Rochom P'nhieng (2nd from left) is back with her family (All photos: Koh Santepheap)
The latrine in which Rochom fell 10 days ago
Showing posts with label Jungle woman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jungle woman. Show all posts
Monday, June 07, 2010
Rochom P'nhieng's latest photos
Rochom P'nhieng (2nd from left) is back with her family (All photos: Koh Santepheap)The latrine in which Rochom fell 10 days ago
'Jungle woman' reappears after going missing for 10 days
Mon, 07 Jun 2010
DPA
DPA
Phnom Penh - Cambodia's so-called "jungle woman" who went missing 10 days ago has been found in a 10-metre-deep latrine, local media reported Monday.
Rochom P'nhieng, who is about 29 and appears to suffer from mental disabilities, was discovered late Friday by a neighbour who heard her calling out.
Sal Lou, who claims to be her father, said he and other villagers went to the scene.
"The villagers pulled my daughter out of the toilet, and we cleaned her up, but now she looks weak and pale," he told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.
Rochom P'nhieng made local and international headlines in early 2007 when she was caught trying to steal food in the north-eastern province of Ratanakkiri some 600 kilometres from Phnom Penh.
She had been living in the wild, and at the time was unable to speak either Khmer - the predominant language of Cambodia - or P'nong, one of the region's indigenous tongues.
She was taken in by Sal Lou's family in 2007. They claimed she was their long-lost daughter who had disappeared in 1989 while herding cattle.
Her disappearances and reappearances have piqued media interest ever since.
Sal Lou told the newspaper that he would now stay at home to prevent Rochom P'nhieng running away again.
But a local human rights advocate said the woman's family were likely unable to care for her in the rural province since she has obvious mental and emotional difficulties.
"She has fled the house three times already since she came back from the forest," said Chhay Thy, an investigator for human rights group Adhoc.
Rochom P'nhieng, who is about 29 and appears to suffer from mental disabilities, was discovered late Friday by a neighbour who heard her calling out.
Sal Lou, who claims to be her father, said he and other villagers went to the scene.
"The villagers pulled my daughter out of the toilet, and we cleaned her up, but now she looks weak and pale," he told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.
Rochom P'nhieng made local and international headlines in early 2007 when she was caught trying to steal food in the north-eastern province of Ratanakkiri some 600 kilometres from Phnom Penh.
She had been living in the wild, and at the time was unable to speak either Khmer - the predominant language of Cambodia - or P'nong, one of the region's indigenous tongues.
She was taken in by Sal Lou's family in 2007. They claimed she was their long-lost daughter who had disappeared in 1989 while herding cattle.
Her disappearances and reappearances have piqued media interest ever since.
Sal Lou told the newspaper that he would now stay at home to prevent Rochom P'nhieng running away again.
But a local human rights advocate said the woman's family were likely unable to care for her in the rural province since she has obvious mental and emotional difficulties.
"She has fled the house three times already since she came back from the forest," said Chhay Thy, an investigator for human rights group Adhoc.
Rochom P'ngieng found fallen into a latrine
Cambodia's disappeared "forest woman" found
PHNOM PENH, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's claimed "forest woman " who was disappeared on May 25 has been found in a toilet, a family member of the woman said on Monday.
Rochom Kamphy, 28, a younger brother of the "forest woman", said that his sister who disappeared from home on May 25 was found Friday.
He said his sister was found by a village at the bottom of a deep hole, which was a disused well and now converted into a toilet, and her body was soaked with excrement up to her chest.
Once she was taken out of the toilet, her body was badly smelled with full of excrement and worms. He believed that a forest spirit might have taken her to that situation.
Rochom Kamphy said his sister is now too skinny and weak and is crying most of the time.
The lost woman and later called "forest woman", Rochom P'ngieng, 30, was discovered in 2007 after the family claimed she had disappeared since 1989 while she was herding buffaloes behind her house.
Rochom Kamphy said, last year, his sister disappeared for nine days and nine nights, but she finally returned home and this time she disappeared for 10 days.
Prior to her disappearance last month, Kamphy, said his sister still could not speak, except a few words, but she could listen and understand what his family members were talking to her.
The family of the "forest woman" is living in O'yadao district in Ratanakiri Province, located about 600 km northeast of Phnom Penh.
Rochom Kamphy, 28, a younger brother of the "forest woman", said that his sister who disappeared from home on May 25 was found Friday.
He said his sister was found by a village at the bottom of a deep hole, which was a disused well and now converted into a toilet, and her body was soaked with excrement up to her chest.
Once she was taken out of the toilet, her body was badly smelled with full of excrement and worms. He believed that a forest spirit might have taken her to that situation.
Rochom Kamphy said his sister is now too skinny and weak and is crying most of the time.
The lost woman and later called "forest woman", Rochom P'ngieng, 30, was discovered in 2007 after the family claimed she had disappeared since 1989 while she was herding buffaloes behind her house.
Rochom Kamphy said, last year, his sister disappeared for nine days and nine nights, but she finally returned home and this time she disappeared for 10 days.
Prior to her disappearance last month, Kamphy, said his sister still could not speak, except a few words, but she could listen and understand what his family members were talking to her.
The family of the "forest woman" is living in O'yadao district in Ratanakiri Province, located about 600 km northeast of Phnom Penh.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Cambodian 'jungle woman' starts speaking: father
Rochom P’nhieng, known as the jungle girl, is shown waiting for treatment at a hospital in Ratanakkiri last month. (Photo: AFP)AFP
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's "jungle woman", whose story gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, has begun speaking normally instead of making animal-type noises, her father said.
Rochom P'ngieng, now 28, went missing as a little girl in 1989 while herding water buffalo in Ratanakkiri province around 600 kilometres (400 miles) northeast of the capital Phnom Penh.
In early 2007 the woman was brought from the jungle, naked and dirty, after being caught trying to steal food from a farmer. She was hunched over like a monkey, scavenging on the ground for pieces of dried rice.
She could not utter a word of any intelligible language, instead making what Sal Lou, the man who says he is her father, calls "animal noises."
Cambodians described her as "jungle woman" and "half-animal girl" and since rejoining society Rochom P'ngieng has battled bouts of illness and was hospitalised in October after refusing food.
But Sal Lou said late Wednesday that this month his daughter had started to understand Cambodia's Khmer language and could even speak the language of his ethnic Phnong tribe.
"She is becoming a normal human being like others. She has been starting to speak out now -- she speaks the language of Phnong," Sal Lou told AFP by telephone.
"She can ask for food, water and so on when she feels hungry," he said.
The apparent breakthrough happened after Rochom P'ngieng's hospitalization, when doctors gave her injections to treat a nervous illness for a few days, Sal Lou said.
"She is very gentle and I am very happy with her progress," he said adding that her condition appears to be improving from day to day.
Sal Lou said his daughter had stopped trying to flee into the jungle as she had in the past.
"Even though we tried to take her into jungle, she wanted to stay at home," he said, adding that she is able to eat food now.
The jungles of Ratanakkiri -- some of the most isolated and wild in Cambodia -- are known to have held hidden groups of hill tribes in the recent past.
In November 2004, 34 people from four hill tribe families emerged from the dense forest where they had fled in 1979 after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which they supported.
Rochom P'ngieng, now 28, went missing as a little girl in 1989 while herding water buffalo in Ratanakkiri province around 600 kilometres (400 miles) northeast of the capital Phnom Penh.
In early 2007 the woman was brought from the jungle, naked and dirty, after being caught trying to steal food from a farmer. She was hunched over like a monkey, scavenging on the ground for pieces of dried rice.
She could not utter a word of any intelligible language, instead making what Sal Lou, the man who says he is her father, calls "animal noises."
Cambodians described her as "jungle woman" and "half-animal girl" and since rejoining society Rochom P'ngieng has battled bouts of illness and was hospitalised in October after refusing food.
But Sal Lou said late Wednesday that this month his daughter had started to understand Cambodia's Khmer language and could even speak the language of his ethnic Phnong tribe.
"She is becoming a normal human being like others. She has been starting to speak out now -- she speaks the language of Phnong," Sal Lou told AFP by telephone.
"She can ask for food, water and so on when she feels hungry," he said.
The apparent breakthrough happened after Rochom P'ngieng's hospitalization, when doctors gave her injections to treat a nervous illness for a few days, Sal Lou said.
"She is very gentle and I am very happy with her progress," he said adding that her condition appears to be improving from day to day.
Sal Lou said his daughter had stopped trying to flee into the jungle as she had in the past.
"Even though we tried to take her into jungle, she wanted to stay at home," he said, adding that she is able to eat food now.
The jungles of Ratanakkiri -- some of the most isolated and wild in Cambodia -- are known to have held hidden groups of hill tribes in the recent past.
In November 2004, 34 people from four hill tribe families emerged from the dense forest where they had fled in 1979 after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which they supported.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Jungle woman Rochom P'ngieng wants to return to the wild
Rochom P'ngieng spent 18 years living in a forest after going missing as a child (Photo: AP)A Cambodian woman who spent 18 years living in a forest after going missing as a child has struggled to reintegrate in village life and wants to return to the wild.
30 Oct 2009
By Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok
The Telegraph (UK)
Rochom P'ngieng, dubbed "jungle woman" when she emerged in Feb 2007, has still has not learnt to speak and refuses to wear clothes.
Her father said she had been admitted to hospital after refusing to eat for a month and had made several attempts to return to the forest.
Sal Lou said: "Her condition looks worse than the time we brought her from the jungle. She always wants to take off her clothes and crawl back to the jungle.
"She has refused to eat rice for about one month. She is skinny now... She still cannot speak. She acts totally like a monkey. Last night, she took off her clothes, and went to hide in the bathroom."
Rochom P'ngieng disappeared in 1989 when she was eight years old while herding water buffalo in the province of Ratanakkiri bordering Vietnam, north-east of the capital, Phnom Penh.
Her parents had long given up hope of ever seeing her. But in 2007, she emerged from the jungle naked and dirty, hunched over like a monkey, and was caught trying to steal by a farmer.
She was said to have been scavenging food in the forest and could utter only unintelligible words. Sal Lou described the sounds she made simply as "animal noises".
The drama of her disappearance and unlikely reappearance gripped Cambodians who described her as "half animal girl" and "jungle woman", though there were also many questions raised about her identity and whether she could really have survived in the jungle.
But Sal Lou, a village policeman, embraced Rochom P'ngieng as he long-lost daughter after identifying her by a facial scar.
However, in spite of the family's best efforts, the woman has had great difficulty settling in after her years in the jungle.
Sal Lou said that she was admitted to Ratanakkiri's provincial hospital last Monday, but he had removed her because she was unsettled and the medical staff had difficulty preventing her running away.
"We have to hold her hand all the time (at the hospital). Otherwise she would take her clothes off and run away," he said. She has become so difficult that he wants a charity to take her into care.
At the hospital Dr Hing Phan Sokunthea said Sal Lou took her away against the wishes of medical staff. "We wanted to monitor her situation more, but we don't know what to do because the father already took her out of hospital."
The jungles of Ratanakkiri – some of the most isolated and wild in Cambodia – are known to have held hidden groups of hill tribes in the past.
In 2004, four hill tribe families emerged from the dense forest where they had fled in 1979 after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which they supported.
30 Oct 2009
By Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok
The Telegraph (UK)
Rochom P'ngieng, dubbed "jungle woman" when she emerged in Feb 2007, has still has not learnt to speak and refuses to wear clothes.
Her father said she had been admitted to hospital after refusing to eat for a month and had made several attempts to return to the forest.
Sal Lou said: "Her condition looks worse than the time we brought her from the jungle. She always wants to take off her clothes and crawl back to the jungle.
"She has refused to eat rice for about one month. She is skinny now... She still cannot speak. She acts totally like a monkey. Last night, she took off her clothes, and went to hide in the bathroom."
Rochom P'ngieng disappeared in 1989 when she was eight years old while herding water buffalo in the province of Ratanakkiri bordering Vietnam, north-east of the capital, Phnom Penh.
Her parents had long given up hope of ever seeing her. But in 2007, she emerged from the jungle naked and dirty, hunched over like a monkey, and was caught trying to steal by a farmer.
She was said to have been scavenging food in the forest and could utter only unintelligible words. Sal Lou described the sounds she made simply as "animal noises".
The drama of her disappearance and unlikely reappearance gripped Cambodians who described her as "half animal girl" and "jungle woman", though there were also many questions raised about her identity and whether she could really have survived in the jungle.
But Sal Lou, a village policeman, embraced Rochom P'ngieng as he long-lost daughter after identifying her by a facial scar.
However, in spite of the family's best efforts, the woman has had great difficulty settling in after her years in the jungle.
Sal Lou said that she was admitted to Ratanakkiri's provincial hospital last Monday, but he had removed her because she was unsettled and the medical staff had difficulty preventing her running away.
"We have to hold her hand all the time (at the hospital). Otherwise she would take her clothes off and run away," he said. She has become so difficult that he wants a charity to take her into care.
At the hospital Dr Hing Phan Sokunthea said Sal Lou took her away against the wishes of medical staff. "We wanted to monitor her situation more, but we don't know what to do because the father already took her out of hospital."
The jungles of Ratanakkiri – some of the most isolated and wild in Cambodia – are known to have held hidden groups of hill tribes in the past.
In 2004, four hill tribe families emerged from the dense forest where they had fled in 1979 after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which they supported.
‘Jungle Girl’ Falls Ill After Return to Forest
Cambodian Rochom Soy (L), would-be mother of Rochom P'ngieng takes care of her at Oyadao district in Rottanakiri province in 2007. Known as Cambodia's "jungle woman", Rochom P'ngieng, whose case gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, has been hospitalised after refusing food, her father and a doctor said Friday. (AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Ogirinal report from Phnom Penh
30 October 2009
Cambodia’s mysterious “jungle girl” is ill in Ratanakkiri provincial hospital, after contracting a fever from a return to the remote forests, officials said Friday.
Rochom Pngieng, who was found by villagers in the forest of the province in 2007, was thought to be the lost daughter of a Phnong villager or perhaps an escapee who had suffered abuse by her captor.
Those who claimed to be her family said she was a long-lost daughter who disappeared in the jungle 19 years earlier at age eight. She was unable to communicate, and her story has remained a mystery.
Her family now says she slipped back into the forest for several weeks, returning with a fever.
She was taken to the hospital Oct. 26 and is being treated for “serious mental problems,” said Sam Bamey, chief of the provincial hospital’s mental health unit.
Sal Lou, 45, who claims to be Rochom Pngieng’s father, said the woman had lost weight and had been gone for nearly a month.
“Now she has become thin of body, because she didn’t have food for one month,” he said. “When we fed her, she was always spreading out food from her mouth.”
Hing Phan Sakunthea, director of the provincial hospital, said it had been hard to treat the woman, because she refuses to be touched.
“We cannot get close to her because she doesn’t understand our language,” he said. “Now we’ve told her family to educate her and try giving her some food.”
Rochom Pngieng, who was found by villagers in the forest of the province in 2007, was thought to be the lost daughter of a Phnong villager or perhaps an escapee who had suffered abuse by her captor.
Those who claimed to be her family said she was a long-lost daughter who disappeared in the jungle 19 years earlier at age eight. She was unable to communicate, and her story has remained a mystery.
Her family now says she slipped back into the forest for several weeks, returning with a fever.
She was taken to the hospital Oct. 26 and is being treated for “serious mental problems,” said Sam Bamey, chief of the provincial hospital’s mental health unit.
Sal Lou, 45, who claims to be Rochom Pngieng’s father, said the woman had lost weight and had been gone for nearly a month.
“Now she has become thin of body, because she didn’t have food for one month,” he said. “When we fed her, she was always spreading out food from her mouth.”
Hing Phan Sakunthea, director of the provincial hospital, said it had been hard to treat the woman, because she refuses to be touched.
“We cannot get close to her because she doesn’t understand our language,” he said. “Now we’ve told her family to educate her and try giving her some food.”
Friday, October 30, 2009
'Jungle woman' hospitalised
Rochom P'ngiengFrom correspondents in Cambodia
Agence France-Presse
CAMBODIA'S "jungle woman", whose case gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, has been hospitalised after refusing food, her father and a doctor said today.
Rochom P'ngieng, now 28, went missing as a little girl in 1989 while herding water buffalo in Ratanakkiri province around 600km northeast of the capital Phnom Penh.
The woman was brought from the jungle, naked and dirty, in early 2007 after being caught trying to steal food from a farmer.
She was hunched over like a monkey, scavenging the ground for pieces of dried rice in the forest.
She could not utter a word of any intelligible language, instead making what Sal Lou, the man who says he is her father, calls "animal noises".
Cambodians described her as "jungle woman" and "half-animal girl".
Sal Lou said Rochom P'ngieng was admitted to the provincial hospital on Monday and had not adjusted to village life.
"She has refused to eat rice for about one month. She is skinny now.... She still cannot speak. She acts totally like a monkey. Last night, she took off her clothes, and went to hide in the bathroom," Sal Lou said.
"Her condition looks worse than the time we brought her from the jungle. She always wants to take off her clothes and crawl back to the jungle," he added.
Doctor Hing Phan Sokunthea, director of Ratanakkiri provincial hospital, said the woman was "in a state of nerves".
"Doctors have injected her with medicine twice a day to treat nervous illness but she still cannot control herself," he said.
Sal Lou said his family found it difficult to house the woman and he would appeal to charities to take over her care.
The jungles of Ratanakkiri - some of the most isolated and wild in Cambodia - are known to have held hidden groups of hill tribes in the recent past.
In November 2004, 34 people from four hill tribe families emerged from the dense forest where they had fled in 1979 after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which they supported.
Rochom P'ngieng, now 28, went missing as a little girl in 1989 while herding water buffalo in Ratanakkiri province around 600km northeast of the capital Phnom Penh.
The woman was brought from the jungle, naked and dirty, in early 2007 after being caught trying to steal food from a farmer.
She was hunched over like a monkey, scavenging the ground for pieces of dried rice in the forest.
She could not utter a word of any intelligible language, instead making what Sal Lou, the man who says he is her father, calls "animal noises".
Cambodians described her as "jungle woman" and "half-animal girl".
Sal Lou said Rochom P'ngieng was admitted to the provincial hospital on Monday and had not adjusted to village life.
"She has refused to eat rice for about one month. She is skinny now.... She still cannot speak. She acts totally like a monkey. Last night, she took off her clothes, and went to hide in the bathroom," Sal Lou said.
"Her condition looks worse than the time we brought her from the jungle. She always wants to take off her clothes and crawl back to the jungle," he added.
Doctor Hing Phan Sokunthea, director of Ratanakkiri provincial hospital, said the woman was "in a state of nerves".
"Doctors have injected her with medicine twice a day to treat nervous illness but she still cannot control herself," he said.
Sal Lou said his family found it difficult to house the woman and he would appeal to charities to take over her care.
The jungles of Ratanakkiri - some of the most isolated and wild in Cambodia - are known to have held hidden groups of hill tribes in the recent past.
In November 2004, 34 people from four hill tribe families emerged from the dense forest where they had fled in 1979 after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which they supported.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Media-spurned Jungle Girl sings in strange tongue
By Sam Rith and Cat Barton
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 06, March 23 - April 5, 2007
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 06, March 23 - April 5, 2007
The naked, emaciated woman captured in a Ratanakkiri jungle on January 13 and believed to be Rochom P'nhieng, a member of the Phnong tribe who vanished in 1989, has ended months of silence in an unexpected way, her presumed father, Sal Lou, told the Post on March 19.
"Last night P'nhieng sang a few songs in a Vietnamese ethnic minority language," he said. "She sang in P'hna language, which belongs to a Vietnamese ethnic minority who live only in Vietnam."
Lou, who speaks Vietnamese but not P'hna, said P'nhieng's singing had made him reconsider how his daughter had spent her time outside of society.
"Now I can say that during the time my daughter was away from me she stayed with P'hna ethnic minority on the Vietnam side of the border," he said.
But the implications of P'nhieng's foreign linguistic knowledge may not be properly investigated. Since the press corps' interest in P'nhieng waned, the Lou family have been left alone by media and medics alike, Lou said.
"I recorded what she sang [but] nowadays no one comes to visit or do any observations over my daughter any more," he said.
The lack of medical observation is setting back P'nhieng's recovery, said Professor Ka Sunbaunat, Dean of Psychiatry at the University of Health Sciences in Phnom Penh.
"She needs to be observed by a psychologist or a psychiatrist," he said. "During eighteen years in the jungle she would have experienced a lot of trauma. There is also the problem of starvation. We have to observe to understand what problems she has and be able to help her in an appropriate way. Without observation we cannot help her."
P'nhieng could be experiencing culture shock following her re-entry into society, so observation is essential if her real psychological, social or cognitive problems are to be identified, Sunbaunat said.
Sunbaunat recommended that P'nhieng be returned to the jungle to start building an understanding of her habits and behavior while living outside of society.
"At the moment, I have no idea why she might be speaking in P'hna," he said. "These kind of questions are why we should take her back to the jungle and observe her."
P'nhieng's motor skills seem sufficient, but her linguistic abilities have confused many in the sleepy hamlet of Phsom, O'Yadao district, Ratanakkiri.
"She uses a few mixed up words of P'hna, Krung, Chhrea, and Jarai [Cambodian and Vietnamese minority languages]," said Mao Sann, O'Yadao district police chief. "It is very difficult to tell if she speaks any real language."
Although P'nhieng still cannot talk to the family that has adopted her - they speak the minority language of P'hnong - she sometimes seems to understand what they say to her, said Lou.
"She can draw pictures," he said. "Sometimes she speaks in Chhrea and P'hna and laughs alone."
Lou reported P'nhieng had such bursts of semi-incomprehensible chatter immediately after she was first captured. The family still believes she is speaking to invisible jungle spirits.
Pen Bonnar, Adhoc coordinator in Ratanakkiri, said it was hard to tell whether P'nhieng had been alone or with others during her time outside of society, as he had minimal information from her family.
"My team visited P'nhieng on March 21 but said that she had not changed much since they last saw her two months ago," he said. "She still lives like a jungle woman and she still cannot speak."
"Last night P'nhieng sang a few songs in a Vietnamese ethnic minority language," he said. "She sang in P'hna language, which belongs to a Vietnamese ethnic minority who live only in Vietnam."
Lou, who speaks Vietnamese but not P'hna, said P'nhieng's singing had made him reconsider how his daughter had spent her time outside of society.
"Now I can say that during the time my daughter was away from me she stayed with P'hna ethnic minority on the Vietnam side of the border," he said.
But the implications of P'nhieng's foreign linguistic knowledge may not be properly investigated. Since the press corps' interest in P'nhieng waned, the Lou family have been left alone by media and medics alike, Lou said.
"I recorded what she sang [but] nowadays no one comes to visit or do any observations over my daughter any more," he said.
The lack of medical observation is setting back P'nhieng's recovery, said Professor Ka Sunbaunat, Dean of Psychiatry at the University of Health Sciences in Phnom Penh.
"She needs to be observed by a psychologist or a psychiatrist," he said. "During eighteen years in the jungle she would have experienced a lot of trauma. There is also the problem of starvation. We have to observe to understand what problems she has and be able to help her in an appropriate way. Without observation we cannot help her."
P'nhieng could be experiencing culture shock following her re-entry into society, so observation is essential if her real psychological, social or cognitive problems are to be identified, Sunbaunat said.
Sunbaunat recommended that P'nhieng be returned to the jungle to start building an understanding of her habits and behavior while living outside of society.
"At the moment, I have no idea why she might be speaking in P'hna," he said. "These kind of questions are why we should take her back to the jungle and observe her."
P'nhieng's motor skills seem sufficient, but her linguistic abilities have confused many in the sleepy hamlet of Phsom, O'Yadao district, Ratanakkiri.
"She uses a few mixed up words of P'hna, Krung, Chhrea, and Jarai [Cambodian and Vietnamese minority languages]," said Mao Sann, O'Yadao district police chief. "It is very difficult to tell if she speaks any real language."
Although P'nhieng still cannot talk to the family that has adopted her - they speak the minority language of P'hnong - she sometimes seems to understand what they say to her, said Lou.
"She can draw pictures," he said. "Sometimes she speaks in Chhrea and P'hna and laughs alone."
Lou reported P'nhieng had such bursts of semi-incomprehensible chatter immediately after she was first captured. The family still believes she is speaking to invisible jungle spirits.
Pen Bonnar, Adhoc coordinator in Ratanakkiri, said it was hard to tell whether P'nhieng had been alone or with others during her time outside of society, as he had minimal information from her family.
"My team visited P'nhieng on March 21 but said that she had not changed much since they last saw her two months ago," he said. "She still lives like a jungle woman and she still cannot speak."
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Spanish psychologist evaluates Cambodia's 'jungle woman'
Rochom P'ngieng, is watched by locals at her rural home Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007, in Oyadao, Cambodia. Rochom P'ngieng went missing in 1988, at the age of eight, while herding buffaloes near her family's home. Some villagers believe she has been living wild in the jungle ever since. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)Sunday, March 11, 2007
Ker Munthit
The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A Spanish psychologist met with Cambodia's "jungle woman" on Tuesday, hoping to unravel some of the mystery surrounding the woman who emerged from the forest, naked and unable to speak, after possibly 18 years in the wild.
Hector Rifa, a doctor of psychology from Spain's University of Oviedo, said his priority was to ensure the woman was receiving proper treatment for whatever traumatic experience she has undergone.
But it is also possible he may find clues to the woman's true identity - whether she is indeed a local girl who disappeared in 1988, as claimed by the family in northeastern Cambodia who has taken her in as their long-lost daughter.
Rifa said he plans to spend several days at the home of village policeman Sal Lou, who claims the woman is his daughter Rochom P'ngieng, who disappeared while tending water buffalo when she was eight.
Sal Lou's family, members of Cambodia's Pnong ethnic minority, say they are certain the woman is Rochom P'ngieng because of a childhood scar on her right arm.
With no other evidence supporting their claim, however, others have speculated that the woman may have a history of mental troubles and had simply become lost in the jungle much more recently.
In any case, her inability to communicate and evident attempts to escape from Sal Lou's family indicate she is in a difficult psychological situation.
Rifa has been working with indigenous people in Rattanakiri province over the past four years for the Spain-based group Psychology Without Borders.
In an interview earlier Tuesday, he told The Associated Press he thinks the woman's behaviour showed she was having difficulty adapting to normal life, as would be expected if she had been lost in the jungle for an extended period of time.
"It is not extraordinary . . . or anything coming from another world," he said, referring to concerns by superstitious villagers that the woman may be possessed by a jungle spirit.
"From the point of view of psychology, I suspect that this is like for us, if we have stayed one week in the forest and came back to the world, you are a little out of it. So if we have stayed 18 years out of the office or of the world, when we come back we need some time" to readjust, he said.
On Monday, two Cambodian human rights groups expressed concern that the woman may be suffering due to the spotlight cast on her since she emerged from the wild, and offered to provide medical and psychiatric treatment.
Curious villagers and journalists have flocked to see the woman, who was found Jan. 13 walking bent over rather than upright. She pats her stomach when hungry and uses animal-like grunts to communicate.
"The important thing is to try to help the family, if they don't know how to manage (her)," Rifa said.
Mao San, the Oyadao district police chief, said Tuesday the investigation into the woman's case has "hit a dead end" because she cannot communicate.
"Only when she starts speaking can we ask her where she might have been or whom she might have been with the whole time," he said, stressing the need to do DNA tests to confirm she is the child of Sal Lou.
Sal Lou has said he is willing to undergo DNA testing "to clear any doubts that she is my child."
Hector Rifa, a doctor of psychology from Spain's University of Oviedo, said his priority was to ensure the woman was receiving proper treatment for whatever traumatic experience she has undergone.
But it is also possible he may find clues to the woman's true identity - whether she is indeed a local girl who disappeared in 1988, as claimed by the family in northeastern Cambodia who has taken her in as their long-lost daughter.
Rifa said he plans to spend several days at the home of village policeman Sal Lou, who claims the woman is his daughter Rochom P'ngieng, who disappeared while tending water buffalo when she was eight.
Sal Lou's family, members of Cambodia's Pnong ethnic minority, say they are certain the woman is Rochom P'ngieng because of a childhood scar on her right arm.
With no other evidence supporting their claim, however, others have speculated that the woman may have a history of mental troubles and had simply become lost in the jungle much more recently.
In any case, her inability to communicate and evident attempts to escape from Sal Lou's family indicate she is in a difficult psychological situation.
Rifa has been working with indigenous people in Rattanakiri province over the past four years for the Spain-based group Psychology Without Borders.
In an interview earlier Tuesday, he told The Associated Press he thinks the woman's behaviour showed she was having difficulty adapting to normal life, as would be expected if she had been lost in the jungle for an extended period of time.
"It is not extraordinary . . . or anything coming from another world," he said, referring to concerns by superstitious villagers that the woman may be possessed by a jungle spirit.
"From the point of view of psychology, I suspect that this is like for us, if we have stayed one week in the forest and came back to the world, you are a little out of it. So if we have stayed 18 years out of the office or of the world, when we come back we need some time" to readjust, he said.
On Monday, two Cambodian human rights groups expressed concern that the woman may be suffering due to the spotlight cast on her since she emerged from the wild, and offered to provide medical and psychiatric treatment.
Curious villagers and journalists have flocked to see the woman, who was found Jan. 13 walking bent over rather than upright. She pats her stomach when hungry and uses animal-like grunts to communicate.
"The important thing is to try to help the family, if they don't know how to manage (her)," Rifa said.
Mao San, the Oyadao district police chief, said Tuesday the investigation into the woman's case has "hit a dead end" because she cannot communicate.
"Only when she starts speaking can we ask her where she might have been or whom she might have been with the whole time," he said, stressing the need to do DNA tests to confirm she is the child of Sal Lou.
Sal Lou has said he is willing to undergo DNA testing "to clear any doubts that she is my child."
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