Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/661117
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 APRIL 2016 43 Travel ing the job for 80 years for a Chi- nese mining company. Around 30 of these miners trek up to the crater every day for 27 days at a stretch, sleeping just below the crater in a bare cabin with just a couple of rags to keep them warm. Each trip takes them around four hours, one hour up, one hour down and time for min- ing the rocks. They then carry two baskets weighing between 60 and 100kg balanced precari- ously on a fortified bamboo rod. The terrain they travel is difficult, with loose stones and air thick with sulphur hindering their pro- gress. The stronger ones manage two trips but not all can make it to the sulphur source twice. Once these miners are spent the next team of 30 make their way up to the crater. Holik, a 37 year old miner who has been working Volcano Ijen for 10 years, says he carries 90kgs every day and when you look at this man I can assure you, that even though he is 5ft3, he looks like a mini Hulk. When I asked him about his job and its dangers he says "my wife wants me to work in construction because she fears for my life every time I set foot on Ijen, but I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of hunger". They work through the dangers every day just to feed their fami- lies, yet when you see their pay slip you will be appalled. For eve- ry trip that they do, all they earn is a mere €3.67. That means they make €7.34c per day, if they can manage two trips. Even though the cost of living in East Java is not very high, their earnings are barely enough to support them- selves, let alone whole families. Death is a reality for the min- ers, and on average one miner per year dies from the sulphur gas and when this happens the rest of the miners gather around the lake and throw a goat in as sacrifice. They say that they can- not afford gas masks yet over the years foreign hikers have do- nated their masks to the miners, yet the miners prefer to pose for photos with these masks rather than actually use them to protect their lungs and teeth. A local NGO has helped teach the miners English so that they can work as guides, taking tour- ists up the volcano so that they can make a decent living for themselves. Though foreign in- terest in Ijen is steadily climb- ing, numbers are still not yet sufficient to give these miners a stable income. Trekking up this volcano really opens your eyes to the privilege of being born into the western world. Despite living in such natural beauty, these miners are always one bad step away from death. It is my wish that more tourism will offer these people a way out. How to get there Emirates offer regular flights to Bali. Flights departing from Malta on 7 April and returning on 21 April were priced at €997 including tax. Total flying time is approx. 20 hours. From Bali you can get a ferry to Ketapang, which is a good place to stay before making the climb to the top of Volcano Ijen.