Urgent call for help, buy freedom Faa Sai
From the annual elephant festival in Surin I post this message with a serious request: could you please help me to buy the freedom of the little elephant Faa Sai?
We found Faa Sai (Clear Sky) yesterday in the mahoutcamp outside of the festival grounds. She is approximately four years old. The owner has bought her a couple of days ago in Pattaya. There she stood in a cage, without any space to move around. After arriving in Surin, Faa Sai was in a very bad condition. She is so restless, she doesn’t stand still for a single moment. With her frontlegs chained together she jumps around in all directions. Her eyes are infected, they show white marks and can only open slightly. According to Dr. Prasit she could go blind without proper treatment. Looking at her you can almost feel her fear. And there is no one around to calm her down even a bit. She hasn’t eaten since she arrived in Surin. When the mahout gives her some food, she just throws it aside. Three days without eating anything…while her restless behaviour consumes so much energy. If it goes on like this for a while more, I fear for the ending.
Yesterday morning I had hoped that Faa Sai could have a rest in the mahoutcamp instead of going to the festival. Unfortunately when I walk onto the festival grounds she’s the first elephant I come across. Why do elephants in such a bad condition still have to join the show?
Yesterday it was almost impossible to come close to her. Now she has to run through the crowd, while fireworks explode next to her. Under the hook of the mahout, Faa Sai runs with big eyes, wide open mouth and ears spread out, along with the rest of the elephants. She probably doesn’t have a clue what she has gotten herself into this time.
After the show, we once again visit the camp where she stays at night. With her feat chained together she hops around restlessly. She still hasn’t eaten, her mahout tells us. Dr. Prasit treats her eyes. To tell the truth, this is kind of senseless, he says. Treating her once won’t heal it. Her eyes should be treated daily. “Could you please bring Faa Sai to the Elephant Nature Park”, he asks me. “I promise you I will treat her eyes every day and prevent her from going blind”. I will do my best, I tell him.
Lek puts the mahouts to work. “Do you find it odd that she isn’t eating? This is no food for a baby. The pineapple and sugarcane should be peeled and cut into little pieces”. The mahouts do as Lek tells them. I carefully sit down near Faa Sai, with a bit of peeled sugarcane in my hand. At first she stays at a distance, but then she walks over to me calmly and reaches out to my hands with her little trunk. She starts eating.
The only one’s who can heal this little elephant, are other elephants. People have abused her so much, she has become mentally ill. “Believe me”, Lek says, “When the other elephants in the Elephant Nature Park start taking care of her, she will be better soon. Shall we buy her freedom together?”.
Ofcourse I want to. But I’m gonna need your help for that! Could you make an extra donation, so we can bring Faa Sai to the Elephant Nature Park. That would be tremendous! I hope I can count on you once again.
On behalf of Faa Sai, thank you so much!
Antoinette
Here you can watch the video we shot of Faa Fai in the mahoutcamp.
