Posted on 11/08/2003 9:13:16 AM PST by blam
Backwoods brothers searching for parents
November 07 2003 at 09:27PM
Two half-starved brothers who recently emerged from the British Columbia wilderness, claiming to have lived in near isolation since birth, are in limbo as Canadian officials try to determine how to help them.
Thomas, 22, and William Green, 16, were discovered some weeks ago camping in the bush behind a general store in Vernon, British Columbia, by residents who have since given them food, clothing and shelter.
The brothers said they had been born and raised in the backwoods by American parents who call themselves Mary and Joseph, but have no proof of their identities.
Even more unusual, they claim they have never been to school, seen a doctor, watched television or had any childhood friends, said Rhelda Evans, an aide to Canadian member of parliament Darrel Stinson.
She called him 'an alien influence' The brothers hunted and rummaged for food and their sole contact with the outside world was with a family friend who visited infrequently, as well as rare trips with their parents to the town of Revelstoke to buy supplies.
Thomas Green told Evans he had left their remote homestead a few months ago after his decision to become a vegetarian horrified his mother.
Evans said: "She called him 'an alien influence'. The mother may have just realised there was no way he could survive in the winter in Revelstoke as a vegetarian and asked him to leave. Also, because he was now 22, he was old enough to go out on his own and look after himself."
His younger sibling followed and together they found their way to Vernon, 280 kilometres away.
"They came in almost every day. They weren't very talkative. They were very timid, didn't make much eye contact, just looked up to pass me money," said Chandace Chase, a cashier at the Kalamalka general store they frequented.
'They came in almost every day. They weren't very talkative' And unlike other teenagers, they never bought junk food, she said.
Reporters have not been allowed by their hosts to interview or photograph the brothers, fearing it might scare them away, but Chase described them as very tall, very skinny and very pale.
Canadian officials said it was not unusual to find people living in British Columbia's wilderness.
The Kootenay region was a haven for American draft dodgers in the 1960s and police arrested two men in the past two years who had survived on the spoils of cottage break-ins.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Henry Proce said the boys were not in any trouble and, although he has confirmed most of their wild tale, he suggested they might have embellished some parts.
"They certainly lived in an isolated area, but they had access to a television, a video cassette recorder and a radio. Their home was hooked up to solar power and turbine generators. Both of their parents are educated and taught the boys to read and write and operate all the modern conveniences," Proce said.
Police will now try to locate their parents or grandmother, who may still live in the United States.
Several government agencies are trying to help, but efforts have been hindered by the boys' inability to produce birth certificates or other proof of Canadian citizenship that would help provide financial aid or employment.
"We often don't recognise how much we rely on who we are as individuals in our society. When you have someone who can't be legally identified, that creates a number of problems," said Tom Christensen, a member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly.
For now, the brothers will remain in the care of locals in their adopted community.
"If they're just now being introduced to society to the extent that they are, they've got some adapting to do," said their new lawyer Dale Kermod. - Sapa-AFP
Who, I presume, are enroute to Bethlehem to pay their tax bill.
I think he is saying that we often don't recognize just how invasive government has become. Some of us do recognize this.
Of course it does. Who in God's name is going to pay their taxes?
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