A recent article in the Chiang Mai Citylife E-zine caught my attention.  It reported:

A group of energetic retired expats got together a few years back to organise a slew of fun and interesting activities – Citylife Garden Fair, weekend getaways, raffles nights, dances and parties – to raise funds to support a handful of selected charities and causes. The latest cause for the 200 Club is to support the formation of a non-profit elephant clinic in the Mae Tang area to cater for minor diseases and injuries for the 500 or so elephants living in Mae Sa, Mae Tang and Chiang Dao districts, so that they do not have to travel by truck, at great inconvenience and stress, all the way to the Lampang Elephant Hospital. (Read the rest of the article here).

By “the Lampang Elephant Hospital”, the reporter means the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital, founded by Soraida Salwala in 1993 and featured in the elephant conservation documentary, The Eyes of Thailand. I asked Soraida what she thought of the article and here is her reply:

Dear Windy:

I have heard of this hospital for quite some time, just a quick glance at the article you sent.

I believe that every good cause for the welfare of the elephants should be encouraged. The only thing that might worry me is the point that healthy elephants and the sick ones should not be in the same compound. However, experts would know that.

Regarding the inconvenience of transporting the sick elephants to FAE, I must say that we have built it here as it is the best location for elephants we could find. We cannot be near anyone, anywhere and in 1993 there were just a few elephant camps in Chiangmai, a lot of elephants were in logging in this part of the country and in other regions. We have had many elephants from all over Thailand. Inconvenience it might have been but we have done the best we could to provide treatment for them. And not only the injuries or their other ailments but their minds. Being in a quiet place in a natural surroundings helps the sick elephants a lot to gain back their health.

We may have only two veterinarians but we have trained many vet students (local and from other countries), elephant keepers and to this date, many are working in those tourist camps or government sectors.

Experts in elephants are rare and FAE stafff are very dedicating and I wish there would be more places like FAE’s.

We may not have the best equipment but we are proud of what we have been doing.

Thank you.

Soraida

I concur with Soraida.  I think the world would be a nicer place if there were more places like FAE, treating ill or injured elephants, rehabilitating them after they’ve stepped on landmines, and working with the Prostheses Foundation to build prostheses to help them walk again.

What do you think? I look forward to reading your comments.

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

August 23, 2010– “After meeting a very special elephant in Thailand and becoming dedicated to the plight of these extraordinary animals, I wanted to do something, to make some difference and help in any way possible”, Marieke L. van der Velden says.

What began as the Elephant Poetry and Prose Project, eventually grew into a 40-page tribute to pachyderms. “Tales & Tails” is a book filled with poetry, prose and photos about elephants that is destined to inspire animal lovers and convert new elephant lovers.

People from around the world, inspired by these gentle giants, generously submitted their words, from a 6th grade class in Ithaca, New York to award-winning writer Barbara Gowdy. Plus, all profits from the book go directly to Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary.

To preview and order “Tales and Tails”, please visit Blurb. Free shipping until August 31.

Enjoy the book and check out the resource list in the back… it mentions The Eyes of Thailand elephant conservation documentary!

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer

The Eyes of Thailand

Kanzi, a 29 year old male bonobo photographed at the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines, Iowa Finlay Mackay for TIME

August 20, 2010– I was thrilled to receive the August 16th edition of Time magazine and see that the cover story read, “What Animals Think: New Science reveals they’re smarter than we realized”.

For many animal lovers–especially us elephant lovers–our first reaction could be, “Well, duh!”, but I chose to focus on the fact that science is finally proving what many of us have believed all along: that animals are sentient beings that feel emotions and pain and many are intelligent enough to use tools, form social structures, and recognize their own reflection.

While I think the article played it safe and did not proclaim anything truly revolutionary, there were two quotes  that speak to our contradictory relationships with animals that I’d like to share with you:

Humans have a fraught relationship with beasts. They are our companions and our chattel our family members and our laborers, our household pets and our household pests. We love them and cage them, admire them and abuse them. And, of course, we cook them and eat them.

And,

…we could surely stop using them to test cosmetics, a practice the E.U. is also moving to ban. We could surely eat less meat and treat animals better before we convert them from creature to dinner. And we could rethink zoos, marine parks and other forms of animal entertainment.

You can read the rest of the excerpt here, but I recommend picking up the full issue if you want to read the 7-page cover story in depth.

So, what do you think? Should we change the way we treat and interact with animals knowing they are smarter than we first thought? What are you willing to do in your own life to change the way you treat animals?

I look forward to reading your comments!

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer The Eyes of Thailand

Mosha walking on her prosthetic limb. (credit: Catching Smiles Club.)

August 18, 2010–Below is an excerpt from Kevin James Moore’s August 9th article on the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital and the on-going threat of landmines:

Mosha was walking alongside her mother through the jungles that cover the Thailand-Myanmar border when she stepped on a landmine that would leave her forever maimed.At seven-months old Mosha, an Asian Elephant, had her right front leg destroyed by a buried explosive. Now at five-years old, with the aid of a prosthetic limb, she is walking on all four legs once again.

Mosha resides at the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) hospital along with Motala, a 49-year old elephant and landmine survivor who also received a prosthetic limb ten years after an ill-fated step in 1999 that deprived her of a front limb as well. Founded in 1993 as the world’s first Asian Elephant hospital by Soraida Salwala, FAE has helped these two elephants walk again with the use of prostheses.

To watch Mosha and Motala walk again overwhelmed Salwala. “I was more than happy and tears filled my eyes,” she said. The tears she shed were from joy, “I was speechless and my heart beamed.”

The story of Mosha and Motala has inspired San Francisco, California documentary filmmaker Windy Borman to direct and film “The Eyes of Thailand,” a film she hopes will educate people and cause them to take action to protect the Asian Elephant. There were 40,000 Asian Elephants in 1993 and now there are less than 3,00, said Borman. She is trying to help Salwala in her quest to save the animal that she loves.

“I consider myself a pretty worldly person, but I had no idea elephants were stepping on landmines, especially an endangered species,” explained Borman. “I knew I had to tell other people about it.”

The complete article appears in the July/August edition of The Animals Voice magazine.  You can order your own copy here. To preview the full article, please visit Moore’s blog.

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bittersweet Anniversary of Elephant Landmine Survivor’s First Steps

San Francisco, CA – August 16, 2010 – One year ago documentary filmmaker Windy Borman recorded the step heard round the world.  After 10 years of surgery and rehabilitation, Motala, a 48-year old elephant landmine survivor at the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital outside of Lampang, Thailand, took her first step on her new prosthetic limb.

Building Motala’s prosthesis was a 10-year quest for FAE’s founder, Soraida Salwala, and Dr. Therdchai Jivacate, Associate Professor of Thailand’s Prostheses Foundation. Motala arrived at FAE after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border in August 1999, but it wasn’t until Baby Mosha, another elephant landmine survivor, arrived at FAE in 2006 that they thought they could build prostheses to help the elephants walk again.

“I first met Soraida, Motala and Baby Mosha in 2007 while I was filming in Northern Thailand,” says Borman. “I knew landmines posed a threat to humans, but I had no idea endangered species, such as Asian Elephants, were stepping on them.  At that moment I knew I needed to do something, and since I’m a filmmaker that meant I’d found my next documentary project”.

Over the next two years, Salwala and Borman stayed in touch about the elephants’ progress.  Then, on July 31, 2009, Salwala sent an email that changed everything.  “She wrote, Motala’s getting her leg in 2 weeks.  Can you be here to film it?” remembers Borman. “I said, yes, and then called everyone in my cell phone, emailed everyone I knew and blasted it all over Facebook.  By the end of the weekend, through donations and airline mile contributions, I’d raised enough money to buy my ticket back to Thailand.”

Using the sand casting system developed by Dr. Yeongchi Wu of the Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR), Dr. Jivacate made a prosthesis for Baby Mosha in 2008. It supported her weight and she accepted it quickly, which gave Salwala hope that they could use the same technology for Motala.

“Filming the two-day building process was like watching an episode of Myth Busters,” says Borman. “I was amazed by the technical process, but there was a lot of anxiety as to whether Motala would accept the prosthetic or if it could even hold her weight.”

“An adult Asian Elephant weighs about 3 tons,” explains Borman, “and two-thirds of their body weight is on the front of their body.  Since Motala is missing her front left leg, they needed to build a prosthesis that could hold approximately 2 tons when she walked.  And what were they using to build it? Modified car parts, mainly.”

After two days of molding, welding, sanding and adjusting, the Prostheses Foundation was finally ready for Motala to try on her new prosthesis.  Watching Motala take her first steps, Salwala says, “My heart is larger than it was. Everyone is happy, especially Motala herself”.

“Seeing Motala walk on her own four legs was one of the most memorable moments of my life.  It’s a somewhat happy ending to the on-going problem of landmines in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world,” says Borman.

According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 37 countries have refused to sign the Mine Ban Treaty, which requires signatories to de-mine their country and destroy their landmine stockpiles. Myanmar (Burma) is one of the countries that has refused to sign the treaty. The United States is another.

On August 4, 2010, another elephant landmine survivor, 22-year old Mae Ka Pae, arrived at FAE’s Elephant Hospital after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border.  She makes the 13^th elephant landmine victim to be treated at FAE since it opened in 1993, but there are countless other animal landmine victims that go unreported and untreated because they usually occur in the rural, mountainous borders between countries or territories.

“The anniversary of Motala taking her first steps on a prosthesis is bittersweet”, said Borman.  “It reminds us how far we’ve come, but the news of Mae Ka Pae stepping on a landmine reminds us how far we still need to go to eradicate the threat of landmines for all species.”

“We cannot let animals or humans suffer any longer because of landmines,” says Borman.  “We need a film that can crack our collective consciousness and demand all nations sign and enforce the Mine Ban Treaty.  I hope my film, The Eyes of Thailand, can do that.”

The Eyes of Thailand is the inspirational story of Soraida Salwala’s quest to help two elephant landmine survivors—Motala and Baby Mosha—walk on their own four legs. Treating their wounds was only part of the journey; building elephant-sized prostheses was another. Directed and Produced by Windy Borman. Produced by Tim VandeSteeg.

The Eyes of Thailand is currently in post-production with plans to release in 2011. To view the trailer, please visit http://eyesofthailand.com

Contact:

Windy Borman

windy@dvaproductions.com

Director & Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

D.V.A. Productions

PO Box 420395

San Francisco, CA 94142 USA

Links:

The Eyes of Thailand website: http://www.eyesofthailand.com

FAE’s website: http://www.elephant-soraida.com/index.php/en/

Mine Ban Treaty: http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Treaties

Unsigned States: http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Universal/MBT/States-Not-Party

CIR Network: http://www.cirnetwork.org/

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/eyesofthailand

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eyesofthailand

###

August 5, 2010–Yesterday I shared that Mae Ka Pae, a 22-year old elephant, who stepped on a landmine along the Thai-Burma border, arrived at the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital in Lampang, Thailand. Below is an update from the Associate Press:

Vets treat elephant land mine victim in Thailand

(AP) – 10 hours ago

LAMPANG, Thailand — Veterinarians were treating the latest land mine victim from the Thai-Myanmar border Thursday, a 22-year-old female elephant whose foot was severely wounded by the explosion.

Mae Ka Pae, as she is called, is the 13th mine casualty to be treated at the innovative Friends of Asian Elephant hospital near this city in northern Thailand since it began operating in 1993. She arrived at the facility Wednesday evening, a week after the accident, which shredded the sole of her left rear foot.

“We have to monitor her condition for 48 hours now that we cleaned the wound and injected pain killers. We will give her a tetanus shot later today. Overall, she is a good condition. She is obedient and can eat normally,” said Dr. Preecha Phuangkam, a veterinarian and the hospital director.

The elephant was injured at the frontier, which is strewn with land mines from fighting between the Myanmar government and ethnic minority rebels. Preecha said her handlers might have let her wander to the less-developed Myanmar side of the border to find food.

She joins two other elephants, Motala and Mosha, who remain hospitalized but have recovered well enough to wear prosthetic legs. Mosha became the world’s first elephant with an artificial leg, attached in 2007.

Traditionally the truck, taxi and logging worker of Thailand, the elephant has lost most of its jobs to modernization. However, the tourism industry still employs large numbers of elephants for trekking and other activities. Some, including a number along the Myanmar border, are still used in illegal logging operations.

The question people keep asking me is: Don’t we have the technology to detect and remove landmines?

To answer simply, Yes, we do have the technology to detect and safely remove landmines; but human Ego keeps countries from making the right choice and protecting their own people and wildlife from these hidden killers.

To date, 37 countries have still refused to sign the Mine Ban Treaty, which requires signatories to de-mine their country and destroy their landmine stockpiles. Myanmar (Burma) is one of the countries who’ve refused to sign the treaty,  the United States is another. To view the full list click here.

We cannot let animals and humans suffer because of landmines.  We need a film that can crack our collective consciousness and demand all nations sign and enforce the Mine Ban Treaty!

I firmly believe that The Eyes of Thailand is just the film to do this and we can make this dream a reality with your help! You can help by making a tax-deductible donation to the film through our fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco Film Society, so that we can edit and distribute the The Eyes of Thailand in 2011. Click here to donate.

Thank you for your continued support. Together we can tell the world about the plight of the Asian Elephants and the on-going threat of landmines!

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Director & Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

“The Eyes of Thailand” is the inspirational story of one woman’s quest to help two elephant landmine survivors–Motala and Baby Mosha–walk on their own four legs. Treating their wounds was only part of the journey; building elephant-sized prostheses was another. Directed and Produced by Windy Borman. Produced by Tim VandeSteeg.

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/eyesofthailand
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eyesofthailand
Website: http://www.eyesofthailand.com

Maekapae arrives at FAE after stepping on a landmine in Myanmar last week.

August 4, 2010– I just received the following email from Soraida Salwala, the founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital and featured in the documentary The Eyes of Thailand:

ANOTHER VICTIM OF LANDMINE HAS JUST ARRIVED AT FAE

Maekapae, 22 years old female, has been injured by landmine in Myanmar since last week. She arrived at FAE at 5.30 p.m. today. Left hind leg is severely injured, the food pad is shredded but the nails are left dangling. The wound is infected.

Photos will be on my twitter.

Soraida

Maekapae is now the third elephant landmine victim staying at FAE, joining Motala and Baby Mosha who have each healed enough to receive prosthetic legs from the Prostheses Foundation.

Please join us in sending our hope and support to Soraida and her staff at FAE.  We’ll post more updates as we can.

-Windy Borman

Director & Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

August 3, 2010– Every month artist Annabel Ruffell identifies a specific cause to showcase in her S.E.E. – Soul Energy Expressions ~ Art from the Soul program.  I am delighted to share that S.E.E. has selected The Eyes of Thailand as its August cause!  This means that 20% of the sale of the highlighted paintings (one is shown above) will be donated to the film through our fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco Film Society.

To view and purchase the art, please go to www.annabelruffellart.com and visit the CAUSES section.  You can also email Annabel directly at annabel@annabelruffellart.com

About the Artist:

Annabel Ruffell was born in London, England and grew up in a small town called Ascot, not far from London. She has traveled around the world and lived in Germany, Spain, Australia and South Africa. These experiences have inspired her and are reflected in her art. In 2003, Annabel’s travels led her to Los Angeles, California and she now resides in Santa Monica. Annabel has been painting with acrylics and oils for a number of years now and continues to explore different mediums. Over the years, she has exhibited her art at many venues in London and also at a number of events in Los Angeles.

About S.E.E…. Making a Difference, One Brush Stroke at a Time…
“I chose the name S.E.E. as I feel that we are all souls emitting energy, expressing ourselves at any given moment and we can all choose what we direct our energy towards in our life,” says Ruffell.

“My mission with S.E.E. is to bring awareness and to raise funds for selected causes/charities that highlight people, animals and environmental issues.  I feel it is of the utmost importance that we as individuals take responsibility for our actions on a daily basis and know that we can make a difference in our world, our community, and our life. People, animals, environment – we all share this planet and we need to take care of it as best we can, before it is too late.”

Each month S.E.E. selects a specific cause to showcase in the S.E.E. program. Three paintings will be highlighted and 20% of the sale of each original painting will be donated to that month’s charity.  The August cause is The Eyes of Thailand, directed and produced by Windy Borman. Produced by Tim VandeSteeg.

Thank you for supporting the elephants and the arts!

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

P.S. If you would like to support The Eyes of Thailand but don’t have the wall space for a painting, please consider donating directly to the film via our web site.  All donations are tax-deductible and will help us edit the film so we can begin distributing it by the end of the year!

Together we can tell the world about the plight of the Asian Elephants and the on-going threat of landmines.  Thank you!

Photo Credit: Bangkok Post

On July 22, 2010, a 28-year old elephant strayed from its wildlife sanctuary in Thailand. Instead of sending him to a zoo, Thai mahouts performed a ritual to ask the deities to approach him. While they eventually used a tranquilizer on him, the mahouts succeeded in loading him onto a truck and taking him to the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary in Chachoengsao.

You can read the full article here.

Photo credit: Bangkok Post

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

Photo Credit: AP Photo/David Longstreath

July 12, 2010–According to The Washington Post, “Bangkok authorities said Monday anyone caught handing bunches of bananas or sugar cane to the hulking beasts – proffered by their handlers to make money – faces a $320 (10,000 baht) fine.”

The AP article also reported:

Thailand has about 2,400 domestic elephants. There is little demand these days for the animals’ traditional skills in logging and other labor, so owners sometimes loan them out for begging from tourists and locals in major cities.

“The ordinance is issued to prevent untidiness or danger toward properties and lives of Bangkok residents,” said Manit Techa-apichoke, deputy director of the City Law Enforcement Department, adding there had been cases of elephants hurting people and falling into drains.

Friends of the Asian Elephant, a Thai non-government group which cares for injured or mistreated elephants, called the fines a good start.

“I’ve been asking for them to do this for 15 years,” said its founder, Soraida Salwala, adding that she hoped other Thai cities would follow suit. “It’s not the total solution, but it’s a help.”

Previously, mahouts – as elephant handlers are known – and their accomplices were fined for bringing an elephant into Bangkok, but those feeding the animal escaped punishment. Typically a tourist would pay 20 baht ($0.62) for the privilege of handing a bunch of fruit or vegetables into the elephant’s trunk.

Begging street elephants are a huge problem in Thailand and other cities throughout Southeast Asia and India.  Not only do they cause a distraction and get caught in traffic accidents with humans, but city-life is horrendous for these emotional, intelligent, sensitive beings who communicate through seismic vibrations that they feel through their feet, in addition to trumpeting with their vocal cords.

Let us not forget that anyone who feeds an Asian Elephant is actually contributing to the problem of wild-capturing an endangered species (usually while they are babies, because baby elephants earn more on the street), breaking their spirits in order to “domesticate” them, and then selling them into a life of hardship, trauma, abuse and neglect, where they will be passed or sold from owner to owner for the rest of their lives.

Fining the people who feed elephants is a baby step in the right direction to protect Asian Elephants in the long-run. Once there is less demand for feeding street elephants, the owners will have to make a different choices–perhaps looking to sell their elephants to sanctuaries or even asking the Thai government to expand the The Pang-La Nursery Home for Aged Elephant, which it announced in 21 November 2009 but has so far not enforced.

You can read the rest of the Washington Post article here. As we learn more, I will share it here.  Cheers!

-Windy Borman

Director & Producer, The Eyes of Thailand