns in tanzania is partly responsible for this massacre in the villages there are some bad people who are thinking that when they get a body part of people with albinism they can get rich or they can win in election it's bad it's bad for any anybody [Music] no albino is safe in their own village [Music] is paid by the state to shelter them from this sordid trafficking this is the place where they live this is a dormitory for mothers who have kids with albinism when they are here they are protected these albinos are condemned to a life under constant surveillance in 2015 tanzania banned witchcraft but the witch doctors are still there and their beliefs are too [Music] rain is often eagerly awaited in this country that is heavily affected by drought today mohan the bush taxi driver is cursing it zechariah the sick man on his way to hospital has no other choice but to endure his suffering especially since the pickup is about to lose even more time this bus driver is asking for help king the drivers wanted to repair it themselves only they don't know how to get it back on the road people that is go by 40. [Music] but out in the sticks mechanics don't trawl the tracks the nearest garage is more than 50 kilometers away [Music] the track is narrow and so when a minibus attempts to pass by the side it often gets stuck all the passengers are asked to get off [Music] foreign in the end the unplanned stop wasn't the end of the world the passengers made the most of the opportunity to stretch their legs with 25 of them on a bus with room for nine not counting the children it wasn't exactly luxurious the bus drivers were left with the dreaded task of waiting for the mechanic a weight that can last several days out in the sticks meanwhile the liemba is making its way slowly towards the south the old boat never goes faster than 9 knots or 16 kilometers an hour the passengers have spent two days now piled on top of one another and conflict is of course inevitable the most serious conflicts are resolved by the only authority on board captain benjamin [Applause] this woman is accusing the woman sitting opposite her of having stolen her money while she was sleeping the captain has to work quickly to sort out the matter these disputes can quickly descend into mass brawls [Music] oh tensions are rising when logic puts an end to the matter [Music] [Music] the captain tries to calm the mood using witchcraft techniques he plays on the fear of the invisible on the deck above in first class the atmosphere is a lot more peaceful there is definitely more comfort and less promiscuity it's definitely not a three-star restaurant but there's not much to do other than eat but there is still a television which somehow manages to show pictures the captain is very proud of his chefs on the menu is spiced lamb home cut fries [Music] rice of course and fresh fish from the lake the chicken is taking its time you can get about about 100 chickens enough myself i prefer ugali and chicken [Music] all that the second and third class passengers experience of the chicken is its smell confined to the inferior decks and the hold nothing eases their boredom nothing except the constant attempt at reducing the stifling heat that surrounds them tattoo is a trader throughout the three days of the journey she remains stuck to her bench so that she can keep an eye on her goods [Applause] [Music] waiting waiting they gasp at the warm air as the hours roll by the constant boredom the arguments and the tension that gripped the boat during these journeys captain benjamin never tires of sailing lake tanganyika [Music] this is a beautiful lake i think this is the second deepest in the world they are the longest lake in africa the islands are very beautiful the nature of the land is beautiful there's no pollution it's clean water so i like it very much to come and walk lake tanganyika larger than great britain is the biggest soft water reservoir in africa and one of those most inhabited by fish an ecosystem that has been preserved for a long time just like the jungle that surrounds it man's presence is barely felt on lake [Music] tanganyika a haven of wildlife almost 80 species of mammal coexist here in peace [Music] but for those humans who live amongst these breathtaking landscapes life is completely different those village fishermen who have no access to running water have no choice but to drink the lake water which without treatment causes illnesses and [Music] epidemics these are diseases forever so the government decided to stop all the people of this village in florida to stop to come here and be doing their activities washing produce washing their bodies even swimming they have stuff but the villagers cannot simply stop living and there are only resources at the bottom of the lake despite the ban joffrey sets out with his net every day but for some years now he's struggled to feed his family overfishing is exhausting the lake's resources [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] my [Music] in 25 years the population of tanzania has doubled but the infrastructure hasn't followed isolated villages like joffe's are left to fend for themselves jaffe has three children they've already experienced hunger [Music] but how can one change the future without being able to read all right the children's future is definitely to be found across the lake a future as a driver perhaps [Music] nothing that's going to make you rich but something that will definitely make you able to survive better after 10 hours of waterlogged tracks mohammed the bush taxi driver has finally found his cruising speed sick man zacharia's suffering will perhaps come to an end a bit sooner but the speed is still too slow for those passengers wanting to attend the cattle market at this rate the best animals are going to slip through their fingers and with good reason because for once it's not the track that's going to make them late but the stinginess of the driver fully empty purely so you got to buy for the village no no anything so to go town the first time [Music] the customers are skeptical mohammed tries to save faith hey [Music] half an hour later running out of patience the passengers want to leave without paying to calm them mohammed has a second motorcycle to come and rescue them [Music] my will they ever get back the fate of poor zachariah is currently dependent on two passing motorcyclists the liemberger has also come to a stop it's making a stopover in front of a village and because there's no pontoon to draw alongside the anchor is being thrown tens of meters from the shore row boats fall to the brim of delivering new passengers without a footbridge the boarding is somewhat acrobatic [Music] there is no organization those getting off find their way blocked by those getting on [Applause] [Music] for the oarsmen leaving with an empty boat is not an option they want to take as many people as possible to land they block the other oarsmen who wait behind them eventually a huge blockage forms a sailor tries to restore some sense of [Music] order but he's wasting his breath this is not to push the people is [Music] under control not quite the situation gets worse [Music] [Music] foreign the passengers come to blows oh it's chaos everywhere especially when a child decides to amuse himself by undoing the line that is mooring the row boat foreign [Music] merry disorder apart from at the ticket office where there is calm and organization and punishment for those who haven't paid has lifted the anchor but the oarsmen are still trying to get a late comer on board it's a dangerous operation [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] it's too dangerous the woman would rather return to land on the road mohamed is still out of gas after more than two hours waiting the first motorcycle he asked to bring petrol arrives at last [Music] [Music] the second motorcyclist the one he paid so generously disappeared with the money but one liter isn't necessarily enough to complete the journey [Music] they're off but it's too late mohammed has put his foot down he's taken risks in the driving rain but when his passengers arrive the cattle market is practically over the best animals have already found a buyer there's just one more thing to do drop zakaria at the hospital [Music] after a two-day back-breaking journey the ordeal has finally come to an end for zechariah well nearly taxis don't have the right to enter the town so the poor man has to walk another two kilometers before seeing his doctor the life of the tanzanians is far from being as calm as the river when night falls calm is restored aboard the liemba everyone starts to dream both adults and children stare at the water hoping to catch a glimpse of the mythical whale that hides within [Music] those who haven't found space inside prepare to sleep outside the sailors are spending their earnings with the carefreeness of those who no longer have to be in command [Music] from a distance this 104 year old boat stands proud as does its cockpit which has been renovated and equipped with a radar but when the veil of darkness falls over the lake captain benjamin's old anxieties return the lake is also an old cemetery the radar doesn't see everything in taranica the risk of net navigation may be for the [Music] fishermen some of the fishermen they don't put on lights which is very dangerous for them it happened that the fishermen and there were time between the rock was between the two canoes we're going to put them from our other [Music] when you pull the rope we have to pull the the rope [Music] we have to stop the night doesn't interrupt the coming and going of the passengers the rowing boats off-load their cargo onto the old ship at all hours is 26 years old and has four children she already has a long history this journey is a bit like a transition between two chapters in her life my [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] after three days of navigation the liemba finally arrives at casangwa for zytuni and her children it's both a homecoming and a step into the unknown the carcass of the old ship has cracked under the weight of the journey but once again it has survived the ordeal without the liamba life would barely tick over for the price of one bush taxi ticket a family of four can board the ship barely has zaitouni arrived before she takes up work in the rice fields the rice field workers are paid one pound 30 a day it's no great fortune but the young mother intends to tighten her belt that's the only way she can realize her [Music] dream [Music] [Music] my the work is hard but none of them dares complain tonight there will be food on the table breaking rice breaking lives the winds blow with the dreams of the tanganyika women [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Show Me the World

Views: 503,446

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

Id: DhCoOuvGt64

Length: 48min 24sec (2904 seconds)

Published: Wed May 26 2021