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    Travel Photography Scholarship to South Africa (18-25 JAN 2012)

    Indonesia

    There are [5] photos and [1] story about Indonesia

    To avoid inhaling the sulfur dioxide fumes while extracting chunks of sulfur, miner Papagus relies only on a wet rag and his resigned determination. Exposure to the gas dissolves teeth and causes migraines, chronic lung diseases and other health problems. “Working here shortens your life,” he says, “but I tell myself I have to do this to feed my wife and three children.” by: walidrsd Views[9096] Kawah Ijen Indonesia: The dwarfed figure of a miner suddenly emerges from an otherworldly site amidst powdery yellow sulfur rock formations, clouds of fuming toxic sulfur dioxide gases and the deafening hiss of an active gas vent. by: walidrsd Views[27417] So long as the miners toil away in Kawah Ijen, they all share the same hope: that this will allow them to provide a better life for their families and spare their sons from having to follow in their footsteps. They cling to this hope and can glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel but it seems always out of reach – or is it just the glow of sulfur? by: walidrsd Views[8301] Burdened beyond the limits of endurance, the miners shift their heavy loads from one shoulder to the other as they wearily reprint their footsteps on the ragged track downhill. The pain is excruciating and the path treacherous; accidents are quite common and sometimes fatal. The miners lack even the most elementary equipment such as gas masks, shoulder support bars or even the proper shoes that could make their labor less risky. by: walidrsd Views[7273] Like grim shadows in the fog, the miners climb out of the inferno, carrying heavy loads of sulfur on their hunched and scarred shoulders over a four-kilometer track to the transport zone, only to make their way back up the mountain and into the volcano once again. They attempt to do two to three journeys a day like a modern-day Sisyphus; the more journeys they make, the more sulfur they carry, and therefore the higher their pay. by: walidrsd Views[7197]
     

    Photos: My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

    Saturday, 5 Nov 2011 | Photo Gallery | Scholarship Entry

    When I take a photo, it is really the child in me that holds the camera and plays the photographer. As that child, every time I look through my viewfinder, I do so with an innocent and renewed sense of amazement at nature and people’s lives to find ... Read more >
    See all 5 photos >>
     

    Tags: #2011wnphoto, travel photography scholarship 2011

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