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Benin: Cotton At All Costs | Deadliest Journeys
00:00 In northern Benin, each year from October to January, DRAMANE and ZACHARI, drivers of rattling trucks survive only to the rhythm of the cotton harvest.
03:06 Like them, hundreds of drivers are trying to profit from this white gold which represents nearly 40% of BENIN's exports to rich countries.
But in this very poor country, the cultivation of cotton dramatically impoverishes the soils of the countryside ... Because the immaculate flower requires astronomical quantities of water to grow ... water which in Benin is sorely lacking.
12:50 In the fields, everyone participates in the cotton harvest
16:50 But in some fields, the workers go on strike because of the lack of water
20:20 Due to the long journeys to the swamp, the women find it difficult to find time to prepare food
22:45 When they are late, drivers can hardly take breaks.
27:50 Accidents threaten passengers, goods, but also other travelers.
30:11 The poorest are forced to work in the quarries.
32:20 In Benin, the practice of the voodoo religion is very common.
35:33 Launched at full speed, the pilots are very dangerous for pedestrians and two-wheelers.
40:30 Arrived late at the factory, drivers still have to wait for their shipments to be accepted by the factory
42:35 Due to accidents, breakdowns and traffic jams, drivers often arrive late, reducing their wages
46:42 In this painful context, Zachari and Dramane fight to survive. Even if the meager wages force the drivers to live off small businesses, they are not the most to be pitied, unlike those they meet on the road: the farmers and their children who work only to survive, the women who break stones under the scorching sun or the dockers who are paid twenty cents to carry a 200 kilo bale of cotton.
Published Oct 27, 2020
