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Vietnam pair coaxed out of jungle
BBC ^ | 9 August 2013 Last updated at 06:35 ET | BBC

Posted on 08/09/2013 6:26:39 AM PDT by haffast

A Vietnamese father and his son who fled to the jungle during the war four decades ago have been persuaded to leave, officials say.

Ho Van Lang and his 82-year-old father reportedly shunned contact with the outside world after his wife and two children were killed by a landmine.

For most of their time in the jungle their whereabouts was unknown.

They were discovered living in dense foliage in central Quang Ngai province and were barely able to communicate.

Mr Ho was said by officials to only know a few words of the local Cor dialect.

Vietnamese media reported that Mr Ho's brother succeeded in tracking the pair down 20 years ago, but had not been able to persuade them to return to modern society. Traumatised

While in the jungle, the pair wore only loincloths and used a homemade axe to chop down trees. They survived on corn, fruits and cassava roots from the jungle.

They lived in a tree house, five metres above ground, where they kept arrows for hunting and knives for killing animals.

The older man kept his military trousers neatly folded in a corner as well as the little red coat his son was thought to have been wearing when they fled.

A party of local people who discovered them were reported to be startled by their wild appearance and outlandish gestures.

They reported their find to the leaders of a local commune, who deployed a team to track them down.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: communism; jungle; ownlife; vietnam
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To: Tax-chick

“the *little* red coat that the son was thought to be wearing”


21 posted on 08/09/2013 8:32:47 AM PDT by Ditter
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To: Ditter

Hmm, that’s a point.


22 posted on 08/09/2013 8:33:59 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Ask me about the Weiner Wager. Support Free Republic!)
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To: Tax-chick

Yes it is! :)


23 posted on 08/09/2013 8:37:01 AM PDT by Ditter
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To: Ditter

“... wearing when they fled” is the key point that establishes the identities.

Dang. If journalists would just use a noun instead of a pronoun, we would be saved all this. Unless they’re all named “Mr. Ho,” of course.


24 posted on 08/09/2013 8:51:49 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Ask me about the Weiner Wager. Support Free Republic!)
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To: ClearCase_guy
reminds me of a Gilligan's Island espisode.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

25 posted on 08/09/2013 10:19:53 AM PDT by TurboZamboni (Marx smelled bad & lived with his parents most his life.)
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To: haffast

More info and pictures. Check out the treehouse:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/vietnam-dad-son-discovered-hiding-2142434


26 posted on 08/09/2013 7:29:37 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant
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