Indonesias New Merapi Gate-keeper Slug: Indonesia new gate-keepers Reporter: Rebecca Henschke INTRO: Indonesia is in the ring

of fire, with a string of active volcanoes across the country. The most active is Merapi, above the ancient Javanese city of Yogyakarta. Two years ago it had its most deadly eruption to date killing more than 150 people... including the 83-year-old gate keeper of volcano Pak Marijan. His son, Pak Asih, has been appointed by the Sultan to replace him to mediate with the spirits of the mountain. Rebecca Henschke was one of the last foreign journalists to met Pak Marijan before he was killed and two years later she returns to met his son. TEXT: STAND-UPS.background car traditional music We are winding our way up the Mount Merapi from the city of Yogyakarta and we have come to a sign that says you are now entering into the danger zone. It was here as far as 13 kilometers from the top of the volcano that two years ago heat clouds and lava rush down killing at least 100 people. ROADS SOUNDS As we get closer to Pak Marijan and Pak Asihs house you are starting to see signs of the eruption two years ago there are no tall trees in this area. The trees that are here are dead, tall black sticks and either side of the road are empty ghost housesdestroyed houses that no one has returned to live inthe windows are smashed in and doors and the roof have collapsed We arrive at what used to be Pak Marijan and his family compound CLOSING THE DOOR Its extraordinary to come here two years later its so different. Now its a waste land with volcanic ash there are two motorbikes that were destroyed by the hot ash or lavaskeletons of the bikes and there is a car in the same condition that inside a journalist was burnt alive in and killed

The journalist had come to try and persuade Pak Marjian and his family to finally evacuate the area. Merapi had been rumbling for weeks.... They had repeatedly rejected government warnings to come down from the danger zone. At the last minute Pak Asih and his children fled ASIH CLIP 1(Male, Indonesian) We saw clouds of hot smoke coming down .they were coming down fastthe clouds where right behind us so we ran. It was a very frightening situation. The children were all crying We saw Merapi explodingit was time to get out of there fast. It was raining white ash and it was covering everythingpeople were running around looking like ghoststhey were totally white. Q. But Pak Marijan could not be persuaded to come with you? No. He had made his decision to stay. There was no way of changing his mind. In his last interview before his death Pak Marijan, told me he had never left the slopes of the volcano in this 83 years of life. Marijan Clip 1 (Male, English) Why would I do that? What would be the use of going anywhere else? An uneducated person like me travelling! That would just be a headache. No point. Pak Marijans body was found by rescue workers in a position of prayer facing Mecca. Asih was with the rescue teams who went to find himbut he fainted before they found his father. ASIH CLIP 2 (Male, Indonesia): I became very weakI had no power at all in my body because I saw the condition of my house and the nature. I saw how Merapi had destroyed everything it was all destroyed. I couldnt find my father everyone in that situation would have felt the same way. Merapi is much more than just a mountain to the people of central Java. It is seen as a representation of the sacred Mount Semeru of Hindu mythology, or as the home of more ancient Javanese spirits. SOUNDS OF MARJIAN PRAYING The Sultan of Yogyakarta, although a devout Muslim like most of his subjects, pays homage to these forces in yearly rituals. And the gate-keeper, is believed, to enjoy an intimate spiritual relationship with Merapi.

In his last interview before his death, Marijan described his role. Marijan clip 2 (Male, Indonesia): My job is to stop lava from flowing down. Let the volcano breathe but not cough. Thats my wish but God is the only one who controls life. Now the job of taming the giant mountain has fallen to his son Pak Asih. So is he afraid? ASIH clip 3 (Male, Indonesia): No we are not living in constant fear of Merapi. You have to look at the positives we are happy living here. The Slopes of Merapi are very fertile farming land. Some rescue workers viewed his father Pak Marijan as a head-ache because he often dismissed government warnings and stayed. Many villagers listen to him over the government. When the volcano erupted in 2006 Marijan even trudged closer to the peak, completing two nights of meditation at a sacred spot as the volcano rumbled and heaved beneath him. Marijan clip 3 (Male, Indonesia): The government usually gets it wrong. Dont do things too quickly, you have to think first because this community has two warning systems, one from the government and the second one is from the gods, and the gods have not given the right signs. If I come down it means I am only protecting myself, if I stay its for the country. In his death he has become a national hero. The place where he was found dead is now a very popular tourist destination. SOUNDS OF TOURISTS PRAYING. Around three million people visited the site in the last 12 months.and Pak Asih and his family now survive by selling t-shirts, cups and hats with Pak Marijans face on them. People pray for his soul in a bamboo mosque that has been rebuilt in honor of the old gatekeeper Asih clip 4 (Male, Indonesia): They come in a sense to see what nature can do.to witness the power of God. But Pak Asih says unlike his father he will not only be relying on God when it comes to predicting the volcano. Asih clip 4b (Male, Indonesia): I will not disobey the the government, as a good citizen of his country you dont do that (laughs) ..You cant break the law. If you disobey the government

that means you are breaking the law and you might get in trouble yourself. I believe in their ways of reading merapiIt makes sense they have the technology in their hands. He is the fourth generation in his family to be trusted by the Sultan as the gate keeper of Indonesias most active volcano... but hopes he will be the last. Asih clip 6 (Male, Indonesia) : I dont want my daughters to be gate-keepers, I want them to focus more on getting a education. Being a Gate-keeper is a very traditional job. I want them to do something more modern.dont be just like your dad, children have to be smarter and better than their parents! B/A: Pak Asih the new gate-keeper of Indonesias most active volcano he was speaking with Rebecca Henschke