The December 2009 issue of National Geographic includes an article on Mount Athos, the ancient Eastern Orthodox monastery island. The writer neatly summarizes the flavor of solitude and persistence in the character of the monks and hermits, and the threats of modernity to the ways of centuries. Accompanied by a photo gallery.
Cambodian feral woman
A recent Telegraph (UK) article titled “Jungle woman Rochom P’ngieng wants to return to the wild” describes the plight of an 18-year old Cambodian woman who grew up alone in the jungle from the age of eight and was reintroduced to society in 2007 but unsuccessfully so far. The woman does not speak, eats prepared food reluctantly, refuses clothes, and regularly attempts to flee back to the jungle.
Brought to our attention by a friend of Hermitary.
Feral child in Kyrgyzstan
From RIA Novosti, a news item about a feral child in Kyrgyzstan, headlined “Kyrgyz boy lives in sheep shed for 8 years”:
Bishkek, November 5 (RIA Novosti) – A 14-year-old boy has spent the last eight years living alone in a ramshackle sheep shed in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, the Vecherny Bishkek newspaper reported on Thursday.
According to the paper, the boy’s parents left the former Soviet state for Russia in early 2000, leaving their young son with his ill grandmother. For reasons which are not yet clear, the boy began living in the sheep shed almost immediately.
In the beginning, he tried to mix with children from a nearby village, but they bullied and teased him. He then became a hermit. His story came to light after his grandmother died and locals found her body, the paper said.
He has almost completely forgotten how to speak, the paper said. There is as yet no information on his parents. The paper said he would be taken into the care of the state.
Lincolnshire hermit
A June 2009 Guardian article for its Experience series titled “I Am a Hermit” is by Rachel Denton, a UK woman who writes about her life-long desire for solitude, and its fulfillment alone in a remote Lincolnshire country house. She received canonical approval of her status by the local Catholic bishop. Brought to our attention by a friend of Hermitary.
URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jun/20/experience-hermit
Lebanese hermit video
Fr. Dario Escobar, Colombian-born hermit living in Lebanon’s Kaddisha Valley, is profiled in a 2-minute AFP video titled “Hermit Finds Heaven in Lebanese Cave.” A related AFP article offers more detail, with several photos.
Video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moKhKw5u25I
Article URL: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iytmu9cwPRxtpuK0L8T2D2HhYdDw
Still another article about Fr. Escobar, with more personal details, in the Lebanon website Tayyar, by visitors.
URL: http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/129005834282848748.htm