RTDocumentary

The world’s most densely populated island #video#Africa Could you imagine living on an island roughly the size of a football pitch with several hundred other people? That’s what life is like on tiny Migingo in Lake Victoria. Metal shacks cover the tiny island, making it look like an iron-plated turtle. It has everything any normal town has: shops, cafes, brothels, a port, a church, and even a hotel for the occasional tourist. Although there are bigger islands a stone’s throw away, locals don’t rush to populate them, as they believe they are inhabited by evil spirits. Still, why would you want live like sardines packed into a tiny island? The waters surrounding it are rich with fish, so Kenyan and Ugandan fishermen remain on Migingo to fill their nets. Although Kenya and Uganda both claim jurisdiction over the island, the locals don’t care who owns it, as far as there are fish to catch. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentaryк

Trading daughters for cows in Africa 🐄 #video#Africa What does an engagement party look like in rural Tanzania? Men gather to negotiate the dowry, and it will be paid in cows! She's young and uneducated? Take 15 cows, but if your daughter is already 13 and likes going to school? 'You'll get no more than 5! They say here that cows are more valuable than daughters, because unlike girls, cows stay with the family. Educated girls are not in demand, because, ‘they want a say in everything’. It is against the law to marry off underage girls and any father caught doing so could face up to 30 years in prison. Even so, child marriage is still commonplace in much of Tanzania. Kristina was married off at 13, but luckily, she was rescued. Her father escaped jail time, but she says he was still very upset about having to give the cows back. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

What do baby elephants dream about? 🐘💤 #video#Africa Little Limpopo is like a human baby! He has to be bottle-fed, sung a lullaby to, covered with a blanket and patted before going to sleep. What a cool job his nanny has! Limpopo is an orphaned baby elephant. He lives in a special elephant nursery in Zimbabwe, where one family of conservation enthusiasts take care of orphaned infants. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

World’s largest e-waste dump #video#Africa Agbogbloshie is one of those places you’d never want to visit. Ever. It’s where your previous generation iPhone goes after Apple presents the new one. Electronic goods containing toxic chemicals are supposed to be recycled properly. However, it’s too expensive and used electronics are mostly disposed of in places like Agbogbloshie. Tonnes of e-waste from Western countries and Asia are delivered to the former wetland near Ghana’s capital Accra. The e-waste doesn’t just lay there, some 80,000 locals work here day and night, collecting scrap metal. They call it Sodom and Gomorrah that feeds and kills them. They can earn $3-5 a day for one meal a day, but the terrible air pollution makes it very dangerous. Emmanuel is one of the metal scrappers at Agbogbloshie. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Tanzanian 'ghosts' #video#Africa Being an albino in Tanzania (and a few other African countries) is very dangerous. Not because it's sunny all the time and UV radiation is bad for people with this condition. But instead, albinos are hunted down and hacked for body parts by witch doctors. These traditional healers stoke a superstition that people with albinism don't die and their bodies possess magical properties. They cut their limbs and drain their blood to use in potions and make amulets. The old beliefs are so strong that albinos often become outcasts in society. Many choose to live in special sanctuaries. Here's a heartbreaking story of a girl named Kabula, who was traced and attacked by hitmen. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘Our cameraman started calling home and say goodbye in case we got shot’ #photo#Africa "Two days after we finally got to Western Sahara, locals received intel a terrorist group was planning to kidnap us," says RT Documentary's own Marina Kosareva. The incident happened on a trip to Western Sahara where they filmed female deminers. "We were in the middle of nowhere with nothing around except for a UN base a few kilometres away. I remember the guards counting bullets and the cameraman calling his relatives just in case it all went south. In the end, a decision was made to get us out of there at the crack of dawn with enforced security. It was a nerve-wracking five-hour drive in the deserts of Western Sahara and Mauritania, but it ended well." Watch the film Western Sahara: Determined to feel the intrigue behind it. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Everybody dance now! #video#Africa Imagine your teacher challenging you to a dance-off instead of having you take a written exam. That’s what Ghanaian teacher Percy Sackey would do, 100%. He shot to internet fame after he started sharing videos of himself dancing with his students. He loves to dance and this is how he encourages kids to study and overcome their fears of teachers and failing. Dance is a big part of Ghanaian culture. They dance on all-important occasions, including funerals. You all remember the dancing pallbearers video, right? Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Nigeria’s terrorist hunters #video#Africa Boko Haram is a notorious Nigerian terrorist group, and its leader is said to have been killed numerous times. This time, Abubakar Shekau might actually be dead. He allegedly killed himself by detonating an explosive belt. Boko Haram, under Shekau, is infamous for the kidnapping of 276 girls from a school in Chibok. The terrorists have been a menacing presence in Nigeria for 12 years. Local people even started their own militia-like squads to oppose the insurgents. Here’s a group of local hunters turned vigilantes on the heels of the terrorists. Their leader is ’Queen’ Aisha. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Dress to impress #gif#Africa Look at these nicely dressed fellas. They might live in slums, but they know a thing or two about style. Congolese gentlemen from the La Sape movement spend fortunes on Kenzo, Yves Saint Laurent and Armani. Price tags don't matter to these fashionistas. Members of La Sape, or sapeurs, get bank loans and save for years to buy a new pair of shoes or a designer item. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary