Ahead of a planned fare increase, angry commuters are calling for state-run railway firm Kereta Api Indonesia to cut prices on its trains serving the Greater Jakarta area, and the company appears to be listening.
Ahead of a planned fare increase, angry commuters are calling for state-run railway firm Kereta Api Indonesia to cut prices on its trains serving the Greater Jakarta area, and the company appears to be listening.
Spiritual caretaker of Indonesian volcano dies
Slamet Riyadi
MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia — He was the keeper of Mount Merapi – an 83-year-old man entrusted to watch over the volcano’s spirits, believing it could be appeased by tossing offerings of rice, chickens and flowers into the gaping crater.
And when the eruption came, Maridjan was among those who died, along with dozens of villagers who believed him, not seismologists or government officials, about the danger.
As Merapi began spewing 1,800-degree gases and thousands of panicked people streamed down the mountain’s slopes, Maridjan refused to budge from his home deep in the evacuation zone, just four miles from the crater.
His rigid body was found Wednesday, prostrate in the Islamic prayer position and caked in heavy white soot. Nearby was an Indonesian Red Cross volunteer who had been trying to persuade him to leave.
“I never thought he was going to leave us in such a way,” said Prabukusumo, whose brother, the sultan in the nearby court city of Yogyakarta, is now tasked with choosing Maridjan’s successor.
“He’s lived through so many, much bigger eruptions. I’m still in shock.”
On Thursday, politicians, soap opera stars and singers were among hundreds of people who flocked to Maridjan’s funeral on the fertile slopes of the mountain entrusted to his care by a late king. Televisions crews and reporters jostled for position with family and friends, who reached to touch the white silk-covered coffin as it was carried to the grave.
Mourners knelt to pray as the body, wrapped in a simple white cloth, was lowered into the ground. Led by his weeping wife, they tossed pink and white flower petals, then covered it with soil and piled cut orchids on the mound.
One of the world’s most active volcanos, Merapi is located on the so-called “Ring of Fire,” a series of fault lines prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
When he was 50, Maridjan was named “key holder” of the mountain, inheriting the position from his father.
For 33 years, the diminutive man with an impish smile led ceremonies meant to hold back Merapi’s lava flows and quiet the spirits he and other villagers believe live over the mountain that rises from the heart of the Indonesian island of Java.
The mystical practice persists in Indonesia, even though most of the country’s 237 million people – like Maridjan himself – are Muslims. Islam is a relatively new arrival to the country and coexists with older traditions that have their roots in animist, Hindu or Buddhist beliefs.
Maridjan was believed by many to have the ability to speak directly to the volcano, and fellow villagers considered him a hero, trusting his word over local authorities when it came to determining danger levels – with deadly consequences on Tuesday.
“Maridjan was very conscientious in performing his duties. But because he was a role model, many other victims died when the explosion happened because they still stayed in the village,” said his brother, Wignyo Suprapto.
“They thought that everything would be safe because Maridjan did not leave.”
He enjoyed a kind of celebrity and just days before the deadly explosion, Maridjan joked with camera crews following him from his mosque in the village of Kinahrejo to his thatched-roof home. Walking barefoot on a dirt road, he teasingly covered his face with his hands.
He was said to have predicted his end, telling a friend who urged him to evacuate: “My time to die in this place has almost come.”
But far from serving as a cautionary tale, Maridjan’s death has made many villagers only yearn for his quick replacement.
“I’m more afraid than ever,” said Prapto Wiyono, a 60-year-old farmer who was among thousands of people crammed in emergency shelters. “Who’s going to tell us now what’s going on with Merapi?”
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Associated Press reporters Andi Jatmiko and Elisabeth Oktofani contributed to this report from Mount Merapi.
A fisherman was on the way home
Subsequent to having breakfast, I am getting ready to explore the world under water by catching the boat to one of the snorkeling spots. I am sure, it will be an excellent experience, as this area is the part of the world’s Coral Triangle. However, I am not going diving but I am just going snorkeling.
Surrounded by the silence of the island, I walk down to the wharf, where a sexy locally made boat has been waiting for our group.
“Hello, good morning. How are you?” said Ayoub, a Minahasan boat crew, greeting us with a friendly smile before we get into the boat. The engine comes to life and we are ready to sail to the waters of neighboring Tindila Island.
Moving further away from Gangga Island, leaving a trail of bubbles which disappear into the sea after only a few second we reach the snorkeling spot above a reef tinged in light blue after only ten minutes sailing.
While we are waiting patiently to jump into the water, we are given some guidance by Anton, the snorkeling guide, which must be listened to for our safety under water. Afterwards, one by one, my group slips over the side into the sea.
“Wow! This is wonderful” I say to myself. It is so beautiful and so different with the world above water in which I live. I feel as though I am flying freely like an Alap-alap hawk in the air, watching the fish peacefully lead their lives in an around the reef.
I can see a blue star fish, which look so calm and still, gumming itself to the ground. Or, over there, there’s an active small blue fish with a yellow tail. They call them Chrysiptera parasema, which like to move here and there. Pretty clouds of fish of many varieties swim all around me. On one occasion, Anton shows us where hundreds or might be thousands of fish are moving here and there in a large group. “It is indeed a wonderful world of fish.”
They are magnificent. They look like a great group of human being who want to move somewhere, whether because they feel panic or excitement as we approach them.
I don’t know how to describe this beautiful life under the water, although it is my job to. An amazing natural ecosystem seemingly without any human touch upon it. However I can see part of the coral that has been bombed. Destroyed and dead. A sign that our fishermen once used dynamite instead of their nets and their talent. But local government, cooperating with the community are working together to restore these broken fish reef homes and preserve coral ecosystem. It is a great chance that I have to be here. On a clear sunny day, I am exploring the world under waters around the Tindila Island for more than an hour. But, unfortunately, we must finish our trespassing because suddenly the currents bring a sea covered in garbage.
“It is strange that so much rubbish is floating in this area. The local government should have taken an action to keep this environment clean. Well, not just the government actually, but also the local people and passing ships who throw the garbage in the sea.” Tommy Davis, a Canadian tourist, who is disappointed with the floating garbage.
The garbage forces us to stop snorkeling, and after a short break on Tindila Island for few minutes before we sail back to Gangga Island.
Once again, I would say that this is a special part of the world. But the occasional wave of rubbish atop the sea almost ruins a spectacular setting; however there is more to see. The blue water, the tropical rain forest, the local fisherman and the underwater world are just part of a unique isolated paradise off the north coast of North Sulawesi.
While wondering about the secrets of this little island, Anton and Ayoub circumnavigate Gangga Island. In only 150 ha, this island has just two villages. Comically named Gangga Satu and Gangga Dua. From the boat, I can tell that Gangga Satu and Gangga Dua are two very different villages but similar at the same time. Different in how the way they build and develop their fishermen village and facilities. But both remain undeveloped and poor. Interestingly, one is noticeable for its several mosques, and the other two Church spires. While a handful of motorbikes busied themselves on the seafront one could not see any vehicles.
However, Gangga Satu is a slightly more developed village, where an environment friendly resort, “Gangga Island”, was built and developed. As the only resort on the Gangga Island, it trains and employs members of the local community. It reminds me of a conversation that I had with Hanne Harbol, General Manager of Gangga Island, last night, in which she said that they are seeking to preserve the environment both human and natural. “We have a program for the local society, especially for the kids. Every month, we will ask them to come here and introduce them with the sea’s ecosystem. This program is meant to protect this island from the damage, whether neither in the land nor in the sea”. But the big question is what about all the garbage?
Thinking about that conversation, the things I saw, heard, tasted and smelled, it makes me speechless and I realize how beautiful this Indonesian island is, and that there are many more of them. However, I wonder how we will take care of them all. Precious that they are they are not crowded with people, vehicles, office buildings and shopping malls. The peaceful natural world is more than enough and this is what I am looking for by coming here, a white sand beach holiday which is far from the modern life and business city.
Finally, having gone around the island we arrive at the wharf. I am feeling so happy for the experience that I had today. The world under water, the garbage, the island, the people, the current and everything that I am seeing are wonderful. I am smiling as much as I ever have, as I walk back to my bungalow to get ready before having a Minahasan meal for my hungry stomach.
It is indeed a great day, but the day has not ended yet as the blue sky is slowly turning into red as the sun dips towards the horizon. Under the vanilla sky, I sit by the beach, enjoying the dusk with the sillouettes of the fishermen sailing past me, one by one, on their way home The only sounds being the rattle of an old outboard engine and the breaking waves on the beach.