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 News from Around the Americas | January 2007 
Cambodia's 'Jungle Woman' is Trying to Speak
 Ker Munthit - Associated Press
| | Rochom P'ngieng, a jungle woman in Oyadao, Rattanak Kiri province, about 660 kilometers (410 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007. (AP/Heng Sinith) |
Phnom Penh, Cambodia - A woman who emerged earlier this month from a Cambodian jungle, naked and unable to speak, is becoming more relaxed around people and is trying to communicate, but no one can understand her, a Spanish psychologist said Thursday.
Cambodia's "jungle woman," believed to be 27-year-old Rochom P'ngieng, was intimidated by the media frenzy after she stepped from the forest in northeastern Cambodia on Jan. 13, for what may have been the first time in nearly two decades.
"She was a little lost," said Hector Rifa, a doctor of psychology from Spain's University of Oviedo who spent two days evaluating the woman in the remote village of Oyadao. "It was quite shocking when there were many journalists and photographers around."
A village policeman and his family claim the woman is their long-lost daughter, Rochom P'ngieng, who disappeared in 1988 while tending water buffalo. They say a scar on the woman's right arm matches one that their missing daughter had.
After time away from the spotlight, "she felt more relaxed and more into the family," Rifa said, adding that the woman tried to utter some "words" but they were incomprehensible.
"This is slow progress," Rifa said. "She's recovering from something but we don't know from what."
Villagers began calling her "jungle woman" after she reportedly emerged from the forest walking like a monkey.
With no other evidence about her identity, however, others have speculated that the woman may have a history of mental troubles and simply became lost in the jungle much more recently.
Rifa has been working with indigenous people in Rattanakiri province, where the woman's village is located, over the past four years for the Spain-based group Psychologists Without Borders.
He left Wednesday for the capital, Phnom Penh, but plans to return to the woman's village for further evaluations, he said.
He told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he thinks the woman's behaviour shows she is having difficulty adapting to normal life, as would be expected if she had been lost in the jungle for an extended period of time.
Sal Lou, who claims to be the woman's father, has said he is willing to undergo DNA testing along with the woman "to clear any doubts that she is my child."
Sal Lou said Wednesday that he saw the woman smile for the first time during a puppet-show performed by Rifa, who also sang and danced to try to cheer her up. |
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