[MUSIC PLAYING]
IAN COX: As Americans, we put a lot of stake in how we're
all about the frontier, and have the frontier spirit.
All that kind of stuff is in the history books now.
But I think there is a group of individuals in America, and
they still have that innate sense of going somewhere where
it's a bit rough and making a go of it.
And that's what I'm doing.
Where else better to bust out than in Africa?
It has incredible potential.
It's relatively untouched.
Just look at South Sudan.
A country the size of Texas has literally less than 200
kilometers of pavement.
Virgin territory.
So yeah.
Africa is the last wild west.
TIM FRECCIA: My name's Tim Freccia.
I'm an Africa-based documentary
photographer and filmmaker.
I've been working in Africa for about 25 years, covering
conflict and crisis.
While the US economy is headed south, I've been on this side,
watching as young Americans come to Africa
to seek their fortune.
When I first met Ian Cox, he was a small [INAUDIBLE]
hustler operating out of Rumbek in Sudan.
IAN COX: For about three or four years, I had an
electronics shop in the middle of South Sudan.
A place called Rumbek, probably the shittiest place
in the world to do business.
TIM FRECCIA: I've watched him develop from selling CD
players to the natives into a major player.
IAN COX: So it'll be 2,500, right?
IAN COX: That's the standard rate?
IAN COX: Because I think I even got a quotation--
IAN COX: I got a quotation, not from her, though.
IAN COX: Yes.
So two different people gave me that same price.
-2,500.
IAN COX: Yes.
-I can show you this.
IAN COX: My friend Tim had a Land Cruiser in Juba that he
needed to sell.
And with my mailing list, I advertised it and sold it.
And then from there, one of the biggest armed security
companies in South Sudan contacted me to provide 11 new
Land Cruisers for a project they were just starting.
Which I did, and then it's flowed on from there.
TIM FRECCIA: Ian had been contacted by a company that
had just landed a big de-mining contract in South
Sudan for the United Nations.
After decades of [INAUDIBLE] in the mostly Arab Muslim
north and mostly black Christian south, in 2005 the
Bush administration successfully brokered an
agreement ending the major conflict and creating
separation and autonomy for the south.
This led to a referendum in 2010, and independence for
South Sudan in 2011.
Despite its new status as a nation, South Sudan is still
considered by some to be part of Sudan, which has long been
on an embargo list for state-sponsored terrorism.
IAN COX: Even though it's no longer part of Sudan?
TIM FRECCIA: This embargo makes it nearly impossible to
import anything that could be considered military equipment,
even though its subcontracting to the UN.
This is where Ian's years of experience navigating the
murky political and social waters of
Africa comes into play.
IAN COX: OK.
All right.
So basically, this shouldn't be an issue.
TIM FRECCIA: He's been contracted to move a convoy of
military-grade vehicles from South Africa to South Sudan
across seven countries in 30 days.
IAN COX: On the 10th of December, they said, please
get down to Joburg.
The trucks are ready to roll, and we need to get this thing
on the road and try to get it done in three weeks.
We should be planning to move off to Johannesburg, let's say
tomorrow morning.
JARED BUSL: I'm working one day down in the Mara.
I get this call from Ian Cox.
And he's like, dude, we're getting ready to do this
wicked awesome road trip from South Africa to Sudan.
You in, man?
Can you drive a big truck?
And I said I can do it.
I'm your man.
[MUSIC - GUITAR RED, "BOX CAR NO.
9"]
JARED BUSL: When you're in the right wing, you're in the
right thing.
TIM FRECCIA: Jared's a good-natured redneck raised in
Tanzania by missionaries.
Despite his upbringing, he seems like an old-fashioned
southern hick to me.
JARED BUSL: Romney should be president.
IAN COX: Really?
JARED BUSL: Actually, actually I take that back.
We need to bring back Bush.
Me and Tim and Ian jump on a plane to Joburg and start
looking at the equipment we're supposed to take to Sudan.
[MUSIC - GUITAR RED, "BOX CAR NO.
9"]
TIM FRECCIA: They'd bought trucks sight unseen from a guy
in South Africa.
The guy assures TDI that the trucks are in good shape and
ready to roll.
JARED BUSL: It was kind of scary.
It wasn't really what we're expecting.
The equipment, the trucks were in pretty shoddy condition.
JARED BUSL: Yai yai yai!
We'll be doing some work on that exhaust pipe right there.
You can sure tell this thing has done
its time in the trenches.
IAN COX: Yeah.
JARED BUSL: I'm going to have to baby
this thing up to Sudan.
Good thing I brought my toolbox.
Well, we need to put some tread on this thing if we're
going to be able to get up to Sudan with it.
There's just no way around it.
IAN COX: Paperwork wasn't ready.
Trucks were in an atrocious state.
JARED BUSL: Up to Juba, I think realistically you're
looking at a month, minimum.
And that's with trucks running good and not spending more
than a few days at each border.
IAN COX: Yeah.
My gut feeling is these two trucks are
going to cause an issue.
TIM FRECCIA: Jared only has three weeks until he has to
leave for another job, so it's essential that we
get on the road ASAP.
CLINT MANCEFIELD: Hello, hello, hello.
JARED BUSL: How are things?
CLINT MANCEFIELD: How're you doing?
JARED BUSL: Good.
CLINT MANCEFIELD: Good.
IAN COX: Morning, Clint.
TIM FRECCIA: We finally meet Clint, the sleazy used truck
salesman who's supplying TDI with the
vehicles for the convoy.
He told them the trucks were ready, but
they clearly aren't.
CLINT MANCEFIELD: As far as I can get it, they booked it in
for Tuesday morning to go.
IAN COX: Tuesday?
CLINT MANCEFIELD: Yeah.
Your man is on it.
IAN COX: Fine.
But Tuesday, we were talking about--
CLINT MANCEFIELD: They won't do it sooner that day.
IAN COX: I've come down, and I wouldn't have brought Jared
down a week in advance and paying his salary as a
driver unless I--
CLINT MANCEFIELD: I'm done paying you for time.
IAN COX: I've been here since Monday.
You know?
CLINT MANCEFIELD: Fair enough.
Yeah.
IAN COX: Clint is telling me Tuesday
afternoon's the earliest.
I'm going to put pressure on Clint.
You put pressure on Clint to see if it can happen.
TIM FRECCIA: With Christmas rapidly approaching, Clint
disappears on us, and we're left to manage repairs with
his mechanics.
IAN COX: We're going to fucking be here
for Christmas now.
It could be worse, but I want to get this show on the
fucking road.
IAN COX: You'll put today?
-Yeah.
I'm going to.
IAN COX: OK.
All right.
JARED BUSL: This thing is a pain in the ass
to accelerate with.
It's like you have to stand on the
accelerator to go anywhere.
It's so stuck up.
[LAUGHING]
JARED BUSL: This is insane, dude.
The delays we're experiencing are just crazy.
It looks like we're not going to even be headed out to the
border until Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
That puts a big hurting on us as far as timelines go.
TIM FRECCIA: Meanwhile, Ian has money
issues with his client.
He's going out-of-pocket.
IAN COX: They haven't actually paid me any payment on any of
these movements for this convoy.
Which shouldn't be a problem.
They just need to do it today.
I'm down here.
Sure it's disappointing.
I arrive with a driver, and if a driver has to wait two,
three days, not such an issue.
And I'm also doing what I feel is probably a little bit of
extra run around and work and pressurizing and being your
eye on the ground.
That's not really part of what I'm quote "supposed to be
doing." And it's not like I'm going to sit here and say,
hey, you, I need a bunch of extra money.
But I think it'd be fair if I can at least cover my extra
living expenses and at least my--
TIM FRECCIA: On New Year's Day, the timeline is
completely shot.
We should have been in Juba by now.
Still no money, and now we've lost Jared.
IAN COX: So long story short, we spent a month in Joburg.
My initial driver had to fly back because of timing.
So I brought in another driver from the States who came
highly recommended by Jared.
We'd love to have you.
The catch is I need you here on the ground in Johannesburg
by Wednesday.
RAY SINES: All right.
Sounds good.
I am very excited and look forward to making this happen.
Yo, this thing smells.
I think this thing'll work.
I don't know.
I heard rumors.
Jared said it was a biohazard.
That's OK.
I drink the water straight out of the rivers in Appalachia.
I haven't gotten sick from that.
I won't get sick from a mattress, I bet.
IAN COX: Final paperwork for the final vehicle didn't come
through until a month after they said it would be ready.
TIM FRECCIA: And we're free to hit the road.
RAY SINES: Start it up, get on the road here, and finally
move out of Joburg.
It's the day.
Today is the day.
TIM FRECCIA: Problems arise before we're even across.
IAN COX: What do you think I should do?
Should I tell them the hard reality about this trailer?
These stands being less than 2 inches off the ground.
We're going to South Sudan like that.
RAY SINES: From what I've seen with the weight of this dozer
on this trailer and driving yesterday, empty, the brakes
yesterday were barely good enough to call acceptable for
running empty.
With this much weight on it, this is going to
be a sketchy ride.
These brakes are not going to cut it.
All right.
TIM FRECCIA: We cut the trailer's stands down to make
sure they don't drag, and press on towards South Sudan
with a new harsh deadline of January 31.
Ian's still waiting for his money, and we have more than
5,000 kilometers of Africa to cross in less than 30 days.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
IAN COX: We're in Lusaka, Zambia with the last truck and
the shittiest truck.
Some old South African-built Nissan that's been in an
accident before.
It's full of fiberglass and Bondo and shit.
And there's also no wipers and no horn, which need to get
fixed before we get to Tanzania.
Because Tanzania traffic cops have nice, perky white hats,
and they're fucking on-point and don't let
anything get past.
IAN COX: [INAUDIBLE].
OK.
We're going to get fuel.
He's going to go with you off to border.
Me, I have to go one night Nairobi, come back, then I
come behind.
We're supposed to go be as a convoy.
I'm supposed to be managing it hands-on
throughout the entire thing.
I never really got to properly be with the convoy.
TIM FRECCIA: Ian's other business calls, and he leaves
the convoy, leaving me to wrangle the
drivers and the borders.
The driver we all ended up calling Mongo drew the short
straw and had to drive the crappy tanker.
I arrive [INAUDIBLE]
in Zambia to the Tanzanian border.
In addition to the usual breakdowns, [INAUDIBLE]
we don't have enough fuel.
I assure him that we do.
I meet up with Ray in the scummy border town of Tunduma.
He's been stuck there for five days.
RAY SINES: Right now we're on the
Tanzania side of the border.
Truck's impounded.
We've got a $2,000 fine.
3.3 million Tanzanian shillings.
We've got our clearing agent scrambling.
We've offered him a hefty sum if he can get this sorted out
today and we can get back on the road.
It's the length.
ALEX: Length.
RAY SINES: The length.
Not the height but the length.
From the front of the truck to the rear of the trailer.
They say it's only 17 meters, but it's 18.7.
ALEX: I has to be 17?
RAY SINES: It has to be 17.
Law says 17.
ALEX: 17.
RAY SINES: If it's greater than 17, it needs a special
permit from Dar es Salaam.
TIM FRECCIA: Still out-of-pocket, Ian wires money
for the fine and the permit, while Alex assures us that the
necessary documents will be processed, putting us back on
the road tomorrow.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
TIM FRECCIA: Alex returns with bad news.
RAY SINES: So you're telling me there's no one there today,
no one there tomorrow, no one there Sunday.
It has to be in South Sudan January 30.
Today is the 25th.
That's five days.
We wait Saturday, Sunday, that leaves me three days to go
from here to South Sudan.
It's not possible.
RAY SINES: I'm trying to get this permit.
-Yeah.
OK, good.
RAY SINES: But no one is helping me.
They say the office in Dar es Salaam is closed.
RAY SINES: Today's the holiday.
They say tomorrow it's closed.
RAY SINES: They say Sunday it's closed.
RAY SINES: And that's why I'm here.
I'm asking you, do you know anybody who can help this?
TIM FRECCIA: No luck.
We'll have to wait out the next few days in Tanzania and
hope to make up time on the road.
RAY SINES: My confidence was very shaky at that point.
And being on my own and realizing,
yeah, I am on my own.
I'm going to be on my own this whole journey.
It's time for me to own up to it and just do it.
Alex.
This is Ray.
Do you have the permit?
Do you have the document?
When will I have the document?
Are you saying 30 minutes?
Are you saying one hour?
Tell me the truth.
OK.
Well, I expect a call from you in 30 minutes.
This is ridiculous.
This guy doesn't have a clue what he's doing, and he's
jerking us around trying to get us for more money.
He's got our permit, but it's just a scan.
Take it over there.
The guy looks it over.
No issues there.
Stamps it, signs it off.
But here's the issue.
If it's only good for this weighbridge.
Each weighbridge you're supposed to leave a copy with.
We've got six more to go through.
I guess Alex has this guy coming from Dar es Salaam,
driving through the night, that has the original.
So let's go.
TIM FRECCIA: What's the guy's name?
RAY SINES: What's the guy's name?
ALEX: You don't know.
You still don't know.
RAY SINES: Looks like we're rolling.
Going to get out of Tunduma here.
Just over 3,000 kilometers.
Have another 2,500, maybe 3,000 kilometers to go before
we reach South Sudan.
We started just pushing it.
Covering good mileage.
RAY SINES: And in doing so, you're on narrow roads and
you've just got to roll with it.
RAY SINES: I was told no escort required.
RAY SINES: Because it's only long, it's not wide or tall.
RAY SINES: Thank you.
TIM FRECCIA: What would take maybe five days at most in the
US ends up taking weeks in Africa, where we experience a
police checkpoint every 50 kilometers or so.
RAY SINES: Juba.
RAY SINES: Why not?
TIM FRECCIA: Alex's courier finally catches up with the
original permit and the rest of the documents.
RAY SINES: OK.
I'll see you when you get here.
Very good.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
TIM FRECCIA: Along with the continuous police stops, we
witnessed a steady stream of truck wrecks.
Most of them flipped over, and many clearly fatal.
RAY SINES: If you don't know how to think outside the box,
if you don't know how to remedy something, even if it's
with bailing wire, duct tape, or zip ties, you're screwed.
Africa has rough roads.
It's not the easiest terrain.
And you don't have a mechanic every couple kilometers
that'll hook you up.
You've just got to do it yourself.
Front dip on the two drive axles has gotten really hot.
We've had a slight leak the whole way.
See that it's smoking.
We'll have to let it cool down for an hour or two.
Juakali.
That's the only way to survive in Africa
when driving a vehicle.
TIM FRECCIA: "Juakali" is Swahili for shade-tree
mechanics, an old-fashioned American concept.
RAY SINES: Stop!
TIM FRECCIA: Do whatever it takes to keep it rolling.
RAY SINES: Running down muddy African roads,
we've lost our exhaust.
So now we've put it back on.
We should be good to go.
We've had an oil leak on this truck ever since we started,
and now I'm really hating it.
Loose universal joints, oil leaks, a differential that was
on its last leg.
You want a truck in Africa, you've got to stand tall.
You've got to bring your A game.
You've got to fight for it.
You've got to know how to haggle.
You've got to know how to push.
You've got to know how to get a fair price.
RAY SINES: Man.
It was a struggle to keep it going.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
TIM FRECCIA: With our second deadline nearly blown and over
500 kilometers to go, Ian still hasn't been paid, so he
uses this as leverage and holds the
convoy hostage in Kampala.
IAN COX: I had to play hardball at one point with the
client because they owed us a ton of money for drivers'
wages, accommodation, and all our expenses.
So I just had to tell them, listen, we're not going to
move any further until we get that money paid in today.
And they were a bit uppity on that, but they paid by the end
of the day.
So we kept moving.
RAY SINES: You have a chicken.
-Yes.
RAY SINES: You've got bananas.
-Yes.
RAY SINES: Very good.
TIM FRECCIA: Meanwhile, we discovered the reason our pal
Mongo's been having problems with fuel is because he's been
selling it from his tank to the locals along the route for
extra cash.
Luckily, Ian's able to get Jared back for the remainder
of the trip.
RAY SINES: It's good to see you, man.
JARED BUSL: Looks like you've been having some chaos.
RAY SINES: Oh, yeah.
Good chaos.
JARED BUSL: I'm glad to join back up with you guys again.
RAY SINES: Jared shows, guy I was supposed to spend the
whole time on the road with, but hadn't
seen him yet in Africa.
TIM FRECCIA: Mongo gets fired.
And as the day wears on, we make repairs to the beater
that Jared has inherited.
TIM FRECCIA: With roughly another 600 kilometers to go
and a week behind schedule, we get some much-needed sleep and
hit the road at 3:00 AM the next day, on the last stretch
for South Sudan.
-Whoa!
[HONK]
[CRASHING SOUNDS]
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
JARED BUSL: This Toyota truck just barrels full-speed into
the back of Ray's trailer.
Thing was flying like a bat out of hell.
RAY SINES: Out of the middle of nowhere, just full speed
ahead, slammed into the back.
RAY SINES: You're lucky to be alive.
JARED BUSL: The driver of the truck that hit Ray was drunk.
He was stumbling around with the smell of alcohol on his
breath, liquor bottles falling out of his truck.
So we told the police, hey, this guy's drunk.
You might want to do something about it.
He's kind of a hazard.
-Yeah, [INAUDIBLE].
RAY SINES: So he's free to go?
The drunken driver of the guy that hit us is free to go.
But you're going to take us to the station.
-Together we leave.
But of course, [INAUDIBLE].
JARED BUSL: This guy should have received a few
consequences for his actions.
And they're like, oh, no, no, we're going to release him for
now and we'll investigate it later.
RAY SINES: I'd like to have him tested for alcohol now,
while he's still drunk.
-The machines are in the office there.
RAY SINES: But you understand the longer you wait to test
him, the more sober he becomes.
-We have good machines nowadays.
They're very [INAUDIBLE].
JARED BUSL: Getting drug off to the police station, and
that was a circus.
Wow.
We go in there, and automatically the police start
making up their own version of what happened.
Even though they weren't even there.
We're not really that worried about it, because all
throughout the police station, there's these huge bundles of
police statements that they scribbled out a statement on
this piece of paper.
And it goes into a stack just around the police station,
like old tombs.
And there's like ancient dust sitting on top of all of them.
RAY SINES: How are you?
-Hello.
RAY SINES: You're walking in the water.
-[INAUDIBLE].
RAY SINES: No, no, it's OK.
-Yes.
You did good.
RAY SINES: No.
TIM FRECCIA: [LAUGHS]
RAY SINES: No, no, no.
I am being lifted by this--
It's OK.
I think his ears are cold.
No, no.
-[INAUDIBLE].
RAY SINES: I told that guy that victory belongs to the
Lord, and he starts picking me up like I'm
his Christ or something.
JARED BUSL: Fortunately, there was a break in the firestorm.
We get the license back, and we don't hesitate.
We are out the door, in the trucks, and out of there
before these guys get a chance to change their mind or come
up with anything else.
RAY SINES: I'm technically in a gray area as far as the
court system and what will actually happen to me and what
record there is in Uganda of that incident.
There ain't no doubt in my mind from dealing with that
accident, now I'm in heavy traffic.
You got guys up here on bodas falling over sideways because
they can't keep their shit together.
And my truck's on the verge of catastrophic failure.
It's been one hell of a day.
TIA.
[MUSIC - GREG REEVES, "DIRT ROAD STOMP"]
TIM FRECCIA: Just over [INAUDIBLE], we stop for a
bite to eat.
While assessing both rigs, we find a massive leak.
RAY SINES: The front axle, it's sprung a
pretty hefty leak.
TIM FRECCIA: We powwow and call Ian to give him an update
and options.
JARED BUSL: --these trucks are hanging on a thread.
The next thing they're going to need is a tow truck.
Last night, we put in 10 liters and went 200
kilometers, and it was like it got showered in
gear oil under there.
We can keep always adding, it just costs money.
Let me talk it over with the guys, and get
their opinion on that.
RAY SINES: We could always get a drum of oil and just mount
it on top of the trailer with a hose in there, and just let
it slowly feed into the dif as we're going down the road.
JARED BUSL: You mean like an IV?
RAY SINES: Like an IV!
JARED BUSL: I have heard from sources that bananas are a--
RAY SINES: No, no!
Bananas?
JARED BUSL: Bananas are a good remedy for jacked-up difs.
It works as a grease.
RAY SINES: How long have you been in Africa, Jared?
Because I think you're turning into an African.
Stuffing bananas into differentials for lubrication.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
RAY SINES: Yeah.
JARED BUSL: OK.
RAY SINES: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20.
TIM FRECCIA: Do you know where we can get bananas?
RAY SINES: He's a good guy.
All I want is bananas.
Can I get all of them?
RAY SINES: You're trying to cheat me first.
That is your mistake.
JARED BUSL: So this right here is a good example.
This dif right here on this guy's rig.
What happens when your dif starts going out and you don't
put bananas in it.
This dif is shot.
You can see all the teeth are busted off.
You don't want to end up like this guy, out in
the middle of nowhere.
This guy's pretty much SOL.
RAY SINES: Good idea Jared brought up.
TIM FRECCIA: After a long day of making deals with swindling
banana brokers in the hot Sudanese sun, we hop on
motorbikes and go for a fishing
expedition on the Nile.
JARED BUSL: For the most part, countries in Africa, people
are pretty friendly.
Always eager to make friends with you and to be hospitable.
TIM FRECCIA: I think she thinks you're going to be
lucky if you get one.
JARED BUSL: South Sudan's a whole different story.
TIM FRECCIA: Hmm?
Yeah.
-[INAUDIBLE].
TIM FRECCIA: Unhappy?
RAY SINES: OK.
Tell them if we catch the fish, we'll give them.
We don't want to keep it.
TIM FRECCIA: We were told by the commander in Nimule--
Arrop.
RAY SINES: Arrop.
TIM FRECCIA: Yeah.
That it's OK.
We can go and--
TIM FRECCIA: I know.
I know.
But he's the big man.
-Arrop.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
JARED BUSL: We are aliles.
George Bush was the best friend of your late leader.
-We understand.
JARED BUSL: Before you know it, we're surrounded by a
bunch of these Dinkas that are like, hey, check
out the white boys.
Let's see if we can push them around a little and see what
we can get from them.
They threatened to kill us, tie us down.
RAY SINES: There was a couple of AK-47s present.
Guys telling us that if they wanted to, they could
definitely injure us if not kill us, telling us that we
shouldn't be in their country.
-Hey, hey, hey.
TIM FRECCIA: With the situation rapidly
deteriorating, I make a call to a Sudanese military friend
and it cools down.
They finally agree to let us leave.
RAY SINES: This may be Africa, but it smacks a lot of the
wild west, the era of cowboys.
And I kind of feel like a cowboy, just riding on, doing
my own thing.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JARED BUSL: All right.
RAY SINES: I think this next part of the journey, it's time
for me to bring out my spurs, kick this
buffalo into high gear.
It's been a long trip.
I've been dealing with grease, dirt, sweat.
Not hot showers every night.
This is Africa, and the load goes forward.
We keep moving.
TIM FRECCIA: One last stop for some juakali banana bush
mechanics, and we approach the final stretch of our journey.
After nearly two months on the road and more than 5,000
kilometers later, we park the trucks and hand the keys over
to the client.
RAY SINES: It's been 55 days of interesting travel.
It's been hell.
I don't think there's been any heaven, but it's over now.
The final highlight, actually reaching Juba, the final
destination.
JARED BUSL: Looks like this is the end of
the road for us today.
Trucks will be here until they get cleared into Juba.
Who knows how long that'll take.
And then should be free to move back to Kenya today.
Pretty excited.
My next move is set to move up to Northeastern Kenya, near
this refugee camp.
There's a million refugees scrambling for clean water.
The water they do have is contaminated by animals or
sewer or waste.
I've got a real burden to go up there and help these people
that are suffering.
TIM FRECCIA: After witnessing decades of conflict and crisis
in Africa, it's refreshing to me to see a new breed of
American workers striking out to find their fortunes in this
last wild west.
But there's an abundance of land and resources here, and
despite a lot of corruption and red tape, a lot of
opportunity.
IAN COX: It's rough, and there's a lot of bullshit we
have to deal with in this kind of business and in the places
we operate.
But the rewards can be fun and
heartbreaking at the same time.
TIM FRECCIA: In comparison to what little America has to
offer young entrepreneurs, with the right kind of
determination, there's plenty of adventure and ultimately
money for America's new [INAUDIBLE].
IAN COX: So yeah.
Africa is the last wild west.
It's virgin territory.
[MUSIC PLAYING]