One of the great privileges of working for SPANA is the truly wonderful countries and places where we work.
Imagine being involved in Petra in Jordan, and becoming familiar, even blasé, with the fabulous sites and structures of the ‘Rose-red city’. We live in a world of hype, where words like ‘fantastic’, ‘incredible’, ‘genius’, ‘unbelievable’ are trotted out daily to describe everything from a bowl of cornflakes to a pop- band that rises like a Phoenix for its fifteen minutes of fame before disappearing forever again.
But surely there can be almost no-one who walks down that stunning 300 foot deep cleft in the mountain, and sees the sunlit Treasury building – ( a hundred million tourist photos of it) , fill the zig-zag slit ahead.- and not have their breath taken away.
But we are here because of the animals.
We hope that with education and a bit of energy and enthusiasm, we might be able to change the attitudes of the local people.
Monday, 17 May 2010
The 'Red Rose City'
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It's true - sometimes when one has lost hope (as this local hospital seems to have done), it just takes a fresh perspective, some more support, and some encouragement. With the good things SPANA has done in so many other countries (including my current home of Marrakech, Morocco), I am sure it can make a difference here. One thing which many local folks do not seem to understand is that most foreign tourists are highly disturbed to see animals mistreated. One popular attraction here in Marrakech is horse-drawn caleches rides - but when I first started coming to Morocco, the conditions for the animals and lack of pride in their appearance and health was a total turnoff. I would never have paid money to contribute further to their misery. However, since SPANA initiated its program for caleche horses and their owners, the animals are looking well-groomed and strong and healthy. I still have no need of the caleche ride, but I suspect many tourists who may not have otherwise chosen to pay for a ride may now do so, because the animals are looking cared for - there seems to be pride amongst the owners to have healthy animals, and tourists don't have to feel guilty for contributing further to an animal's misery, thanks to SPANA. Perhaps with the same logic, donkey and mule-owners in Petra can be compelled to better care for their animals - if not initially because they recognize the need to end animal's suffering themselves, but if for nothing else, they may feel extrinsically that their business ventures could earn a better reputation and more money if their animals are healthy and cared-for. With luck and education from SPANA and others, hopefully that attitude will then grow to encompass the intrinsic fact that ALL God's creatures deserve adequate care and affection.
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