Impossible Roads

Deep in the Amazon in Brazil illegal villages are popping up as people flock here hoping to be the lucky one whose life is changed forever. They all come here in search of one thing; gold. The mines that litter the forest are unauthorized and dangerous but people here are desperate. The mines are also contributing to the destruction of the forest. And it isn’t just the mines, there is also the illegal logging and the burning of large areas by cowboys who need more space for their growing herds.

Laos, which lived in isolation for many years, is still today home to dozens of forgotten ethnicities. Its nature is sumptuous and wild, like its wild mountains and its impenetrable jungles. At the wheel of an imposing Russian truck, aboard a speedboat speeding down the Mekong, on the back of an elephant or on foot through the jungle, the roads of the impossible offer an unusual journey, from south to north, through the most difficult axes of communication in the country.

Despite separating from Somalia over 20 years ago, the state of Somaliland is still unrecognized by the rest of the world. Life here is hard. The popular series Impossible Roads brings us an eye-opening look at life in a country that isn’t officially a country.

They are the galley slaves of green gold. They storm the hills of northern Bangladesh to cut the precious Bamboos that they assemble into a large floating raft. To reach Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, three hundred kilometers of marshes and rivers await them. In the midst of admirable landscapes, the journey of this extraordinary convoy will last almost a month. This indomitable monster 80 meters long and 40 wide is maneuvered by only 6 miserable men. On the banks of the river, their children also work in abominable conditions…. We are at the end of the rainy season and the water level is dropping rapidly. If the convoy gets stuck the cargo is lost. For the crew, a race against time begins...

At the time of its independence, Congo had one of the best road networks in Central Africa. Today, barely 2% of the roads are paved.

It is a country where taxi drivers risk their lives on dangerous roads as they race to deliver medications to the sick people waiting at the other side of the country to have their lives saved. But will they even be able to pay for their medicine when it arrives?