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Madina, Russia, 2013
“These strange, feral children are often a source of shame and secrecy within a family or community”, writes MaryAnn Ochota on her website. “These aren’t Jungle Book stories, they’re often harrowing cases of neglect and abuse. And it’s all too likely because of a tragic combination of addiction, domestic violence and poverty. These are kids who fell through the cracks, who were forgotten, or ignored, or hidden”. According to Fullerton-Batten, “Madina lived with dogs from birth until she was three years old, sharing their food, playing with them, and sleeping with them when it was cold in winter. When social workers found her in 2013, she was naked, walking on all fours and growling like a dog. Madina’s father had left soon after her birth. Her mother, 23 years old, took to alcohol. She was frequently too drunk to look after for her child and… would sit at the table to eat while her daughter gnawed bones on the floor with the dogs”. Madina was taken into care and doctors found her to be mentally and physically healthy despite what she had been through.
(http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151012-feral-the-children-raised-by-wolves)
In the sentence “they’re often harrowing cases of neglect and abuse”, the underlined word refers to:
