We all can agree on the fact that kids need a lot of love and attention in the formative years. The environment plays an equally important part in the shaping of a personality. But what happens when they are taken away from the civilisation at a young age?
These are the stories around the globe that are so bizarre that you will be shocked.
1# Jungle Girl of Cambodia
When Rochom P’nhieng, an 8-year-old girl from Cambodia went to feed the buffaloes one morning in 1989, little did her parents know that she would not return back. The reports vary, but they agree on a common story. Rochom P’nhieng and her sister went out in the morning but did not return. The villagers searched her everywhere, but they could not locate her. Her parents assumed the worst and had a tough time getting their life back to normal.
After 18 years, a woodcutter received a shock of his life when he was confronted by a woman who was naked and could barely speak. The woman was rescued on 2007 and was declared to be Rochom P’nhieng, the girl who was lost for 18 years!
The poor girl cannot speak, use utensils or lead any kind of a civilised life. She has made several attempts to return to the wild, only to be stopped by someone in time.
The story took a twist in 2016 when a Vietnamese man visited the family and declared that she was, in fact, Tak, his daughter, who was missing from the Gai Lai province after a mental breakdown.
Is she the jungle girl, as she is commonly known these days, or is she Tak, only time and a DNA test will confirm. The story, however, is bizarre enough.
2# The ‘Wolfpack” of New York
This is a classic example of what paranoia in the father leads to. This father kept his six children locked for 14 years! Don’t worry. They were not brutalised in any way. Their mother took care of them in a 4 bedroom apartment in New York. They received home schooling and learnt about the outside world through movies!
The Angulo siblings were kept locked until 2010 when they started going out in packs. However, the world they knew was from the movies they had seen. They entertained themselves by recreating scenes from famous movies by playing superheroes!
It is not surprising that they featured in a documentary themselves. ‘Wolfpack’ was screened at Sundance festival in Utah in 2015. The family still lives together, only the elder son has left the pack to start a life of his own!
3# School Bus Kids of Texas
A postal worker was concerned when she saw two kids, a boy and a girl, on their own near an abandoned school bus in Texas. The kids were shabbily dressed and were never seen accompanied by any adult.
The kids were rescued by Child Welfare services. The parents of these kids were in prison for some white-collar crime. They were supposed to be living with their aunt. However, she was overworked and overwhelmed. The kids escaped to live in an abandoned school bus.
Fortunately, the bus had electricity, running water and basic sanitation. They were, however, underfed and in a bad condition. I wonder what would have been their fate had the postal worker not spotted them.
4# Mountain Kids of Siberia
In 1936, the Lykov family of 6 escaped their Siberian hometown to an isolated mountain to escape the wrath of angry religious fanatics. The family lived there without any other human contact for more than 40 years when they were discovered in 1978 by a team of geologists.
This family survived on what they could grow in the wild. They made their own clothes and shoes from the natural elements. The kids did not see another human face till they were adults! After discovery, they were so set in their ways that they continued living there in the wilderness.
Are we not fortunate that our kids have us to help them explore the world and shield them when necessary?
Images courtesy: Pixabay, YouTube