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(birds chirping) (wind howling)
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Oh hey, uncles, aunts,
you, our elders and loved ones.
Our Bunong life is slipping away from yesterday to today
We have already lost our possessions.
Our way of life, we have already abandoned it.
We have become fewer and fewer each day...
Singing, counting, playing symbols and gongs
Sharing rice, drinking, like the Bunongs of yesteryear.
On the border between Cambodia and Vietnam,
a mountain rises from the dense forest canopy.,
The Bunong people claim it as the original place of their birth,
as well as that of all living things.
And they call it: Namler
Fifty males and fifty females of each species are said to have emerged
from its belly to populate the world.
But a four-horned buffalo,
stuck across the opening, would have blocked the passage...
The last humans, the wisest ones,
would have remained trapped in its bowels.
Making this hollow mountain, both an eternal memory
of their birth and the sanctuary of ancient spirits.
(intense dramatic music)
(thunder)(birds chirping)
In the 15th century, Portuguese navigators discovered a river
so full of shrimp that they call it Rio de Camarōes.
This name will eventually come to refer to the entire country, Cameroon.
For the natives, some waterways are mystical.
They are not only a source of abundance,
but also gateways between the visible and invisible worlds
inhabited by the souls of ancestors who guide and protect
the Lobé River, among others,
has nourished generations of people and stories.
(dramatic music)
I grew up in Paris.
My name is Fanny Paloma.
I grew up on a fault line.
(dramatic music continues)
I am the daughter of a colonizer and a colonized person.
Caught up in this intimate tension of a history that still refuses
to face itself head-on.
In fact, I searched for a long time. To find out what it means to belong.
French on my mother's side, Chilean on my father's.
In the country where he was born,
and throughout the South American continent,
it flies a flag called Wiphala,
There, he represents the hundreds of indigenous peoples
of the Andes mountain range,
their culture,
their rich and diverse languages.
It expresses attachment to Mother Earth
and the importance of memory,
This symbol also represents unity in resistance, above all,
against the occupation of their lands by European colonists.
(gentle music)
As a child, I read about the extinction of indigenous peoples
in history books,
then I heard the same words,
in the present tense.
If history continues to be written,
What makes me different from viewers 500 years ago?
Today's colonists have mainly changed their uniforms.
They have donned the suits of business leaders who are
prosperous and international.
While researching this topic.
I discovered one day the history of the Bunong communities of Cambodia
and the Bagyeli people in Cameroon.
The legacy of colonialism,
the exploitation of foreign resources for Western use
are so intertwined with our systems that one might wonder
Today,
who is responsible?
I wanted to find out more.
I went to meet people who are resisting
to preserve their identity,
their lands
and their existence.
It's a long story.
It starts here.
(motorcycle engine revving)
(dogs barking at distance)
The Bunongs are an indigenous people living mainly
in eastern Cambodia.
They are among the main non-Khmer groups in the country
with distinct languages and lifestyles.
For a long time, the Bunongs practiced gathering,
hunting, herding and shifting agriculture,
by cultivating plots of land which they then left fallow
for several years to allow the soil to regenerate.
Before returning to them.
Agriculture is based on the oral transmission of knowledge
and follows a ritual cycle that structures in fact, all social life
involves strong solidarity
among the members of the village.
My name is Sorng Prou
This knowledge was passed down from my grandmother to my mother,
and from my mother to me.
I remember one day my sister-in-law, who was about to give birth,
called me to assist her.
But after successfully birth to her child,
her body shook with convulsions,
it was very impressive.
She told me that she was experiencing excruciating pain all over her body.
I was very scared.
In fact, I immediately went to pick some medicinal plants.
The Biap and Rnjao plants
grow in the high-altitude forests.
I washed them, cooked them and prayed
before giving them to her to drink.
She felt better after drinking the medicine.
Bunong medicine comes from plants.
Now, all these plants are far away.
So, we can't get them as easily anymore.
I live in Busra
I am Bunong.
Absolutely Bunong.
(birds chirping)
For the animist Bunongs,
animals,
plants, and places have souls.
They live alongside spirits and respect them.
But strangely, the rubber tree does not have any.
Is it because it arrived late, imported by French colonists
in the middle of the 20th century
or maybe because it had already
cost thousands of lives and brought with it
the morbid secret of new prosperity in the West?
(upbeat music)
Around the present-day village of Busra,
a story haunts the minds of the people.
In 2008,
bulldozers woke families in the middle of the night.
People are running out,
they are driving over their fruit trees and working
for a company called Socfin KCD.
They forced the introduction of rubber trees,
supposedly to improve our lives.
For a development project.
But that's not how it turned out.
I was told, "You can farm here."
So I started working the land with my children.
I prepared it entirely.
I prepared it so it could be planted.
When she was ready, the company boss told me:
“You can't keep this land.”
“You have to go somewhere else.”
I obeyed.
I started over, somewhere else.
And just when the land was ready for planting...
They asked me to leave.
Again.
It was no longer a misunderstanding.
It was a kind of game.
He was trying to push me to my limits.
He wanted to make me violent.
I realized they were humiliating me
and deliberately manipulating me.
They were given three options:
financial compensation of around 200 euros.
It's not the price of the land,
but that of the ripe fruit counted
at the time of takeover.
The possibility of signing a contract to plant only
rubber trees on their own land,
but for the benefit of the company,
or exchange the plot of land for another,
often distant, often not very fertile.
Three options, not really a choice.
I didn't accept the money willingly.
I did it because we had no choice.
I was afraid of losing everything if I didn't take it.
So I did.
Elders, women, and young people...
No one was consulted.
We organized protests.
We rebelled,
but they arrested us.
They had the power to intimidate us.
We lost.
The company swindled us.
They tore us from the earth
that makes us who we are.
These forests, these fields, these rice paddies.
This is where, for generations,
the Bunongs have lived.
(gentle music)
Before Socfin KCD,
80% of crops were shifting rice fields.
Almost nothing remains.
Today, the villages have been relocated,
access to the forest is controlled,
and food-producing land has been reduced.
Ancestral practices are declining
and are even being banned.
Deprived of common land.
Residents must now prove that they have been farming
the same plot continuously for five years.
This goes against their traditions.
The areas cleared in an emergency are used to grow pepper
or rubber trees.
The more pressure there is on land,
the more what is eaten is replaced by what is sold.
(indistinct chatter)
(crickets chirping)
10,000 kilometers away.
In a country where agriculture provides a livelihood for over 90% of the population,
land is more than strategic for people.
It is vital.
(gentle upbeat music)
I could see that it was difficult for me to go to school,
but I had learned how to make cassava sticks.
Sometimes my grandmother made them,
sometimes my mom made them too
and I would go sell them.
I thought to myself, “Why not do it myself?”
So I started selling cassava sticks.
When I saw how they made
spicy fish, like we saw in the village there,
I stood there watching.
How they crush the chili pepper,
the lemon,
the salt.
I said to myself: “One day, I'll try it too.”
When I tried it, I gave my grandmother a taste,
she said, “It's very good!”
I said, “I'll keep going!”
Now it's also one of my commercial products.
With this routine,
And it's getting easier for me to juggle
this or that...
That's kinda the thing.
Bérengère is my age,
she grew up on the edge of a huge oil palm plantation
called Socapalm.
Originally, this state program involved the construction
of schools, hospitals, and roads,
but its acquisition by a foreign company
changed the rules of development,
leading to complaints from local residents.
Self-taught reporter.
She has been documenting the situation for several years.
We had all the medicine we needed in the forest.
Everything was normal
Today, our whole way of life has changed
since the government asked us to leave the forest.
Now that we have to move closer to the villages,
we live like tenants in their homes.
Because we never had
a village recognized by the government.
(upbeat music) (audience clapping)
Solange is a Begyeli woman.
This people, also known as Pygmies,
have lived in the forest for generations.
In the past, they didn't depend on anyone.
They had the forest,
they had the rivers,
they had fruit trees.
All of this enabled them to survive.
They had everything they needed.
Today, these forests are privatized by agribusiness,
such as Socapalm,
which has thousands of hectares,
still uncultivated on the land
it acquired from the state.
And yet,
it continues to swallow the fields of many surrounding villages.
The Bagyelis, forbidden from entering the forests
are forced to settle on the outskirts of sedentary ethnic villages,
which are themselves bordered by Socapalm fields.
In the villages bordering the plantations,
people bury their dead in front of their houses
because there is no longer any space to welcome their loved ones.
I don't hesitate to point out the difficulties,
that all the villages in the town of Kribi
affected by Socapalm are facing.
Whether it be indigenous peoples,
or the Bantu people.
I have no hesitation.
(birds chirping)
Here is the document in question. I'm coming to you.
The parties agree with Socapalm
by mutual agreement
the following:
Here is the text.
Socapalm undertakes to make available to the state
all unplanted areas of the concession
which are shaded in green on the state map.
Well, if Socapalm has returned the land to the people...
Where are they?
We've heard several versions
Sometimes, these lands are no longer here
on Socapalm lands
but rather towards a village called Bidou.
The populations remained surprised
But what does that mean?
What the hell are people going to do...
I don't know how many miles it is from here!
It finally turned out that
in the villages of Bidou 1 and 2, over there,
these lands were not...
It was land that was, um...
occupied.
Socapalm says:
that all our complaints must go through Socapalm.
But when a problem arises at Socapalm
and we approach Socapalm to present it to them,
they don't handle the situation well.
While,
we have a dispute,
that needs to be resolved.
They spend their time offering chairs to people.
Tarps...
Promises... of this,
and that...
When that's not what we're interested in!
Socapalm can make these offers later!
But,
release first
what the populations...
what they are owed!
(gentle music)
The ancient places of worship are swallowed up by palm trees.
Yesterday, I heard about a former leader
who resisted German colonization.
His grave is somewhere...
inaccessible
behind the fences of a private estate.
For the inhabitants, it is inconceivable, unbearable.
As if history itself were being expropriated.
If rituals no longer have a place,
if the dead no longer have graves,
do stories have a future?
I work for the Centre for Environment and Development (CED),
an NGO based in Yaoundé
that works throughout the Congo Basin
on issues related to natural resource management,
including forests and extractive resources such as oil, gas and solid minerals.
Land is becoming
increasingly important as it is a central issue
that will probably disrupt peace
in all Central African countries in the coming years if we are not careful.
Samuel Nguiffo is a lawyer and actively works to alert
governments and companies about the concrete risks
of land grabbing.
In certain areas today,
there are communities who believe they have customary ownership of the land.
For them, this is not up for debate because it is the land of their ancestors.
They were born there
and their umbilical cords
were buried in the land at their birth.
This makes them part of the land.
Alongside these people,
there are others who have
obtained rights to the same land from the state,
and this is the essential basis of the conflict.
This is where the land conflict arises.
The question also arose in Cambodia,
where to plant, the workers of Socfin KCD.
Had to exhume hundreds of bodies
before planting in the Bunong cemetery lands.
(dramatic music) (water flowing)
Outraged, they came to collect bones.
They say they never consented or were consulted.
But Article 10 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples is clear:
"Their lands cannot be taken away without their free,
prior and informed consent."
The Cambodian government nevertheless sold its land
to a foreign company.
So which law applies?
Which law prevails?
Does “we” legally exist?
And if so, in whose name are we speaking?
Héloïse is one of the founders of the French NGO ReAct,
very active in the field alongside the communities living near Socfin.
So we built this network, the international alliance
of residents living near the Socfin Bolloré plantations
to come together
and then build common demands.
People are generally very happy to know
that there are other people, in other countries,
but who have the same problems,
exactly the same situation, who are affected by the same company,
and who therefore have a common interest in acting together.
They feel isolated,
Some have tried to mobilize several times
without achieving anything,
so they are looking for allies, in fact.
Socfin Bolloré then.
In fact, these companies, Socfin KCD and Socapalm
are both subsidiaries of the same company,
based in Luxembourg,
Socfin.
It is itself a subsidiary of a French industrial giant,
the Bolloré Group.
For several years now, NGOs have been taking legal action
and alerting international organizations such as the UN and the OECD,
to denounce the irregularities of these companies in the countries
where the plantations are located,
but also to highlight the inaction of this parent company.
This is our counter-report.
In 2018, there were already around twenty complaints for defamation
from the Bolloré Group or Socfin,
in France or in various countries.
It still costs a lot of money,
to pay it.
You have to pay a lawyer,
take legal action, it takes time
energy, it's scary too.
When you're a young activist,
you're not used to it.
To find yourself in court.
If these multinationals lose most of their lawsuits
for defamation, it is because the courts recognize
that journalists and activists can substantiate their accusations.
But so far, nothing has changed
(birds chirping)
The villagers asked me for help because I went to college.
I had a small network, so I joined them to discuss the situation.
To think about how to move forward together.
Neth Prak is the founder of the NGO BIPA,
created with the aim of defending
Bunong rights and culture.
Companies like Socfin have set up businesses,
they often promise partnerships and development.
Here, the inhabitants are promised precarious jobs
on the plots of land they have lost and used to farm.
Quickly,
several local NGOs, founded and run by Bunongs, come together
and begin to gather testimonies
to document the direct effects of these events on their territory
and their living conditions.
It is difficult to cultivate our land
because the government restricts rotational farming practices,
we do it in secret.
I heard
that the local authorities required us to sign a contract with them...
to maintain our own land.
Some families have already been arrested
because they were farming on their farms, publicly.
It's very difficult for us to earn money.
We harvest cassava only once a year.
And we've already spent our money on gas for the scooters,
to go to the new farm.
(motorcycle engine revving)
Our lives have become much more difficult.
Before, we had our land to farm.
We used to walk there.
Before, we worked the fields, we had rice to eat.
We weren't going to buy our food.
Today, it's different.
The land is far away. The road is bad.
By comparing stories from their local networks,
activists from communities affected by Socfin plantations
identify common patterns.
Supported by the NGO ReAct,
they decide to launch a joint initiative to get to the root of the problem.
Despite all my efforts
with Socapalm, to find a job,
Socapalm was unable to employ me.
This is what pushed me to rebel,
against this society, which is taking over my land,
and is unable to assist me.
By giving me a job.
So we created an organization
called SYNAPARCAM.
National Synergy of Farmers and Residents of Cameroon.
To turn the tables.
(gentle dramatic music)
After that,
we began to engage in dialogue
with victims from seven African countries
all facing abuse by Socfin.
Upstream, we met with the villagers.
To list the problems with Socfin.
We requested a meeting with the Bolloré Group in Paris.
We did negotiate, after all
that a Bolloré group is paying
for the organization.
The Bolloré Group sent out invitations so that people
could obtain their visas and paid for the various plane tickets
so that people could be there.
A few months later, for the first time,
representatives from Africa and Asia gathered in the same room
to present their common demands
to Socfin.
On the same day, Marie-Annick Darmaillac,
representative of the Bolloré group, announced that
the representatives of Socfin are not here,
they have written a letter.
It was quite complicated because there were
the representatives of the Bolloré group who used that a little bit by saying
"We're only a minority shareholder,
we have less than 50%. It's the Socfin group that decides."
So they did it deliberately.
That the Bolloré Group, which sent us the invitations
be there
and Socfin, with whom we have prepared the agenda
did not come on the day of the meeting.
And at this point, we can't make any decisions.
The Bolloré Group says:
"I am in the minority, Socfin is not there."
“I will communicate all your demands to Socfin.”
“We'll see how things develop.”
"Go home, to your respective countries."
“You will work with management.”
“Things are going to change.”
There was supposed to be a whole process and a new meeting
to assess progress one year later.
Which never happened.
(crickets chirping)
After the meeting in Paris,
the communities finally secured the organization
of a tripartite mediation process.
Representatives of the affected communities,
Socfin and an independent mediator,
creating a more balanced and transparent framework for discussion on equal terms.
But very quickly, hope runs out
because the tripartite funds used up
without any concrete progress being made on the ground.
Despite the fatigue,
a new process will be put in place.
Mediation becomes bilateral.
An unbalanced confrontation
in which the entire community
is no longer represented since it brings together
only a handful of families facing Socfin,
which, in its press releases, announces that it will resolve the issue
with the community in general.
(motorcycle engine revving)
Furthermore,
these peoples have the right to demand the restitution of their lands.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
also states this clearly.
However, this is precisely what has been excluded
for all those involved in this mediation process.
Restitution should no longer be discussed.
For several years, we worked together.
Until the moment when some began
to choose other paths...
It's as if people have given up.
I feel a bit left out...
It's sad.
In Switzerland, Michael Nanz,
is an active member of the NGO FIAN which observes
situations where food security and autonomy
of people are threatened.
He regularly asks Socfin for accountability
By ensuring that no more land will be claimed.
It's actually a way of legalizing land grabbing.
It's a form of cultural laundering.
What happened was part of a colonial process.
For decades, we have witnessed the globalization of trade.
But never that of justice.
Precisely in 2017,
France passed a law that holds companies accountable
for human rights abuses committed by them
and the environment throughout their production chain,
including abroad.
This is the first law that allows foreign victims
to take legal action in the country where the parent company is located.
Initiated by Congressman Dominique Potier,
it marks a turning point in the fight
against the impunity of multinational corporations.
International courts,
UN bodies
have decided that land grabbing
on a global scale was a cause of provocation
of misery and violence equivalent to wars
around the world today.
This is a subject that will require, here as elsewhere,
new laws, new regulations,
new rights in globalization.
One of the characteristics of contemporary capitalism
is the legal irresponsibility of multinational corporations
towards their subsidiaries and subcontractors.
And I think that the duty of care,
should always be described that way.
It wasn't a politician. who thought of it first.
It came from the grassroots.
It comes from NGOs that have worked in the field
with NGOs in the South who have seen the mechanisms of oppression.
The mechanisms of manipulation,
all the deadly mechanisms that today
lead to child labor,
ecocide, and tragedy.
I had no doubt that
the problem...
the issue of globalized production chains.
And, in particular, the fight against land grabbing,
was a matter of life insurance.
For our societies and for the planet.
Fiodor Rilov is a French lawyer,
specializing in labor law.
He is the first to rely on this new law
to establish the liability of a parent company
for abuses committed by its subsidiaries.
We have...
We currently have
two ongoing proceedings,
one proceeding that has been initiated by the Cambodians
plaintiffs and one proceeding that has been initiated
by the Cameroonian plaintiffs.
The lawyer travels to Cameroon to meet with more than 150 local residents
from Socapalm who have given him a mandate.
I'm glad to be here,
I’ll give you informations
as complete as possible
so you know
the current status of the legal action
that we initiated
in 2019.
Even without direct control,
the duty of care law obliges large companies
such as the Bolloré Group,
to prevent violations of human rights
throughout their entire chain of activity,
including among their subcontractors and partners.
He can be held liable once it has been proven,
that he benefits from the activities of Socfin, for example,
or that he exercises influence over it.
The first strategy of the plaintiffs
is therefore to request access to internal documents
to demonstrate the group's actual involvement
through its main pillars.
You know,
the minutes of these general meetings are published, in principle,
they are published,
all you have to do is check the company registry.
In principle, you should be able to access these minutes.
Obviously, the minutes are not published
in the case of Socfin.
That's why I have to take legal action
to obtain them.
You're here to... help us.
However, Socapalm already has a militia in place,
the RSPO.
Here,
they hold meetings,
They're trying to accomplish the same thing you are.
RSPO is an English acronym
which means:
"Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil"
And the RSPO issues a certification.
And this certification,
if Socapalm obtains it...
It will allow it to sell its palm oil
on the international market.
And it is precisely
because of
your legal action that
Socapalm's financial backers...
looked into
how Socapalm manages
its plantations.
And realized that
there were a lot of failures.
We request drinking water,
We demand... electricity.
We demand hospitals,
We are asking for schools,
Socapalm does not want to do anything.
And they're using our land!
And our property.
They are destroying our fields!
And if, for example, a villager enters Socapalm
in the plantation,
to gather a single bako of palm nuts
to survive,
We catch him, we throw him in jail!
And then...
To get him out of prison,
they are asking for 250
300, 400, 500,000 francs!
And Socapalm promised us
plots of land on the plantations
that the villagers would manage.
But so far, we're waiting
we can't find anything.
Socfin found all the facilities.
They didn't install anything.
They found the palm trees planted.
They found the factories,
They found the housing,
they found everything.
They didn't spend anything.
The World Bank... the IMF
have led our states
to recolonize us once again
by privatizing companies so that they can reap the profits.
That's it.
They found the government facilities.
The local workforce they exploit like slaves.
(birds chirping)
They have no employment contracts, they have nothing.
They exploit them...
We're here!
We are slaves of Socfin!
We, who are somewhat intellectual, say:
“This has to stop!”
And Socfin doesn't want to understand.
(dramatic mysterious music)
When you are caught with a product,
you will be arrested immediately.
That's what this sign says.
They must not exploit anything.
Whether on the banks of rivers or in the river itself,
they must not benefit from anything.
Fruits,
fish, shrimp... all that stuff.
It was through shrimp fishing that our ancestors in the past
raised our great-grandparents,
our parents, and us too.
Our parents hoped that with this same culture,
they would be able to take care of us.
But unfortunately, that's not what we're experiencing today.
(lively music)
(baby crying)
Although you don't have the opportunity to work at Socapalm,
how are you doing here, girls?
Don't hide anything, it's important
because I, who am standing in front of you,
when I find myself in front of these people,
when I go to these places,
I tell them
and I'm not ashamed to tell them,
that I steal nuts
and that my sisters from the village do it too,
because we have nothing else to do!
Socapalm already didn't allow us to go to school,
Socapalm doesn't give us any facilities.
So I beg you, tell us everything you know.
I beg you, it will help us a lot.
If you steal nuts, say so. And don't be afraid to say so.
- So we steal. - Yes! Don't be afraid to say it.
People need to know this.
And it needs to be known all over the world.
The children don't go to school,
you see how everyone is at home.
We go into the bush, we steal nuts.
We make oil. It brings in a little money.
If there's something to drink, we drink.
We're here in the village.
Stealing nuts for these women,
is picking up palm fruits that have fallen at the foot
of palm trees on Socapalm plantations.
After a few days, fill a bag,
cook them to extract a bottle of oil.
If they get caught, they risk prison.
Explain to me how someone who works for 30 days
and earns 18,000 francs
can feed themselves?
Can he clothe himself?
(drums playing)
Can feed his family, his children?
Can take care of himself?
When you earn 18,000 francs?
18,000 francs is €30.
Tell me how an adult
can feed themselves for a month on €30?
So Socapalm keeps a small staff
under its responsibility
and this staff receives more favorable treatment
than the larger number of personnel
employed by subcontractors.
So in the end we find, on the plantation,
Socapalm employees and subcontractor employees.
But the company can say:
"It's not my responsibility to look after
the employees of a subcontractor."
But it is his responsibility to set specifications
which his subcontractor must comply with
and to terminate the subcontractor's contract
if they do not comply with it.
I think that hasn't been done.
That's one of the complaints from people in the area.
Not necessarily a set of specifications,
but many subcontractors.
There are a lot of people around. The Socapalm plantations.
Creating a microcosm where... justice does not necessarily reign.
In hushed voices, women testify
of sexual assault and harassment
committed by workers or security guards
working for Socapalm.
When women resist advances, it gets complicated.
And they don't have to report back.
No justification to give.
No explanation to give to anyone.
Because they have the power to hire whoever they want.
The power to fire whoever they want, whenever they want,
however they want.
This is something that has been reported in the media.
Because women found themselves stuck in their fields
with guards coming there to rape them.
In their fields.
And when the village came to their aid,
They called it a “nut robbery.”
We would have stolen nuts there.
It was a big problem.
Blood was even shed.
The newspaper headlined: “Blood in red oil.”
We want all this to stop and for the judgment to state
it be written that Bolloré is condemned
to intervene in
the management of Socapalm, so that Socapalm
stops inflicting these damages on you.
So that she will return to you, at least in part,
your lands.
Exactly
Okay
If at every meeting with his clients,
new faces appear
in the villages, confusion reigns
and real differences exist
between necessity, hope, fear
and common interest.
(birds chirping) (dogs barking)
Yes
We truly pray that this action
will lead to something.
When I arrived today, I was wearing this outfit.
I removed the Socapalm coupon there,
so you wouldn't notice it.
Because we don't know who's who.
We don't know who is who.
Because you can say that you are fighting the Bolloré group,
when you're actually with the Bolloré group
you come here to get our votes.
All our information...
We live poorly.
Because we live poorly.
Socapalm has a list of all the complainants by village.
And as soon as you arrive, you give your name.
They take out the list and look at it.
Which village do you belong to?
If they find your name on the list,
you can be sure you won't get anything.
No more service provision.
They even look at your parentage.
That means that if you are a mother of a certain age...
For example, on my ID card,
it has my mother's name on it.
That means that even if I'm not there but my mother is in it,
I won't get anything.
That means that from generation to generation
no one in my family
will ever be able to have anything from Socapalm again.
Because I complained about a situation
Which we have observed and continue to observe.
And I have no right to complain!
(motorcycle engine revving)
Everyone knows that: that Bolloré is king in Africa.
Well, if Bolloré is convicted now.
And the state doesn't sign the decree?
What guarantees do we have that
Socapalm won't take the land?
What guarantees do we have that
the pollution will stop?
What guarantees do we have?
We have no guarantees.
About two years ago,
Socapalm came to hold a meeting here
at the Nkolong chiefdom.
And at its head was Mr. Nguimbok
So he came because they needed people,
to give up their votes
in the trial against Bolloré.
But what did he tell us that day?
The land they haven’t yet exploited,
their goal is to transfer it back
to the local populations.
Mr. Nguimbok insisted on reminding us
that Socapalm will no longer need this land
the villagers can plant their own crops.
So I would like to know
who to trust?
We don't know why
we're going to fight Bolloré, when on the other side
they're coming... The government is telling us
that they've already sorted out the problem.
Take your lands
Do whatever you want with your land.
That means you don't understand...
When you've already...
Maybe you have your own interests?
You don't understand.
You're the one who doesn't understand.
Because we no longer speak for ourselves today.
My face is starting to wrinkle
that means I'm getting old.
My children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren
where will they live?
What will they eat?
Where will they farm?
That's what this is all about, and we mustn't
let ourselves be fooled by... reassuring words.
We have real problems with land grabbing.
And we have to fight
to get that land back
and for the government to recognize our rights.
But by the way
no one has any interest
really no one has any interest
for Socapalm
to close.
If Socapalm closes today,
at least
25,000 people who will find themselves
without income.
But what we want
is our fundamental right,
for Socapalm to carry out its activities
without encroaching
on our space.
This is our space.
This is our space...
vital.
It's our life.
(vehicle engine revving)
(gentle music)
Meanwhile, in Cambodia,
the Bunongs obtained a hearing date for their trial
against the Bolloré Group.
I know you have been waiting
for me to come and inform you and give you information
about the actions in France.
(indistinct chatter)
My name is Samin,
I am Bunong.
I am a translator for lawyer Fiodor Rilov.
There were forms to fill out with the names of the plaintiffs.
Most people, you know,
didn't think to bring their ID cards.
When I filled out the forms,
they simply spelled their names: Flancin
I first wrote their names in Khmer,
but on the form I had to translate them into English, of course.
I translated the names into English.
I didn't have much experience, I was still learning English...
Long an oral language, Bunong only recently acquired an alphabet
and its spelling still varies.
Furthermore, lawyers for the Bolloré group are demanding
property titles that the plaintiffs do not have.
Because here, the land was until recently subject to customary law
and had never been registered in the Bunongs' name.
To translate their ancestral bond into the language of law,
they use whatever means they have at their disposal.
They photograph themselves on their land, GPS coordinates in hand,
to transform their presence into an archive.
The place where he currently stands
is his ancestral land.
It should belong to her family.
Today, it belongs to Socfin.
We would like
some of you
to come to France for the hearing.
Hi, Sophorn.
Hi, Fiodor.
How are you?
Not so good.
Why? What happened?
I just got information from the embassy,
Yes...
Through my assistant
who went to pick up the visas today.
Okay.
He told me that...
Don't tell me that?!
All the visas have been rejected.
Don't tell me that?!
I can't imagine that
they take the decision
not to give the visas
a few days before the hearing
without knowing that it will have a enormous impact
on our procedure.
They know they're interfering in our process...
Could you get me the phone number of the consul?
The French consul in Phnom Penh?
Yes, yes.
I'll try to call him.
And...
Look, we have to do everything possible
to get the people over to Paris for the hearing.
(dramatic music)
Although French law recognizes the possibility
to issue a visa to any person summoned by the courts,
the Bunongs and their lawyers have been refused visas.
Fiodor Rilov and his Cambodian colleague
then go to the French embassy in Phnom Penh,
to try to resolve the situation.
A setback that will delay the long-awaited hearing
and that even the lawyers
find difficult to understand.
(crickets chirping) (birds chirping)
Today, tonight,
to all spirits of rice, charcoal...
Stand with us against Socfin
We beg you to protect us at all costs.
We are going to travel to another country.
Please protect us from evil spirits.
Protect the Bunong culture
Spirits, we offer you a chicken as a sacrifice
and a jar of Bunong wine, as a sign of respect.
Protect us at all costs.
There are different sizes.
That's a size 43.
But look at this!
(laughs)
They look like city dwellers!
Now you can all take your passports.
Be careful, if you lose your passport,
you will have problems.
As you know, you represent all of the plaintiffs.
This is the time the plane takes off.
Keep an eye on your carry-on luggage!
Never let it out of your sight.
Keep your passport and purse with you at all times.
(gentle upbeat music)
We must stay together.
You hold the ticket like this.
And you show it like this.
To find your boarding gate,
locate your flight number on the display boards.
You will present your documents to board the plane.
The first hearing for the Bunongs will be held in Nanterre,
in February 2019.
The families are asking for clarity:
access to the minutes of the general meetings,
know who votes what,
who decides and on whose behalf.
This law was not designed for companies
protect themselves legally from possible legal action by a judge
alerted by an NGO,
a local community or a French trade union.
This law was made to protect victims around the world.
So in the end, I have faith in the judges.
(speaking in foreign language)
Okay, so only the plaintiffs' attorneys and the parties involved may enter.
Everyone else stays outside.
I'm confused, we interrupted you.
Good morning.
You were interrupted
Yes, yes, could you please stop filming sir?
We are in a courtroom, turn it off,
turn it off,
No, it's not off, show me.
You are in a court of law here.
We're not at the movies, we're not on the street.
Their entire way of life has been completely
dismantled by the establishment of these plantations
in violation of multiple international rules.
Those who violated these rules,
those who established these plantations under conditions
absolutely unbearable conditions must
take responsibility for their actions.
That's why we're here. So we're simply demanding
a number of documents
that contain the truth.
That’s it. Would we honestly
Would they really refuse so stubbornly
to show us these contracts
if they did not contain the truth that our opponents
fear will come to light?
What is implied by the opposing party
is that Vincent Bolloré managed directly
everything related to his plantations in Cambodia.
Does that seem crazy to you?
But you're talking about insinuations,
and those are indeed insinuations.
And this whole case is based solely on insinuations.
Just because our name is Vincent Bolloré, we're supposed to manage everything.
The Red Earth Company is a company that is 15 years old
of existence, or rather had,
which has now been liquidated for several years
and which never managed any plantations on behalf of Bolloré.
The Bolloré Group does not manage any plantations.
It's as simple as that. It is a publicly traded group.
A publicly traded group
has obligations. It submits a document
of reference each year to the FCA.
It's all controlled. It's written down. You just have to read it.
That's why this procedure is completely artificial
and that unfortunate Bunong farmers are brought in
into this procedure in a scandalous manner,
all you have to do is read a document and the plaintiffs' attorney
knows this perfectly well.
And this superficiality is absolutely unacceptable.
So you deny that Bolloré has rubber plantations?
I answered you,
(intense dramatic music)
The very first lawsuit based on the duty of care law
was dismissed.
The court ruled that the Bunong plaintiffs
had neither standing nor interest to sue.
Names that are difficult to translate,
lands that are complicated to demarcate.
No substantive issues will therefore be examined,
nor the responsibility of the parent company
nor the practices of its subsidiaries.
From this expeditious hearing.
The Bunongs report a strange feeling,
a kind of quiet anger that they do not want to keep silent about.
Hello. My name is Sorng Prou,
I live in the village of Term Lame.
We have traveled a long way to come to the French court.
The court did not give us the opportunity to express ourselves.
We are disappointed.
The French court did not do us justice.
Instead, they accused us of illegally occupying our land.
Furthermore, we were ordered to pay $20,000
to the company that stole our land.
To this day, in 2024, the French court did not do us justice.
I feel neglected, unheard, and invisible.
We, the Bunongs, will fight
for the land we have lost,
for our future generations,
and so that we do not lose our identity.
(vehicles passing by)
(rain pouring)
Land grabbing and its consequences
are not historical relics.
It's a mechanism,
documented,
but largely ignored
(gentle music)
Since 2015,
under the influence of NGOs
and independent experts,
the issue of responsibility of parent companies
for their production chain abroad
has entered the public debate in France.
In France,
the law on the duty of care has opened a breach.
A European directive is in the process of being adopted
to ensure that these obligations cover all European Union countries.
One of the multinational's own investors,
the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund,
has even mandated its ethics council
to conduct a field investigation in Cameroon.
And it confirms the warnings reported since 2005
by dozens of reports,
A form of resistance that is becoming increasingly determined
is organizing against these oligarchies.
The balance of power remains uneven
and access to justice and truth
has not yet been achieved in this area.
But the movement is underway
In the critique of the duty of vigilance.
People often say:
"But the law isn't effective yet."
I tend to...
reassure myself and perhaps reassure those I am talking to
by telling them
it's a law that will slowly take effect
because it is a profound revolution.
This isn't a publicity stunt, it's not a « one-shot ».
It's something that takes time.
And it requires learning,
for companies
as it does for NGOs that will advocate for victims
as it does for judges who will have to deal with this issue.
(motorcycle engine revving)
I come from the village of Busra. Mondolkiri Province.
I chose to study general management
because I like this subject
and we study better what interests us.
I currently live in the BIPA dormitories
because I go to university in Phnom Penh.
For you, as students,
in the future, what do you want?
What are your expectations?
And your hopes?
I will support and advise the members of my community,
especially the next generation,
so that they pursue higher education,
because knowledge is power.
In order to be able to intervene with people
in the community, so that they listen to what we say.
For example, when there is a land sale situation,
to be able to guide people during a land dispute.
(all clapping)
We need everyone to get involved
to protect human rights,
to protect the environment and protect society.
To live in a common home,
a common country,
a common world.
The world is not made for just one person,
and it's not just made for Socfin either.
It belongs to everyone,
and everyone should be able to live in peace,
happily, and...
protected by the law.
My goal now
is to fight.
So that...
everyone can regain their peace of mind.
Already that.
And for young girls like me,
that they are able to achieve
at least a quarter of their dreams.
I rewrote my film so many times,
overwhelmed by the historical complexity,
legal,
political and cultural complexity of an abysmal reality.
Every meeting,
every reading and conversation with lawyers
or activists,
anthropologists or journalists,
added a new layer to my understanding.
I filmed with only one certainty
this urgency to talk about the common,
the porosity between us,
beyond borders real or imagined,
My approach is personal,
but my search could be that of an entire generation
seeking to reconnect with something
fertile in a world in decline.
Personally, I've never been a big fan of banners,
affiliating myself with banners,
but I don't forget that this country,
France, is also mine.
This humanity is also mine.
In fact, the memory is vivid.
It is recognition that is lacking.
(motorcycle engine revving)
In 2022,
finally,
the collective efforts of 15 years of struggle
bore fruit in the French justice system.
The lawsuit filed by the Cameroonian plaintiffs
similar to that of the Bunongs
took place
And this time, they will obtain
the conviction of the Bolloré group
to hand over the documents from these general meetings.
We found in the items
that were finally addressed to us
proof that Bolloré
and Socfin's other major shareholder,
namely Mr. Fabri,
systematically joined their votes
to decide everything,
but really everything,
within Socfin
and that therefore the plaintiffs, the Bunongs, but also
the Cameroonian plaintiffs, can turn to Bolloré
for violating
its duty of care and failing to prevent
the subsidiaries in Cambodia and Cameroon
causing all this considerable damage to the detriment of
of the Cameroonian and Cambodian plaintiffs.
A victory in form, which highlights how much
the underlying problem persists
and urgently needs to be resolved.
Beyond the return of their land,
what communities affected by land grabbing are seeking is simple:
Regaining their independence,
decent living conditions,
the ruling and those who made it possible
have undoubtedly sent a strong signal.
At this point, it is to be hoped that this new vision
of international trade will quickly gain ground
in Western standards
so that this fight
of a lifetime not be in vain.
So that their story may continue.
(lively music)
(music fades away)
(gentle music)
(gentle music continues)
(music fades away)