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"Look, my skin is like sand on the beach," laughs Lyosha, 16.
I do not really know how to react to this joke. Should I laugh or not?
Lyosha was born in a remote village in eastern Siberia, Russia, where poverty and high rates of alcoholism marked her fate.
In 2005, after a big New Year's party, his father, in a state of alcoholic delirium, threw his two young children in a big wood oven.
The 14-month-old baby died burned. Lyosha, two years old, was saved thanks to his mother
He was severely burned in the head, shoulders, arms and lungs.
My grandmother used to go to the market every week and had copies of a thick newspaper called "Discussions and Facts".
I remember very well the shock felt when I read the story of a little boy burned in an oven.
After the accident, Lyosha was taken from Buryatia, where he lived.
After the accident, Lyosha was taken from Buryatia where he lived. His mother could not take care of him and he was greeted by a family in Moscow.
His recovery took a decade.
When I was 16 years old, Lyosha had already traveled almost half of the planet.
"I was in Switzerland, the United States, Germany, France, the United States."
"A disability can give you a new way of seeing the world and even new opportunities but it's important not to let your whole life revolve around this, as this can end you. "
It's hard to imagine the kind of life that a child like Lyosha could have lived , while he was going to school with
"I hated people when I was younger," says Lyosha. "I had the impression that they treated me as if I were an animal."
"I started to love psychology at one point, it helped me a lot to understand what was happening, and the hate just disappeared."
"People have afraid of what they do not know and that they hate or are not curious and they want to know you. "
Lyosha does not like to talk.
When I asked him if he thought the tragedy had changed his life, he shrugged.
"This was not my choice, I was small." If the result had been different, I would be dead and there would be nothing to do, otherwise I would have stayed in Buryatia "
Lyosha makes fun of himself and of what surrounds him.He is not looking for anyone to blame.Not afraid.
" I love fire, I love them homes, I know that people who have already burned themselves may be scared, but I do not do it. "
Even his attitude to fire is surprising.Lyosha is interested in the mythical Phoenix, the l & rsquo; bird that ignites when it dies to be reborn from its ashes. "
" I can understand that, I was burned and, in one way or another other, I reborn from the ashes. "
Today, Lyosha lives and lives.
He is in contact with his biological father, recently released from prison. It's the same person who threw it into a burning oven.
Lyosha is astonished when asked if he has forgiven him.
"I never hated him, he probably thought I was furious with him, but when we met, when we met, we went back to Buryatia, talked with him , have told him everything and now we have exchanged letters and kept in touch. "
Pavel Volkov is a photographer and director of Russian documentaries. He lives in Moscow. Your Instagram account is @pavelvolkovphoto http://volkovpavel.com/
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