The STORY
Elephants cruelly hunted as trophies or ruthlessly poached for their ivory and skin shocks and saddens us, and has prompted activists and policymakers to take action. Now, elephants face another deadly and growing threat that has reached crisis level: human-elephant conflict. This is the story of The Linesman, which chronicles one man’s mission to end these conflicts in his homeland. Set in the rural landscape of Myanmar, The Linesman is a 30-minute documentary that follows the journey of conservationist U Khin Maung Gyi as he explores the root causes of human-elephant conflict in the region, and works to implement humane, practical short term solutions to the crisis.
What if your livelihood and your loved ones were threatened by an unpredictable and deadly foe? What if every night you went to sleep afraid for your life and those of your family? This is the fear the villagers we meet in The Linesman face everyday. To them, elephants have become the enemy. It wasn’t always this way. Elephants and villagers used to live side-by-side in peace, but years of excessive logging for exotic hardwoods have resulted in massive deforestation and the loss of habitat for nature’s largest inhabitant. Now elephants are forced into a desperate search for scarce resources and food. At times, that means raiding the crops of local farmers and invading villages. The situation for both sides has become dire, but both the elephants and the villagers have an ally in U Khin Maung Gyi.
As an elephant activist and conservationist, U Khin has dedicated himself to restoring harmony between elephants and their neighboring human communities. We follow U Khin as he travels from his home in the capital city of Yangon, Myanmar to an elephant orphanage in Winga Baw and on to Kalaw Village in the Bago Region where human-elephant conflicts have resulted in deadly confrontations. He explores the underlying causes of human-elephant conflicts and works with experts as well as local residents to build a safe, humane barrier to protect both sides. Through his eyes, we are provided incredible insights into the lives and struggles of villagers as well as the power and majesty of Asian elephants. We hear from a woman who lost her beloved husband, the father of her small children, to a rampaging elephant. We see the terrified faces of children as they hurry to safety when they hear elephants nearby. And, we feel the agony of villagers as they confront daily worry about their safety and livelihood. We also see the scarring of the earth caused by the unrelenting assault on Myanmar’s exotic forests and the resulting destruction of habitat of Myanmar’s beloved elephants. These are the sights that convince U Khin these conflicts have become inevitable and propel him to take action.
The Linesman reveals the urgency of the human-elephant conflict crisis, the undeniable need for solutions, and the essential truth that both sides matter.