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persuade them to come home.
Since then, he has been bringing
them salt and oil every year but they have
not accepted him yet. “Our support prod-
ucts had been left untouched,” Tri said.
Many times he brought more peo-
ple to help bring them home, but they
would hide quickly anytime they saw
people.
Ho Minh Lam, Thanh’s nephew,
said people have brought clothes and
pots for him to use but he just kept
them in a bag.
They kept a small fire in the house
and smoked tobacco they planted
themselves to keep warm on cold days.
FIRST STEPS TOWARD REUNION
Since the rescue, the father and
son have been supported by the au-
thorities, and their family to have
helped them reintegrate into the com-
munity.
Thanh and Lang received medi-
cal treatment for depression and fever
at the Tay Tra district Health Centre
and then they were transferred to the
Quang Ngai General Hospital for further
treatment.
Despite being scared of strangers,
the son has started to be more recep-
tive to his relatives and even partici-
pated in rebuilding an old house.
Lang has tried to get used to mod-
ern life with cigarettes, clothes, foot-
wear, motorbikes, soft drinks and tel-
evision, but Thanh has refused to use
modern things. He is only able to eat a
little rice and drink milk.
Thanh continually says “Coming
back to the jungle” in his ethnic minor-
ity language. He is still concerned about
his field, which is left uncultivated.
MISSING THE JUNGLE
After some days in civilization, both
men have expressed their wish to go
back to the old house. When life in the
jungle is mentioned, the son takes a
pen and draws some animals which he
has hunted and touches his weapons.
Local authorities have spent
VND100 million supporting the two men
with a newly built house. Apart from
that, one hectare of cultivated land was
also granted to them. Moreover the two
men have been registered as residents
with his son in Tre Nga commune. They
were also given identity cards and health
care insurance for poor people.
Local authorities keep trying to
convince them that the war has long
been over and they are safe.
For the first time in 40 years, Lang
has bathed and worn slippers. For Lang,
this is a totally new life, and one that is
filled with difficulties; however, this is
his village and he is surrounded by his
relatives who are all trying to help the
two jungle men start a new chapter.
SOCIETY AT LARGE