August 1997     During Naadam a small boy was “abandoned” and left at a hospital. Enkhmaa’s brother is a policeman and he took it upon himself to find the parents. In the meantime he took the young boy home where our young friend cared for him for about three weeks. When it looked like no one was going to claim the baby, arrangements were made for one of their cousins from the countryside to take the boy and raise him with their family. A few short days before that happened a distraught mother came to the police station looking for her missing young son. It seems she had gone to the countryside and had left her son in the care of his grandmother who had become confused and lost him. Since there are few telephones in Ulaanbaatar or the countryside they were not able to communicate this until the mother came back home. At long last “lost boy” was reunited with his family and everyone was happy. (At the time he was lost it was determined the little boy was between the age of two and three because he still had long hair. At the age of three they shave a boy’s head, declaring that he is out of babyhood. They then save the long queue to give him when he is grown.) (page 94)   <<< back    next >>>