TITLE: Buried Alive under a mountain of ash.

Search & Rescue services search relentlessly, amid tropical temperatures, for the many victims buried under a mountain of semi-liquid lava, scorching hot gases, and toxic ash. On December 4, 2021, the eruption of the Semeru volcano in Indonesia’s Lumajang district claimed the lives of at least 62 Indonesians and over 2000 people were wounded. Dozens are still missing. Over 13,000 people fled the pyroclastic flow (also known as the ‘glow cloud’) in a state of blind panic. The local population appeared overwhelmed by the destructive power generated by the natural disaster. Toxic sulfur dioxide, suspended in the air and transformed into sulfate particles, made it exceedingly difficult for emergency workers to search for survivors in the smoldering ash heap of magma and tephra. The volcano, which measures almost 3,700 meters, is located in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park and is the island home to Java’s highest mountain. Indonesia is located within the ‘Ring of Fire’ and counts more than 130 active volcanoes, posing a constant threat to the surrounding villages.

AUTHOR: Bud Wichers (Netherlands)

At the heart of photography and videography is a personal vision and distinct point of view. It is a way of seeing, a perspective. My name is Bud Wichers and I am an innovative and passionate freelance photographer and visual storyteller. Although I am based in the Netherlands and work as a freelance video journalist and photographer, I was born in one of the poorest slums in Indonesia. My birth parents sought to give me a better life than they had by putting me up for adoption in a hospital in the capital. Eventually, I landed in an orphanage just outside of Jakarta and was adopted by a lovely Dutch couple – my parents. They gave me the chance to grow and encouraged me to become anything I wanted. With the freedom and opportunity to decide on my own terms, in 1999 I became a photo and video journalist. Since I learned first-hand what a difference it can make to be given opportunities, I strive to give others a platform to tell their stories. I appreciate that we live in a global community, where far more unites us than divides us. Our joys and sorrows are inextricably linked. That is why personal narratives are so powerful in shedding light on and humanizing events. Whenever I travel to Indonesia, I volunteer for the Mijn Roots Foundation to help connect adopted children with their birth parents. This cause is very close to my heart. I am still looking for my biological mum and dad.