The Elephant Story

Human Pawns in the Myanmar Chess Match

Apr 19, 2021 | 0 comments

On March 27, 2021, the military in Myanmar established a new daily death toll record when 114 lives were lost in their brutal crackdown on demonstrations following their February 1 coup against the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The protestors shown below are clearly in harm’s way as the state-run MRTV broadcast warned protestors that they could be “shot in the head” for defying the army. Sadly, children have been caught in the many rounds of military gunfire. Nonetheless, the protests continue. The irony of the March 27 death toll rate was that some 100 miles to the...

Hatred, Genocide and Rohingya Refugees

Feb 05, 2018 | 0 comments

In May of 2017, The Elephant Story recognized the plight of the Rohingya ethnic minority in the Rakhine state of northwest Myanmar. Since that time, some 650,000 of the Rohingya, representing the lion’s share of Islam followers in a predominantly Buddhist country of 53 million people, have fled to Bangladesh. Further, an unknown number are buried in mass graves. Originally, we were critical of Buddhist monks who were inciting the unrest while the most direct blame now clearly rests with General Min Aung Hlaing. The general, who has led the campaign to eradicate these people, is shown below in all...

Just Like Chinese Checkers

Feb 06, 2017 | 0 comments

In a very positive move, China, namely President Xi Jinping, has banned the commercial ivory trade which could dramatically diminish illegal elephant poaching in Africa. Apart from illustrating the environmental awareness of China, it helps eliminate corruption as ivory was often used to bribe Chinese government officials. Moreover, the action builds credibility with African countries where China is attempting to strengthen their resource control of oil and minerals. The Chinese demand for ivory has been staggering. In broad terms, China represented some 70% of the worldwide illegal ivory trade; has an existing stockpile of "legal" ivory valued at $150 million...

Elephants and Economics

Feb 15, 2016 | 0 comments

This commentary was prompted by a recent article in the Nikkei Asian Review commenting on the ASEAN Economic Community Reality, which created a question in my mind as to the future of elephants in many of these countries in light of their economic development. First of all, the author would like to acknowledge Ele Aid for their vast contribution to an understanding of the elephant population and potential for their survival in Southeast Asia. Below is a ranking of certain ASEAN countries by their GDP and GDP per capita. There are several observations relative to the wealth of these countries...

VINTAGE BASKETS HAND CRAFTED BY THE HILL TRIBES OF THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE OF THAILAND

Oct 21, 2014 | 0 comments

The Elephant Story has assembled a collection of vintage baskets from various hill tribes in The Golden Triangle where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar come together. This exotic area is home to numerous ethnic hill tribes who have their own languages, customs and life styles. These baskets from Hmong, Akha, and Karen hill tribes were used in the rice paddy and their mountainous homes to store rice and other products. They now are distinctive home decorative accent pieces with each having it’s own history. Perhaps, some of the baskets carried treats for the elephants of Karen villagers or the opium of...

SAK YANT NEEDLES AND SHIRTS

Oct 09, 2014 | 0 comments

Sak yants are an ancient spiritual art in Thailand and Myanmar where Pali Sanskrit blessings are tattooed on one’s body using tapping needles. The blessings are to ward off evil, invite prosperity to the person or wish health and happiness to others and make merit in the process. The image below shows Khun Ed of The Elephant Story having a Haa Taew (five line) sak yant applied to his back by the famous Thai spiritualist to the stars, Archan Noo.

The Elephant Story outfits the elephant mahouts in The King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament each year with sak yant T-shirts to wish them well and make merit.

Buy this product NOW!

Join our Email List

[ccembed:28]

The Elephant Story