HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

The Miraculous Escape of Baby Buff

Frazzled Farang Lady Salutes Thai Women

“That Takes Ovaries”

The Miraculous Escape of Baby Buff

Marianne Willemse
Baby Buff is a water buffalo who has lived at Love Animal Sanctuary in Thailand since June 21, 2006. She is called so even though she is around seven years old because the lawyer who rescued her calls all the animals he helps ‘his babies’.
The picture shows her with her son Baby Benz who was born, much to our surprise, on October 1, 2006. I named him Benz to give him some extra horse power to keep up with his feisty mum.
If it hadn’t been for Baby Buff’s brave attempt to escape death, Benz would never have seen the bright sunny day on which he was born. It could even have been because of him, because of this life that was kicking in her, that she looked death in the face and turned around. Breaking her ropes, she bolted down the ramp, through the door and straight out of the slaughterhouse gate onto a main city road. She galloped down the road, and possibly to avoid the traffic at her heels, turned into a housing estate with a row of shop houses on the first street.
By this time, the people from the slaughterhouse were chasing her in a pick-up truck and came screaming up behind her. Seeing the two open front doors of a finance company’s office, the poor threatened creature swung in there to escape the truck, finding herself in a large room with computer operators in glass cubicles. Can you imagine what happened when Buff discovered there was no exit and she put the brakes on! $5,000 damage, that’s what! Broken glass, flying wood, screaming frantic people and a huge terrified animal with large horns, lashing out in every direction. Suddenly a man came running through the door and shot her twice in the left shoulder and leg. She collapsed on the floor in the middle of the glass. Her whole head was imbedded with broken glass, her left ear was shredded in strips and bleeding heavily, she had cuts all over her whole body and she was foaming at the mouth. The men then tied ropes around her horns and dragged her out onto the street to the pickup truck.
During this time, several reporters, a lawyer who represents animals and the police had arrived, and were horrified at what they saw. Next, the Chinese owner of the finance company arrived. He too was shocked when he saw the poor buffalo. Because of all the damage to his property, he confiscated the buffalo and said he wished to spare her life. This kind-hearted man asked the lawyer if he knew a safe place for her to heal and stay. He said he knew just the place!
Love Animal Sanctuary was contacted and immediately we prepared to receive such a clever, lucky buffalo. However, we were not prepared for the sight of her lying in the back of the truck, tied down with so many ropes! The floor was thick with blood. She was grunting and snorting and extremely angry. Wouldn’t you be after a day like that? My heart reached out to her. I had to cut the ropes off immediately. “Open the doors and set her free”, I yelled. “Help me get this poor baby out of this!” It took a long time to cut all the ropes.
It was dangerous work and the staff were afraid to come close to those big horns. When she finally jumped onto her feet ready to charge in any direction, we dropped the ramp, assuming she would head out into the field, happy to be free. Instead, she made a u-turn and came back for revenge! Head down, rope remnants still tightly woven around her horns and dangling around her face, she charged the people around the truck. We scrambled on top of the truck, fast! Luckily we had left one very long rope around her neck which we managed to tie to a tree; we then drove the truck to a safe distance! It took me days to haul her in on the rope, to get her closer and closer. We couldn’t even touch her to clean her wounds but she did let us hose her down. By then, the wounded shoulder was heavily swollen, with two gaping holes from the bullets. We tried to squirt the wounds with antiseptic herbs and powder but after a week the swelling wasn’t going down and she was limping. We had to get those bullets out! I was afraid that rough treatment, like tying her down to give injections, would make her scared and angry again - an alternative had to be found. Finally, I called the Asian Healing Arts Institute and told Buff’s story. Cory, a Reiki practitioner and vegetarian, agreed to help, although she had never treated a buffalo before!
Reiki is what I would call a kind of sub-atomic energy healing where negative and positive ions come into balance from the influence of a higher magnetic force channelled through the practitioner. I don’t know how else to describe it. All I can say is, it certainly worked for Baby Buff!
When Cory arrived, Baby Buff, tethered by a 20’ rope, was munching grass under a tree in the field. I asked Cory if I should shorten the rope to get her closer to the tree but Cory said; “Don’t worry, if this works, you won’t need the rope anymore!” She said it might take a while so I could just leave her there with the buffalo and attend to something else. I thought I would stay and watch, but after ten minutes of Cory “staring” at Baby Buff eating grass, I got bored and left. Half an hour later I returned, just in time, to see the most amazing thing. Baby Buff had stopped eating grass and was walking straight to Cory who stood there with her arms out ready to receive her. Buff put her forehead close to Cory’s chest and then Cory encircled the buffalo’s head with her arms. They stood like that for five minutes. Then the buffalo backed away a step and knelt down, as if she was paying respect to Cory. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Finally, she lay down. Then Cory turned and told me; “You can come closer now. She should be okay. You can probably do whatever you want with her now!” And that proved true. A lady who had read about Buff’s plight and wanted to donate a shelter for her, came to the sanctuary an hour after Cory left. She raced into the field to hug Buff before I could stop her, and flung her arms around her neck Baby Buff just stood there with a big grin on her face, like, “Hey, today’s my birthday, for the first time in my life!”
That evening I got one bullet out of her shoulder. She stood very still and let me do it. The other bullet is still firmly embedded in her leg bone, but it healed over and doesn’t seem to bother her. All that remains now are a few scars on the outside, the inside ones have all healed.
Baby Buff’s life is full of joy again. After her baby was born, she joined our beautiful water buffalo family, and shares her new life with all four of them.
They have many other friends to hang out with, like Joe the goat, Saddam the rooster and Gin the talking goose, all residents of Love Animal Sanctuary where every individual counts. You can read more articles about other animals on our website: www.animal-sanctuary. chiangmai.chiangrai. com or join the Bear Hugs Cyber Club www.animal-sanctuary.chiangmai-chiangrai .com/about-love-animal-sanctuary /bear-hugs-club.html

Frazzled Farang Lady Salutes Thai Women

J. Harcourt
A Thai woman can sit on the sidewalk, traffic speeding by, sewing perfectly on a treadle machine. Surrounded by piles of cloth, a small tarp over her head, she creates with the skill of an expert. The dog lying at her feet, stylishly dressed in a t-shirt, flips an ear occasionally, and watches traffic go by. How does she do that?
One day my husband discovered that his pocket had a hole in it. Walking past a sidewalk sewing lady, he turned his pocket inside out, and showed her. Plan A was to give him a large towel, have him drop his pants, and hand them to her. This would have put him across the street from Thai Airways in a towel. Being of Midwestern descent, this didn’t appeal to him. She flew into Plan B. He leaned toward the sewing machine, with the pocket inside out, one hand on a tree, while she sewed up the hole. Not only did she solve his problem, he didn’t get run over, catch a draft, or get anything vital sewn by mistake. How did she do that?
Western backpacker girls usually have stringy hair, backpacker legs, and sturdy shoes. Not pretty, but it makes sense. But, the other day, I saw a little Thai girl backpacking. She daintily set her HUGE pack down at our guesthouse entrance, pushed back her long shiny locks, gave a little sigh, and walked into the office. It was then I noticed her miniskirt, and her sling back HIGH-heeled shoes. Never missed a step, didn’t have any bleeding gashes on her knees. She probably walked from the bus station! How did she do that?
A restaurant can have a kitchen the size of a phone booth, with two burners, one wok, and one chopping block. One little lady prepares everything. Out front in the restaurant, the customers are wrestling with a five pound menu that lists 162 items. The menu includes Mexican, Italian, Western, and Thai food. How does she do that?
The waitress weighs 75 pounds, walking on spike heels, with cute little size 2 jeans, greets you with a charming “Sawat dee khaa!” She looks 15. You say to yourself, “How can she work so late, and still get up to go to high school in the morning?” After several visits, you learn she is 37 and has three children, one of whom is going to the University. It always makes me feel like an old tree. They look so young!!!! How do they do that?
Every day, Chiang Mai presents you with small wonders that you only appreciate after being here for a while. Tourists call it “Amazing Thailand”. I call it “AMAZING THAI WOMEN!!!!”

“That Takes Ovaries”

“That Takes Ovaries” is a play, a best selling book and an open mike movement, all focusing on real-life stories from women and girls and the gutsy, courageous things they do. It is a dramatic performance depicting the lives of women who have shown courage in their lives. These real life stories include rape, sexual and police harassment, suicide, political tyranny and social stigmas. The women and girls featured in this play model the way the rest of us can be. From playful to political, “Ovaries” is full of multicultural, sassy, touching true tales of deeds.
“Ovaries” mixes art with activism and fun in a grassroots movement for empowerment. Over 100 plays and open mike events have been held since 2002. These events are often fundraisers for women’s causes, offering organizations an exciting tool for raising community awareness and money to continue their good work.
Rivka Solomon, the author and originator, has given Zonta the rights to stage this play in this spirit because the cause of supporting the victims of the insidious disease of AIDS is paramount in Thailand. Because courage is contagious and risk-taking is infectious, “Ovaries” seeks to empower, support, and train women and girls to be arts and social justice organizers and all-round strong, risk-taking females through the audience-participatory events.
Although the play focuses on 14 women from the book, it is not just about women and girls, it is also an inspiration to men and boys as well as to homosexuals and others who have the need to speak up against prejudice or injustice and stand up for their integrity.
“That Takes Ovaries” is being performed at the Park Hotel, Changklan Road on March 8 and 15 at 7.30 pm. Tickets are on sale at Parkers, opposite Kad Suan Kaew, (053-218142), Girasole on Kad Klang Wiang, (053-276388), and Boonsom Farm Home Made, Rimping Airport branch, (08-19245256). The price of 500 baht includes dinner and soft drinks. Proceeds go to Zonta Chiang Mai for its work with orphaned children. For reservations or further info, tel. Laura on 08-40424069.

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