Directedby Brillante Mendoza, Serbis is the first Filipino film to compete in the Official Selection since Bayan Ko by Lino Brocka in 1984. Serbis takes place in an old movie house in Angeles City, in the Philippines, which shows 1970s skin flicks. As the members of the Pineda family, who own the theater, go about their daily activities, we slowly discover their personalities and the difficulties they are grappling with. Tormented by inner demons, they willfully ignore the prostitution trade thriving right inside their place of business.
As a prologue. a nameless Cambodian girl leaves her village for Bangkok. Upon arriving, she is kidnapped, drugged, and sold in the "skin trade" (human trafficking).
The action moves to the city of Newark, where a Newark Police Department detective named Nick Cassidy discovers that Serbian mobster Viktor Dragovic is in New Jersey. Meanwhile, in Bangkok, detective Tony Vitayakul attempts to buy a Thai girl from a group of human traffickers. When his cover is blown, he subdues the traffickers and frees the girl from captivity, gleaning the identity of a ship being used to transport trafficked girls, where the ship will dock, and that Dragovic will be present to receive the shipment.
Cassidy and his captain, Costello, brief a group of police officers on Dragovic, revealing he is "a major player" in human trafficking worldwide. As the cargo ship carrying Dragovic's container approaches America, Cassidy and the department prepare to intercept it at the docks. When the ship arrives, Dragovic discovers the trafficked women have died during transport. The ship's captain is held responsible, tortured, then shot in the head. A shootout erupts as the police move in for an arrest. Cassidy chases Dragovic and his youngest son, Andre, as they flee. He fatally shoots Andre in self-defense and Dragovic is arrested. While in custody, Dragovic arranges to have Cassidy and his entire family murdered, having his house blown up. Cassidy's wife and daughter are killed, while Cassidy survives despite being shot in the back.
Due to their unique morphological features and huge size, Monitor lizards may elicit fear among people. But they are far from harmful. In fact, humans have caused more harm to these reptiles. Various myths and superstitions surrounding Monitor lizards have led them to bear the brunt of issues like human-wildlife conflict and wildlife trafficking.
Two subspecies of the Asian monitor can be found in India, namely the Andaman monitor, which dwells only in the Andaman islands, and the Southeast Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator macromaculatus) residing in east and north-east India, and the Nicobar islands.
The Yellow monitor is seen in eastern India, majorly in West Bengal. The species is found near wet areas, especially in wetlands such as agricultural fields. Compared to the Bengal monitor, which is adept in climbing trees, the Yellow monitor is incapable of doing so due to its short hind toes. What threatens this species the most is the lack of study, which ultimately results in poor awareness. Frequently seen in human-dominated areas, lack of awareness can often lead to the animal being harmed by human beings.
Wildlife SOS has worked extensively on saving and conserving Monitor lizards through their rescues, and even treated these reptiles. Ranging from construction sites to markets, shops, water tanks, kitchens and even a car manufacturing unit, the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit has rescued them from several distress situations.
In a rare incident, Wildlife SOS rescued a Monitor lizard from a Honda car manufacturing unit in Noida, Delhi-NCR. The 3-foot-long reptile was found stuck in a fence of the garden inside the factory premises. The team had to be extremely careful while extricating the distressed lizard as they wanted to avoid agitating it further.
It took them nearly an hour to safely remove the reptile from the fence. The animal had sustained injuries on its right forelimb, following which the Wildlife SOS veterinarians provided topical medication on the wounds.
In another instance, Wildlife SOS rescued a Monitor lizard which had entered a shop in the Delhi Cantonment area. Recently, our team also rescued three monitors in a span of three days. One of them was found inside a residence in Shyam Vihar, New Delhi. As soon as the team reached the location to rescue the lizard, the animal jumped into a water tank. It took the team nearly 30 minutes to safely extricate the reptile.
One of the biggest threats to these reptiles is hunting for their skin. The skins of these lizards are used to make drums and their genitals are considered identifiably similar to the hatha jodi plant. According to superstition, they are said to bring prosperity and are sold widely across south Asia. People also consider their flesh and eggs as a delicacy and an aphrodisiac.
In the month of March this year, Wildlife SOS, in collaboration with the Gujarat Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) conducted a raid in a small, inconspicuous shop in Surat, Gujarat. The team assisted the Surat Forest Department in seizing a total of 6 Monitor lizard genitals in the raid. Again in June, the team seized 7 lizard genitals by busting a large-scale wildlife trafficking racket in Navsari, Gujarat.
Last year, the Wildlife SOS-GSPCA team tracked the movement of a wildlife trade racket and discovered two locations in Jalgaon, Maharashtra which were storing wild species and body parts for trade. A raid conducted by the police, forest department and Wildlife SOS unearthed 3 dead Monitor lizards and 8 genitals of the animal.
Through these unrelenting and tenacious efforts, Wildlife SOS continues to work for the conservation of these imperiled reptiles. You can also make meaningful contributions by becoming a monthly donor and supporting our life-saving work.
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