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Locals help

Locals help "jungle men" build house

Monday, August 26, 2013, 12:03 GMT+7

Dozens of residents in a hamlet in central Quang Ngai Province are helping the two “jungle men,” who recently returned to civilized life after 40 years of living in a forest, build a new house.

>> How the “jungle men” lived >> Familiar conditions should be created for “jungle men”: scientist >> Why did veteran lead 4-decade hermit life in jungle? >> Tale of 2 rescued jungle men who lived 40 years in forest>> 2 jungle men found after 40 years living in Vietnam forest

Work on a new house for the two men, 82-year-old Ho Van Thanh and his son, 44-year-old Ho Van Lang, began yesterday, August 25, in Tra Nga Hamlet, Tra Phong Commune, Tay Tra District. Phu Dien Co., Ltd., a local brick trader, donated all of the bricks needed for the house. Along with locals, Lang happily carried bricks and other materials for the building of the house. To date, Thanh and Lang have received a total of VND150 million (US$7,200) from individuals and organizations who wanted to help the father and son have stable accommodation to start their new life soon. Since being removed from a deep frost in the province on August 7, the men have gradually re-integrated into society.   They have been given medical check-ups and health insurance cards. Thanks to his poor health Thanh has been cared for at a local health center and has recovered. Authorities have granted ID cards to the two and added their names into the household registration book of Ho Van Tri, Thanh’s youngest son and Lang’s brother.

The local government is also considering granting land to the two so that they have space to farm.

In a recent interview with Tuoi Tre about what would be done to help the “jungle men” integrate into a new life, Associate Prof. Dr Nguyen Van Tiep, former head of the Human Studies Department at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities,Tiep said such integration cannot take place overnight.

"A period of time is needed for them to gradually get used to the way of life of people around them and to give up their habits and customs that have been formed over 40 years of living in the forest.  In order to help them feel comfortable during this process, authorities should provide them with a living environment that is similar to the one in the forest," Tiep said.

According to the Tay Tra District People’s Committee, Thanh is a native of Tra Linh Hamlet, Tra Lanh Commune, Tra Bong District. During the Vietnam War, Thanh moved to Tra Kem Hamlet in Tra Xinh Commune, in the same district, and joined an army unit belonging to Military Zone 5.

Before going into the forest to live the life of a hermit, Thanh served six years in the army and was a well-known blacksmith in the district before that. According to some elderly people in Tra Kem, US troops bombed many areas in Quang Ngai during the war. One night in 1972, Thanh returned to his hometown only to find his mother and two elder children – one six years old, the other four – dead, along with 23 others in a shelter that had been hit by a bomb. His wife and two younger children had earlier escaped to a forest, so they were not affected by the bombing.

Ho Van Tri, Lang’s younger brother, cited elderly locals as saying that his father nearly went mad after losing three close relatives at once, and did not return to his army unit.

“My father and mother later brought me (three months old at that time) and Lang (one year old) to a village in Tra Khe commune to live. One day in 1974, during a fit of madness, my father beat my mother. Villagers brought my mother, along with me, to a clinic for treatment. At the time, my father led my brother (Lang) to the forest, stating their life as jungle men,” Tri said. “Nine years ago, local authorities learned of the whereabouts of my father and brother and, through our relatives, tried to persuade them to return to normal life but failed,” Tri added. 

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