Before I write about my volunteer duties at the Elephant Nature Park, I'd like to explain the history behind the park and how these elephants came to be here. ENP is a safe haven for elephants who have been rescued from a lifetime of hard labor ( illegal logging) and or excessive abuse. Lek Chailert grew up around elephants and developed a strong bond with them that she created the park to not only rescue abused elephants but to also raise awareness of the cruelty that goes on with these beautiful creatures all around the world.
Elephants are wild animals, just like lions, and can be equally as dangerous to humans. So how do you domesticate a wild animal and make it obey a human? The answer is the Phajaan Process. It follows the belief that one can seperate the spirit from the body , driving out its willful wild spirit thus leaving it under the control of its handler, or Mahout. this seperation of spirit is really code for torturing the elephant until it is so fearful of humans that it will do anything to not feel fear and pain anymore. before any elehant can be trained, it must be abused to the point whre it will listen to its mahout and follow commands.
"Phajaan process starts with the seperation of a nursing baby elephant from it's mother, a highly traumatic experience which straight away instills fear in to the baby. The baby is then locked into a crush pen where they are unable to move, sit or lay down, and it's here that the true torture begins...Chained over the next 3-7 days the elephant is deprived of it's basic needs of food, water and sleep. Mahouts and groups of villagers take it in turns to systematically beat the elephant, often using primitive instruments such as bamboo sticks with metal nails embedded in the ends. Knives, hot irons and bull hooks - wooden sticks with curved, sharp metal blades - are used to slice, burn and stab the baby elephant, ripping at it's ears, face and torso until it is a bloodied mess and in a state of constant pain and terror. The most sensitive parts of the body are targeting with the intended result to be the creation of as much pain as possible. The Phajaan process only ends once they consider the elephant's spirit to be successfully banished.Many baby elephants die during this process.. After the initial Phajaan process, elephants can then begin their 'training', being taught tricks to perform through intimidation and reinforcement through abuse. The carrying of bull hooks by mahouts is solely to remind these highly intelligent creatures that pain is just a short step away should they misbehave."
All elephants in tourist camps and travelling circuses have gone through some version of the Phajaan. How else do you think these elephants dance and perform for you?
My favorite elephant at the park was an elephant named Mae Jokia. She was a working elephant in the logging industry. While working, she miscarried and her baby fell down the side of the cliff. Unable to check to see if her baby was dead or alive, she underwent a deep depression and stopped working. Her mahout did not like this so he continually stabbed her in both or her eyes to force her to work. This resulted her to be blind in one eye and she lost the other eye. Lek found out about this blind elephant and rescued her from future abuse. Jokia was the second elephant to be rescued and sent to live at the park.
The last thing I want to convey in this message is this: DO NOT BRING YOUR KIDS TO THE CIRCUS! All elephants in these travelling circuses have been abused in order for them to obey their handlers. Ringling brothers circus is included in this. they use bullhooks with their elephants.. If you go, you are condoning and supporting this animal abuse.
