Parents will do just about anything for their children to keep them safe. They gave them life and want to protect them at any cost from something or someone who could hurt them. Sounds pretty reasonable right? Well, one Russian mother took this to a severe extreme to protect her daughter, from dangers that were not really present but possible. Her daughter has paid the price and it might be too late to try to convince her that there is more to life than what she has been experiencing the past 26 years.
Nadezhda Bushuyeva was convinced by her mother that the outside world is in fact a very dangerous place. It is unclear if something had happened to her mother at some point in her life and that’s why she kept her daughter inside all those years or not. It could also just be the remote area of Russia that they live in and possibly it wasn’t safe there. Social services did try to help the mother and daughter move out of their hoarder-looking home but they refused help and never let anyone inside. Fear of being caught and of the living conditions they were apparently fine with, kept them from getting actual help.
Larisa Mikhayeva of the social care department of the Vachovsky district in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia, had this to say about their efforts:
“The mother receives a pension and benefits, and groceries, and we repeatedly offered to issue a passport to her daughter Nadezhda, which she refused. A social worker often visited them, but they did not let the worker into the house. We are persuading Nadezhda to change her lifestyle, but she says, ‘I don’t need this, I love the way I live, everything suits me’. It’s very difficult to help people when they are healthy according to their documents, and to force them a different perception of life if the person doesn’t want to change anything.”
Larisa Mikhayeva of the social care department
Shocking Video Of Living Conditions And Nadezhda’s Account
That is absolutely horrifying. And yet all Nadezhda wanted was a job so she could keep eating and be able to visit her mom in the hospital. She doesn’t even want to go outside and be apart of society. She truly believes that the world is scary and staying inside is the best thing for her. It’s so heartbreaking.
Nadezhda’s story was only discovered because she went looking for a job because she needed to be able to get food and live on her own, with her mother in the hospital and benefits no longer coming in. 26 years is a long time to be inside and only live off of whatever benefits can buy.
Given the current challenges we’re all facing with COVID-19 and shelter-in-place orders to an extent still in place, this kind of makes this not look so tough. Maybe those who are refusing to wear masks in public and are fighting so hard to dismiss this should read Nadezhda’s story and think ‘wow maybe my life isn’t so bad after all right now.’ I highly doubt it, people are pretty stubborn when it comes to this. I never thought wearing a mask to protect yourself and others would become such a deep divide in the U.S., making it become a red vs. blue thing. Listening to doctors and health experts is a red vs. blue thing. Wear a damn mask! Stop being so selfish and stubborn and just wear a mask. As always, keep staying safe everyone.
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