Today my two elephants arrived in the mail. I ordered them last year October, but had to wait until now to finally unwrap them. They look fabulous. They are both miniature replicas collectors’ items from the Elephant Parade. If you’re not familiar with the Elephant Parade concept, this is what the Elephant Parade website says about the idea behind their initiative:

“Elephant Parade is a ‘parade’ of copyrighted, life-size model baby elephants which are being displayed in major cities around the world. Painted by local and international artists, each elephant is a unique piece of art.

It is Elephant Parade’s mission to become one of the world’s largest financial support organizations for elephants. At the same time Elephant Parade events will attract worldwide attention as well as much needed public awareness and support for the cause of elephant preservation: Elephant Parade elephants will not go unnoticed by the wider public!”   

Indeed they didn’t. Last year, my hometown of Antwerp hosted the Elephant Parade and it was beautiful. You could come across painted and decorated polyester baby elephants all over town. Those elephants were publicly auctioned afterwards and the entire profits went to several preservation programs. Brilliant. For those of us who don’t have the financial means to place a bid on the original works of art, there are of course, the limited edition replicas. And as you may have guessed by now, I managed to get my hands on two of them: The black and white edition of “Happinez, Ying and Yang”.

So now, I don’t only have two gorgeous elephants in the hallway open bookcase, I also protected the elephant as such, buying them. I would be lying if I didn’t admit I feel pretty good about that. Or should I?

You see, Ying and Yang are not alone, sitting on  their bookshelf. They joined the two elephants that were already there. There’s one my wife’s grandparents bought in the 1950’s, and one her father bought in the 1980’s. Together they are starting to make a nice collection. But what’s even more, is that they form an interesting portrait of the values different generations live by and how these values change over the years.

First, there's is the oldest elephant in the bookcase. An’s grandparents bought him in the 50’s and were undoubtedly just as content of their elephant back then as I am now. The only thing is, theirs is made of ivory. Else said, an elephant was shot in order for its tusks to become a mantel peace ornament. And what’s even worse, it came from the Congo, which back then, was a Belgian colony. And as history has taught us, there is no such thing as a proud colonial history.
Yet An’s grand parents were the sweetest, kindest and most gentle people I ever had the privilege and pleasure to know. Their purchase was undoubtedly made with intentions just as kind-hearted as their character. They were convinced they were doing the right thing. From their perspective, their elephant contributed to the development of an undeveloped African country. And they had a little something that displayed their active interest in the poor and underprivileged.
Three decades later, they were proven wrong, terribly wrong. The Congo had overcome the crush of its occupiers’ jackboot and the world finally started to realize they had better done something about the cruel hunt on anything that closely resembled wildlife. Knowing him, I’m sure their son, An’s father, rubbed that in at the time.

Which brings us to our second elephant, purchased in the beginning of the 1980’s. At the time my future father in law is on holiday in Sri Lanka. As he walks past a young boy sitting by the side of the road, he sees that he’s working on a small elephant. It’s beautifully hand crafted and he decides to buy the peace immediately. After all, from his perspective, he’s doing the right thing. The ornament didn’t cost the life of an elephant, he is buying it directly from a local, so he knows where the money’s going, and he’s not supporting a colonial regime.
But the elephant is made from tropical wood, which means this purchase contributed to the deforestation of the rainforest on the island, causing CO2 elevation and disrupting the ecosystem. It’s not even unthinkable that the same deforestation already cost the lives of several people due to mudslides caused by soil erosion.
Yet, my late father in law was the most positive minded, energetic man I ever came across. Always ready to help you out, always working towards a better future. 8 Years after his death, he is still an inspiration to me every single day.

Despite all that, he was proven wrong three decades after his purchase, terribly wrong. We are fighting CO2 levels as we speak, we are finally beginning to realize that we desperately need the forests, both on land as well as under the sea (kelp, coral reefs…) if we want to survive the coming century.
Knowing myself, I would have rubbed that in.

Which brings me to my purchase. Two elephants, that didn’t cost an animal’s life, or a tree’s for that matter. In fact, my purchase seeks to undo what past generations did, regardless of the intention they did it with. So, from my perspective, I’m doing the right thing. Right?

Still, I wonder. What will my two girls have to say about Ying and Yang 30 years from now? What am I doing wrong that is shrouded by our current views on right and wrong? What have I contributed to that needs to be rectified 3 decades from now? I honestly don’t know. Neither did An’s grandparents and father. But, knowing my daughters, I’m sure they will rub it in when the time comes. In fact, I’m looking forward to it. It would mean the world has evolved, hopefully for the better, and hopefully so will I.

Take care,
Karl

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