Chapter 19 — Where Old Elephants Rest

The film crew from the national television station came to the camp one morning early in the week, bringing along professional filming equipment, making the whole camp much more bustling compared to the normally quiet pace of daily life. The director in charge, a middle-aged woman with extensive experience in investigative reporting, spent the first morning just chatting and learning deeply about the story before starting filming, making sure every angle reflected the true nature of the incident.

"We want to tell this story fairly, without favoring any side," she told Ha Lam during their first meeting. "But I have to say first, we will also contact Hoang Kim Group to get feedback, that is basic journalistic principles. Are you ready for that?"

"I'm ready," Ha Lam replied, her voice firm. "We have nothing to hide."

During three days of filming, the crew recorded every aspect of the story - from the daily activities of the elephants, the emotional interview with Mr. Thach recounting the entire story of Sao Mai, including his own mistakes, to the conversation with old Ama Not about the reconciliation process between the two families, and the tense working session between Ha Lam and the Japanese lawyer preparing documents for the upcoming mediation session.

What impressed the director the most, according to what she privately shared with Ha Lam, was the rare honesty of the whole family in being willing to expose the imperfect parts of their story. "I've been in this profession for twenty years," she said, "and rarely have I seen anyone dare to tell the whole truth like that, even knowing it could be exploited. That's what makes this story truly powerful."

As expected, Hoang Kim's side, when contacted, initially refused to give a direct interview, only sending a press release affirming "respect for the ongoing legal proceedings" and "commitment to developing the project in accordance with the law, bringing benefits to the local community". That avoidance, when placed next to the camp's openness in the reportage, unintentionally created a clear contrast in Ha Lam's favor.

The report, titled "Where Old Elephants Come to Rest — Thirty Years and a Promise", was broadcast on a weekend night on national television, then republished on the station's online platform. On the night of the broadcast, a series of comments and shares flooded social networks, most of them expressing their emotion at the story, admiration for the honest spirit and reconciliation efforts of both Mr. Thach's family and the Chu Rinh trading community.

"This is the first time I've seen a story about land, about its complex past, told with such humanity," one prominent commenter wrote. "Not a simple story of good and evil, but a story about people, about mistakes, and about trying to correct them."

The interview with Mr. Thach, where he tremblingly recounted how he delayed returning Sao Mai to Ama Rin's family out of fear for its fate, then bowed and apologized to the camera, became the most shared part. Many viewers left comments that they cried when watching the part where old Ama Not sat next to Mr. Thach, held his hand, and said in both M'nong and Vietnamese that "the old story is over, now we are a family, taking care of these elephants together".

Xuan Mai, who closely monitors the amount of interaction on the platforms, reported back to the group in barely hidden excitement. "The number of people registering to follow the camp's page increased tenfold overnight, and several reputable travel companies also texted to ask about the possibility of cooperating in organizing responsible elephant observation tours in the future."

That rush of positive news brought a new breath of vitality to the whole camp, but Ha Lam still maintained the necessary alertness, not letting himself be swept away by the feeling of victory too soon, knowing that the real legal battle was still ahead.

Public pressure, now overwhelmingly on the side of the camp, forced the Hoang Kim Group to react publicly. A few days later, an interview with Truong Hoang Long appeared in an economic newspaper, in which he tried to calm the situation by affirming that he "always respects the value of preserving culture and wildlife", while also leaving open the possibility of "reconsidering the scope of the project if necessary to avoid unnecessary conflicts with local communities".

"This is a sign that they are under real pressure," the Japanese lawyer commented when reading the article with the group. "But don't be too happy, this may just be a temporary appeasement tactic before the mediation session, it doesn't mean they will withdraw the lawsuit."

As expected by the Japanese lawyer, although public opinion has changed positively, Hoang Kim still did not withdraw the lawsuit, only adjusted its tactics to a more discreet direction. A few weeks later, Ha Lam received information, through a source from the district office, that the company was trying to influence a number of officials with authority to evaluate land records, hoping to create a favorable verdict before public opinion could apply more pressure.

"We cannot rely only on the media," Tuan Khoi said in a strategy meeting, "we need to have more official allies, with a voice in the system, to ensure the trial process is fair and transparent."

Lawyer Nhat agreed, proposing to send an official dispatch to the National Wildlife Protection Association and several international conservation organizations that have cooperated with the Vietnamese Elephant Conservation Fund, asking them to send letters of support to local authorities, emphasizing the value of the camp model for domestic elephant conservation in general in the context of the country gradually tightening regulations on animal welfare in the tourism industry.

At this moment, unexpected good news came from the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. After following the reportage and receiving petitions from many domestic and foreign conservation organizations, the Department decided to send a working group to re-evaluate the entire operating model of the camp, with the possibility of recommending recognition as a model conservation model at the provincial level — a title that, if achieved, would provide much stronger legal protection than the current situation.

"This could be our biggest chance," Ha Lam said, her eyes flashing with new hope. "If recognized as a model, land acquisition as requested by Hoang Kim will be much more difficult, because it will go against the province's conservation policy."

The whole team immediately began preparing for this important appraisal, knowing that this could be a decisive turning point in the tug-of-war that has lasted for many months. Bay Kinh and a few young people from Chu Rinh village, including Y Khun, volunteered to clean up the entire camp grounds, repair the remaining fence sections after the storm, and prepare carefully for the day the Department's working group came to appraise.

Ama Not, when hearing about the possibility of the camp being recognized as a model, also proactively asked to represent Chu Rinh village to speak before the appraisal team, affirming the consensus and long-term commitment between the community and the camp. "This is not just a matter of Mr. Thach's family anymore," the old man told Ha Lam, "but a common matter of our whole village, I want to personally contribute to it."

Even Mr. Thach, although his health was still limited, insisted on participating in the meeting to welcome the appraisal team, preparing a short but passionate speech about the thirty-year journey of building the camp, about the lessons he had learned, both successes and mistakes, along the way.

In the midst of that busy work cycle, Ha Lam and Tuan Khoi work together better than ever. All old misunderstandings seem to have completely disappeared, giving way to a solid bond, ready to face together any challenges that lie ahead. There were late evenings, when the two of them sat together to compose documents under the light, Ha Lam suddenly realized that she no longer felt alone like the first days of facing storm Hoang Kim - she had a new family, made up of people who seemed strange but had now become an indispensable support in her life, from the father who was learning to tell the truth, to the village elder who once carried a lot of resentment and had now turned into an ally, to the man who was sitting on his back. beside her every night, not out of responsibility, but out of a voluntary choice from the heart.