Documentary

Right through Africa

After five years in Turkey, Bram Vermeulen is back at his post in Africa. Familiar territory, because between 2001 and 2009 he traveled extensively on this continent as a correspondent. The countries he visited have now changed drastically. Africa is booming, they say. But what does that mean? And what are the consequences for the people Vermeulen met and left behind at the time?

In nine episodes, Bram Vermeulen travels through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola and investigates the changes. He travels by train, moped and Rolls Royce, meets miners, farmers and wealthy oil barons and rediscovers the southern tip of the continent.

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Created By

Status

Returning Series

Original Name

Dwars door Afrika

First Air Date

September 3, 2014

Last Air Date

July 1, 2016

Seasons

1

Episodes

9

Language

—

Production Companies

VPRO

Networks

The hole of Mongu
S01E09

The hole of Mongu

In Zambia, many years of Dutch development aid have yielded precious little, Bram Vermeulen discovers. Are the Chinese doing better now, under the motto 'trade, not aid'? Mongu, an area in the far west of Zambia, was called the thirteenth province of our country. From the 1970s onwards, it was teeming with Dutch development workers who wanted to bring civilization to this wet, flat area. For example, by dredging a canal, a job worth tens of millions of euros. That would make shipping possible and thus boost the entire economy. Bram Vermeulen looks at what happened with former development worker René Lourens. Not much, as it soon becomes apparent. Aid has dried up and instead of an embassy with 45 people, the Netherlands only has a small consulate with three employees in Zambia. In Mongu, people regret the end of Dutch aid.

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