Odzan: The Forest Boy
Last week, a forest boy Odzhan or ‘great soul’ was found by a local woman in the Atlai region. He has spent most of his life in a hut in the ground.
After 16 years of his life living in the forest, he is no longer unknown. His parents told him he was born in 1993, near the village of Kaitonak. In 1997 when Odzhan was 4 years old, he and his family left society to live in the Siberian Forest. His father, Alexander, is a painter and sells mushrooms. His mother, Elena, is a musician.
Their son hardly ever saw people until now. They opted out of society because they don’t like how the world is. They don’t like the pollution and the smells.
The Siberian Times found and interviewed the parents.
” Q: ‘What kind of destiny do we want for our son? ‘
Alexander: ‘We want him to have the best destiny. We want him to become a big artist, perhaps a poet. ‘
Elena: ‘A writer…
Alexander: ‘But above all we want him to be a clever man.’
Elena: ‘And a kind man. A true man.’ ”
His parents left him in May 2013. They went to Sakhalin, an island off of Russia’s pacific coast.
Odzhan went looking for help as soon as summer ended; he was afraid he would not survive the winter.
He spoke slowly, since he doesn’t communicate as often as most people. He has been studying English from the dictionary his parents took with them when they left society.
Contact with too many people might be risky. Odzhan has never been examined by a doctor, and his immune system is not adapted to most common diseases.
The Siberian times had someone say: “We don’t aim to bring him back to civilisation.” (Fomin) They seem to be doing well where they are.
Sources:
http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/english-speaking-forest-boy-nicknamed-siberian-mowgli-was-born-and-raised-in-the-altai-wilderness/
http://www.newser.com/story/174059/forest-boy-found-after-16-years-in-siberia-wilderness.html
http://rt.com/news/feral-man-siberia-forest-674/
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2013/09/russias-forest-boy-says-he-spent-16-years-in-the-siberian-wilderness/
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