The Girl on the Train

A young girl with horrific facial scars gets a second chance. How is one aesthetics surgeon in the Western Cape changing lives in her community? Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟰 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. In November last year, a ten-year-old girl was found during a routine traffic roadblock, squashed inside the luggage compartment of a long-distance bus. She had been smuggled from Zimbabwe into South Africa under extreme conditions for several hours. But her case isn’t unusual. In this months-long investigation, Carte Blanche unravels alleged cross-border human trafficking and the shadowy figures known as transporters who are making it all possible. Undocumented foreign nationals are lured to South Africa from numerous African countries – many of them ending up on the streets of Johannesburg North. Thousands of Malawians are lured into the country on the promise of a new life, some smuggled by long-haul bus companies and funeral parlours, only to be forced into sex work and manual labour. In an even more sinister twist, many of the victims are coerced into taking out funeral policies on themselves once they reach South Africa. It’s an unusual demand but a guaranteed income as the transporters cash in on vulnerable undocumented foreign nationals. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟭 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘂𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀. At just two years old, Chevonne Rusch had endured a difficult upbringing. Throughout her short life, the little girl and her siblings were violently abused and neglected. Friends and neighbours repeatedly reported the abuse to the police and to authorities but no one acted. Then she was brutally murdered. It’s a tragic story, but our investigation shows that Chevonne’s death could’ve been prevented had authorities taken action. Instead, their inaction coincided with an escalation in the abuse and, in the end, a tragic loss of life. Carte Blanche investigates how the state, as custodians of vulnerable children, continues to fail them. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟮 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯. Willie Marais was once a steam train driver born opposite the railway station in Touws River in the Western Cape. Built in 1881, the station was the central hub of the community. Touws River was one of many thriving towns built around an extensive railway network. That all changed in the 1980s when any route deemed uneconomical was simply cut off. Entire communities were drained of their lifeblood, leaving thousands jobless, and the towns began to die. Today, these towns are sad remnants of their former glory, with most inhabitants surviving on state grants, and the tracks leading to these far-flung places are lined with derelict and abandoned sidings. While trucks thunder past, the people left in their dust cling to the hope that, somehow, their towns can be revived. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv