Impossible Roads

Au sud des Philippines, dans la province de Bukidnon, les récoltes du riz rythment la vie. A chaque moisson, les paysans du village de Kalabugao, situé en pleine montagne, confient leur précieuse matière aux chauffeurs et aux courtiers, chargés de la vendre au marché. Les camions surchargés doivent parcourir 70 kilomètres. Ce voyage qui, d'ordinaire, dure environ six heures, peut prendre plusieurs jours pendant la saison des pluies. Un peu plus au sud, dans la vallée de Compostelle, d'étranges camions appelés "Saddam", en référence à l'ancien dictateur irakien, entament leur excursion quotidienne. Leur mission : faire le tour des mines d'or inaccessibles pour ramasser les sacs de pierre extraites par des forçats au péril de leur vie.

From the south to the north of Peru, deep canyons cut the Andes cordillera. To supply the gold mines, cultivate their vines or quite simply return to their villages, the men have no choice but to embark on incredible tracks, cut in the rock and bordered by vertiginous precipices. From the Marañon river valley to the Cotahuasi canyon, passing through the Paracas desert, this Impossible Road takes the side roads of a Peru with grandiose landscapes, but where life is paid for at a high price.

In Sierra Leone, nothing stands in the way when it comes to making a living. Theo is a sand pillager, extracting sand from the beach that has now totally disappeared. He is aware of the damage he is causing, but he has no other choice. For him it’s the price you have to pay to survive. Vandi runs a transport business. He is trying his best to return one of his trucks to the garage, which is badly damaged, but is still running. The 130 km track isn’t going to do him any favours and he has thirty-five hours of hell ahead of him. After twelve years of war, the whole country needs rebuilding, but there is no money. Fatimata and her seven children live in a ramshackle house. The whole family work together in the stone quarry.

The Burmese see their country as a beautiful sleeping girl: today, she half opens her eyes but it is difficult to wake up. The country lacks everything, the infrastructure has been abandoned for many years. In the northwest, in the most mountainous region of the country, getting around is an adventure. But the Burmese keep smiling.

The end of November in Malawi means the abrupt arrival of the rainy season. This does not bode well for Gray, a ‘bush taxi’ driver in this poverty-stricken country, where public transport is already practically nonexistent. Gray knows the rain will cause great trouble and isolation for the remote provinces, so he does what he can to help with his small truck.

Harvest is approaching in Ghana, a small country in West Africa which is the world’s second largest producer of cocoa. Jeffery and his workmates are on a mission to sell the fruits of their labour, either by motorcycle or barefoot.

Mining is the main industry here, with an emphasis on raw gold extraction. But to transport the dynamite needed for this, Hilario must confront – under watchful eye of the police – the perilous roads, which could cause the fragile detonators to explode at any moment. On the Caribbean with the Miskito fishermen, or on board the old bus “The Chispa”, you see a spark in the eyes of its people, who strive simply to survive; a spark, however, that must be kept under wraps in order to avoid a dynamite explosion, which could blow up an entire village in its path with a simple jolt.

During the winter, the valleys of the Indian Himalayas are secluded from the rest of the country. When spring arrives, the families from the hottest regions return to their villages in order to plough the fields. The trek home lasts many days and requires nerves of steel. Bus drivers graze the precipices and guzzle through roads barely wider than their vehicles. The truck drivers who supply the lost villages of the Himalayas act as tightrope walkers on 4,000 metre-high paths for minimal salaries.

Guatemala, a small country in Central America, is one of the most violent states in the world. There were nearly 4,000 murders in 2018; amurder rate 20 times higher than France per head of population. Behind this slaughter are street gangs, known as Maras, who manage drug trafficking, prostitution and racketeering and spread terror among the population. The members shoot their rivals, or ordinary citizens who go against them, without hesitation.

Lesotho is a tiny land-locked kingdom within the gigantic territory of South Africa. Among the poorest in the world, this high-altitude country has landscapes that take the breath away, but, most importantly, it possesses something rare and precious in Africa: water. During the long months of winter, the country is covered in snow and amidst the bare hills there is even a ski slope!

For 35 years, Paraguay was led by a strict dictatorship. The country is now getting back to work and the economy is taking off, except for in the Chaco. The region covers half the country yet only has one inhabitant per km2. People are trying to find a way to live in the midst of this wilderness…

Two legendary creatures live side by side in Zambia. The first is a very old truck. It has been used to construct thousands of farmers’ homes and after 46 years’ service it is still operating, despite leaks and constant break-downs. But in the rainy season, the old vehicle struggles on the country’s tracks. For owners Nicolas and his father, Cosam, keeping it running is a matter of survival. But they are not alone: the whole village rallies round to help them. It’s their sign of gratitude for all the years of faithful service.

Nestling in the foot of the Himalayas, Bhutan is mostly criss-crossed by tracks clinging onto the peaks of dizzying mountains. During the monsoon period, travelers juggle with mud and landslides, traffic is often jammed for several days on end. To resolve the situation, the government has called on Dankas, workers from India who live in the most precarious of conditions. With no protection, they blast wider roads and tarmac them at over 3,000 meters altitude. And there’s work to be done: until 1961 there was hardly a single paved road. Today, Bhutan is trying to create a road network to open up the country.