For the tourist the attraction of Ijen sulphur mine is the lucid blue flames that are spat from the depths of the volcano. They are visible at night. Whilst for the miner the attraction is the paltry 12 dollars (USD) per day he can earn mining its precious sulphur.
Majestic Beauty, Ijen sulphur mine
The volcano at Ijen on the island of East Java in Indonesia has become a tourist attraction within the last 5 years. For each morning at approximately 2:00am a cargo of local and foreign tourists gather in the gloomy darkness at the foot Ijen before attempting to scale the mammoth mountain before daybreak. Enticed by the magnificent blue flames of the sulphur pit, and then induced by the beauty of Ijen lake as it unfolds from the shroud of darkness, as the mists and fog slowly dissipate and daylight quietly envelopes the volcanos apex
Kawah Ijen mesmerises tourists with its turquoise blue glow and peaceful boldness. Invisible at night, the visitor waits patiently for Kawah Ijen to emerge from darkness. Many climb deep into the sulphur pit to witness the spectacle of the blue flames blazing upwards from deep within the volcano.
Horrors of Sulphur Mining!
But Ijen represents more than a mere tourist legacy. It is one of a few sulphur mines left in existence. Ijen looms 1,983 feet above sea level and is a gruelling climb for the unexpected tourist. But the sulphur miners clamour to the top every day to support their families with a paltry 12 dollars (USD). With no qualifications and little alternative to earn a living, the miners risk their lives each morning as they take on the mighty volcano.
Their perilous journey takes them 9,000 feet to the summit and then a further 3,000 feet down into the crater. Here, the womb of the volcano is indicative of a Dante vision of hell. Entrapped on each side by hazardous rocks and permanently chocked by the noxious gases being spat from the depths of the volcano, the Ijen sulphur miners play their work in menacing conditions.
Real Endurance
Very few live beyond 50 years of age! Fewer still survive the pits without permanent injury. The scorching, chemical filled atmosphere clings to their skin and penetrates their respiratory system, sizzling their skin and blistering their lungs as they search for the precious metal that can be used in many products such as batteries, sugar, rubber etc.
Each morning approximately 300 men attempt the vulnerable mission to acquire sulphur. With mere traditional equipment of hammers, metal poles, flash-lights and an abundance of determination the men can be seen enduring the hell that is the Ijen crater. Very few are provided with gas masks; instead they wear a dampened scarf or cloth wrapped around their face. I attempted the climb into the pit of hell and within an hour I found I had successfully descended to the bottom. Still encased in darkness visibility didn’t exist and breathing was laborious and challenging.
Within minutes the miners were shouting and fleeing the arduous conditions; abandoning their precious sulphur and trying for cover behind rocks or clambering towards starlight at the apex of the pit. The few tourists who had braved the conditions and descended to the bottom were equally startled, disconnected and alarmed.
Panic in Ijen Sulphur Mine
The gentle night breeze that had directed the hot sulphur fumes away from the pit had now adopted a more sinister objective and guided the poison into the depths of the pit to the annoyance of the miners and the unnerving panic of the tourist. The panic itself is worthy! The poisonous gases reduce visibility. All around us men and women clambered to evade the scorching heat. The toxic gas billows and swirls and encases everyone in its clasp. The venomous poison singes the eyes and reduces visibility to inches. The potent gas clings to the skin and blocks the airways reducing everybody to a low gasping cough. The poison is even known to dissolve teeth!
In the midst of this panic the miners re-compose themselves, steel themselves for the task at hand and pile their loads of sulphur into two wicker baskets fastened to an iron bar which they load to capacity and drape over their shoulder for the 3000 feet ascent to the mouth of the crater. A tourist, speaking to a miner, attempts to lift a load onto his shoulder. The man who was around 30 years of age failed and could be heard uttering under his gas mask a solitary word … “how?”
Physical Problems
The Ijen Sulphur miners are paid by the weight of their loads. Subsequently, one witnesses these remarkable men carrying weights of up to 90kg. They are restricted to two visits to the mine each day and normally complete two journeys from the depths of the crater to base camp up 60-degree slopes in alarming conditions in approximately 8 – 9 hours.
However, this remarkable feat comes at a cost. Many (the majority in fact) of miners have obvious physical ailments. None of them are noticeably tall; their physical growth is stunted by the horrendous loads they carry to the apex twice daily. Most suffer from deformed spines and bent legs. Few exceed 50 years of age, and those who do tolerate permanent discomfort, pain and exhaustion. Many others perish prematurely. More than 70 deaths have been recorded in recent years in the mine due to the hazardous working conditions or because of the poisonous chemical gases that sudden flare and billow from the rocks crevices.
Ijen is a remarkable place – it’s a landscape of paradox and irony. It oozes natural beauty; the azure blue flames rising from the crater and the cobalt coloured lake revealed as daylight immerses the volcano. But it’s also a landscape of brutal hardship and cruel exploitation.
This experience is wholeheartedly the most memorable of my travels thus far!
Here’s another of my articles you might be interested in. It’s about two survivors of the communist Khmer Rouge. Click HERE for the article.
The photographs are courtesy of:
Time and TheAtlantic