From fear to FREEDOM: Saree’s story

Imagine …

Being torn from your mother’s side, both of you fighting against your oppressors with every ounce of your strength. Though she does not have to kill to feed you, your mother would kill to protect you – or give her own life.

This is the moment she most dreaded.   You were yet unaware of this tragic reality.

Your outstretched trunk desperately reaches towards your mother as you are dragged away. She tries to break the chains that bind her, almost to the point of causing harm to herself. Your combined screams and roars of terror and agony shatter the stillness of the day.

A day you and your mother will never forget. You never see her again.

Saree before rescue. The lump is where her hip is dislocated.

Does Saree remember her mother? Or was she so young when separated that the memory is lost?

She had to learn everything by herself, therefore she is awkward. She hasn’t had enough of her mother’s milk, so her growth is stunted. Supposedly eleven, she looks seven.

At barely one, Saree was already walking the streets. There was no love or comfort waiting for her when her work day was over. The only embrace she felt was that of handcuffs and a chain that encircled her wrists and secured her to a pole.

Lonely.

The life of a child slave elephant working in street begging is lonely, frightening and beyond fatiguing.

Exhaust fumes from traffic, obnoxious music blaring from speakers, drunks groping, pulling at her trunk, pouring beer in it. No respect. Bright, flashing neon lights hurt her eyes. The hard, hot pavement wore her foot pads down to a smooth sheen. The vibrations she absorbed through her feet caused extreme stress. Sensory overload. A constant feeling of being terrified ran through her worn out body.

Like a homeless person, she slept in vacant lots littered with garbage or under a freeway entrance ramp, the drone of the traffic overhead her lullaby.

Did she dream? Did she dream of her mother?     Could she remember the way she smelled?     It seemed like another lifetime …

Her life on the streets was a living hell.

Saree never really accepted her circumstances. She resisted at every moment. She was very resentful of her captors and what she was subjected to. As she grew older, she grew more rebellious. She was so micro-managed that she became unmanageable. She longed to just RUN – anywhere, away, FAR away and FAST. She was far from an ideal candidate (as if there is one) for a street begging elephant, but this was her fate.          Easy money for her captors, all at her expense.

The years passed by in a blur … Sometimes she was taken back to her captors’s home. When there, she was chained in the back yard. All day, every day. She began to sway obsessively to soothe herself and ease the boredom.

Alone – together.

There were three other elephants, also young and torn from their mother’s breast way too soon. Out of desperation, they bonded and nurtured each other. They had no elders to look up to for love and guidance. Because of their chains they could barely touch, but they talked in their elephant way and did their best to comfort one another.

One day, Saree was not chained. The exact circumstances are unknown but she was running, probably feeling especially rebellious. She was being chased by her owners who were trying to get her under control. She slipped and fell and her hip was dislocated. She felt a searing pain and did not understand what had happened.

Because she was young and her injury not as severe as it could be, she recovered within three months. As soon as she could walk again, she was back on the streets. By now she was more resentful than ever … and angry, too. She had reached her breaking point.

An elephant on the edge.            

 And then one day, out of nowhere, everything changed.

Meeting Saree.

In mid November 2014, some people came to her owner’s home. They looked intently at her, sizing her up. They talked with her owners a long time. A few days later, a big truck pulled up. She and the others wondered who would be getting on it. Whenever a truck arrived it usually meant that someone was going, rarely did they return.

This time, it was Saree’s turn. In the air, there was a feeling of HOPE. The people who rode in the truck with her seemed happy and genuinely interested in her comfort and safety. They talked to her constantly and in friendly, reassuring tones. This was something completely foreign to her.

The ride was long and — though tired — she stayed awake and captured a sample of every new scent she passed.

Finally, she reached what was to be her new home. Her old name was cast away and forgotten. She was given the name SAREE which means FREEDOM, as this is what she deserves after a childhood of slavery.

Saree meets Khun Dej and Dani.

Within a few days of her arrival to Elephant Nature Park, Saree found what she had been missing since she was taken from her mother – a family. She bonded with three-year-old hanidcapped Khun Dej, (who also lost his mom) after he made himself irresistable to her. Dani a female around 50, who had already adopted Khun Dej, was happy to take in an adopted daughter as well. Four years ago, when Dani was rescued, she was separated from her daughter and grandson, so her arrival to ENP was bittersweet. She soon adjusted and made friends easily, but she had lost her family.

For Saree and her new family, life could not be happier.

A happy family.

Though they are not blood related, their bond grows stronger with each passing day. Saree now has a mother figure for guidance and reassurance. She has a little brother to protect and play with. Dani once again has a family to look after, which gives her a sense of purpose. And brave little Khun Dej has two older females to protect and nurture him. He deserves no less.

Saree the big sister.

Saree runs about crazily, celebrating each puddle of water she meets. She enjoys exploring, her territory broadening steadily. Saree does not really like people, so we do not force her to engage with them.

Unconditional love. Saree protects Khun Dej.

She is FREE – not yet to be wild, but to enjoy the company of other elephants, play in the river, to be a rebel if she so desires, to wrestle with Khun Dej or stand over him protectively if he takes a short nap.

River time is a favourite with this trio.

To feel the love of another elephant.       To BE an elephant.    FINALLY.

Trumpets of thanks goes out to Australian Robyn Wearne who donated the funds so that Saree could begin her new life at ENP. No one appreciates this effort more than SAREE.