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Preliminary Results: Social Democratic Party Wins Most Seats; Australian Prime Minister, French Ambassador Speak Out about Sub Deal; Iraqi Prime Minister: Good Governance Could Have Prevented Afghanistan Humanitarian Crisis; At Least 3 Dead, 7 Hospitalized in Montana Train Disaster; Military Regime Puts Activists' Families Behind Bars; Haitian Migrants are Met by Spiraling Violence at Home; Conservation Group Working to Save Endangered Gorillas. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 27, 2021 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes.

[00:00:18]

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM: the end of an era. Election in Germany. Preliminary results just in for CNN, as to which party has a leg up in Angela Merkel's mantle.

They left squalid conditions at the U.S. border, only to return home to spiraling violence in Haiti.

Plus, we'll take you into the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where efforts are underway to save these endangered gorillas.

Welcome, everyone. We're getting our first look at the preliminary official results from the landmark election in Germany. Now here are the numbers. They show the left-leaning Social Democrats winning the most seats, eking out a narrow lead over outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc.

It marks something of a sea change for the SDP, which has played second fiddle to Ms. Merkel's CDU during recent years. Olaf Scholz, the SPD's candidate, addressing supporters on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLAF SCHOLZ, SPD CANDIDATE FOR GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): This is going to be a long election evening, that's for sure. But it's also certain that a lot of voters have ticked off in favor of the SPD, because they wanted a change. And they wanted the next chancellor named Olaf Scholz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: But the CDU's candidate, the party's designated successor to Chancellor Merkel, says he's not ready to throw in the towel. Here he is addressing supporters on Sunday evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARMIN LASCHET, CDU CANDIDATE FOR GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We cannot be content with this result. The outcome of the election is still quite unclear. It's going to be a long night. For the first time, I assume that there will be a federal government with, most likely, three coalition candidates. We from the CDU, we have been obtaining a very clear mandate from our voters. A vote for the CDU is a vote against a left government. Now, it's all about one thing. For the stable coalition, for a strong and modern Germany.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, building a new ruling coalition is expected to take weeks, perhaps even months. It's also likely to require members of other parties like the Greens and the FPP. Leaders say they hope to have a new government in place by Christmas. Until that happens, Mrs. Merkel will remain in power.

For more now, CNN's European affairs commentator, Dominic Thomas, joins me now from Berlin.

Good to see you, Dominic. Not the performance Angela Merkel wanted for her party and plenty of coalition horse trading ahead. But what is your read of the results and what they tell us about the mood of Germans?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: They tell us an awful lot. I mean, what's so staggering in a way, Michael, is that they've known for four years that Angela Merkel was going to step away from the leadership of their -- of her party. And yet, they failed to find a successor who could galvanize the German people.

And so after 16 years in power, not only did they not come out ahead, but they've actually scored their worst score in the history of the party. And I think that's just something that we have to keep emphasizing.

It's also the biggest drop of any of the parties running, this time around. And if you look at the numbers as they stand right now, it's interesting to see that, basically, about 76 percent of Germans did not vote for Angela Merkel's party.

We see other interesting things. The others to drop, of course, the far-right AFD, who, once again, you know, has not managed to sort of captivate people around its single policy, anti-immigration. And the age-old sort of legacy from the former GDR, Die Linke, is almost on the verge of extinction, just about making it into -- into the Parliament.

So having said that, the three that have gained are, of course, Olaf Scholz's SDP and the Greens, and the FDP, who of course, now know full well that they will be the king makers in forming a coalition, moving forward.

HOLMES: Yes. Merkel, of course, had this highly polished reputation abroad, perhaps less so, we learned, at home, with her popularity waning in the last few. So, what will Germans be looking for from their new leader?

THOMAS: Yes, well, when I think that what we're seeing is essentially this coalition in which, you know, the SBD and the CDU were together in coalition with Merkel for three out of her four cabinets. And essentially, what you had was a sort of center-left to center-right government.

It's clear now that we've moved towards a more center-left alignment, in terms of where the German population sees itself.

[00:05:05]

And you can see the CDU sort of scaremongering, as we go into these coalition talks, trying to sort of spread fear about this being a kind of leftist government, with higher taxes and so on and so forth.

The reality, though, is much closer to what we would say continuity. Except for the far-right AFD, all of the main political parties understand the climate must be put at front and center. It's just the degree to which and the aggressive nature of the policy changes.

They understand that infrastructural change is going to be important, and so on.

But really, what we're seeing here is actually more of a shift towards domestic policies, towards things that have to be taken care of in Germany, especially in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. Rather than Germany as an external, looking out, global leadership kind of country.

And I think to that extent, the global population is going to have to recalibrate, as Germany looks internally a little bit more. And, of course, with this coalition that will involve, likely, three different parties, it's going to be a certain kind of fragility, and it's going to take a lot of attention at home to maintain that continuity.

HOLMES: Yes, fascinating. And obviously, the election impacted Germans, of course, but how might it impact the European Union, given Merkel's own role as a constant, a unifier, the glue, in a way, for the E.U.?

THOMAS: Yes. And I think that's -- you know, also, let's not forget that Emmanuel Macron, another E.U. staunch defender, is up for reelection in the spring of 2022. We're still reeling from the aftermath of, of course, years of negotiation around Brexit. The Trump presidency did not help, of course, with these institutions. And there's a kind of fragility there, again, when it comes to talking about Europe.

Angela Merkel was certainly very powerful in sort of staving off some of that right-wing populist kind of rhetoric and taking on that sort of leadership role. And I think that one can expect less of a presence, that the institution will continue, but I think, ultimately, it gets -- it is weakened as one moves away, towards these -- these other sorts of issues. And it's going to be interesting to see how that ultimately unfolds,

especially with the recent new U.S. presidency and so on and the tensions that are currently there, across the Atlantic, with France, the United States, and so on.

HOLMES: And it's a European issue, but also a German issue very much. And you touched on this.

Immigration, refugees, a big issue in Germany. And back in 2015, after the big influx, they boosted -- that issue boosted the far-right. The far-right's not done well in this election. So, where does opposition to migrants -- Where does immigration stand as an issue in Germany?

THOMAS: Yes, I mean, it continues to be a subject of discussion. But it was clear that 2015, in the so-called migrants crisis, really helped the far right take on this kind of policy. It had initially been an austerity party. It sort of hitched its horse to the whole issue of immigration.

And at the time, it was interesting to see that not only did they -- were they, you know, the second main party in the east of Germany, where there were issues around, of course, you know, identity, unemployment, income disparity. But there were also able to get a substantial portion of the vote in West Germany.

But they've gone overall from being the third party to the fifth party, with barely 10 percent of the vote. The issue has -- that has moved on. It's no longer something that troubles the German people or that was instrumentalized.

Where I do you see an issue for concern is here, with the unlikelihood of the CDU ending up in power. As the CDU, in so many ways, implodes and rethinks its agenda, the question will be the extent to which they attempt to capture back some of their electorate from the far-right and to give oxygen to some of those issues again, as a way of attracting those voters.

And I think that that's something to be concerned about, as we move forward, and we've seen this happen in France. We certainly saw what happened with the Conservative Party in the U.K. around Brexit.

HOLMES: That is a fascinating aspect. Merkel had moved the party so much to the center. Will they now move to the right? Interesting stuff. Dominic Thomas in Berlin, great analysis, as always. Thanks.

THOMAS: Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: Well, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is defending Australia's new submarine pact with the U.S. And U.K. He told CBS News "Face the Nation" why Australia decided not to get the subs from France.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We were very clear that we had deep concerns that conventional submarines would no longer do the job. We had discussions about that. And at the end of the day, we didn't see the situation the same.

The French obviously thought that their submarines could still do the job. We didn't believe that was the case. And as a result, we decided not to proceed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:10:05]

HOLMES: But France isn't taking the situation lightly, of course. While the White House says the U.S. and French president shared a friendly call over this dispute, the French ambassador to the U.S. says rebuilding trust between the countries will take time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIPPE ETIENNE, FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Allies behave in other ways. They consult each other, and it did not happen. And it costs a tremendous amount of trust. We lost trust. And now, the way ahead is to really -- to find again the trust. And to find again the trust. And it will be my work and the work of the two governments. We have -- we have to work together on very important issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The British government is suspending competition laws, making it easier for companies to share information and work together, to ease a major fuel shortage.

It's not the fuel that's ensured supply, but rather enough drivers to deliver it, leading to huge lines at gas stations.

Now, this move will make it easier for the fuel industry to deliver supplies where they're needed most.

The driver shortage has been blamed, in part, on Brexit laws and also COVID. The U.K. says it will issue thousands of temporary visas to foreign truck drivers, to prevent disruptions ahead of Christmas.

Now, a return to strict and brutal Taliban law appears to be taking place across Afghanistan.

In Helmand province, the extremists are now cracking down on barbershops, saying they cannot shave men's beards, nor can they play music. The rule was issued by the Department of Propagating Virtue and Preventing Vice. The Taliban says any shop found violating the measure will be punished.

This comes after the militants put the dead bodies of alleged kidnappers on display in Herat.

Meanwhile, Iraq's president speaking out on Afghanistan's fall to the Taliban. Both countries have had a prolonged U.S. presence, of course, but earlier this year, the U.S. announced an and to its combat mission in Iraq.

Here's what the Iraqi leader told CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARHAM SALIH, IRAQI PRESIDENT: Obviously, I was very concerned about the plight of the Afghani people. I feel for them. I know what it means to be in a situation of conflict for so long. I know the plight of refugees. I have been a refugee myself, and many Iraqis have been forced to flee their country. So I felt very concerned about the plight of the Afghani people.

But there was also a lesson learned from what happened there, 20 years on from the American intervention and international intervention in Iraq. It tells you --

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: In Afghanistan.

SALIH: It tells you -- sorry, in Afghanistan. No matter how much international support, and no matter how much investment is made in these situations, without legitimacy and without good governance and without support of your own population, you cannot survive.

And the lesson of Afghanistan is that corruption stands in the way of good governance, stands in the way of stability. And the -- hopefully, the lesson learned from that is that good governance should be at the heart of any international engagement with any -- anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Pfizer's CEO says his company is ready to ask the FDA to authorize use of its COVID vaccine in children 5 to 11. He says Pfizer will be submitting data within days, not weeks.

The FDA will then review that data and, if they authorize it, vaccine advisers at the CDC will then decide whether it should be recommended for younger children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERT BOURLA, PFIZER CEO: If they approve it, we will be ready with our manufacturing to provide this new formulation of the vaccine. Because the vaccine that the kids will receive, which is 5 to 11, it is a different formulation. it is almost, not almost, it's one-third of the dose that we are giving to the rest of the population.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, of course, as more Americans get vaccinated, the country will move closer to so-called herd immunity. But according to the CDC, only a little more than 55 percent of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated right now.

The CDC says adequate rates of vaccination could help prevent the rise of new COVID mutations, as well. Here's more from the former FDA commissioner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: I think on the back end of this, you're not going to see the same level of extreme death and disease that we're experiencing right now after this Delta wave courses through the country.

The reality is that people -- everyone in the country, or most people, are going to end up with immunity from coronavirus. Some people are going to choose to acquire it through vaccinations. Some people are, unfortunately, going to acquire their immunity through no choice, by getting infected.

[00:15:03]

This Delta infection isn't going to spare many people, because it's so contagious. So people who choose to get -- go unvaccinated, they're going to be very vulnerable to getting infected through this Delta wave.

So on the back end of this, if we're at 90 percent levels of immunity across the population, which is probably where we'll be -- We're probably at 80 percent right now -- you're not going to see the same level of death and disease, because most people will be protected with some level of immunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: New York Governor Kathy Hochul is preparing to address potential medical staffing shortages due to the state's healthcare vaccination mandate. The deadline for healthcare workers to get vaccinated with at least one COVID shot is Monday.

The governor is considering a potential state of emergency, which would allow the government to deploy medically-trained National Guard members as needed.

Last week, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky broke with her own advisers at the CDC and recommended boosters for Americans who live and work in high-risk settings. On Sunday, she defended that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: There was some real scientific discussion. And the scientific close call was for those people who are at high risk of living -- in matter (ph) of where they live or where they work.

And because of that close call, and because of all the evidence we reviewed, both at the FDA and at the CDC, I felt it was appropriate for those people to also be eligible for boosters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Still to come on the program, U.S. investigators are looking into what caused this passenger train to derail in a deadly incident. We'll hear from a survivor coming up. Also, live images here. That volcano in the Canary Islands has been

erupting for more than a week now. Why officials say it will continue until Christmas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Have a look at that. You're looking at a dramatic video of a church collapsing in the Canary Islands.

The building was on the island of lock on La Palma, where of course, that volcano has been erupting for more than a week now. The lava engulfed the church, causing it to crumble to the ground.

Hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed since the volcano first erupted.

Now, officials warn that that volcano in La Palma is getting even more dangerous, and experts predict lava explosions will last another three months.

Here's live pictures, again, coming to you now.

Nearly 7,000 people have been evacuated now. But residents are in limbo, as flights remain canceled for a second straight day. So it's hard to get out if you want to.

Drones flying near the volcano show that its cone has broken, which has opened up a new explosive event.

U.S. transportation investigators are on the scene of a deadly train derailment in rural Montana, just south of the U.S.-Canada border. They're looking for what caused eight cars of the Amtrak passenger train to derail, killing three people and sending seven others to the hospital.

[00:20:13]

Montana's governor called it a heartbreaking event and said all passengers have been now accounted for.

The railway releasing a statement on behalf of its CEO, saying, quote, "We have no words that can adequately express our sorrow for those who lost a loved one or were hurt in this horrible event. They're in our thoughts and prayers."

CNN's Natasha Chen with more on the disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials say at least three people have been killed with more injured, as rescue crews work to help passengers of these overturned train cars.

The Amtrak Empire Builder 727 had taken off from Chicago, headed towards Seattle, a trip Amtrak says on its website that allows passengers to experience the rugged splendor of the American west, including major portions of the Lewis and Clark trail.

Instead, at around 4 p.m. Mountain Time on Saturday, near Joplin, Montana, the idyllic scene turned to tragedy.

MEGAN VANDERVEST, PASSENGER ON DERAILED TRAIN: It was probably 10 or 15 seconds of rocking back and forth and tons of noise, and then we came to a stop.

CHEN: Megan Vandervest was taking a nap in one of the front sleeper cars that did not derail.

Amtrak said there were approximately 141 passengers and 16 crew members. The train had two locomotives and 10 cars in total, eight of which derailed.

VANDERVEST: I would describe the experience as kind of, like, extreme turbulence on an airplane but, like, louder, and there was kind of a lot of smoke smell.

CHEN: She said there was silence in her car and that passengers evacuated within 10 minutes. It wasn't until she got outside that she realized the extent of the problem. She says while the front cars weren't affected, she could see a couple of cars behind that had derailed and sat between two tracks. Then --

VANDERVEST: The one behind that one had, like, completely tipped over and fallen over. And that was kind of the most shocking part. Like, immediate shock when we got off, because we didn't know anything that significant had happened.

CHEN: Photos from her and other passengers show several cars on their side. She said there were also passengers in front sleeper cars who were worried about their loved ones riding in other parts of the train.

VANDERVEST: The mood was very, like, disconnected. I think a lot of people were just trying to process what happened. I mean, not really understanding. Especially the people who were in cars that had tipped over. You know, they were kind of coming out of it not even knowing what to think or how to process what just happened to them, really.

CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Russian fighter jets escorted a U.S. Air Force bomber over the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. Russian state media, citing the military, said the American bomber reportedly approached Russian airspace.

However, there were no violations of Russia's border or dangerous proximity of planes in the air.

The Russian jets escorted the U.S. plane until it moved away from the border. The encounter, the latest incident in recent years between Russian aircraft and U.S. or NATO aircraft. Meanwhile, Russia's foreign minister says Mali plans to hire private

Russian mercenaries to assist with security. Mali's prime minister says the African country is at breaking point. He spoke at the U.N. of the need for a new security strategy, citing rampant terrorism and criminal violence.

Mali's prime minister also accusing France of abandoning the country, by withdrawing troops, forcing them to turn to new security partners.

The French foreign minister has raised concern over the potential presence of mercenaries in Mali with Sergey Lavrov. Here's Lavrov's response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Mali has approached Russian private military companies. We have nothing to do with that. This is an activity which has been carried out on a legitimate basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The Kremlin has released new images showing Vladimir Putin enjoying the great outdoors. This coming after the Russian president said he would self-isolate earlier this month, as several people around him tested positive for COVID-19.

However, new images were taken prior to that possible COVID exposure. Now the footage shows Putin recently fishing and hiking in Siberia.

The Kremlin says he stopped there for a few days, after a working trip to Russia's far east in early September.

Mr. Putin's downtime has been well-chronicled over the years, as he seeks to portray a macho image, often photographed outside, once famously riding bare-chested on a horse, as well as taking part in other outdoor activities.

In Myanmar, thousands of people have been arrested since the military coup, almost eight months ago. But when the military junta cannot reach its opponents, it goes after their families, including children.

[00:25:00]

Paula Hancocks reports about the policy of collective punishment that put a 5-year-old girl behind bars.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A 5- year-old girl sings along to a favorite song. At first glance, a picture of innocence.

But Su Htet Waing's innocence is gone, taken away by Myanmar's brutal military. Soldiers arrested her, along with her mother and older sister, because

her father, a leader in the pro-democracy movement, was in hiding. Released after 18 days, she spent her 5th birthday behind bars. She is now reunited with her father.

Hiding in the jungle, Soe Htay sends us audio clips through his mobile.

SU HTET WAING, IMPRISONED BY MYANMAR'S MILITARY: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I want to sleep with Mummy, but the police have detained her, so I hate them.

HANCOCKS: The young girl says she was forced to stay in a half- sitting, half-standing position, widely considered to be a stress position.

WAING: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I hate the police who made me sit in the squat position.

HANCOCKS: The U.N. Committee Against Torture views stress positions as contrary to the convention against torture.

TOM ANDREWS, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR MYANMAR: I've seen reports of infants being abducted. It's just a degree of outrage that it's just hard to put in words. Just how angry I am at the depths that this military junta is willing to go.

HANCOCKS: He said the military detailed questions about the girl's detention. They have not responded to our emails or texts.

SOE HTAY, PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST (through translator): She's still suffering from mental trauma. She wakes up in the morning crying, saying, "I miss my mom and I miss my older sister. Why aren't they back yet?"

HANCOCKS: Soe Htay refuses to give up on his fight for democracy, despite his seemingly desperate situation. He says his wife and daughter have been sentenced to three years in prison and have been separated from each other.

He heard his daughter contracted COVID-19 in prison, but has since recovered.

Khaing Zin Thaw is a social influencer with around 700,000 followers on Facebook. She's been active in the civil disobedience movement, collecting donations for protesters, before going into hiding when the military tried to arrest her.

Instead, she says they arrested her parents and sister-in-law. The latter has since been released.

"My father was on medication," she says, "but he doesn't have any in prison. I sent food but have no idea if it gets to him. I heard from a source that my father has been tortured. Sometimes, I feel like I'm losing my mind."

Khaing Zin Thaw says she feels guilty her parents are suffering, desperate she has no contact with them, and guilty she can no longer help protesters from hiding.

ANDREWS: A form of terror in which they are intimidating people to an extraordinary degree. People are extremely fearful.

HANCOCKS: Two more families torn apart by a ruthless military hunter, intent on holding power, no matter the cost to the people in Myanmar.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Quick break here on the program. When we come back, the Biden administration under intense scrutiny for returning Haitian migrants to a nation in turmoil. CNN is on the ground, finding out what forced them to flee in the first place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:36]

HOLMES: Welcome back. The Del Rio camp has been cleared out, but the Biden White House is still facing controversy for its handling of the migrant crisis.

It now says about 4,000 people detained around the Texas camp, many of them Haitians, have been expelled from the U.S. under a public health order.

Now that same rule was used during the Trump era. It gives officials the power during a pandemic to turn back migrants and deny them the chance to seek asylum.

At the same time, another 13,000 migrants have been allowed to enter the U.S., at least for now, while it's determined if they can say. Here's more from the homeland security chief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: When we do not expel an individual by reason of the public health imperative, those individuals are actually placed in immigration court proceedings. They go before a judge. They can make a claim of asylum or other claim to remain in the United States.

If the judge approves that claim, they are, under the law, able to remain. If the judge denies it, then they are removed from the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Mayorkas went on to tell FOX News another 10 to 12,000 migrants who were detained Del Rio have been released into the U.S. And it's possible that number could go even higher. The Republican governor in Texas had this response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Listen, Secretary Mayorkas and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and President Biden, they are in dereliction of duty. Listen, I talked about the laws they were trying to apply.

The United States Constitution itself requires that the president and the federal government secure the sovereignty of the United States of America, including the states in the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Haitian migrants returned to their homeland by the U.S. are coming face to face with the very reasons they left in the first place.

The killing of Haiti's president and a deadly earthquake have made conditions in the impoverished island nation even worse than they were before. And they were bad then.

CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Haiti on a nation facing extreme gang violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here, even church is no sanctuary. The blood still marks the steps of this Baptist church, in the very heart of Port-au-Prince.

As Sunday service began, an armed gang attacked, wounding several of the congregation and killing one man, who tried, but failed, to stop his wife from being kidnapped.

"Who will pay the ransom now?" asks Mary Yolandshil (ph), a human rights advocate who explains that nothing in Haiti is now sacred, and no one's safe.

"We are in peace nowhere," she says. "Not even in the president's house. He was executed, the most protected man in the country," she says, referring to the assassination of the Haitian president, Juvenal Moise, in July.

Jil (ph) says this kidnapping is at least the tenth in the Haitian capital since Tuesday, the very week that has seen thousands of deportees returned to Port-au-Prince. A city many had left in the years following the 2010 earthquake, fleeing both its poverty and insecurity. Now that is only getting worse.

BRUNO LEMARQUIS, U.N. DEPUTY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY- GENERAL: We understand there is an uptick in the number of kidnappings. The authorities react by having more patrol in the streets.

BELL (on camera): You can see on the streets of Port-au-Prince, that increased police presence. And yet, as visible as it is intended to be, it doesn't seem to be doing much to reassure Haitians that it's safe to go out into the streets once again.

"It's like a boat on the ocean with no captain," says Jil (ph). "The country is left to its own devices. Gangs rule and keep gaining ground. So we are abandoned to our fate."

Since much of it was leveled in 2010, Port-au-Prince is a city that has struggled to stand up.

Now, gang violence has forced entire neighborhoods to flee what little they had, like the 219 families living inside this dilapidated school building, one of seven camps for internally displaced people, or IDP's, in the capital. Camps that are not designed to accommodate the returnees.

[00:35:05]

LOUBY GEORGES, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION: Clashes between different gangs have really blown out of control. And so, you find persons like the IDPs that are here. They had to leave their permanent village or campsite, in which they were residing since the earthquake in 2010. So imagine that.

BELL: In all, the United Nations says the 20,000 people in Port-au- Prince have been displaced by gang violence in the last year. A homeland even more dangerous to those being deported by the United States this week than the one they fled.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, endangered gorillas and one group working to protect their future. I'll speak with a filmmaker about his experience working with trackers and following the gorillas' path.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: You're looking there at Eastern Lowland Gorillas, also known as Grauer's gorillas. This is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They're the largest of all the gorilla sub-species, and they are critically endangered, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Groups likely the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund are partnering with families in the Congo to protect the gorillas and their habitats.

Thomas Nybo is a freelance photographer and filmmaker. He joins me now from Decatur, Alabama. He's worked in more than 100 countries for UNICEF, "The New York Times," PBS "Frontline," and yes, CNN.

Good to see you, Thomas.

This latest trip of yours, first off, give us a sense of the status of these endangered gorillas. You know, the numbers getting better or worse, what is the overall situation? THOMAS NYBO, FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER AND FILMMAKER: The gorillas I

focused on were called Grauer's gorillas. They used to be known as Eastern Lowland Gorillas.

And there are only about, right now, 3,500 of these gorillas, which might sound like a big number. But what's troubling is over the past 20 years, 80 percent of their population has been decimated.

So what Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is doing is trying to protect these gorillas, most of whom live outside of a national park. A lot of people are familiar with the gorillas in Rwanda, the mountain gorillas, and they're protected.

These gorillas that I was with are not protected and are susceptible to poachers, to locals who might have snares in the jungle or the forests, so their focus is to really win people over. And one of the ways they do that is to hire them as trackers. Hire them as porters. Hire them to lead the teams through and expand their territory, instead of shrinking their territory.

HOLMES: You know, like a lot of people who have never done it, I have to ask you what it's like to sort of look into the eyes of a -- you know, a 200-kilogram gorilla for the first time?

[00:40:02]

NYBO: You know, Michael, when you're a kid, you have these ideas about how something would be. This would be so cool to be face to face with a 200-kilogram gorilla. And this is one of those rare situations where reality exceeds your expectations.

I was with a group of trackers who have been doing this for 15 years, and when you're there, you know, 10 yards away from a 200-kilo alpha male gorilla, and he's just staring at you and he could snap your neck like a pencil, but he's just hanging out, it's -- it's unforgettable and one of the great experiences of my life.

HOLMES: I can't imagine. I mean, you touched on the trackers. Given the circumstances, how difficult is their work? I mean, they're in the Congo jungle for weeks at a time, right?

NYBO: I like to think of myself as a pretty hearty person, a pretty tough person. And these guys just destroyed me. I mean, they spent weeks, sometimes months out there.

We spent about 5 days there, carrying 20-kilo packs, going through rivers. It rains all night, so you're constantly going through the mud. You have to set up your camp. You have to get your water from the river and boil it. You need to deal with angry hornets. You have to deal with bugs, bad weather.

And these guys, I like to -- I spent a little time in Nepal and the Himalayas. And these guys are kind of like high-trained, high-altitude Sherpas. I mean, there're so used to it.

And they -- they carry twice as much weight as me and are twice as fast. They get the camp. They can build tables. They can build beds in nothing flat. And they can find these gorillas. And they daily follow these gorillas.

Part of the gorilla pack is not habituated to humans, so they're a day behind. And so they need to pay attention. They're kind of like detectives. Oh, here's a bed in the grass. Here's a bed in the tree. Here's a half-eaten fruit. Here's some of their scat. Just so they can keep an eye on the gorillas but stay at a safe distance.

HOLMES: Wow, I can't imagine. You had to be humbled, I guess, to go trekking with those guys.

I mean, just to wrap up, I mean, what was your sense after the trip? Do you detect more or less confidence for the future of these, you know, incredible creatures?

NYBO: In this particular area, it's called Incuba (ph), in kind of eastern Congo, I feel good. Because what Dian Fossey has done is -- is interact with the locals and win them over.

They provide jobs. They provide gardens for the mothers to tend to. They provide better health care for the community, better education for the community.

And I think that's the key in a situation like this, is to truly be a partner with the local population. It's easy to lecture. It's hard to engage over time, over a year, over 5 years, 10 years, 20 years. So in the long term, with this particular group, I feel confident.

HOLMES: That's some good news. Good to see you, Thomas. Great work. Incredible images. Thomas Nybo there. Thank you.

NYBO: Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: And thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram, @HolmesCNN.

Do stay tuned, though. Don Riddell is going to bring you WORLD SPORT after the break.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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