Name: Ondersteboven van Afrika
Released: 2020-10-18T00:00:00.000Z
Cast: Waldemar Torenstra

Waldemar starts his journey through Africa in Cape Town. He delves into the history of South Africa and discovers that the role the Dutch played there may be different than what we learn at school in the Netherlands. He meets black, colored and white Africans and hears the different visions of what the 'rainbow nation' South Africa should become. Will they be able to work it out together? And to move beyond their own origins? And also about 'your white guilt', as Waldemar himself is told? He finds out that riding a motorcycle in these parts is not easy when he has a hard crash. And then they have to travel another 16,000 kilometers to Cairo.

Waldemar and his team go on a search for the ancient inhabitants of Africa: the San. He reflects on an unknown but painful genocide story, in which the Herero tribe was largely killed by German colonists more than a century ago. Waldemar and his camera and sound man drive through a bone-dry Namibia, toiling on their motorcycles through the loose sand, with regular falls and breakdowns. We also see what the San do to maintain their culture in modern Africa.

Botswana has overwhelming nature, with a surplus of elephants. They are shot by farmers because they enter human habitats and destroy crops. Waldemar and his team witness how people struggle to find balance: prosperity for the farmers, but also a safe living environment for the elephants. In addition, Botswana is one of the few well-functioning democracies in Africa, based on a centuries-old system: the Kgotla, in which all people have a voice and the village elders are the representatives in the government.

During the Berlin Conference in 1885, power in Africa was divided among European countries. Boundaries were drawn with straight lines, tearing peoples apart. The goal was for the colonial countries to obtain as many raw materials as possible. Although Waldemar and his team see that there is progress, copper is still exported from Zambia. They meet the Ngoni tribe, who face the confusion of modern times with traditional rituals and ancient dances.

Waldemar meets albino musician Lazarus. He gained worldwide fame when Madonna produced a film about him. Myths still exist in Malawi. Eating albino body parts could give special powers. As a result, albinos live in uncertainty. The role of God is important because missionaries brought Christianity to Africa during colonialism. Today, a hybrid with traditional culture has emerged, in which singing and dancing in church are accepted.

We mainly know Rwanda from the genocide in the 1990s. It is also one of the most modern countries in Africa. While the economy is doing well, there are also rumors about human rights violations and censorship. Waldemar is confronted with the distorted image we have of the Rwandans, but also how he is viewed as a white man. He visits the Ba'twa, a mountain tribe of small people, who have been deprived of access to the nature park to make way for the mountain gorillas, which mainly attract white tourists with a lot of money.

After a long preparation, there is the green light to cross the border with South Sudan. During the filming, a civil war is still raging. Waldemar goes in search of the mythical cow herders, who traditionally travel with their thousands of cows. In many parts of Africa the cow is sacred and protected for life. Unfortunately, with the advent of weapons, there are more and more bloody conflicts surrounding cows, if only because in these regions the cow is still seen as the most precious possession and also your bank. In Northern Uganda, Waldemar meets Father Raphael, who tries to create peace as a peace negotiator.

Waldemar and his team visit the largest Western-established Kakuma refugee camp in Northern Kenya. From Kenya we travel into green, hilly Ethiopia, where the team ends up in the middle of the grand religious Timkat Festival. Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that has never been colonized. Is it very different here than in the rest of the continent? We see many companies from Europe and China lured by tax breaks. We end in Sudan, where Waldemar is told that the Nubian empire along the Nile must have been at least as large as that of the Egyptians, with pyramids and tombs.