Les Routes de l'impossible

In Cambodia, the people have learned to keep moving forward, come what may. Despite torrential rains, monsoon-flooded roads, and the lingering scars of the Khmer Rouge era, everyone shows great ingenuity in making a living. In Ratanakiri province, Sok Veht hauls tons of latex along tracks turned into quagmires—driving makeshift trucks that lack both cabs and windshields. On the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest lake, Samat watches the fish stocks gradually dwindle. Like millions of Cambodians, he relies on this vast freshwater expanse, which is now threatened by deforestation, overfishing, and dams built on the Mekong—including those constructed by China. While some fishermen give up, others persevere. One such man is determined to give his daughter a dream wedding—but doing so requires towing a massive, 45-meter-long floating banquet hall to the village using a rather unreliable boat.

Deep in the frozen Altai Mountains of western Mongolia, a nomadic family prepares to face the year’s most perilous challenge: a 120-kilometer migration through snow, bitter cold, and storms. To save their herds from starvation, Bazarbay, Talap, and their relatives must drive nearly 200 animals to their summer pastures. Among them is 7-year-old Daryn, embarking on his first great journey. Devastated after the sale of his beloved horse, the young boy is given a mission by his father: to look after "Doudou"—a frail young calf—and a goat about to give birth. It is a responsibility that will force him to grow up faster than expected.

In Colombia, some roads do not appear on any official map. Deep in the Amazon, tracks hacked out with chainsaws cut into the virgin forest, drawing new settlers each year who are fleeing poverty, cartels, or armed conflict. To supply these forgotten territories, Don Ever ("the Placid One"), Don Miller ("the Charmer"), and Alex ("the Artist") brave massive mud pits where a hundred-kilometer journey can take more than twenty-four hours. In the southern mountains, along steep tracks, twin brothers Emerson and Edwin operate a bus route that is vital to isolated villages. As children, they used to cross through crossfire between guerrillas and the regular army to get to school. To this day, they refuse the easy money offered by traffickers. Further north, in the lakeside village of Nueva Venecia, residents are battling an invasive plant that is choking their lagoon and threatening their only source of livelihood: fishing.

In Vanuatu, a small archipelago lost in the vastness of the Pacific, paradise comes with the taste of a daily struggle. Cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and rising sea levels constantly threaten the inhabitants of a country considered one of the most disaster-prone in the world. On the island of Malekula, Bosko and his taxi ferry farmers, the sick, goods, and schoolchildren every week through a jungle where the slightest downpour turns the roads into quagmires. The only way to reach their destination is to put the passengers to work! They push vehicles stuck in the mud, move rocks, and more—spending hours on the road to cover just a few dozen kilometers. Here, mutual aid is often the only alternative to a lack of infrastructure. On Pentecost Island, some traditions seem frozen in time.

In Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the struggle for survival often begins in childhood. On the congested streets of Dhaka, along the vast rivers of the Ganges Delta, or in the garment factories that clothe the world, millions of children work to help support their families. At just 13 years old, Sujon already drives a delivery truck through the chaos of the capital. Ten hours a day, he hauls hazardous chemicals amidst massive traffic jams. Another battle rages on the roads: drivers overtake at breakneck speed and swerve into the dust to avoid oncoming traffic. Their rule of the road often boils down to a "do-or-die" gamble. Fazlur and Imran sometimes work for more than twenty-four hours straight—a grueling race against time where every trip is a gamble. Three hundred kilometers away, 12-year-old Obaï boards a giant raft made of 5,300 bamboo poles with his uncle Sadek.