Physically Free, Emotionally Bound
Connor Alforque explores David Fengel’s inspiring story from extreme depravity and captivity to his freedom journey home.
Will David’s long and agonising ordeal inside a concentration camp deprive him of finally experiencing true freedom, or can he radically rebuild his mind after the experiences he endured during his excruciating past?
Held captive and abandoned, David’s mind was in darkness, his eyes were blind to the outside world and David was physically and mentally captured and controlled.
He had been imprisoned by the Soviet Union for more than a decade; and, at the age of twelve, believing that both of his parents were dead, David Fengel escaped from the very clutches of the Soviet Union itself …show more content…
The stark contrast in colour represented a whole new world to him. I could see David’s face light up, his eyes open and mind travel back to the boundless amounts of beauty and physical freedom that he experienced in Italy. Speaking of the beauty he experienced for the first time at the age of twelve, David tells me that, “It felt like I was one step closer to freedom.”
Everything was not broken; everything was not grey. For the first time, David had found that beauty existed. After seeing the beauty and realising that there was a point in life, David was one step closer to freedom, just days after all hope seemed lost. “Suddenly, I had found a reason to live.” With tears pouring out of his eyes, the twelve-year-old expressed.
Over the course of interviewing David, his mind seems to become filled with mixed emotions as he realises the sacrifices he has made during his short life. As he talks about the time he saved a girl named Maria from a fire, and her wealthy family taking him into their home, emotions seem to stir within …show more content…
“I am no bird, I shall not be placed in a cage.” With respectful emotions he recalled.
During the last stages of David’s journey, David had been imprisoned by a farmer close to the border of Denmark. Etched into his eyes, as he recalls the time he spent held captive inside a barn during the cold winter months, emotions seem to stir within him; his eyes reflecting the scene of death.
After months into being imprisoned, David had finally figured out a plan to escape. Out of severe desperation to survive, David had waited out until spring to make the treacherous journey to Denmark. But by his side for all of this time, a dog called King. Seeing the pain in his eyes as he reflects on his journey after escaping the farm, he begins to grow more sorrowful for letting the dog follow him. “He had died.” David stated. As he neared the border to Denmark, David had come across guards. They could sense David was in hiding. All the while, as a distraction, King had run off. The plan worked. For David. King was shot and killed. However, David was free to run, again held captive from emotional
Connor Alforque explores David Fengel’s inspiring story from extreme depravity and captivity to his freedom journey home.
Will David’s long and agonising ordeal inside a concentration camp deprive him of finally experiencing true freedom, or can he radically rebuild his mind after the experiences he endured during his excruciating past?
Held captive and abandoned, David’s mind was in darkness, his eyes were blind to the outside world and David was physically and mentally captured and controlled.
He had been imprisoned by the Soviet Union for more than a decade; and, at the age of twelve, believing that both of his parents were dead, David Fengel escaped from the very clutches of the Soviet Union itself …show more content…
The stark contrast in colour represented a whole new world to him. I could see David’s face light up, his eyes open and mind travel back to the boundless amounts of beauty and physical freedom that he experienced in Italy. Speaking of the beauty he experienced for the first time at the age of twelve, David tells me that, “It felt like I was one step closer to freedom.”
Everything was not broken; everything was not grey. For the first time, David had found that beauty existed. After seeing the beauty and realising that there was a point in life, David was one step closer to freedom, just days after all hope seemed lost. “Suddenly, I had found a reason to live.” With tears pouring out of his eyes, the twelve-year-old expressed.
Over the course of interviewing David, his mind seems to become filled with mixed emotions as he realises the sacrifices he has made during his short life. As he talks about the time he saved a girl named Maria from a fire, and her wealthy family taking him into their home, emotions seem to stir within …show more content…
“I am no bird, I shall not be placed in a cage.” With respectful emotions he recalled.
During the last stages of David’s journey, David had been imprisoned by a farmer close to the border of Denmark. Etched into his eyes, as he recalls the time he spent held captive inside a barn during the cold winter months, emotions seem to stir within him; his eyes reflecting the scene of death.
After months into being imprisoned, David had finally figured out a plan to escape. Out of severe desperation to survive, David had waited out until spring to make the treacherous journey to Denmark. But by his side for all of this time, a dog called King. Seeing the pain in his eyes as he reflects on his journey after escaping the farm, he begins to grow more sorrowful for letting the dog follow him. “He had died.” David stated. As he neared the border to Denmark, David had come across guards. They could sense David was in hiding. All the while, as a distraction, King had run off. The plan worked. For David. King was shot and killed. However, David was free to run, again held captive from emotional