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Unhappy People in the U.S. Should Leave; Turkey Get a Pass on their S-400 Defense System; Fears Escalate as Ebola Spreads in Congo; Iran Nuclear Deal Non-Negotiable; Monsoon Rains Continue to Flood South Asia; Inside Africa, Rhinos In Zambia. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 16, 2019 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Firing back at the U.S. president. Four Democratic lawmakers Donald Trump told to go back where they came from are speaking out, calling his Twitter tirade racist.
Plus, as Iran calls on the U.S. to return to diplomacy. Its foreign minister is standing firm saying Tehran will not renegotiate the nuclear deal he spent years putting together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Doctors told Roger that his father and aunt had died. So, when they told me I had Ebola, he says, I thought I would die too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The grim reality of Ebola as emergency workers struggle to stop the spread of the disease across the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Paula Newton, and this is CNN Newsroom.
The four U.S. congresswomen who are the targets of Donald Trump's racist rants are firing back as the president digs in trying to defend his indefensible comments.
On Monday, he stood outside the White House and said, he'd like to see the progressives critical of his presidency leave the country.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If you are not happy in the U.S., if you are complaining all the time, very simply, you can leave, you can leave right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump says
he has no regrets about his racist attacks on Democratic lawmakers, who were all women of color.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: All I'm saying is if they are not happy, here they can leave. They can leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Instead of walking back his remarks, today Trump defended telling four congresswomen to go back where they came from.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It doesn't say leave forever. It says leave if you want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Where they came from is the United States. Three of them were born here, and the fourth is now a U.S. citizen, who arrived as a child and refugee, facts the president ignored today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: These are people that hate our country. hey, John, they hate our country. They hate it, I think with a passion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Trump claims he's not being racist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think the tweets are racist?
TRUMP: Not at all. No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: But when asked about white nationalist groups that have identified with his remarks, the president responded with this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It doesn't concern me because many people agree with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Instead, Trump attempted to employ a tactic he's used before, accusing his opponents of what they've accused him of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Speaker Pelosi said make America white again. Let tell you that's a very racist --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: But Pelosi said the president was the one pushing to make America white again, not her. Trump, who often airs his own grievances on Twitter, claim the lawmakers should leave because --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: All they do is complain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A source telling CNN, it was the president's idea to address the attacks, as his own cabinet members struggle to defend his remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't find them racist. I understand what the president's comment is. I'm not concerned by the president's comment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Few Republican lawmakers have been unwilling to condemn Trump's comments, and some spent the day avoiding the issue altogether.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: I hadn't read, that but I will go and check it out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now Republicans have been hesitant to criticize the president so far, but we are starting to see some of that pushback here in Washington grow.
Will Hurd, a Republican congressman from Texas called the president's remarks racist and that they were uniting Democrats in a time when currently, the Democratic Party there's civil war he said. So far, it's still been silent from Republican leadership.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
NEWTON: OK. Now the four Democrats, all women of color, are rejecting the president's suggestion that they hate America and should go back where they came from. They say they disagree with the president's policies, and they are working to make the USA a better place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): He is launching a blatantly racist attack on four duly elected members of the United States of House of Representatives, all of whom are women of color. This is the agenda of white nationalists, whether it is happening in
chat rooms, or it's happening on national TV, and now it's reached the White House garden.
[03:04:53] REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): Despite the occupant of the White House attempts to marginalize us and to silence us, please know, that we are more than four people, and given the size of the squad, and this great nation, we cannot and will not be silenced.
REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): Sadly, this is not the first nor will it be the last time we hear disgusting, bigoted language from the president. We know this is who he is.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): He can't look at child in the face, and he can't look all Americans in the face and justify why this country is throwing them in cages. So instead, he tells us that I should go back to the great borough of the Bronx and make it better, and that's what I'm here to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now the U.S. House of Representatives has drawn up a resolution condemning Donald Trump's remarks there.
The -- a new Trump administration rule makes it nearly impossible for Central Americans to seek asylum at the southern border of the United States.
I want you to have a look at this map, it essentially blocks those who have traveled to the U.S. by land through Mexico. The new rule throws the future into question, for thousands of people seeking asylum.
Ed Lavandera has one family story.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In March, Idaniya Toledo de la Rosa (Ph) and her husband left Cuba with their son to seek asylum in the United States. They flew to Nicaragua on a visa, and then travel through Central America and Mexico to reach this shelter in Juarez, Mexico.
So, when they arrived here in Juarez in mid-May the family had no idea that there would be so many people here seeking asylum, and there would be so many obstacles to get across into the United States, and she says she is trying to reunite with her son who lives in Florida.
Their four-month long journey has them at America's doorstep, they can see downtown El Paso from inside the shelter where they've been living since May. But taking the last few steps but just became even tougher.
The Trump administration has put a new rule in place that bars migrants traveling through Mexico from claiming asylum at the U.S. southern border, immigration officials say it will dramatically limit the ability of Central Americans, Cubans, and migrants from places other than Mexico to seek asylum at ports of entry.
Right, now more than a dozen shelters in Juarez alone are filled with migrants waiting to seek asylum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN CUCCINELLI, ACTING DIRECTOR, CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES: The president of the United States should be doing what he is in the immigration space, and that is on focusing on trying to fix an obviously broken system when we look at the border, when he is getting almost no help from Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: As they sit and wait in Mexico, Daniel Zigas (Ph) says his family is running out of options.
He says, where they come from, Cuba, they are scared of the government. Here in Juarez they are scared of everything that's around them, everything that's beyond these walls.
Immigrants right advocates say that U.S. asylum laws are one of the vital cornerstones of American immigration policy. While President Trump has called the asylum laws absolutely insane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Some of these people are holding their countries flags, and waving their countries flags, and then they talk about the fear they have of being in the country that the flag they were waving freely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: In reality, migrants waving their homelands flags are an extremely rare sight on the southern border. There is a sign in Juarez, Mexico that every migrant watches closely. When they arrive at the border, migrants register for their number in line to cross into the United States.
More than 11,000 people have had their number called and each day a few more numbers are added to this tally, but nearly 18,000 people, according to Juarez officials are waiting. That's almost 6,000 people left in limbo.
The question now is how long this new rule will last. The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU is already promising to mount a legal challenge against it. The country of Mexico is criticizing it as well, so it's unclear exactly what the real life implications will mean for the thousands of people waiting to apply for asylum on the U.S. southern border.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dilley, Texas.
NEWTON: Turkey is taking delivery of a formidable air defense system developed by the Russians in a big win for Vladimir Putin. Now the S- 400 missile system delivery, seemingly violates U.S. sanctions which bar anyone from doing business with parts of the Russian military. But the Turkish president seems to have gotten a pass apparently from the American president, and he is proud of the acquisition. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We have started to receive S-400 missiles, they told us you can't buy them, you can't station them, it wouldn't be right to buy them.
[03:09:56] As of today, the eighth plane arrived and started to unload. God willing, we'll finalize the process in April 2020. After that, in terms of air defense systems, we will be among a few countries in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now why the pass, especially given that Turkey, to remind everyone, is a NATO member. Turkey is also in the process of buying 100 American F-35 advanced fighter jets.
Now we need to really have a close look at all of this, and thankfully we have Nic Robertson with us in London. Nic, why is Turkey still going through with this? And defines of both NATO and ostensibly the U.S., because it is still murky as to whether or not Donald Trump will actually react to this, he hasn't so far.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. I think we got some insights at the G20 in Japan just recently in the past couple of weeks, and what we heard there from President Trump, when he was asked to give an explanation about what he would do whether or not he would enforce this law that says, you know, any country dealing with Russia, then Russia's military, then they couldn't -- the United States then couldn't sell them F-35s.
His insight was, while it was very complicated about Turkey buying those S-400, these Russian made surface-to-air missiles designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, and enemy fighter jets, President Trump pointed to Barack Obama and said that it was his fault because the United States has refused to sell an equivalent U.S. system, the patriot system to Turkey.
So, the president shifted blame, and then when he was pressed on the issue, he said well, it's very, very complicated, and he sort of seem to give the impression that he would give President Erdogan a pass on this. And President Erdogan speaking at the G20 said exactly that. He said you heard the president at the press conference. And he said there should be no issues at all.
So, I think there are a lot of people are looking at the White House right now to see what they do. Now as far as those F-35s go, the Turkish pilots who were doing pre-training on them inside the United States, several weeks ago, their training operations were suspended and they are off that assignment now.
But, you know, what happens to the rest of the F-35, what sanctions might be applied to Turkey, is still a question. And of course, the idea is that if Turkey has both Russian surface-to-air missiles designed to shoot down fighter jets, and it has the United States most sophisticated fighter jet, then it can put this two technologies together and this would benefit Russia and Turkey potentially, to figure out how Russia and its friends could shoot down American aircraft. And this is what a military strategic level makes it so sensitive.
NEWTON: Makes it so sensitive, and obviously, but it's not just the United States, but NATO in a very difficult position here. You know, some, Nic, may say that, look, Turkey is being quite shrewd with all of this, but there is potential here that this could also backfire for Turkey, right?
ROBERTSON: You know, there is a lot in play in the Middle East that wasn't in play, let's say during the Cold War, which is when Turkey was so significant to in its relationship to the United States, and so significant to NATO.
It was, you know, Turkey felt that it needed the backup of NATO and U.S. nuclear weapons to defend itself against the Soviet Union. But since the Iron Curtain came down 30 years ago, Russia feels that it's being encroached upon from the NATO alliance, moving ever eastwards, you know, 13 member -- 13 formed Eastern European countries joined NATO.
And the strategic picture in the region has shifted, and Turkey doesn't feel perhaps that it needs this alliance with the United States. It doesn't feel the threat of a Soviet Union and actually has, you know, Russia at its back door in Syria.
So, if it wants -- and now its forces were essentially defeated, where its proxies were defeated inside Syria by Russian forces backing the Syrian forces, Turkey needs to have a better relationship with Russia is much more pressing now. All these things have been shifting, many more issues behind than that, but over the last 30 years, and particularly the last 15, the shift has been moving.
NEWTON: Yes. And likely why we should also note there seems to be some dissent within, you know, Donald Trump's own national security team about what this goes and what to do next. I know, Nic, you'll be following it. I really appreciate it. Thanks.
Now still to come, new Ebola fears in Central Africa are bringing back memories of a very grim past.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: "My sister got it first," he says, we didn't want to believe it was Ebola, she stayed at home and we buried her."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: We'll tell you about a newly diagnosed case that's worrying health officials.
[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Iran nuclear agreement is on shaky ground, but those who signed the deal besides the United States of course, are still holding out, even though Iran announced earlier this month it was increasing uranium enrichment beyond levels agreed to in that 2015 deal.
The E.U.s'. foreign policy chief says those violations so far are insignificant enough to trigger a dispute mechanism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FEDERICA MOGHERINI, E.U. FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: For the time being, none of the parties to the agreement has signaled their intention to invoke this article which means that none of them for the moment, for the time being, with the current data we have had, in particular from the IAEA, that the noncompliance is considered to be a significant noncompliance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon joins us live from Istanbul. Europe has been trying to as we say, cling on to this deal. And yet, Iran is on the record, Arwa, as you know saying that look, this will escalate within the next two months if Europe can't help us avoid those U.S. sanctions. Is there an indication, you know, that where Europe might go with this next?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are in a really tricky position given that they are up against a very stubborn U.S. administration.
Remember, all of this was really triggered by America unilaterally pulling out of that Iran nuclear deal, that then caused Iran in reaction to the sanctions, slapped onto Iran by the Trump administration to begin violating the deal in hopes that it would somehow pressure Europe to then somehow pressure the United States to bring everyone back on to the same table.
Iran has been saying repeatedly that it does not want to go to war, but that it is being attacked, economically attacked by the sanctions and that it has to react to it somehow. They are also saying that while they will return to the deal as it was negotiated, they will not be looking to try to put together a new deal. Here's what Iran's foreign minister told the BBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We will not renegotiate. We will not renegotiate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But why not?
ZARIF: You see this deal, was the subject of 12 years of negotiations, two years of which were intense negotiations. I spent days, months, negotiating this. We spent a lot of time with the United States negotiating this deal. It's about give and take.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: Of course, that negotiation and that give and take, Paula, was under the Obama administration. With the Trump administration there really isn't a lot of give. And there have of course been rising tensions between Iran and the U.S. in the Persian Gulf, and also to a certain degree between Iran and the U.K.
What Europe is hoping right now is to be able to somehow avert that worst-case scenario, where one action, one wrong move, whether it by accident or by intent could escalate this even farther into something that would resemble more of an all-out war.
[03:20:04] And suffice to say this is hardly a region that needs another war. This is a region that needs levelheaded thinking, this is a region that needs those who can influence the course of events to really sit back, and to take pause over what their actions are going to mean.
Unfortunately, right now, we do not see that sort of desire to stop this escalation, at least not from the side of the United States, into something that the region and the rest of the world potentially may not be expecting.
NEWTON: Yes, and we have already seen some flash points, and we'll wait to see if there is any more progress that Europe can make on this without, as you say, the United States.
Arwa, thanks so much. Good to see you.
Ebola is once again spreading in Central Africa. The virus has reached the Congolese city of Goma. You see it there, and it is a major transit hub and population center on that Rwandan border.
Now the new case has been identified in a pastor, as CNN's David McKenzie now brings us our report.
MCKENZIE: Well, this pastor was traveling from the epicenter in Butembo to Goma, a city of nearly two million people right on the border with Rwanda, it's troubling news but they have been expecting it for some time.
Health officials have isolated the pastor and they have also vaccinated the other people traveling in this bus. But the next few days will be critical in Goma to see whether they have stopped this particular spread of the outbreak.
On Monday, the World Health Organization said that this response is woefully underfunded. But we just returned from the epicenter and no amount of money will stop this outbreak unless people as manage to get over their fear.
When Ebola latched onto Roger Wasakundi's (Ph) family, denial came with it. My sister got it first, he says, we didn't want to believe it was Ebola. She stayed at home and we buried her.
Through the intimacy of family, the virus spread to his aunt, his mother, father, to him. It took days to persuade them to seek treatment at a center like this. Where doctors told Roger that his father and his aunt had died. "So, when they told me I had Ebola," he says, "I thought I would die
too." In medical terms, stopping the spread of Ebola should be simple. Identify patients quickly, isolate them, trace their contacts.
But holding this outbreak has been anything but. The epicenter is anchored in a conflict zone, where authority often comes through violence, which breeds fear.
"This fear makes it difficult to stop a chain of transmission," says Silvestre Zongwe. "What we needed was to break that fear." Zongwe (Ph), a health worker for French medical NGO Alima, says that in the city of Butembo they wouldn't let outsiders in.
"When responders came to take the sick from their homes," he says, "they didn't know who they were. They believed they would take them over there to die. That's what created resistance."
Earlier this year, unknown assailants burnt down two treatment centers, all told there have been more than 130 attacks on health outposts.
Alima's solution, integrate an Ebola reception center then something people already knew, an existing clinic. So, we are at a center where they receive patients who could have Ebola, but what's incredible about this is right inside a hospital, that it negotiates with the community, they're hiring youth from the community, and this could be one of the answers.
But it's still the only center of its kind. Many victims still die in their homes, refusing to seek treatment. And survivors returned to a fearful community.
"Many people don't believe Ebola even exists," says Roger. "If people can accept this crisis, then we can end it."
The head of the WHO says he will convene a panel of experts as soon as possible to decide whether this is a health emergency of international concern.
Now, people have been saying that this should have been the case for some months now, because they believe it will bring in more funding and more attention to this Ebola outbreak.
David McKenzie, CNN, Nairobi.
NEWTON: Coming up, millions of people in parts of South Asia are suffering after monsoon flooding leaves death and destruction in its way.
[03:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So, this was the scene in Pakistani controlled Kashmir. Officials say flash flooding and monsoon rains have killed at least 28 people and injured dozens more. That's in India. Bangladesh and Nepal are all grappling with this very deadly monsoon season.
Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now. I mean, Pedram, in terms of this it has been tough already and not over yet, right?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Far from over, you know, that's the concern across this area. And it's such a wide-reaching area that has been impacted by this in recent days. You notice the numbers here from the tens of thousands to over 100,000 people from Nepal, of course, into India and Bangladesh as well, either displaced or directly impacted by the floods that are currently in place.
Let me put the maps in motion for you and show you some of the causes of this. We know it is the monsoon season, the hard of it begins to take shape across the area. But we did have a surface low pressure system move across the northern tier of India, and of course the elevated terrain of this landscape.
When you talk about this region of the Himalayas, of course the foothills of the Himalayas, you took a look at the rainfall amounts, staggering in the past week or so, exceeding the top of the charts there, indicated in the white contours, there is no white legend there to show you how much that is because that's about half a meter of rainfall in a couple of days' time.
And all of that moisture gets forced up these mountains, it forces it to rise. As they rises, they like to cool, and as it cools it condenses and squeezes out all the rainfall across this region and that's why we've seen a tremendous rainfall come down with this particular set up of the heart of the monsoon.
But you notice the actual amount of rainfall leading up to this point indicated in the blue bars have all been below the average amount of rainfall for this time of year, which of course, again, is the wet season.
So, we remain that way until the last couple of days but we spiked above what is considered normal for this time of year and that's led to the significant flooding.
But notice the amounts here, 400-plus millimeter and a few observation points across this region. Of course, the infrastructure not set up to be able to deal with such rainfall amounts in a short period. And frankly, you out that much rainfall down even in the most advanced areas of our planet, they'll see significant flooding and a loss -- large loss of life as well.
And even in the past 24 hours about 70 to 150 -- to 175 milliliters of rainfall has continued to come down across this region. We expect additional heavy rainfall, Paula, to be in place, but really, the amount in the widespread nature of it should be diminish moving forward, so at least some improving conditions as we approach the middle part of the week. Paula?
NEWTON: And we will certainly hope for that, I mean, half a meter in two days, incredible.
JAVAHERI: Yes.
NEWTON: Thanks so much. I really appreciate that update. And thanks for joining us. I'm Paula Newton. Inside Africa is up next. But first, I'll be back with the check of your headlines.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, I'm Paula Newton and this is CNN News Now. A group of Democratic congresswoman are fighting back against two days of racist attacks by Donald Trump, but progressive say they disagree with his policies and will continue to speak out against them. But the president claims they hate America and should go back where they came from. Falsely implying, they are not American citizens.
In an interview with the BBC, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif shut down the possibility of renegotiating the 2015 nuclear deal that is despite earlier statements by Iranian President Hassam Rouhani saying Tehran is willing to talk to the U.S. if sanctions are dropped.
About 40 to 50 people are trapped, this breaking news just in under a four story building that has collapsed in north Mumbai. Now a search and rescue operation is underway, officials say the cause of the collapse is not yet clear, and of course we continue to follow the story and will bring you the latest. For now, though that is CNN News Now.
Inside Africa is up next.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black Rhinos once live throughout much of sub Saharan Africa. By the ton of a century wide scale poaching had eliminated the rhinos in Zambia. After a group of local conservationists in North (inaudible) National Park, champion the cause by reintroducing them. Their population began growing steadily.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have missed this black rhino in this country, and that is what we are doing is not one work, it is loved by everybody. Because we are getting back the species that everyone wants to see.
When you help with Rhino, I think, they feel it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But can this progress be sustained? And how?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are providing employment, and it is our heritage as Zambian.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are Zambia's black rhinos, this is Inside Africa.
North Luangwa national park in Zambia is one of the last great wilderness in Africa. It lies in Luangwa Valley, in the northeastern side of the country covering close to 2000 square miles, wildlife roams free from hippos, zebras, elephants and gazelles. Michael Eliko is taking his 11 year old niece to Lufa (ph) and his children to meet a black rhino for the first time.
MICHAEL ELIKO, NORTH LUANGWA CONSERVATION PROGRAM: Wow look at that. I want them to grow up with the love of nature, when someone love something, that cannot hurt it, they cannot harm it, they want to wait for someone to tell them to look after it, they care it from by themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael can remember a time growing up when black rhinos were abundant in his country.
ELIKO: In the 1970's they were 2000, in the deserts of Zambia, and additionally along the path we had more than 2000 and the official announced to be extinct in 1998.
[03:35:06] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael was part of a North Luangwa Conservation Program that helped reintroduce black rhinos into the park in 2003.
At the time five rhinos were transported from South African national parks, and since then 20 more have followed from different countries.
ELIKO: I'm very proud because now (inaudible) we have buffalo, lion, elephant, and the rhino. So this are big animals, but if you see these, you see almost all the animals. (Inaudible)
The rhino is eating. Browsing, so much you could see him.
Michael's day job is teaching local kids about the importance of wildlife protection.
ELIKO: So this is how a rhino helps the ecosystem regularly. I take a group of students to the park to go and see the rhinos, and they do really enjoy it. Most of what I teach them as how the rhino can help their life.
I like it, all the teach have been. They feed on the wild stocks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very excited to see the rhino, because it is bigger than I thought.
ELIKO: Some of the children, they had different actually expectations, some of them, they were saying oh, maybe I'm going to see a very cute animal, and when they came they said, wow, wonderful, is this the rhino? I said yes, oh, looks more like an elephant. Because some of them haven't seen an elephant before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was thinking that is a small one, and like a goat, but now I've seen that it's a big one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While the proximity provides an important teaching tool, the rhinos are not always on such good behavior.
ELIKO: My most actually precious moment which I always remember, we had 20 llamas and the game was exploding, what the rhinos doing, what they are feeding in and when they are going to release it, and then the rhino came. And they (inaudible), and you know, the union of those animals white and then they will painted in whites. It was very fine, no one cried. The really like it and they enjoyed it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emboldened by their first encounter, the group tries to get closer to a rhino with the help of the rhino commander and his team. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to be quiet, so you can see it, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are in luck, another rhino has been spotted napping in the bush.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is hard to be this close to this animal, you have to be quiet.
The name of the rhino is Shungo, (inaudible), December, from Zimbabwe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's rare for a wild rhino to be this habituated to people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like doing this job, just because I love to see the rhinos, they look so beautiful to me, but rhinos, they cannot see at a long distance, but they can get sound and the can smell, (inaudible) to compare the white rhino and the black rhino, white rhino is not all aggressive, compared it to the black rhino.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are approximately 20,000 white rhinos in Africa in less than 5,000 black rhinos. There's still (inaudible) in the black rhino world, I mean, the leading countries are South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and maybe we are now sitting between 5000 and that's today in 2019.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The team is being keeping a close eye on Shingu, after coming under attack from the other male boos in the rhino's sanctuary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't see every rhino as often as possible, or in with increasing numbers that is not always as easy. So we know the out leads, we know the ones that that we have to keep a close eye on, and one of the ways that we do that especially with the bulls, the male rhinos, is by putting radio transmitters in their horn, and then we have to shot them both in the grounds and in the air just to maintain a full understanding of their position so we can then better strategized and conduct a protection around them.
[03:40:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The aircrafts antenna has picked up the radio transmitter, belonging to a male bull named Tango.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three years ago he was skin and bones, full of holes from rhino horns from the big boys and now here he is in one of the best sections of the park, with three girlfriends. Now the world has change for Tango.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The park and surrounding areas covered 22 thousands square kilometers, so over 400 local scouts are employed to protect the wildlife on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The aircraft will be in the air three or four times a week, and the scouts on the ground will be out all day every day, and there is a rotation so once what team comes out, another team comes in, so it's relentless, it's nonstop, but that is what works fast. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 60 full-time scouts are deployed in the
specialist rhino unit. Isaac (Inaudible), has nine years' experience of tracking rhinos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible), but sometimes they are not nearby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Isaac is trying to locate a three and a half year old female rhino called Betty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes it is not easy to find the rhino, because there are very far areas with thick bushes. If you are lucky, you can find it just by walking three or 400 meters, (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tracking teams always work in pairs for safety, so one scout can always be on the lookout for the approaching rhinos or other wildlife. It is dangerous work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was with my colleague, we were following a female rhino and the calf, unfortunately there was a bull behind us, and so I was almost stopped on. It is dangerous, see? If you find Betty, in the thick bush, where you have to have courage. In park, now I know how to track rhinos, and I have experience of tracking rhinos.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Up next, 45 trainees discover what it takes to become a rhino tracker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you are doing tracking you tell them if they charges, go for a tree, or freeze, or lie on the ground.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here in Zambia's north Luangwa national park, these young scouts are eight weeks into 11 week program, aiming to become the next rhino trackers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have to wear extra hats, are you getting what I'm saying?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible), oversees the whole of the region security.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since 2005, the original park in Zambia, it is the only park that got black rhinos. So now we want to protect these animals. When they are poach, it actually increases to the level of maybe 60 or 70, we want to start releasing them to other parks, so it's very volatile these rhinos for the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Under Solomon's leadership, no rhino has been poach here since there production. The areas high security measures also helped prevent any elephants from being poached in 2018.
[03:45:00] ED SYER, PROGRAMME MANAGER, NORTH LUANGWA CONSERVATION PROGRAMME: The best way to protect this area is to the people, and we really try hard to ensure that all scouts that come and work here are employed from their local communities, and it is that sense of ownership and that sense of pride which we have to just maintain and ensure that people remain involved to manage these area sustainably.
There's a big improvement, the project has also, you know, put a lot of influence to teach them, in order to train them and understand the importance of wildlife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once they pass their training, the scouts can be deployed in any of the major units, combining monitoring, investigation, park security, or patrol teams.
Scenario based training exercises are in place, to help cover all eventualities of working a team, from stimulating poacher arrests, to carrying out first aid after a buffalo attack. Most of the arrests take place in surrounding villages, so the scouts undergo an exercise in a mocked up village.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those are the poachers that we arrest. They are not one of the residents, they come from outside the areas that are surrounding the park.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They will play an important role in protection and apprehension. The animals are deployed when a poachers footprints have been detected. The conservation program says that 29 people were arrested in May this year, as a result of the work of the canine unit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In one room or one house, as human being we took 20 minutes, but this time around with the dogs it is five minutes you are out. You know there are people who are trying to hide in the ammunitions and (inaudible), in top of the (inaudible), somewhere there, they hang it, with a dog we are able to see it and immediately we will get it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A dog's sense of smell is thought to be between 10,000 and 100,000 times more sensitive than humans. It takes detection dogs around 30 seconds to find a planted hyena skin. She sits to alert her handler to its discovery and gets praise for her efforts, but she is not top dog in the canine unit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So this is Nika, and she is 45 years old and this year she is ready for the arrest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All four dogs in the canine units a rescue dogs from the United States. Nika was rescued from the Nevada desert.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of the dogs, like Nika, she is like, she specialized in detection. When you are doing this job, for the first time in your life to get some with a dog, and I was proud of that and then on the bush someone is hiding and then they trace, and the dog detected on that, then there was blood on her nose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joyce and her cousin Geft (ph), come from a local community and have been working together for over two years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the morning we wake up around 5:30 after waking up we come here and we take the dogs for training.
After coming back from the training we take the dogs to the play area. He is up to training, the dogs and we leave them there so they can relax after someday we will take the dogs back in the canines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joyce and Geft are the only women working in the canine unit out of a team of seven.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have quite a few traditional challenges, bringing the woman in. There was no way they were ever going to tolerate all of that, so we supported them all the way through that, and now everyone has accepted that they are leading the charge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are not many women working in the canine unit in Africa, the two of us, we are proud of working like men. What men can do we are showing up to say even the woman can do like the man can do. So, it's good. And it is good that men are accepting us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe we can help, we need to have more of this, you know, because the (inaudible), so it is actually, a very good privilege to have these ladies in the canine unit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the upcoming five years I'm hoping that they will have more missions like this, and I hope that more of them are soldier now a unit, in order to protect the animals, and I'm sure the project again will be good, up and up, more and more will be like (inaudible), they will protect them for their kids to come and see.
[03:50:11] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ahead, getting creative to ensure the future of rhino conservation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The rhino skip the ecosystem.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Children from the (Inaudible) school in Zambia, prepare for their days lessons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to know, how plans and an ecosystem all depend on one another.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible), is one of 22 schools, the north Luangwa Conservation program works with to help educate local communities about the importance of rhino and why the wildlife protection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These animals, they like to keep their skins cool. They are young generations, they are our future leaders. Because if we teach them we show them that learning and real life, it will be easy when they grow up to conserve without waiting for someone to ask them to do it, because they will grow up with that love, so, this is ours, and they will have that care, the inside care and then in which they help the animals to be free, so that is why we are teaching, I know it's hard to change the mindsets for adults, but easy for children. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The educational program started in 2003, at the
same time rhinos were reintroduced into the park. They say they reached around 2500 children over the years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I want you to go through and knocked down all of those branches and proceed to one and tell us where to go. We make sure that we teach them, not just about the rhinos, even these other (inaudible), because it's very important, and we cannot leave without those things, so if we (inaudible) things together, then we are leaving now to conserving the rhinos.
You can open on page 29.
We hope you can also help teach parents as well. So my target is in five years Zambia, our region in particular will have a list and a number of watchers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Around 80,000 people live in the villages surrounding the park.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come from here, and I know that as a young person my parents used to go and push and used to go and hunt, it was part of our life. OK, but down the line we appreciate it, that if we work together, if we collectively own these resources and sustainably use them, that they can change our lives.
So for the rest of my life, for over 22 years now I have been working with committees in various places. So for me I have great passion personally, that the presence of rhinos is going to changed nit just my life, but even for the children who are going to come after me. OK, so you check the members who are present? OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rodgers Lubillo, helps villagers save their money, and set up conservation related businesses.
RODGERS LUBILLO, NATURAL RESOURCE COMMUNITY MANAGER: Fifteen years ago this was a very, very remote place.
[03:55:02] It was an empty bush, but what you see because of the presence of the pack, because of the presence of the rhino, and the development that is associated, people's livelihood change their life. They've got electricity, they've got clean water, they've got clean sanitation system, so people know that this development that is taking place, is changing their livelihood because of having the presence of rhino and coalition and the pack, because people here got employed, because of having the pack next to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again I said that, we have jobs there. Especially the conservation, they are making money from that. They are teaching people to save (inaudible), and they are doing groups of meetings, it was with people that I don't know that the animal is very important, especially to our future.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The success of this entire program rests on this appreciation, the hope is that by diversifying the local communities' incomes and helping them to protect the environment, the rhino population can flourish for generations to come.
SYER: Over goal for the rhinos within the program is to try and meet 100, and then try to repopulate other areas in Zambia. With the national park on the (inaudible), in the north of Zambia and work has already been underway there for two years, and hopefully in the next three or four years we are going to reintroduce buffalo and the lions and then black rhinos into that, perfect habitat that is remote, it is out of the spotlight, and you know, a great opportunity for us to replicate the success that we've had here, and I think that is our responsibility is to keep this going.
LUBILLO: This for me, is something that I am ready to die for, we feel so proud, we are excited, and it is encouraging, and we just hope that others can one day have the opportunity that we did.
We can protect black rhinos in Zambia, they know when you do something.
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END
