Impossible Roads

With a sea of ​​sand as his only horizon, young Turki sometimes feels dizzy riding his old motorcycle. But with the tank he drags on the back of his cart, he absolutely must bring back water for his herd of dromedaries. In the Iraqi desert, the inhabitants have always had to adapt to an extreme climate and temperatures sometimes reaching 50 degrees. The great marshes of Mesopotamia have long been considered an oasis, but this vast delta of flooded land, long drained by Saddam Hussein's regime to allow his tanks to pass through, is today threatened by global warming. The "people of the reeds" nevertheless try to survive by navigating the heart of this strange labyrinth.

In Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls offers a breathtaking landscape, but their deep roar seems to echo the anger of a wounded people. For, behind the spectacular beauty of nature, hides an implacable reality. After 37 years of unchallenged rule, dictator Robert Mugabe has left a country bled dry. As for the roads, they tell, kilometer after kilometer, of the distress of an abandoned people. At the Bulawayo bus station, passengers jostle in chaos for a seat on chickenbuses, those overloaded minibuses with unpredictable routes. Driver Mutassa is not so lucky; broken down in the middle of the bush, he is alone facing the wild nature. Near Victoria Falls, others risk their lives in the rapids, reckless fishermen for whom survival is a race against death. Despite everything, Zimbabweans resist. With dignity, humor and unwavering energy.

A railway lost in the middle of the jungle, rails eaten away by humidity, and bridges creaking over the void... Using makeshift trains, Juce and his gang penetrate the Alto Tambo Valley every day to earn a living. The mountain may collapse, and derailments may multiply, but nothing can stop them. In a country in crisis, resourcefulness and courage are their only resources. At the foot of the Andes, on tracks clinging to the peaks, "rancheras" circulate: makeshift trucks that resemble buses and transport men, animals, and crops to market. In the east of the country, indigenous communities, like the Cofan, tirelessly roam rivers and forests to push gold prospectors and oil companies out of their territory. But the strategic location between Colombia and Peru has also attracted drug cartels, who are gradually imposing their rule.

"Banana kamikazes" is what Burundians call the cyclists who hurtle down one of the country's most dangerous roads at nearly 70 kilometers per hour. At this speed, and laden with several bunches of bananas, their bikes are virtually unstoppable. So they slalom between heavy goods vehicles to avoid accidents, travel in groups to clear the way, and cling to the back of trailers to catch their breath on the climbs. Elsewhere, Burundians who struggle in the mines also have to contend with rutted tracks. Trucks veer into giant mud crevices. This section of track is considered a national road. In reality, it is mainly in the hands of the region's militias, who organize racketeering to finance their guerrillas.

Borneo is one of the most spectacular and disturbing scenes of deforestation: every day, hectares of primary forest disappear. In this grandiose setting, women and men struggle to preserve their way of life while adapting to a changing world. Kara is a member of the Penan tribe, one of the last nomadic peoples of the forest. A nurse, she braves rutted tracks and rivers to care for her family. Malaysia is the world's second-largest producer of palm oil. While this crop is devastating, it remains a lifeline for many farmers. But the harvest still needs to be delivered during the rainy season.

In the rainforest, hundreds of trucks circulate and intersect, threatening to overturn with their loads of wood or gas on the country's most perilous route. But these aren't the only dangers awaiting Nigerian drivers. Every year, the country experiences thousands of kidnappings by armed gangs. In Lagos, the capital, 300,000 residents cram into their "floating Venice": a vast shantytown on stilts with its own rules and its own king. As soon as they leave the lagoon, the residents find themselves plunged into traffic hell. Elsewhere, thousands of pilgrims converge on a sacred forest to seek the protection of the goddess Osun.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a vast territory, whose equatorial forest has long since engulfed the roads connecting Kinshasa to the north of the country. In this context, the Congo River and its 1,750 kilometers have become an essential backbone, despite the dangers: raging currents, sandbanks, and submerged rocks. The Ondika, a sturdy tugboat, tows three large barges with nearly 800 passengers on board. Aboard this floating shantytown, people sell, buy, and barter. Fishermen dock in canoes to offer fish in exchange for batteries, clothing, or tools. The river thus becomes a vital link for the riverside villages cut off from the rest of the world.