Thongbai, a 45-year old elephant with wounds from hauling logs, is treated at FAE's Elephant Hospital. (Photo credit: Michael Wysocki).

by Michael Wysocki

You and I have chosen to care and be a part of a pure thing in this world, but no living creature is exempt from the wrath of Man’s greed.

Soraida works very hard to protect the FAE hospital, and anyone and any Elephant within it, from the corrupt, cruel, and judgmental realities of this world. But with the rains back and the trucks arriving with new patients, we are totally submersed into it. Thankful as I am, Soraida knows that without major change and cooperation from the government this will always be, until the elephants no longer exist.  She travels back and forth to Bangkok immersing herself amongst the tough and powerful politicians, speaking her voice without flinching.

I sense that Thailand, as other countries have before it, has reached a critical point to either protect its environment, which includes the human population, by protecting the forest and its inhabitants; or finish her off for some quick cash. Thailand can be a misleading place, almost like an illusion. My train ride from the south to north was full of natural beauty of what appears to be virgin tropical jungle, in my mind teaming with wildlife such as Tigers, Sun bears, Monkeys and Elephants. I was thrilled with even just the slight chance of spotting one of these species as I stared for hours out the window.  I actually knew that this was just me, again in my fantasy world, but I have always dreamed of that world and I refused to let it go, as does Soraida. There is still hope for Thailand; not only do the laws have to be changed, but they also have to be honored.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

While most of the United States was busy marking the 10^th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, half a world away, an endangered Asian Elephant suffered a brutal reminder of the ongoing war raging in Burma (Myanmar).

San Francisco, CA – September 13, 2011 – On Sunday, September 11, 2011, the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Hospital, the World’s First Elephant Hospital, located in Lampang, Thailand, received word that PaHaePo, a Thai male elephant, stepped on a landmine across the border in Burma.

After being stranded by high tides and stuck behind fallen trees from heavy rains, PaHaePo arrived at FAE late at night on September 12, 2011. He joins four other elephant landmine victims being treated at FAE’s Elephant Hospital. All five sustained their injuries in August or September, when heavy rainfall encourages low-lying greenery to take over mountainous trails used for logging and transport between villages–and rebel camps. Burma is the only country actively using landmines in its on-going civil war and no one knows whether government or rebel forces planted the landmines.

Soraida Salwala estimates that over 90 elephants have stepped on landmines since she opened FAE in 1993. Many died before they could receive treatment, and FAE has treated 15, rehabilitating four to date. Motala and Mosha, who stepped on landmines in 1999 and 2006, respectively, are permanent residents at FAE and walk with the assistance of the world’s first elephant-sized prostheses. These amazing feats of perseverance and ingenuity are documented in the feature-length documentary, “The Eyes of Thailand” <http://eyesofthailand.com>, Directed and Produced by Windy Borman and Produced by award-winning producer Tim VandeSteeg. “The Eyes of Thailand” is currently in the Post-production phase and scheduled to premiere in early 2012.

While filming “The Eyes of Thailand” in 2010, two new elephant landmine victims arrived at FAE. After 12 months, Boonmee’s foot is still not fully healed, but Maekapae’s has healed enough that her owner checked her out of the hospital the day after PaHaePo arrived.

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Contact: Windy Borman | windy@dvaproductions.com

Director & Producer, “The Eyes of Thailand”

Soraida Salwala, the Founder for the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Hospital, sent the following email:

On Sunday morning (11th September, 2011)  Dr. Preecha called me to inform that a Sidor, a male [elephant] without tusk, stepped on a landmine in Burma.

I had to give out orders that every step of our rescue to be taken cautiously. The tide was high, rain was heavy and the elephant could not cross the river back. Somehow he could cross back later in the day but there was no truck available because it was Sunday. How unfortunate!

Why was our mission had not been told to the public? it is simple because there has been many cases in the past that the patients we were expecting did not turn up at FAE and we learned later that they were either not well taken care of or died.

So, our goal is to minimize the pains of this elephant as soon as possible and cure him.

This morning the truck went into the forest but was blocked by the trees that fell down from the rainstorm yesterday and it is still raining until now. So, our volunteers had to chop all those trees and reached the elephant. He got on the truck at 11.10 a.m. 12th September, 2011.

I was worried when I did not hear any report as to where they were and how far they had covered but of course it was near the border, there was no signal or low. By  mid afternoon we learned that the truck got block by the landslide on the mountain still in Tak Province, 4 hours !

The volunteer had to walk long distance to search for mobile signal to call our vet.

By 4.30 p.m. they could move. I was worried PaHaePo, the elephant, would be in great pain, so I asked Dr. Preecha to contact a livestock vet. The truck stopped at the Checkpoint so the vet could give him the painkiller and have him rest there for awhile.

6.35 p.m. the truck has started over 3 hours drive to FAE.

I have informed the Police Spokesman who has kindly asked for the plate number and  the patrol police will help clear the traffic on the highway.

Thanks to all involved.

Hope PaHaePo will arrive safely. The injuries, as I am told, are less severe than Boonmee and Maekapae, but we’ll see.

At the moment, there’s no electricity at FAE, it’s been raining there.

–
Soraida Salwala
Founder & Secretary General
Friends of the Asian Elephant

We will post updates and photos as they come in.

Sincerely,

Windy Borman
Director/Producer, “The Eyes of Thailand“

The Monitor released its twelfth annual Landmine Monitor report globally on November 24, 2010 during a press conference in Geneva. Landmine Monitor 2010 provides a summary and analysis of developments in 2009 and the first portion of 2010 related to mine ban policy (policy, use, production, trade, and stockpiling), mine action, casualties and victim assistance, and support for mine action. Starting in 2010, online Country Profiles have replaced the country reports in the Landmine Monitor Annual Report. The online Country Profiles provide information on every country in the world, and can be found on the Monitor website here.

Below are some reports “by the numbers”:

• Thailand- 18 reported human casualties in 2009.
• Burma (Myanmar)- 262 reported human casualties in 2009, plus two elephants stepped on landmines and were transported to FAE’s Elephant Hospital (this didn’t make the report).
• United States- 37 US soldiers were killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq and 132 in Afghanistan in 2009. In 2009 the United States contributed US$118,703,831 to 29 countries and four other areas for clearance, victim assistance, risk education, and to three institutions engaged in victim assistance activities globally.

Despite these grim numbers, The Monitor is calling 2009 a “year of record-breaking progress for the Mine Ban Treaty”:

Geneva, 24 November 2010 – Record-breaking progress in implementing the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty was made in 2009. Use and production of the weapon, as well as casualty rates, were the lowest on record, while more contaminated land was cleared than ever before according to Landmine Monitor 2010, released today at the United Nations.

In 2009, 3,956 new landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were recorded, the lowest number for any year since the Monitor began reporting in 1999. The Monitor removed Nepal from its list of mine producers, leaving a dozen countries on the list, of which as few as three are believed to continue to actively manufacture antipersonnel mines (India, Myanmar, and Pakistan). For the first time the Monitor did not list Russia as a mine user, leaving Myanmar as the only government confirmed as using mines in 2009–2010.

Read full story here.

The printed Landmine Monitor report synthesizes data from the Country Profiles in order to provide a global overview and highlight issues of special concern. Hard copies of the 65-page report may be ordered online. The full report is also available electronically on the Monitor website and downloadable in PDF and e-book formats.

Photos, taken by Mary Wareham/HRW, from the Landmine Monitor 2010 launch in Geneva are now available to view online here.

Let’s make 2011 another record-breaking year for landmine and cluster munition removal!

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

Soraida encourages Motala, a 49-year old elephant landmine survivor, to put her weight on her prosthesis at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Today the Prostheses Foundation returned with the new “tester” prosthesis for Motala.  Initially it looked like the shank of the limb was too short because Motala was swinging her leg without putting any weight on it. After Soraida Salwala (FAE’s Founder) spoke to her, she began to relax her elbow and put some weight on the prosthesis.  The leg was then long enough to reach the ground, so it appears she was avoiding it because it was uncomfortable.

As Dr. Preecha said, “If she was a person we could ask, ‘How does that feel?’ But she’s not, so we have to watch her behavior. If she was in pain, she wouldn’t move at all; but this shows us that the prosthesis is just uncomfortable”. Soraida believes that the leg could still be inflamed and the “tester” is too tight. So, the prosthesis is on its way back to Chiang Mai for more adjustments…

Dr. Kay cleans Boonmee's wound at FAE. Boonmee stepped on a landmine on September 11, 2010.

In other news, yesterday we saw a huge improvement in Boonmee.  While her wound looked better, by the end of the day her trunk was too weak to pick up her bananas to feed herself. Soraida tearfully explained that she has seen this before and is very worried that Boonmee may simply give up and decide to pass away.  Dr. Preecha explained that last month Mae Ka Pae’s leg looked as bad as Boonmee’s does now, so if she can stay alive, he’s optimistic her leg will heal, too. As we left for the evening, Soraida said, “I’m hoping for a miracle”.

I drove back to Chiang Mai with mixed emotions. On the one hand, Boonmee can decide whether she wants to fight and continue to live, or she can decide it’s too much and pass on. As humans, we like to think we have control over everything—the environment, other beings, our lives—but that argument is thrown out for me in light of these elephant landmine tragedies. They didn’t decide to step on a landmine. Boonmee, Motala, Mosha and Mae Ka Pae were in the forests because of human greed and the landmines were in the ground because of human fear and ego. They didn’t ask to be mutilated, we [humans] did this. So perhaps the most humane choice we can give them is whether they want to stay and fight or, as the Buddhist believe, leave and come back with a different life circumstance.

It will be interesting to see what Boonmee decides tonight…

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

A tear drips down Boonmee's cheek.

Mosha, an elephant landmine survivor, with her mahout John at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Going back to the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital was quite an emotional experience. Mosha (age 4) has grown a least a foot (no pun intended) taller since I saw her last August, but is still as playful as ever.  She was very curious to sniff the new volunteers and was walking around on her temporary prostheses.  She’s growing so fast the Prostheses Foundation is going to have to make her another soon!

Motala (age 49), on the other hand, is wearing her protective white bag over her stump again because her updated prostheses was irritating the sensitive skin on her stump. Thankfully, the Prostheses Foundation is coming back tomorrow to build her a new prostheses.  Stay tuned for pictures!

Mae Ka Pae soaking her hind leg in an antiseptic bath at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Seeing Boonmee and Mae Ka Pae, the newest landmine survivors at FAE, was very hard. Mae Ka Pae, (age 22), who injured her hind leg after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border in August, is able to walk slightly better than when she first arrived at FAE. It’s still painful to watch her limp, but Dr. Preecha says her wound is healing well enough that they don’t think they’ll need to amputate her leg.

Boonmee prepares to soak her front foot in an antiseptic bath at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Boonmee (age 10) is another story. Her front leg looks like an exploded flower and is not healing well, but Soraida Salwala, FAE’s founder, is more concerned about her depression.  This is the first time Boonmee has been separated from her mother and, on top of that, her mahout (owner) ran away and deserted her at FAE a month ago. Elephants are such emotional and social animals that this heartache can cause them to die from the loss.

Anne Snowball and Patty Coogan do Craniosacral therapy on Boonmee.

When we first saw her, Boonmee’s eyes were totally glassed over. Then, Jodi Frediani, Anne Snowball and Patty Coogan (three of the volunteers traveling with me) began using their T-Touch and Craniosacral therapy on Boonmee and she began to weep, letting go of some of her emotional and physical trauma.  She began to open up and soon was allowing Jodi, Anne and Patty to peel and feed her bananas. It was amazing to see this shift and her willingness to connect with us.

John, Mosha's mahout, practices T-Touches on Jodi Frediani's arm.

Later in the afternoon, Jodi, Anne, and Patty explained T-Touch and taught Dr. Kay and two of FAE’s mahouts (John and Somchai) three T-Touches, while Soraida translated. The staff at FAE were very receptive and picked up the touches quickly.

Jodi and Anne walk with Mosha.

Then all six went down and tried the T-Touches on Motala and Mosha.  After some initial confusion on the parts of the elephants, they liked it enough that each started presenting areas to be worked on.  Motala even presented her amputated leg for the women to work on and remove some of the pain from her stump!

Motala, a 49-year old elephant landmine survivor, presents her amputated leg for TTouch.

It was quite an experience to be back and witness another dimension of the healing and growth at FAE–and this is only the beginning! We’re here for four more days, so stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact Name: Windy Borman

Email: windy@dvaproductions.com

ELEPHANTS LOSE LIMBS AND LIVES IN THAILAND

Award-winning Filmmakers’ fight for Elephant Landmine Survivors in new shocking documentary, “The Eyes of Thailand”, takes them to the International Convention to Ban Landmines in Laos

San Francisco, CA – October 8, 2010 – D.V.A. Productions, in association with Indiewood Pictures, currently in production on the powerful feature-length documentary film, The Eyes of Thailand, about the plight of Asian Elephants grossly injured and disfigured from stepping on forgotten landmines buried along the Thai-Myanmar border, will attend and film November’s International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)’s Youth Leaders Forum in Vientiane, Laos. The ICBL is a 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate responsible for bringing about the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. The film is directed and produced by Windy Borman, who started the film three years ago, and produced by Tim VandeSteeg, who recently produced the award-winning documentary, My Run, narrated by Billy Bob Thornton.  “What The Cove was for dolphins, The Eyes of Thailand is for elephants,” said Borman.

Borman is scheduled to return to the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital outside of Lampang, Thailand, where two widely publicized and recently injured elephants have been transported and are being treated for landmine accidents. It is this hospital and the work of its courageous founder, Soraida Salwala, that originally attracted Borman to the subject and launched her effort to capture the story in The Eyes of Thailand, a film set to be released in 2011.

This trip represents the final chapter since Borman’s last film shoot in August 2009, when she traveled to Thailand to film Motala, a 48-year old elephant landmine survivor, take 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. It wasn’t until a baby elephant landmine survivor arrived at FAE in 2006 that they thought they could build prostheses to help the elephants walk again. Motala took her first steps on her prosthesis on August 16, 2009.

Unfortunately, on August 4, 2010, Mae Ka Pae arrived at FAE’s Elephant Hospital after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border.  One month later, Boonmee, stepped on a landmine and was transported to FAE.

According to Yeshua Moser-Puanguswan of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, “Thailand is a state party to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and is clearing mines from its territory, mostly along its border with Cambodia. All of the elephants at the FAE hospital come from doing illegal logging in Burma, which has not joined the treaty and is the only country in the world today where landmines are being used on a widespread basis.”

“The anniversary of Motala taking her first steps on a prosthesis is bittersweet”, said Borman. “We need a film that can crack our collective consciousness and demand all nations sign and enforce the Mine Ban Treaty.  I hope The Eyes of Thailand can do that.”

Website: http://eyesofthailand.com

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

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

After a long, two-day journey, Boonmee soaks her foot in an antiseptic bath at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

I am writing with an update on Boonmee, the 10-year elephant landmine victim that arrived at FAE’s Elephant Hospital today. Soraida Salwala, FAE’s founder, sent me the following email:

Boonmee is a 10-year old Thai elephant. She was taken across the border into Burma to accompany her mother, Mokaymae, to haul logs. On Saturday 11th September, while chained near her mother, Boonmee got lose from the chain and walked to the area where she stepped on the mine. FAE was informed on Sunday afternoon, Boonmee walked 3 km. to Moei River but could not cross as the tides were high. So, they waited until yesterday and used the boat to lead Boonmee in the river to Thai territory.

They loaded her on a truck and headed to FAE Elephant Hospital in Lampang. The journey took 7 long hours. After arrival at 1.38 today, painkillers, antibiotics, anti-inflammation were given. Antiseptic sprays on the dirty wounds. Boonmee is severely injured on her right leg, no foot pad left, all shredded but three nails are intact, two nails lost.

Boonmee makes the second Thai elephant that has stepped on a landmine and survived to be treated by FAE since August 4, 2010. She joins Mae ka pae (10), Motala (49) and Mosha (5) at FAE’s Elephant Hospital.

As I learn more I will post it here and on the Facebook Page.

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer The Eyes of Thailand

10-year old Boonmee stepped on a landmine along the Thai-Burma border.

On August 5, 2010, I wrote that Mae ka pae, a 22-year old elephant that stepped on a landmine along the Thia-Myanmar border, had arrived at FAE’s Elephant Hospital.  Sadly, I have to report that a fourth elephant, Boonmee, a 10-year old Thai elephant who was accompanying her mother to work in Burma, has also stepped on a landmine and is being treated at FAE.

Boonmee is the 4th elephant landmine survivor currently at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Boonmee (10) joins elephant landmine survivors Mae ka pae (22), Motala (49) and Baby Mosha (5) at FAE. Motala and Mosha each received a prosthetic limb from the Prostheses Foundation in 2009, a process I filmed for “The Eyes of Thailand” documentary.

If I wasn’t so stunned and sad, I’d be outraged that this keeps happening.

Due to this recent increase in elephant landmine accidents, I’m going back to Thailand in October – November 2010 to film more footage.  I thought I could finish the film with a happy ending–when Motala and Mosha each walked on their prostheses–but now I see that isn’t the case because elephant landmine injuries keep happening.

In order to return to Thailand this fall, I need to raise $3,000, so I’m asking for your help.  Can you make a tax-deductible donation to the film to help me travel to the Elephant Hospital to film the new survivors? All donations are tax-deductible through the film’s fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco Film Society, and donations of any size help. Please make your tax-deductible donation here.

Thank you for helping me tell this much-needed story about the plight of Asian Elephants and the ongoing threat of landmines!

Sincerely,

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

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