Hi everyone,
This travel diary is a very sad episode. It consists of two parts. The first is a poem I found in St Josephs Hospital in Denver, Colorado when I went to get some blood tests run after completing my volunteer work with the animals in Bolivia. The second part is an email I received from a fellow volunteer a few days ago regarding the Bolivian Governments decision to shut down the animal refuge. I've already written to WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) and hopefully they'll be able to help in some way. Until I hear back from WSPA, all I can assume is the worst, and all I can hope for is the best.
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Part 1: Poem seen at St Josephs Hospital, Denver, Colorado, USA
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WHY BE A VOLUNTEER
It's not for money, it's not for fame
It's not for any personal gain
It's just for love of fellow man
It's just to give a helping hand
It's just to give some of yourself
It's something you canÕt buy with wealth
It's not for medals worn with pride
It's for the feeling deep inside
It's your reward down in your heart
It's feeling that you've been a part
Of helping others far and near
That makes you want to volunteer
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Part 2: Email regarding animal refuge, originally sent 02 Jul 2002
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Dear friends and family and fellow earth stewards, We are members of the animal refuge Communidad Inti Wara Yasi, Parque Machia,Villa Tunari, Chapare, Bolivia, licensed by the Government (Licence No. 214891) under the costitution of the Republic on the 2nd of December 1994. Our reserve is home to a vast array of different species, including a number of highly endangered animals such as the jaguar (panthera orca), the pampas cat (oncifelis colocolo), and several monkey species. Our monkey population has flourished in the six years of the park´s existence from only seven individuals (three capuchins, two spiders, and two saimiris bolivienses) to what we now estimate to be a little over three hundred. All of the animales of C.I.W.Y. have either been bred here, donated to the park, or rescued from abusive homes, markets, circuses, etc. The goal of the park is to rehabilitate as many of the animals as possible so as to reintroduce them into the wild within the park boundaries, and to give those we are unable to reintroduce as happy and full a life as possible. None of the species we have reintroduced were still in existence in the park when we first arrived as they had been irradicated through excessive hunting. We at the community have just been informed that the park and all the animals within are to be confiscated by the now-in-power minister of the environment under the guise that we have been both abusing and selling animals. This is a lie. The "proof" being held against us is a photo taken in the park of a hawk perched upon a closed sewage pipe. This hawk, who´s wings were broken at the time, was placed upon this pipe for literally a matter of minutes by the volunteer who was caring for him as he was transporting the hawk from his external tree perch back to the avery where it would spend the night. With regard to the accusation that we have been selling animals, there simply is no proof. We have no real way of knowing what motivation has driven the minister to conjure up false accusations against the park. However, it has become more and more blatant in Villa Tunari that the wealthiest and most influential men of the village, the hotel owners, have been increasingly pressurising the mayor (from whom we legally rent the site until 09/03) to close the refuge in order to reopen the park as a hunting ground and boost the hotels´ influx of wealthy tourists. There is no other animal refuge in Bolivia. If we leave the animals where they are, the lucky ones will be put in a zoo, and the rest will likely be shot. This is why we are writing to you. Juan Carlos Artezana, president and co-founder of the refuge, has decided that in order to save these animals, we must evacuate the park immediately. The government orders we received state that the park will be closed sometime before August 6th, this may mean tomorrow or next week, as there is no specification. All thirty members of the community have decided that we must move these animals and save their lives, as we see no other option. Transporting such creatures is very dangerous to their health, yet to leave them guarantees capture or death. We have found an intermediary site of 20 hectares available to us to buy and move to until we can confirm the purchase of either of the two far more suitable plots we are in negotiations over at the moment. We have insufficient funds to carry out this project. Each volunteer, including local Bolivians, vets, students and world travellers, has donated everything he or she can. These moneys are being used for the immediate obstacles we have to overcome to rescue the animals: the purchase of materials to build sufficient numbers of transport cages, the renting of transport vehicles, the purchase of the correct and sufficient medication to tranquilize the appropriate animals for transportation, the purchase of the necessary materials to ensure the intermediary site is habitable for the animals e.g. steel cords to build runners for the large cats so they at least have some freedom while away from their now fifteen hectare personal trails. Also, ongoing food for the animals until a permanent site is found will be needed as all money from rent and tourism,our only sources of income, will cease when we leave. We estimate we need at least ten thousand dollars aid in funding. All former volunteers of the park are being contacted with a plea to help in whatever way they can, be that donating money, raising money for donation, coming to the reserve here to help with construction and care of the animals, spreading the word, grant writing, or even simply moral support to help fend off this possible tragedy. We are asking our extending communities around the world for help as well. The situation is urgent worldwide with regard to the survival of liberated, endangered species. The situation here in Villa Tunari is very urgent as well. We need your support in every way you can offer and we need it now. We have no way of knowing whether we will have sufficient funds or manpower to succeed in our goal of saving every last animal in the park. Resources are remarkably cheap in Bolivia, and international donations such as US dollars go a long way. Thus, we beg of you, please help us. The lives and liberty of hundreds of animals depend on it. Please forward this email to as many people as you can. To make donations, call us at 005-914-413-4621, or email us at intiwarayassi@hotmail.com. For further park information, check out our website at www.intiwarayassi.org. Yours sincerely, Phil O´Kelly, Lishanna Tryllium, and Mateo Tryllium, members of C.I.W.Y.
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