Police in Germany are trying to identify a teen who wandered out of the forest and into Berlin, claiming to have been living outdoors with his father for the past five years. The boy – known only as ‘Ray’ – is believed to be between 16 and 18 years old.
Ray claims that following the death of his mother five years ago, his father Ryan took him to live in the woods. They lived in a tent, but Ryan died recently. Ray buried him in a shallow grave and then started walking north. It took him two days to reach Berlin.
It’s unclear who the boy is, although he speaks fluent English while speaking very little German. So far, there are no records of the pair disappearing, and the mystery of Ray has gripped the German media.
100gf | Politics and Computers 
As much as this case is about a missing boy perhaps more it is about the notion of identity and how we relate to it, especially when a mysterious situation like this comes about which forces us to reconsider what we mean when ascribing someone their identity. After all is one’s identity a sum of their profession, status in life, where he or she lives, what language they speak, what they think or feels, what we say about them or perhaps as in this riveting case sometimes potentially nothing more than what we will ourselves to be or deny as being…?
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/09/boy-speaking-only-english-and-with-no-identity-walks-out-of-german-forest-claiming-he-had-spent-5-years-there/
Posted by scallywag | September 18, 2011, 12:21 am