World's Most Dangerous Roads - Java

I'm a slave to the volcano. I lost all my teeth because of gas. The slope is too hard. I can't take it anymore. My eyes sting me with all this acid smoke. This man has sulfur in his lungs and I don't know how much time he has left to live. I love this volcano. I respect it because my life and my family depend on it. My father did everything for me to succeed in my studies. He will not stop working until I succeed in life. The Pacific Ring of Fire. Nine in 10 of the world's volcanoes are concentrated along this arc. In Indonesia, on the island of Java stands Kawa Ijen, one of the most dangerous and unpredictable volcanoes in the world. Yet every day, hundreds of miners venture below ground to extract a valuable mineral. Sulfur all day long, loaded like donkeys, they cross paths along this dangerous route with on one side a precipice on the other, toxic vapors. They are known as the convict workers of sulfur at the foot of Kawa Ijen. Miners and their families use the particularly fertile land to grow rice and coffee. The volcano feeds them, but they fear it. According to legend, the crater and its smoke marks the doors to hell. It's four o'clock in the morning at the foot of Kawa Ijen. Matresen, age 31, heads off in a pickup truck heading for the volcano. About 50 other miners pile into the truck. The trip takes more than an hour. The road is narrow, slippery and full of potholes. The driver zigzags between the holes. One day I asked some of the miners to get off because there were too many. But they didn't want to. And some stayed crouched hidden in the bottom of the truck. Then others got on, making sure I couldn't see them in my rear view mirror. So I continued to drive and when I got to the hill, the truck started to lurch and then it flipped over. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Despite the hell that awaits them, the men are in a good mood for Matresen and the others. The workday begins with a two hour walk, a warm up before facing the dangers of the volcano. Matresen has been a miner since the age of 13. Yet he is still scared every time he makes the descent into the crater. This place is very dangerous because there are landslides and then the volcano also produces highly toxic gases. You have to pay attention to what you're doing, especially when you work. Always be fully alert. At the bottom of the volcano, pipes collect molten sulfur. When it's brought up, the contact with cold air hardens it and the miners break it down with an iron bar. The work of these men looks simple enough, yet it is fraught with danger. At any time, the wind may carry toxic acid fumes which burns their lungs. It's like swallowing boiling water. No minor here can afford a gas mask. Their only protection is a simple scarf. After an hour of digging around in the belly of Kaua Ijen, Matresen has extracted 80 kilos of sulfur. The slopes are very hard to climb. But for me, the hardest part is the one that starts at the bottom of the crater to reach the summit. He was trudged about 500 meters with 80 kilos on his back. Each step is painful. I'm exhausted today and Matresen has made one quarter of the walk. When I drink water, it tastes very bitter. The bitterness is caused by the sulfur and its distinctive smell of rotten eggs that permeates all the pores of the skin. I know that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health, but I don't care. I just need it to remove the bitter taste in my mouth. The porters of Kaua Ijen must tread carefully. The slightest misstep means a fall, which could be fatal. I've already fallen climbing up. It happened here. I was so sick that day that I could no longer get up. And they had to take me to the clinic in the city. Here, the rocks are unstable. And I remember seeing a minor die in a landslide right over there. There's no time to rest as thick smoke is rising towards him. Acidic gas, highly toxic, that in the long term causes bronchitis, fluids in the lung and cancer. Matresen needs to hurry. The cloud is snapping at his heels. Within seconds, the vapors envelop him. Despite his scarf, his lungs burn. It's a shooting pain. For us reporters, the hardest part is the smoke. There's too much and it's everywhere. And when we carry such heavy baskets on our shoulders, it wears us out even more because the smoke is everywhere in our lungs, our skin. And that's our biggest problem. Made breathless by the gas, Matresen has taken two hours to reach the summit of the crater. He still has five kilometers to go, but they are easier. Matresen now moves forward on a flat path and can use his method, which is a kind of dance punctuated by the squeaking of baskets. I have a technique to avoid losing balance. I move my feet to the way my baskets are balanced. So I have a rhythm and it's much easier. After a 20 minute descent, Matresen arrives at the first stage, halfway between the crater and the factory. This is where the miners weigh their baskets. It weighs 75 kilos. But yesterday I did much more than that. I had 86 kilos. Today I don't feel so well. I feel weak. Few men are able to carry more than 80 kilos in one go. Matresen is among the most successful miners. His record stands at 116 kilos. Like his colleagues, he receives no salary. The factory pays them by weight. It's one way for the boss to encourage miners to carry even more. The rate is five euro cents per kilo of sulfur. The miners are paid at each delivery, often with the company accountant paying them in candy or cigarettes to make up the small change. Today, I brought two loads and earned eight euros, eight euros for 160 kilos of sulfur and an 11 hour workday. Matresen earns between 150 and 200 euros a month, twice the average wage in Indonesia. Each day, the hundreds of miners at Kawa Ijen bring up 10 tons of sulfur. It is used in Indonesia to bleach sugar and paper pulp to make matches. Even explosives. It's also found in some cosmetics. As this is a very pure volcanic sulfur, the ore simply needs washing, then filtering to make it ready for market. For every kilo sold, the factory pockets 35 euro cents, seven times what it pays to the miners. It's now 4 p.m. and Matresen returns home exhausted. He lives an hour's drive from the factory in a small wooden house with his wife and three children. In a room, I said, yes, and this is a modest little house and it's in very bad condition. Look, look at the state of the floor. It's crazy because I can't afford real tiles. When it starts to rain, the whole house is flooded. With water coming in from the roof, the whole floor quickly becomes mud. We'd meet only once a week and sometimes we don't have enough money to buy any. So we just go without. There's no radio or television. Everything Matresen earns goes towards the education of its three children. There are a few distractions. So whenever there's a village feast, no one wants to miss it. Matresen wants to show his children what is happening inside this tent. At first glance, one would think it's a play. In fact, it's a shamanic ceremony. The men dance until the gods of the volcano wake up. Although the villagers are all Muslims, many still believe in these pagan gods. Men dance until they're in a trance. Then spirits enter their bodies and completely possess them. They can eat anything given to them, like coconut or flowers. But worse, they swallow glowing embers or pieces of glass. They've become unaware of everything and have no idea what they're doing. Luckily for them, the shaman is watching. Like this man who has swallowed a glass jar. If it injures him, it will be a bad omen. The gods would be angry and wake up the volcano. So not to risk it, the shaman ends the man's trance. My role is to invoke the spirits. So they enter the bodies of the dancers. And when I feel it's getting dangerous, I make sure the spirits leave their bodies. The volcano is feared as far away as in the valley. But not for its eruptions of molten rock or lava flows. Kawa Ijen is dangerous because of gas explosions. It accumulates in the waters of the lake to form a bubble that bursts like a bomb. This is what seismologists fear. The seismograph can detect the slightest twitch of the volcano. It's imperative. The crater is under surveillance 24 seven. And even when everything seems calm, if ever there were an increase in seismic activity, the volcanologist would immediately prevent access to the volcano. An explosion of the poison gas could kill everyone who is on the Kawa Ijen. Explosions are difficult to predict. One of the most deadly happened 30 years ago. It was 11 o'clock in the morning when a huge gas bubble burst on the surface of the water. That day, there were many people in the crater, 60 miners and porters. They were there over here, everywhere. They were even by the side of the lake. Black smoke came out of the crater and suddenly a man fainted. Someone went to help him and he fainted, too. Eleven other men were also affected. Four of them died. Two were very close friends of mine. I was very sad. On average, there's an explosion every four years. But within the crater, the danger comes from the sulfur itself. On this particular day, the men are worried. There are leaks. It paralyzes production. But more importantly, there are too many toxic fumes. There's too much smoke. We must put a tube through him. The only way to fix the problem is to step into the furnace. The men who risk their lives repairing the pipes are called a volcano mechanics. They're ridiculous masks. They would probably survive no more than five minutes in the ultra corrosive cauldron. So speed is of the essence. The leaks are finally sealed. But a few minutes later, there's a new problem. This time, it's a fire. Up there is a fire. The temperature is 600 degrees. The rocks are molten. They're burning. If we don't manage to extinguish the fire, the entire production of sulfur might go up in flames. Sulfur tends to ignite easily in the open air. And on the site, there are several fires each day. Usually, they are quickly extinguished with this water pump. Only this morning, the pump has broken down. It's a pump problem. It's not a good sign. The machine is worn out and the company doesn't want to buy a new one. So for now, we're forced to do everything by hand. We use a bucket and got to douse the flames. With the machine, it takes about 10 minutes. But now it's probably going to take us one or two hours. The machine is almost new, but has been damaged very quickly. This is because of the sulfur. It's so acidic. Some porters have been waiting patiently for over five hours to start work and concern is growing. Because soon, as on every afternoon, the winds will turn and toxic fumes will invade the crater. When the pump finally starts working again, it's almost too late. The fire is beginning to spread. If we can't extinguish it now, we'll have to try again later. All that sulfur will burn and there'll be none left. The fire is invisible. It's hidden behind the smoke screen. And to put it out, men must in turn again enter the fog of smoke. It's a very dangerous area. You always have to be careful. It's impossible to make anything out. And it's easy to trip up. These men who constantly flirt with death are employed by the company that operates the mine. All the former miners who no longer have the strength to carry the heavy loads of sulfur. Like Andy, who began working in the crater at the age of 15. And he had to stop working as a porter because of shoulder problems. It was very painful. He had boils. Every time he carried his baskets, his shoulders began to bleed. Andy is less than 40 years old. He's a man we know well. Twelve years ago, we had already filmed him at Kawaii Gen. At the time, he was still carrying sulfur. We'd been moved by his story as he showed us his physical suffering and opened the doors to his home. We returned to his home to show him the report that we'd made. He watches along with his family. You see, that's where your father works. Yeah, there it is. I was younger then. I could carry sulfur with my friends then. Now I'm not strong enough. As the film progresses, there's an uncomfortable silence. And he remains impassive while his wife and daughter are glued to the screen and looking worried. They understand the pain and suffering he endured for years. A reality he had preferred not to talk about. I would never have imagined that he worked like that. Yes, I did. Yes, I'm very touched by the film. I only now realize how very painful my father's job is, especially during those days. And he never complained about his working conditions. And he never wanted to talk about his work, not out of shame, but out of modesty. At the time, he had said he worked mainly for his daughter. The most important thing for me is her. I wanted to be educated and get a job that's better than mine. I wanted to go to primary school, college and university. My daughter is my life. Today, Andy continues to work for his family. But since he no longer carries sulfur, his salary has been hard. So when he's not at the volcano, he works in the fields. I grow rice so that we can always have something to eat at home. The money I earn at the mine is exclusively for the studies of my daughter. The school which Andy's daughter attends is a two hour drive from their house for her to continue her studies. He continues to make sacrifices. I found a studio for my daughter to be closer to her school. And I pay the rent every month. In school, Andy's daughter is taking graduate studies in tourism. At 20, she is the oldest child and the great hope of the family. My father's work means he can't be with me very often. Or with my mother or my brother. But he does everything to make me have confidence in myself so I can succeed in my studies. And I don't think he will stop working until I have made a success of my life, too. He gives me so much hope. I absolutely must succeed in my studies so that my mom and dad's dream will finally come true. In this Indonesian province, education remains the only means of escaping poverty. For those who are not so lucky, there will always be the volcano. And this is true for Vartan, age 19. This is his first day working at Kawah Ijen. Matrisson has agreed to teach him the ropes. Training begins with the choice of baskets. You know, this one, it's not bad and it's not very rigid. So you can load 20 kilos. Unemployed, like one in three people in this Indonesian province, Vartan had no choice. I used to work in construction, but right now there's no work and I have to help my parents, which is why I've come to work here. I'm still a little afraid because I've never worked as a porter carrying sulfur. Just now, when I took the path up to here, I was totally out of breath. And yet I wasn't even carrying anything. I'm sure later it'll be much worse, but I'll still try. To stack the odds in his favor, Vartan, the apprentice, has decided to start with the smaller baskets, those that can carry only 20 kilos. Where do we get the sulfur from over there? Yes, down there. We'll go this way. And it's important you don't forget to wear your scarf around your mouth. Follow me and make sure you stay on the left so as not to obstruct those who are coming up. On the descent, the young man begins to feel more confident that he's soon disillusioned when they reach the pipes and the smoke. In fact, it's difficult. I have a hard time breathing. Put your handkerchief in your mouth and start with this piece here. And then you take it out like this. Go on, grab it. Good, good. Keep going. Pick it up now. Lift it. Vartan tries vainly to overcome his uneasiness. So it's Mattresson who must do the work for him. I don't have the technique yet. I don't even know where to put my hands. Because it's very hot. The next challenge is to deal with the baskets. I'll show you the proper technique to carry a basket. First off, you squat down like this. That's it. Yeah. Now, put the bamboo rod on one of your shoulders. Put your hands there and stand up now. Now, check you're properly balanced. Looks like your baskets aren't balanced. One is heavier than the other. OK, put them put them down again. I have the feeling that I'll never be able to carry the baskets. They're so heavy. The two men now reach the steepest part of the climb. For Vartan and Thongs, the ascent is a nightmare. Even with boots on his feet, Mattresson has also had enough. I don't wear socks because they would last a week. So what I do is put in some cloths. They quickly fall apart. But if I didn't do that, the stones would scorch my feet. You're trembling. Yes. I feel as if I couldn't take another step. Be careful when you walk. Never look to the left or right and especially never look down. You'll get dizzy looking at such small people down in the crater. You must only look where you put your feet. And it's important that you don't look anywhere else. Mattresson will stop eight times in the course of the day, waiting for his apprentice to catch his breath. And when the two men do reach the summit of the crater, Vartan's feet are in a sorry state. It hurts here and over there, too. And here. It does. You don't want to get hurt. It's quite normal. Last year, I took some youngsters to learn about the business. They all had the same problems. But what was better than that? He was managing to hold on. Last year, the apprentices had to abandon their baskets of sulphur. They just couldn't continue. Both men will put in another hour and a half to reach the weighing scales. But to Vartan, it's a victory of sorts. Come here and grab this. Thirty kilos. I think I will certainly continue this work because I haven't found anything else. But the company needs to give me a salary that is in line with the work, which is really very, very demanding. But for the so-called sulphur convicts, only the strongest men manage to earn a decent living. And Vartan, who today has collected only 30 kilos of sulphur, will pocket just one and a half euros. Halfway between the crater and the factory at 2000 meters above sea level, 15 men live in these shacks without running water or electricity. Most are part of the maintenance team. Here's Andy again, the exporter that we had filmed 12 years earlier. He spends two weeks a month here without going home. I am the slave of the volcano. But what can I do? It keeps me alive. It gives me money to eat, to pay for the education of my children. Well, this is thanks to the volcano. If Kawaii Jan didn't exist, I think there would be a lot of thieves in the village. Hey, look, we ate all the vegetables, so all he's got left are the broth and the peppers. Those peppers will blow his socks off. Cut off and isolated, the men kill time as best they can. For us, it's very important to work with real friends. If we were to get sick, they're always there to help us. And when we feel down, they help boost your morale. Sometimes we sing together to help us forget how tough this life is. Nightfall is at five in the afternoon. The men are preparing to go to sleep. Once mattress and the porter has decided to stay with them. I've made my own torch. To be able to work tonight on the power agent. The next morning, he will have to begin work as early as possible to make up for lost time with his young apprentice. At nighttime, the temperature inside the cabin drops below five degrees to protect themselves against the cold. The miners sleep fully clothed. I put it on to keep me warm. Otherwise, I'd die of the cold. It's called a poor man's blanket. It's just an old potato sack for Andy, like mattress and the night will be a very short one. I'm still asleep. It's really hard to leave for work at two o'clock in the morning. Andy and Mattresson are far from being the first on the slopes of the volcano. On the flanks of the crater, a dozen furtive shadows are already flitting about. You can't see them, but they can be heard. At the bottom of the crater, a nasty surprise awaits. According to Andy, the mechanic, these are the blue flames produced by burning sulfur. And there's a fire that's getting bigger. If I can't put out the fire, all the porters will have it in for me and my boss will be furious. The sulfur won't make it through and I won't be paid. If by day, putting out the fire is difficult. By night, it's hell. This is dangerous. The slope is steep and we can't see the path because of our masks. You could tumble over at any time. Especially now that the water pump has broken down again. And once again, Andy has to get close to the flames with buckets of water. For his part, Matterson is already at work. While there are only 30 in the 1980s, today, the miners are now in their hundreds trying to eke out a living on the volcano. And often there's not always work for everyone. But Andy is not alone. Matterson takes advantage of the night to pick up as much sulfur as possible before his competitors arrive. It will take him barely 20 minutes to fill his baskets. The disadvantage is that in the darkness, the climb up is even more dangerous than in the daytime. One misstep means plunging into the ravine. At night, you see nothing. It's too dark. And it's complicated. We are forced to use a torch and you have to walk very slowly. Well, during the day, we're much faster, of course. It burns me right here, my back. As day breaks, Matterson hurries off to drop his sulfur the more quickly to return to the volcano and stay ahead of the other miners. Because of the fire, there's less sulfur. Much of it has been destroyed. Today, for example, I filled up the baskets with sulfur to be ready when I come back along tomorrow morning. That way, I just need to pick them up here. Matterson is in a hurry because he has an important appointment. He's been breathing in acid gas fumes all day and he's beginning to worry. So for the first time in his life, he's decided to consult a doctor. Because of money, very few miners ever see a doctor. My legs and back hurt. And then I hurt my shoulder. This shoulder here is very strong. But when I'm tired, I change and I put my baskets on this shoulder. And sometimes it's infected. Well, one moment. One moment. Is that pus coming out? It's because of the weight of baskets. You have the same thing on the other side. Yeah, but not as much. I cough a lot when I'm in the crater and sometimes when I'm stuck in the smoke, I vomit. But it's the state of his lungs rather than his shoulders that worries the doctor. Matterson is 31 years old. Usually miners don't seek such treatment. He has made the effort to reassure his family. But above all, he's hoping that the doctor will not ask him to stop working. Should he have to stop working? It would not be because of his shoulder, but because of his lungs. He's breathing sulfur fumes, which went right down into his lungs. And it can be fatal. And I really can't tell you how much longer he has left to live. The life expectancy of those who work on the crater floor rarely exceeds 40 years. But what happens to those who are no longer healthy enough to work on the volcano? In this farming village, about 30 miles from Kawa Ijen, lives a former sulfur miner. At 52, Saji can no longer work. He is sick. Only the massages his wife gives him managed to relieve the pain in his body. I started working in the crater at the age of 16. But 10 years ago, I had to stop working. I had pains all over my back. I went to the clinic and then to see a healer. But I'm still not cured. The former miner has lost everything, his health and his work. Now, it's Dildik, the eldest son, who will support the family. He, too, has become a sulfur convict. I taught my son the trade when he was still very young. Now he is 18. And with everything that I taught him, he'll become a good sulfur miner. At 18, Dildik is the youngest porter at Kawa Ijen. Here, when the miners are not working for their children, it is their children who work for them. My goal in life is not very complicated, really. I'd like only to build a house and be able to take care of my parents and my brother and sisters and be sure they want for nothing. These days, once again, there isn't much work. The fire destroyed some of the stocks of sulfur. There are too many people digging and there is not enough sulfur. So I must wait. But if necessary, I can stay here until midnight or all night in order to fill up my baskets. And it doesn't scare me if I have to. After a two hour wait, he's finally found some sulfur, but it's not very large. To complete his load, he forages for pieces left by others. His baskets are loaded with 80 kilos, almost twice his own weight. Dildik is able to carry them, but he's waited too long on the crater floor and has forgotten the gas usually invades the slope in the afternoon. The back of my throat really feel it burning. Every year they offer it this present. My. With the ceremony, we hope that the production of sulfur will be good throughout the year. But mostly we make the sacrifice for the safety of the miners. There have already been too many casualties among our comrades. Some have been injured by falling stones. Others have been buried by landslides. And down there, there are others who have fallen into the acid lake. So it's better to kill a goat than to see our friends die. For 200 years, the sulfur workers have been taking the perilous paths at Kawa Ijen. The volcano remains as active as ever. To survive, Mattresson, Andy, Tildek and the others may have to work for a lot longer in the land of the sulfur convicts.