The extraordinary story of an undercover migrant and his ‘secret spectacles’.
When Azeteng, a young man from rural Ghana, heard stories on the radio of West African migrants dying on their way to Europe, he felt compelled to act. He took what little savings he had and bought glasses with a hidden camera – his ‘secret spectacles.’
Then he put himself in the hands of people smugglers and travelled 3,000 miles on the desert migrant trail north, aiming to document the crimes of the traffickers. Along the way he saw extortion, slavery, and death in the vast stretches of the Sahara.
Reporter Joel Gunter tells the story of his journey – a journey that thousands of young Africans like him attempt each year.
Producer: Josephine Casserly
CLIP 1 – 01:08 – Azeteng describes his pictures of a migrant ghetto house in Mali
Info for cue: Azateng travelled North from Ghana up to Mali and eventually arrived in the city of Gao a human trafficking hub in the North East of the country….
Bus loads of migrants arrive here from across West Africa and are met by smugglers and traffickers, who hustle for business …
Azeteng already had the name of a smuggling boss.
19:30 the main boss of the traffickers in Mali… musa sangarie that’s his name // I have the details here
You kept records of everybody’s names and numbers?
Yes
Azeteng began keeping meticulous records of the traffickers he came in contact with and recording all his calls
PHONE CALL RECORDING 4.Answer.40secs_20170417162835 hello, hello good afternoon <dip>
He called one of Moussa Sangare’s men as soon he was at the trafficker’s migrant house
Weds int 5 04:40 This is a still photo from my spy camera glasses at gao
This is what conditions were like with bare walls and floors with writing all over them
Most of the buildings migrants will write their names, nicknames on the walls
Mon int 1 How many migrants in there?
There were more than 450 migrants
More than 450 migrants??
Yeah
CLIP 2 – 01:01 – Azateng describes the migrants entering the desert for the first time on their way to Europe
Info for cue: Azateng paid the 400 dollar fee for the desert journey and he and the other migrants were loaded into aging military trucks
In my truck we were 75 ppl including 2 nigerians females…
V crowd, you had to sit like this all by legs and arms
With legs and arms around body, very tight?
And I also wanted to sit to have an angle so that if I take a video of that is going on [laughs]
<Truck and music FX>
What you’re hearing is footage from Azeteng’s spy glasses, from the truck
01:50 they were so happy that wow, // today we are going to Algeria… so they started communicating <fade into FX>
<Truck and music FX>
03:13 they were playing music with their phones, dancing jubilating Mon 3 6:40 At that point they didn’t know what was in store for them.
CLIP 3 – TOTAL DURATION 01:10 – OPTION TO CUT OUT AT 00:50 – Azateng films traffickers at waystation on the migrant trail in Mali
Info for cue: Azateng and the other migrants were taken to ElKhalil, a brutal waystation in the middle of the Sahara desert… this is deep in rebel-controlled Mali, and area that journalists and humanitarian agencies do not have access to…
Azeteng filmed as the migrants were packed into small stone buildings and ordered to stay inside.
<FX vid migrants talking>
Tues int 1 05:30 they can’t go out and as they’re lying there, they’ve not eaten the whole day…
Tues int 1 07:12 what was the heat like
<Sigh> the heat, you can’t even stand in the sun for one minute if you just pour water on your skin within some few seconds it dries off – and then my lips, all the migrants… everybody lips were cracked
<FX vid migrants shouting>
FX footsteps
In El Khalil, the migrants survived mostly on biscuits and water, which was constantly hot from the sun. Azeteng offered to do chores for the traffickers so he could film them working
<atmos traffickers talking in French… HD7 >
He filmed them, up close, calling migrants’ families to extort more money
NOTE: OPTION TO CUT OUT HERE
Tues int 3 22:00 How worried were you that your secret camera would be discovered
<SIGH> I was sometimes panicked because my spectacle could be // stolen from be by the asawad rebels so whenever I finish filming, I remove the memory, put it in my mouth//
even if I’m sleeping it’s in my mouth
CLIP 4 – 00:58 – Azateng describes his escape from the traffickers
Info for cue: Azateng escaped from the hands of the traffickers in the dead of night and ended up stranded in the middle of the desert…
Azeteng was now alone in the pitch-dark desert … and fear began to set in. Fear of scorpions, fear of thirst, fear of ghosts
38:30 I heard voices at my back but when I turned no body was there.
MUSIC – Sanndscape (brought up v slowly) – or something else with drones…
23:08 – I told myself what is this? Are they ghosts or what? 37:32 is it dead bodies of some of the migrants who died on the desert of evil spirits or what I don’t know or someone wants to take my life, I don’t know…
MUSIC
24:44 I started praying and reciting me rosary “hail mary full of grace the Lord is with thee, Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” so I prayed and I knelt down I did a sign of cross and I stood up I didn’t hear any noise again
