I Am Not Charity

Dear Humans,

Hope you guys had a great Christmas! And to all of you who have taken the time to think about the aminals in the midst of it all -- thank you! There IS still humanity left in the world.

Just wanted to take some time to talk about aminal activists. I wouldn't term myself an activist just yet, because I don't think I've done anything quite so radical that I'd put myself on a pedestal and term myself such. I'm  getting there, but not quite there yet.

That said, as I was giving out my little tokens asking people to spare a thought for the aminals in the world during this time of joyful giving, I realized that perceptions of me have changed. Those who have received these tokens from me are people I come across on a daily basis en route to my workplace.

Activists are seen as people of a completely different class. A different class of human beings. Of course, in my eyes, they're as high up the ranks as they get. Unfortunately for most people, activists are seen as a much lower than the average person.

As such, I do get looks from the people I normally come across. Not the sort of look I was hoping to get. They're now looking at me as if I want something from them. Like a salesman who won't budge because my Christmas bonus relies on them giving me something.

Don't you people get it? I don't want ANYTHING from you. And here's why: I Do Not Believe In Charity.

I never have and I never will. Not for my cause. My cause is NOT a charity.

Let's make it completely clear once and for all. Anything I do for this cause will come out of my own pocket. I do not make money from this (how can i??). Which leads to the question of how I will get funding for anything I do.

Simple. I maintain a full-time job.

Why don't I take a full-time job in an organization and a foundation that cares for the aminals and fights for the same things I fight for? Because working there would mean that money I earn would be from donations. If the point of donations is to ensure that the aminals are put out of suffering, why use that money then to pay people?

So. I earn my money from the outside world. Well, outside from anything aminal related at least. From that money, I set aside a certain amount and turn it in for my cause. That way, nobody can judge me when I decide to buy a new pair of shoes or buy drinks at a local bar. I report and answer to nobody.

All this sounds very cocky, I know - and indeed it is. It has to be. I have to be.

What's that you say? I need some balance in my life? Yes. I couldn't agree more. Which is precisely why I don't work permanently as an aminal advocate. Having some breathing space keeps me sane. I think that doing it full-time will make anyone go insane, even those people with the purest of intentions. It's easy to get caught up in all of this, as many of my friends would attest to. They've had to pull me back and hold me down because immersing myself in this will make me go, well, insane.

Let's see how long I can keep this up. Wait... what was this post meant to be about again....?

Love,
The Aminals
 

Samosir, Lake Toba

Dear Humans,

Got back from Samosir yesterday. Take a quick glace at the map and you'll see that Lake Toba and Samosir were formed during the eruption of a supervolcano. Pretty cool stuff. That's where we figured would give us front row tickets to the end of the world. Well. Didn't quite happen. But still. Front row tickets!

Don't know if I speak for all of you, but I'm a real city girl. I don't get out of the country much because of my commitments at work and back home. City girl, yes. But I hate cities. Bustle gives me a headache. Explains why getaways to quaint and secluded places tickle my fancy.

The journey to Samosir was quite amazing. Besides the fact that we almost died 50 times on our way there by road, Lake Toba by itself was surreal to me. I love large bodies of water. And that was a vision of endless freshwater.

What struck me the most about the lake itself was that it looks a lot like The Cove. You know, the one in Taiji, Japan? Yes. The one in which dolphins are carefully maneuvered to, trapped and then slaughtered by the thousands every single year. That's right. Dolphins.

If you haven't watched The Cove, I recommend that you only watch it if you are ready to do something about it. There is nothing that angers me more than people who have the knowledge of cruelty, yet do nothing about it and carry on with their daily lives. So only watch it if you are in the right frame of mind to be able to do something about it.

Such a beautiful place, Lake Toba. Just as beautiful as the cove in Taiji. Yet when I looked at every crevice which was bigger than the rest, I couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness. It looks just like the cove in Japan. Something that I'd seen on a television screen a few weeks ago was now right in front of me. Its beauty is astounding. But the emotion I link to its amazingness is far from beautiful.

The things that humans have done to tarnish the beauty in this world. Look at this.

Looks like nothing bad could ever happen in a place of such serenity, right? Well. It's just as beautiful in Japan. That is, when the waters of The Cove don't turn red with the cruel slaughter of dolphins.

My quest to put an end to cruelty really only started when the dolphin issue started in Singapore. That's right. When wild-caught dolphins were allowed to be transported to Singapore for recreational purposes.

You're probably thinking -- how does the issue in Singapore have anything to do with the dolphin slaughter in Taiji? You'll find out if you watch The Cove.

If not, that's another story for another post.

Till then.

Love,
The Aminals

Vietnam -- Stop The Eviction

Vietnam -- Stop The Eviction

With any luck, you'd have watched the short video I made for the bear situation in Vietnam. If you haven't, click on the link above.

Honestly, I was really taken aback by the number of people who don't already know about bear farming. Perhaps I keep my cable on the Discovery Channel, Nat Geo and Animal Planet much more than the average person does.

So hopefully you've gone and done a little of your own research regarding this matter. It's absolute torture that humans put these bears through to get their bile. Let's see you in a cage so small you can't turn around, with a contraption sticking out of your belly and fluid draining from your infected wound.

I have such anger in me when it comes to aminal cruelty. I get very defensive. I don't understand why I have to give an explanation for everything.

Why do I have to give a reason as to why aminals shouldn't be tortured?
Why do I have to prove to anyone that it is cruelty?
Why do I have to explain how these aminals are being tortured?

I don't understand. I really don't.

Why is this an argument? You're human. You're able to empathize. You have the intelligence to know wrong from right. You have emotions. You are the only species that can make a difference and put an end to all of this.

Yet you don't, and yet you won't.



 

All systems GO!

Dear Humans,

Officially launched Love, The Aminals' Facebook page today! Such excitement. And I'm super thrilled that not everyone phased me out as noise. Goodness knows that all too often, I disregard page invites sent to me.

But thank you, thank you, thank you for following the page and this blog. It gives such motivation knowing there are people besides myself who hear me. I talk to myself a lot, you see. So knowing that others hear me is... Comforting. That's the word. Okay I'm making myself to look like a psycho here. Moving along!

I think of a dozen things at the same time when it comes to this cause. It's difficult to sift through the chaos in my head. But when I do, I'll try to type it out. Stop me if I cease to make sense.

Recently, I realized the problem with joining organizations and foundations when it comes to causes. With so many people involved, your voice gets drowned out. You're taught what to say, how to act, how to react, etc.

It's much like starting a new job. You learn the ropes by trying to learn from others around you. Problem with learning from others around you in this case is that you'll learn how to be negative really quickly. You learn to put a 'No' to every question you ask yourself. So much so the question is created in your head -- but never leaves your lips because you know it's likely to get a 'No'.

Long story short, I hope I never lose my innocence in all of this. I'm ripe as can be. Full of ideas, motivation and all that yabber. I hope I won't get caught up in all the negativity of this. Oh wait, too late. Ha! But no, seriously. I hope I never stop dreaming. This is what it is. All my innocence right now, I wouldn't trade it for any amount of knowledge.

I'd LIKE to think that doing this by myself will be all that is necessary.
I'd LIKE to think that I don't need money or funding from anyone to make this work.
I'd LIKE to think that there people out there who would go as far as I would.
I'd LIKE to think that the furthest I can go is further than what anyone else will do.

See? Innocence. I swear, sometimes I feel I'm straight out of a Disney movie.

Now, to test if this innocence can make the world go round.

Love,
The Aminals

Yeah about that...

Dear Humans,

Before you even think of asking me the question, I'm gonna say it outright - I DO know how to spell (surprise surprise!) and I DO realize that the name I put to my cause is spelt as 'Aminal'.

Simple story. So only keep reading if you're really interested.

Thing about me is that I love animals so much, I start speaking to them in a different language when I'm around them. I've been told by some that it sounds a bit Japanese. Maybe someday I'll record the things I say to my cats. So the cat's outta the bag - I have pet cats at home. I tell them stories, cuddle with them, talk to them in my own weird little language (and yes, they do understand me. no, really.).

Since I deviced my own language, I just started spontaneously calling all the animals in the world... well... Aminals. Wasn't an intentional thing. But it stuck. Till today, all my close friends know what I mean when I say 'Aminals'.

Told you it's a simple story.

So, since this is all about giving a voice to those with none, I figured what better way to put it than from the perspective of the animals themselves. Oops. I mean, aminals. The world 'animal' has such a savage groove to it. I don't quite fancy it.

Humans are the animals. They are to me, at least.

Love,
The Aminals

 

Our Journey

Dear Humans,

I know there are many of you out there who do care. Those of you who do hear about the wildlife trade, about animal cruelty and all things surrounding these matters.

I know many of you do care. I also know that most, if not all, of you don't know what to do about it. What is your voice going to do to change this situation? What can you do?

I'm not asking you to become an animal activist. The fact that you are even reading this by itself tells me that you do indeed care. You wish to be in a position to help, don't you?

Not many have the sort of dedication to be able to devote their lives, or even free time, to this cause. So you ask, why you?

You, because you care enough to read this.
You, because your voice DOES matter.
You, because you affect those around you.
You, because even though you don't know what to do, you know enough to know that this has to stop.

I invite you to join me on my journey. I am blessed in the sense that I am able to dedicate my work to it.

As much as you need me to find out what it is that you can do, I am not exaggerating when I say that I need you too. Not for your money. Not for your signature. As dumb as this is going to sound, I need you to keep me grounded. I need you to provide me with the motivation to keep doing this.

It's only been 2 weeks since I've started this cause. Two weeks. That's 14 days. 14 days was all it has taken  to break me down.

The cruel nature of all this really does take you out of your life and look back at it with a sort of emptiness. I battle trying to segregate this from my daily life. How can I go around pretending everything is okay when I know it isn't? How can I fall into a peaceful slumber with this at the back of my mind?

Humans, I need you just as much as you need me. You need to find a way you can help. I need you to help me before I can help you. There are only so many ways that I can help myself.

Thus far, I've learnt that this journey is going to be a very lonely one. Not many, if any, share my mindset. Does it pain me? Yes. Is there anything I can do about it? I don't know. Am i alone? Well, it sure seems like it.

This is a very dark, dark place I'm entering. I know that I won't regret this journey, but I hope that I don't bring anyone down with me if they're unwilling to share it with me. There is no guarantee that what I do is going to work. No guarantee. I'm going to kick and scream before even thinking of the possibilities of me being gagged.

I know that you don't want to hear about the sadness and cruelty in this world on a daily basis. Which is why I will be your barrier. I will be the filter. Don't get me wrong, I'll call things as I see it. No doubt about that. But I am your frontline. I am the one who will experience it before any of you do. And hopefully by listening to, watching or reading my stories, you'll be able to share my burden.

This burden is and will be a heavy one to carry. Please share it with me. You are my motivation.

Nowadays, I find it hard to smile. I can't blame everyone or not wanting to talk about this 24/7. I now know why I've never wanted to deal with this earlier on in my life. By nature, I'm a life-loving, enthusiastic individual. It would be a rare situation to see me sad, or without a smile.

All that's changed. And it's only been 14 days.

Help me help you. Since you don't know what to do on this journey, or where to begin -- let's do this together. You can't do it alone. I can't do it alone.

Love,
The Aminals

Before entering the whirlwind

Dear Humans,

3 December 2012. I came across news that a dolphin had died in Singapore. I started researching the topic. I found it amazing that I'd never paid any serious attention to it. To think that I call myself an animal-lover. I am a walking hypocrisy.

9 December 2012. I stopped procrastinating. I watched 'The Cove'. I'd heard about it from years before and was told that I needed to watch it. Not that it was something that I would want to watch, but something I needed to watch. Though I  work in the media industry and love everything about television, I just didn't want to watch it. I don't quite know why. I hate knowing. Though embarrassing, I will admit - I'm as ignorant as ignorant gets. I hate knowing anything. Because I know I can't do anything about it. So you say that Singaporeans are kiasu. What do you want me to do about it? So you say that the ozone layer is thinning. What do you want me to do about it? So you say dolphins are being slaughtered. What do you want me to do about it?

I'm the type of person who would rather not know. I'd rather not know the process of obtaining the meat package I get off the shelf at a supermarket. Come on, life in itself isn't the simplest to deal with. Having to think of anything other than my own life was, to say the very least, secondary to me. Needless to say then, odds are in my favour when I say that I am just like you.

Since I started out much the way you are now, yes you, I shall be your voice now. Here are he reasons why you don't do anything about the plight of the animals:

• Life is hectic enough as it is. No time to think about animals. 
• Not knowing gives you the right to not to react. So you remain ignorant.
• Want to only see videos of cute, cuddly animals.
• There are human beings in need of help.
• Don't talk about other humans needing help, I myself need help! Not like anyone is giving me any aid I need.
• There is a problem, but there are enough people out there fighting for and campaigning for what is right.
• Big corporations and foundations are already losing the fight against this. How would little ol' me make any sort of difference?

These self-concocted lies allow you to sleep better at night. Doesn't make the act of you not doing anything about it right.

Here, I hope to bring you on a journey. My journey. Today marks my 25th birthday. Today, I pledge to a cause. My cause for animals. I am just one person. As much as I would love to end the suffering of all animals around the world, I know I can't. But that is my aim. For that to be achieved. Someday. Somehow.

This is war. A war that has started from the time human beings started paving the road named 'Greed Street'. There is no historical documentation pin-pointing when it started. There is no generic name put to it with the word 'World' before it. Nor any numerics put after it. Why? Because this has been going on from before the time you and I can even imagine.

It is time for change. It is time for the educated to rise and finally prove that education is NOT offered nor received for selfish needs. That is is NOT for creating more educated people who still end up sticking to the status quo. That is is NOT for building an educated empire that only makes the standing one stronger.

Is it too late? Yes. But it doesn't mean that it's over.

Love,
The Aminals