Deadliest Roads | Botswana: Run for your Life | Free Documentary

foreigner foreigner thank you I am very thirsty I want you to help me drink cold water Monty must travel further and further to find it every day in myself I do not have a container for water but this time he did not take the distance into account he was forced to make a two and a half mile round trip my car stopped running out of gas so now if you can see me carrying this five liter container it's gasoline Monty is a farmer he has 1,000 liters of water stored in the back of his old truck for his cattle once again the drought is hitting Botswana hard this year look how clean it is not crazy not crazy not crazy it doesn't even leave grass no what nothing nothing this is the first time it's happened to me this is a problem that's why it feels Tired alone by this stranger, the farmer is determined to find water, traveling back and forth between his farm and the various ponds in the region, but the country's resources are being depleted at a rapidly increasing rate.

I have to have 10 liters. per day, the river bed can be seen from a distance, but when the farmer reaches the shore, the river water has gone down, it is dry, it is over. The waterhole is all that remains of the once vast river, the water has disappeared or rather, it never came in the first place. For the past five years, Botswana, a landlocked nation, has been subject to a severe drought. Seasonal flooding from the Okavango River Delta no longer provides enough water to the Kalahari Desert. Wild animals run out of food, making them aggressive toward travelers.

It's hard to do. with other people there is such a difference that I must know that they are ready to mate and that traveling through the desert by car is not an easy task. This old sand bushman who usually walks this route is already regretting it. A difficult journey awaits everyone. They deviate from the main

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and in some cases it is really terrible abroad these lakes fall into mud traps in Botswana global warming is a harsh reality abroad but no one gives up in the battle against it Chidi works for a company as a janitor at who goes home every other weekend there are 19 kilometers between him and his town is not far but sometimes it takes two days to get home accidents are common on this road and the speed of the minibus does not make Chidi feel comfortable foreign cars scattered on the side of the road is not at all reassuring the foreigner leaves after five kilometers he cannot afford to cross the remaining nine in the minibus for the rest of the trip he hitchhikes or walks China is not going to get home soon The inhabitants of the Kalahari Desert would also like to have the right to travel and live wherever they want Foreigners are some of the last hunter-gatherers in Africa In Botswana they are prohibited from leaving their designated reserve Today sakere and his wife live in a camp of resettlement the sand bushmen were banished from their land the same day the government discovered it was hiding one of the largest diamond deposits in the world the recently opened bar in the reserve is proof of this the sakeri can't stand seeing young people getting all drunk The day the old hunter knows that alcohol and laziness will gradually erase the memory of his people to keep their culture alive.

Sakari and his wife urge young people not to forget their traditions. The couple will take their nephew Bondo to their ancestral lands for the first time. Thank you. a small setback the 70 kilometers of desert that separate them from the promised land are not kind to old 4x4 vehicles like titus's I lived there all the time when I was still young and today I went to school as a long journey to travel there it is difficult to drive on this road because the sand is dry so it is very heavy, it overheats the vehicle, the engine is now overheated so we are cooling it down now.

Thanks, if we open it, it will take out the water. We will hit each other to cool off outside. The old hunter and his wife have sometimes spent days in the desert looking for something to eat. Patience has certainly become a virtue by the looks of this sorry old 4x4 if the Sand Bushmen and their ancient culture die out Botswana will lose a part of its identity and that is not the only thing that is threatened: the Okavango River It is unique because it does not flow into the ocean but rather flows into the Kalahari Desert, making it the second largest delta in the world.

Thousands of animals gather around these permanent swamps, but that is not the only miracle in July in the peak of summer the desert floods the floods spread over millions of acres the water brings

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to the entire region it is strange the july floods often fill lake ngami but this year name my name is from the beginning of the 20th century lake ngami The stream that fed it has been drying up, it has evaporated and the flooding of the Okavango River is no longer important enough to fill it and to think that in 2011, today it is 32 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide, this increasingly smaller lake has the size of a small water hole and its banks have become a death trap for thirsty animals it is too late for this herd that has been trapped in the mud for several days these five are waiting patiently for the men to leave thank you but for this cow there is still a ray of hope mareko is going to try to save it he has already lost several cows in the mud everything is zero whatever it is a miracle Lake and Gummy are not completely dead incredibly Mariko and her brother have managed to find food deep in the foreign mud, the mud is still fine enough for thousands of catfish to survive.

I didn't say foreign and fishing is not without risks, the approximately one hundred hippos that once inhabited the lake, only two adults and a baby are still there. The rest managed to reach the Okavango River or died of starvation. Foreigners are fine, they say 32 degrees, their work here is not over yet. Their camp is situated on the ancient shores of the Great Lake. gami was the source of work and food for dozens of families Mariko and his brother and their wives do not know how they will survive now abroad yes, in a matter of weeks or even days the mud will solidify and mark the end of the work of the Mareko fisherman does not want to accept this and clings to an ancient foreign legend at the gateway to the Kalahari Desert, this now dry river has flowed enough to fill these water holes once they have evaporated.

Farmers like Monty will have to pay for tankers to come and give water to his livestock in the meantime he is making numerous round trips so let's catch and kill this is not good water it is contaminated or contaminated dead to water, this only for study is stagnant water, yes, the weakest animals. I can't resist, it was Heavy Cat, you can see the area, what it looks like, there is no grass, we are not crazy, we are in trouble like this, within three months I am going to die, the situation is improving, there is certainly a lot to worry about , can you go straight he didn't go straight here so he turned off then we have too much smell and soft then it's hidden cattle they're coming down here so now they're softening this place Monty hurriedly digs in the sand coming out of the The car is always risky in Botswana, the country has some of the richest biodiversity in overseas Africa, especially in the dry season, when the Okavango River floods the animals.

They converge on the delta oasis. Foreign farms have around 30 goats and 70 cows from time to time. I try. to feed that doesn't help the farmer doesn't have enough money to buy fodder every day since the beginning of the year the drought has killed about 100 animals this one is just dying of hunger because he didn't have grass to feed eat climb survive I don't know these are ours tanks that hold water yes, this is a tank for me they drink 5,000 liters a day I need to go down to the river five times to get to the food just for one day Monty survives in part thanks to the small grocery store his wife runs in the main road, but the drought has affected business there too, unfortunately foreign customers are scarce.

The stranger is completely exhausted, but he has no choice. Monty returns tirelessly to the river not knowing that wild animals have a very unpleasant surprise

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in store for him foreigner is shocked to see his herd of goats frolicking outside their enclosure look look down here that's on Sprint and Evan came here and broke this down and he put things in it is for last night this one is only in the Koran this one is not wet yet it is not food what attracted these giants Monty has nothing, but something much more precious and these trees got in his way they knocked down the streets they knocked down this elephants the elephants they just came and stood here and raised their trunk and put in the water tank and drinking water you see now it's screaming too much which means there's no water here so now they know they can drink water here and that's the problem.

What do you do when the elephant comes? When you raise the rifle, I just shoot. Upstairs, have you already killed a wild animal? We are not allowed to kill, but if he is carrying too much, then we can shoot him to kill him. Monty hopes he never has to. He relies on his DIY alarm to scare them. Unfortunately the elephants are not the only danger that threatens is that the herd dogs are here guarding this when the hyenas or the jugglers come here the dogs chase them the old man has to spend the nights outdoors it is very hard because I am alone I have to go get water from the river, come here and let the kettle drink water.

Sheep, goats. Damn, I'm tired. Encounters between man and elephant are inevitable. In Botswana, the country is home to more than 130,000 of them, representing a third of Africa's elephants. The world's largest population of pachyderms plays a vital role in the country's tourism, however, in these episodes of severe drought, food becomes scarce so these giant creatures approach villages in their fields, farmers no longer They think twice before opening fire, this elephant was the big boss. After I killed this one, those little ones in the rainy area didn't usually come, yes, the conflict between the villagers and the elephants is reaching an alarming level and this is just the beginning, the ever-increasing human population devours nature.

BEAST's territory in Botswana Travelers are very likely to come face to face with an elephant and sometimes things get ugly are members of an organization that campaigns with the government for better management of wild animals today they are visiting the scene of a serious accident an elephant has killed a man they want to know what happened but getting to the village is proving difficult we are stuck so push we have to move otherwise we are stuck and we sleep here they are stuck in the sand just a A few kilometers from the town, a man passing by immediately warns them.

Hello, we are trying to go to a place where there was an incident with an elephant, so with other people there is a bit of security, although it is not safe what you need. What you do is work work because if you don't work and it will be late, now it's almost five o'clock and if there is any life like the elephants, they start moving, there is no help, I'm not happy like sometimes you have to have a bull. elephants that are into math, you know they are ready to mate and they get angry over not small things, they get angry when they see you, they don't know what is going on, they might challenge you and start killing you.

I don't. I want to be here late so you can start going. I'll start again. We are ready? Push, let's go, it's no use, but luck is on his side, well, maybe with numbers you can push him, with the help of four more men, the journey can be resumed once. Back in the village, the man tells us that he was present on the day of the incident. He faces the place where the body was discovered. There are still elephants in the area. Foreign poaching. Lack of food and water. The increasing presence of man is disturbing. These large creatures completely lose their way and sometimes go crazy even on this path Chidi is not safe from the elephants he cannot afford a taxi he returns home on foot he has already walked six kilometers in the stifling heat but he still has eight kilometers to go crossing the ferry across the okavango river offers a respite at least as long as it doesn't break down thank you again this year the water levels are at their lowest the propellers scrape the bottom causing the engines to take their last breath the boat has gone adrift the banks Chidi is not surprised, it is not the first time this happens mm-hmm the washed fairy hands the hours pass and the anger is brewing on dry land along the queue is forming in this Now I'm supposed to return home to go and do other jobs like forging water and fetching fire.

Also, because of the ferry, we can queue for almost half a day and sometimes stay overnight. It's an inconvenience in

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work once again. The travelers have to spend the night Under the Stars early the next morning the ferry is rescued and a new one does the job The Chinese is happy, it could have been worse unfortunately faith in long-held beliefs will not coverthe taxi fare for the last eight kilometers of their trip um foreigner foreigner foreigner desert the sand The bushmen also move slowly the old 4x4 that takes them to their ancestral land constantly overheats the driver called the engine every half hour but for the old hunter his wife and his nephew no matter how long it will take them as long as they get there in the end it is um 1997 foreigner the Botswana government justifies its actions by stating that the way of life of the sand bushmen had become incompatible with the conservation of the wildlife in the savannah, we know that the real reason is in the discovery of a diamond reserve in their territory today they are confined to live Camping and hunting are prohibited today we were entering the Gathering and we used to go out and find food, so here You only eat when we have money, if you don't have money, you are always hungry.

This is the security case. He still. He does not understand why they have been prohibited from hunting. Returning to their lands, the inhabitants of the sand are defying the government and have not yet completed their trip. After two hours of walking, they have not traveled more than 35 kilometers of the total 43 and to make matters worse the engine cooler has fallen out again the bolts the bolt is out so I want to use this rope to tie it outside the car starts once again but its chances of getting there have been compromised after almost 29 hours of walking Chidi finally returns home divorced from his wife his grandmother takes care of his children abroad he will make the trip again with the same unwavering courage with the sand Bushman the trip has gotten worse I think now next week supposedly Jeff had a problem now there is a sound coming from the um this time It's not a problem with the engine cooler this breakdown is much worse foreigner foreigner has enough energy left to recover them old Hunter does not give up easily the next morning he takes his nephew to Savannah to pass on the secrets of his culture as his father with him.

The foreigner is teaching him how to catch a wild animal without having to hunt it. In just a few minutes he creates a trap that is the inhabitants of the sand. fighting to keep their tradition alive and this is not the only challenge in Botswana, another battle against global warming has begun in this country where most of the economy depends on the Okavango River, the locals fight every day Against the impossible by finding resources among themselves that nature can no longer provide foreign foreigners