The Land Mine that Created a Blessing From Heaven

Three years ago at this very moment, a young female elephant had finished a hard day’s work and was foraging in the jungles of Burma (now known as Myanmar) not far from the Thai border. In fact, she was a Thai elephant. She came from a remote area deep in the mountains where there is no elephant tourism. Here, an elephant works very hard on both sides of the border maneuvering logs to earn a wage for their owner.

What was her name? It did not matter, was just identification, not given with any affection … Something that was yelled along with a command to get her to lift higher, push harder, pull faster, keep moving! If she did not respond quickly, there would follow a sharp jab of white hot pain. Fear of a repeat stirred her to action.
Just past 15 years of age, she had a long life ahead of her. And she was trapped in the industry of logging.

Interaction from humans was purely functional, with a means to an end. They were always men — with dark skin, eyes and hair. They had the smell of dominance on them. They made her feel afraid.

Each day blurred into the next … working long hours, if not working front legs hobbled, no time for play, no time to form friendships with other elephants. When the work day was over, everyone was too exhausted for any form of communication. Access to water was not always possible. Rarely was it deep enough for a real bath and even then she was hardly ever allowed the opportunity to enjoy herself.

With no hope for the future, she had no idea that change was on the horizon. First it would seem that her life had taken a turn for the worse, but after a long period of waiting and healing, she would finally get the pay off she deserved.

On the very last of those hot, backbreaking, monotonous days, this young elephant who looked quite worn for her years, took her final step as a slave to man.

The Karen state or Kawthoolei as the Karens themselves call it, is a land that is beautiful and lush. The jungle is thick, but sadly riddled with landmines, a result of the 60 year civil war between the Karen people and the ruling military of Burma. Within a ten year period more than ten elephants had fallen victim to landmines in this region.

Landmines do not discriminate.

They are equal opportunity destroyers, mangling and maiming, sometimes killing – anyone – human or animal, who are unfortunate enough to cross the path where they lie in wait.

There it was. Unbeknownst to her as she meandered along, gathering trunkfuls of browse.

Until there was a muffled explosion and a lightening bolt of pain shooting up from the earth below her foot. In the camp, the blast was heard followed by roars of pain and confusion. Her mahout ran in the direction of the sound. He found her thrashing around, in shock. Blood was everywhere. He thought she would die. It was more than an hour before she settled down and he could approach her.

Her rear left foot was a ripped bloody mass of still burning tissue. She could bear no weight on it. But – they were still deep in the jungle, miles from anywhere. There was no choice but to get moving, first to the camp and then onwards to Thailand.

Thankfully there is a ‘mahout grapevine’. A network where someone, knows someone, knows someone who has heard of SEF and their work. Lek employs Karen people to better their lives and ensure this connection exists. We received word of an elephant who had just stepped on a landmine and was currently hobbling back out of Burma. Lek sprung into action, sending one of our elephant rescue vehicles and a team which would meet the wounded elephant, load her onto the truck and transport her to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center Elephant Hospital, where she would be treated.

Porn Sawan remained at the hospital for nearly three years

Knowing that the owner may not be able to incur the costs of feeding their elephant and providing a mahout, Lek offered to buy her.

She was given a new name: Porn Sawan,  meaning blessing from heaven.

Porn Sawan was in recovery for almost three years. The TECC veterinary team did an amazing job caring for her. ENP had to send one of our mahouts to go and stay with her. We picked a shy, gentle natured young man named Saw Bae Doh. He slowly gained her trust and the pair are still together today. Her time at the elephant hospital was long and arduous. Her foot had to be kept clean and dry, which meant that she had to be chained at the clinic all of the time. Though it was for her own good, again there was no chance for freedom or friendship. Her life was on hold.

The days blurred together. Porn Sawan had no sense of time. How long had she been there? Her past life as a slave seemed a distant nightmare.

After three years, her injury had healed beautifully.

Finally her foot was healed to the point where she was allowed to walk around a bit. Considering the condition it was in when she arrived, her foot had healed wonderfully and she could actually bear weight on it. Her time of healing had come to an end. The next stage of her life, when she could truly start living, was about to begin. On June 6th, a big white truck arrived ready to transport Porn Sawan to Elephant Nature Park, her new home.

Porn Sawan had no idea what was in store for her.

There was a long ride in the truck. But, not near as long or stressful as that first ride she experienced. As she rolled past camps where elephants were chained or burdened with trekking seats and tourists, driven by men wielding hooks, Porn Sawan became a bit nervous. She desperately hoped that one of these places was not her final destination. Thankfully the truck did not slow down.

Finally they pulled into a driveway. Porn Sawan reached out with her trunk, sampling the various scents. Soon the elephants she smelled became visible. They appeared relaxed. No one seemed to be working. They had no riders on their heads and no gear on their backs.

Porn Sawan arrives to ENP and inquisitive elephants.

“Where am I?” she thought. In no time she was able to get off the truck. Not long after, three young females came to greet her. It was none other than Faa Mai, Faa Sai and Tong Jaan. The official ENP welcoming commitee.

The days that followed were filled with new experiences. Porn Sawan had never been exposed to large groups of people and found it stressful. She was not very trusting of humans in general. She spent the first four days setting in and getting used to her new surroundings. Since she was not comfortable with people, she was led out into the field away from the main activity.

There, Porn Sawan discovered a tire. “What is this?”

She approached cautiously, the unknown seeming dangerous. When it did not move away, she grabbed and flung it.

The new arrival seemed satisfied with the result. Immediately she began to play with it – throwing it, chasing after it, diving head first on to it, even kicking it with her bad foot! When Porn Sawan gets excited she squeaks. There was LOTS of squeaking going on.

This land mine victim was tasting freedom for the first time ever.

Porn Sawan’s energy and excitement were boundless. She could now start making up for lost time and lost experiences. She could be playful.

She could RUN and she did – despite her back foot. She could be stubborn without consequences and relax if she wished. Her life was finally free from chains. She had her own private room where she stayed each night. With an elephant proof door, no tethering was needed.

Day five at ENP changed everything. Porn Sawan found her new obsession. Her purpose in life.

That morning she was led down to the river near the tree shrine, where Navann usually stayed with his mom and gran-nanny. It did not take long for inquisitive Navann to meander over to Porn Sawan. Within five minutes Porn Sawan was in love.

The meeting of Porn Sawan  and Navann (AKA love at first sight)

She found him completely irresistable. Navann was the perfect playmate for her and she for him. His mom Sri Prae did not seem to mind, though gran-nanny Mae Kham Paan was a bit jealous.

Navann felt empowered to explore further with Porn Sawan by his side. Immediately they set off for the ‘elephant playground’ to kick the tires.

Along the way they had fun chasing the cows. She was everything he needed, both playmate and protector. This went on for a few days until the morning when Navann’s gran-nanny Mae Kham Paan was too weak to get up on her own. After helping her to her feet, it was decided that she needed to stay in the shelter for a few days to get her strength back. This meant that Navann and Sri Prae would also have to stay in so that Mae Kham Paan would not be stressed by their absence.

Porn Sawan loitered outside of their shelter, unsure of what to do. Saw Bae Doh, her mahout decided she needed a distraction. He led Porn Sawan to the riverside area where Yindee’s family spent their days. We had speculated that Porn Sawan would hit it off with Mintra, who was about the same age as her and Malai Tong, who was also a landmine survivor.

The rest is history.

Porn Sawan was accepted by them immediately. Even the blind old gran-nannies Mae Jarunee and Mae Jampaa were ok with her. Most importantly for Porn Sawan, little Yindee instantly adored her. It seemed to not matter who the baby was. As long as she could help to look after a little one, Porn Sawan was happy.

Four days later, Navann was back out and about with Sri Prae and Mae Kham Paan. By now, Porn Sawan was so settled in with the Yindee group, she had no interest in re-joining them.

Each day was spent falling more and more in love with Yindee and getting to know her new girlfriends. The only sad part came at the day’s end when Porn Sawan was taken back to her own shelter. As the bond between them grew, she would call out in the evenings and respond to any vocalization that came from Yindee. She desparately wanted to be with them at all times. After a couple of weeks, when it was certain that everyone got along, Porn Sawan was moved to stay at night with Mintra, Yindee and Mae Jampaa. Malai Tong and Jarunee stay right beside them.

Porn Sawan has became the number one, hopelessly devoted auntie of Yindee. She is constantly hovering over him protectively, fretting over his every move. She touches him reassuringly, perhaps also reassuring herself that this is not just a dream, but her new reality.

Yindee loves to head butt her injured leg playfully and squeeze himself inbetween her back legs. She tolerates this joyfully. Porn Sawan is the one who now stands over him when he wants to play in the mud and no one else does. She squeaks with excitement when he makes a new discovery and squeaks in distress when he stumbles awkwardly. Needless to say, there is lots of squeaking going on! Mintra and Malai Tong seem like old friends. The sense of belonging she feels surrounded by all of them is something she has never experienced before.

Porn Sawan is no longer a slave. She is finally an elephant. There is a baby in her life and he has given her joy and a purpose. She is part of a herd, as she should be.

So … ironically, an unlucky meeting with a landmine, turned out to be a blessing in disguise.