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CHAPTER FIVE: DATA ANALYSIS that of expectations: “there are lots of expectations on this little girl. But lots of other kids feel like that too”. This clearly reflected the tensions they were experiencing in their lives. The human child’s animal behaviour, the condition of being between two entities, triggered many questions. One respondent to the questionnaire listed nine questions that the story triggered in her/him, and then concluded “there are so many other questions that I could write. Questions that have no answer, because this is a peculiar little story that moves your imagination. Well, at least it moved mine ©”, I look at the questions raised in detail further on in my analysis. Participants also reflect on the challenge they were facing in their roles as NGO staff helping people. “It wasn’t about playing the dog child, but about rising to the challenge”. Another participant explains: “I think the beginning was really strong and it drew us all into the story, and then from one moment to the other we just dropped into this different reality. I really believed in this fiction, and I wasn’t self-aware at all”. The moment referred to is when the NGO received the commission to work with the feral child. The challenge was extreme and believable at the same time. While participants were completely aware of engaging in a fictional story, I also passed around photographs of Oxana Malaya, a Ukrainian child who had been partly brought up by dogs."?? These images brought a reality to the story as well. Oxana Malaya 678 F Wd. 679 Q We. 680 F Wa. 681 Ibid. 682 A short documentary about her case can be found on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PyUfG9u-P4, (accessed 26 April 2020). + 212 +
