May 20, 2010–I’ve never used this blog to promote or comment on a national political situation before, but the conflict in Thailand has finally reached such a heightened state it is effecting regions outside Bangkok, including rural areas in the northeast and the northern city of Chiang Mai (about 1 hour away from FAE’s Elephant Hospital). Consequently, I feel it is time I wrote about it here.

Since mid-March, more than 65 people have been killed and more than 1,000 people have been injured, according to a Ministry of Health report. On May 15, 2010, the Huffington Post called the conflict “the most prolonged and deadliest bout of political violence that Thailand has faced in decades despite having a history of coups – 18 since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.”

I have not heard much from Soraida Salwala, the founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital, but she wrote to me on May 19, 2010 stating she had to flee Bangkok because it was on fire.

Julia Ferdinand, a Production Coordinator for The Eyes of Thailand who is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, confirmed the fires in Bangkok and emailed me the following:

it’s a disaster area down there [in Bangkok]. more than 35 building sites have had fires. some very large buildings burnt to the ground. been following journos on the scene via twitter… the thai Prime Minister forced the line with the protesters and the military broke through the protesters barracaded encampment down in a business area of bangkok. not sure how much of this has been on the news for you.
several of the leaders of the movement turned themselves in to authorities yesterday, which sparked a backlash and fresh violence throughout the country. in 6 or so, other areas provincial gov’t halls were burnt to the ground. here in chiang mai, they set a fire on the bridge not far from my house and tried.. i don’t know how successfully to burn the govenor’s house.

we don’t know yet if there is civil war as such. it’s a little early to tell. the movement may calm down and appear at a later time.. or it might end.. too soon to tell.

chiang mai is definitely better off than bangkok. standing with the crowd of people yesterday.. all of us were shocked to see anything like it here. really dumbfounded.

As I learn more about the situation, Soraida, Julia and the elephants at FAE’s Elephant Hospital, I will let you know.

For now, please check out the following links:

Reuters AlertNet’s Conflict Time Line

The PSA Blog: As Bangkok Burns, Thailand’s Conflict Between the Red Shirts and the Abhisit Government Deepens

Newsweek: It’s not Just Red and Yellow

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

Yesterday my friend Marc forwarded a link of an elephant painting a picture at a tourist camp in Thailand.  Perhaps you’ve seen it floating around YouTube?

Marc asked me what I thought and I told him, but instead of just sharing it with him, I figured more may want to know whether elephants really paint.  Below is my take on the issue:

From what I’ve heard from such elephant experts as Soraida Salwala (founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital), Lek Chailert (founder of the Elephant Nature Park), Pat Derby (founder of Performing Animals Welfare Society) and Don Tayloe (director of “The Last Elephants in Thailand”), elephant paintings, such as the one pictured below, are a learned trick that elephants at tourist camps are forced to learn by their owners/handlers, similar to how elephants in circuses are trained/beaten (depending upon your take on their methods) until they learn how to walk on their hind legs, raise a human above their head, etc.  Some elephants take to painting more “naturally”, others are beaten or have a paint brush taped to their trunk in order to learn how to hold the paint brush “correctly”. Then, what you can’t see in the video is, the handler will then tap, push or guide the elephant’s trunk to create the “correct” picture.

While at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in August 2009, I filmed the elephant painting act for my documentary, “The Eyes of Thailand“, and I have footage of the handler tapping on the elephant’s trunk out of the view of most of the audience of Thai school children.  Also, one elephant chose pink instead of green to paint the leaves on the tree and the handler actually hit the elephant because that was “wrong”.

With such strict training and protocol for what’s “right” and “wrong”, I have a hard time calling these elephant paintings “art”. However, I do believe that elephants are intelligent, emotional and creative beings that like to express themselves.  For this reason, some zoos in the U.S. (such as the Milwaukee Zoo referenced in a May 7, 2008 article in the L.A. Times) give elephants easels and paint brushes to paint abstractly on their own.  But, this is mainly as a distraction from boredom the elephants experience in captivity within the zoos and it only works occasionally.  Given their own agency, I do not think any elephant in the wild would choose to paint in nature–they would be too busy enjoying life as an elephant!

You can learn more about elephant painting by viewing the trailer for Don Tayloe’s “The Last Elephants in Thailand” here.

Check out past blogs about elephant painting here.

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

May 10, 2010–I am happy to announce another fundraising opportunity for The Eyes of Thailand. From May 1 – June 30, 2010, EarthLust will donate the TOTAL cost of your purchases to the film, through our fiscal sponsor (the San Francisco Film Society) when you type “EOT” in the Coupon section of the online checkout page.

EarthLust produces stainless steel, eco-friendly, re-useable water bottles.  They are made from 100% BPA-free, food-grade stainless steel with very chic designs. They even have a 13-oz. elephant water bottle for all you elephant fans!

This is a great way to upgrade from your plastic water bottles and support The Eyes of Thailand, too!

Please visit EarthLust’s web site and order your elephant-friendly, eco-friendly, stainless steel water bottle today.

Thank you so much for your continued support! If you haven’t checked out the film’s new web site and trailer, please click here.

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

Photo credit: Elephant Parade

Please check out the Elephant Parade that will take London, UK by storm May-July, 2010:

Elephant Parade is a conservation campaign that shines a multi-coloured spotlight on the urgent crisis faced by the endangered Asian elephant. Brought to you by www.elephantfamily.org, the event sees over 250 brightly painted life-size elephants located over central London this summer.

Each decorated by a different artist or celebrity, the elephants brighten and beautify the city, enhancing every park, street corner and building they grace. Running from May to July 2010, this is London’s biggest outdoor art event on record. With an estimated audience of 25 million, we aim to raise £2 million for the Asian elephant and benefit 20 UK conservation charities.

All of our elephants are for sale by auction and every bid you place is a bid for habitat. Mini elephants are available at Selfridges, 80 Regent St, 36 Carnaby St and Greenwich Central Market or at the online shop. Happy elephant spotting!

Elephant Parade is also a supporter of the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital featured in the documentary, The Eyes of Thailand. For more information, check out the Elephant Parade 2010 web site.

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

The Prosthesis Foundation uses the CIR Casting System to create a prosthesis for elephant landmine survivor, Motala, at FAE's Elephant Hospital in Thailand.

May 3, 1010–According to a 2004 Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor report, it is not uncommon for both domestic and wild animals—including buffalo, wild pigs and dogs, and tigers—to fall victim to landmines in Burma and Thailand. Reports indicate that up to 90 have been killed or injured along the Thailand-Burma (Myanmar) border. Though the staff of the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital in Thailand has treated nine survivors, only two have survived and many more die each year.

However, thanks to the CIR Casting System developed by the team led by Dr. Yeongchi Wu at the Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR), two elephant landmine survivors at FAE’s Elephant Hospital–Mosha and Motala–are now able to walk again on their own four legs.

Motala made headlines in 1999 when she stepped on a landmine along the Thailand-Burma border while logging with her owner (mahout).  Originally, they amputated her shattered leg and built a temporary sawdust-filled prosthesis for her to wear until something more permanent could hold the weight of her upper body (approximately 2 tons).

In 2006, Baby Mosha stepped on a landmine when she was only 7 months old.  Her wounds healed faster than Motala’s and in 2009, Dr. Therdchai Jivacate of the Prostheses Foundation used the CIR Casting System to fit her with her first prosthetic limb.  According to CIR:

The CIR system replaces traditional plaster-of-Paris bandages with a specially made fabric casting bag filled with polystyrene beads. By placing the casting bag around the residual limb, a negative mold is formed once vacuum suction is applied. The mold can then be removed and used to create a final prosthesis quickly and easily. The technique was developed with funding from the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research for the CIR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on improved technology access for landmine survivors. The fabrication method was taught at a World Health Organization-sponsored technology-transfer workshop at the Srindhorn National Rehabilitation Center in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2007. After attending the workshop, Dr. Therdchai Jivacate, the Secretary-General of Thailand’s Prostheses Foundation and recipient of the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Award, applied a modified version of the system to Mosha.

The outcome of Mosha's CIR Casting System style prosthetic limb in June 2009. As she grows, she receives new prostheses using this system.

After Mosha was successfully fitted with her first prosthesis, Dr. Therdchai Jivacate used the CIR Casting System to build a prosthesis for Motala.

This process is featured in the feature-length documentary, The Eyes of Thailand, Directed and Produced by Windy Borman and Produced by Tim VandeSteeg.

CIR’s Kathryn Jackson writes, “The CIR Casting System has been used for several years to create high-quality, low-cost prostheses for human landmine survivors and other people with below-knee amputation. Now, Dr. Wu hopes that using the casting system to craft prostheses may be a viable alternative to destroying animals like elephants injured by landmines. He also thinks the system might work for racehorses if their thin, spindly legs break.”

To learn more about the CIR Casting System, please visit:

http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/13.1/notes/jackson/jackson.htm

http://www.instructables.com/id/Prosthesis-for-Elephant-Injured-by-a-Landmine/

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Producer/Director, The Eyes of Thailand