The Nature Of Altruism: The Family That Walks On All Fours

It's been more than two years since I first met the Ulas family. Many things went through my mind when I saw them on that first visit and I had some intense feelings. First, I was afraid. I was afraid of offending them, or making them feel like they were 'different'. So I was very, very careful but spontaneous at the same time. In a very short time, I was at ease and felt very welcomed. My heart broke open and I felt a deep, deep sadness, followed by a very strong feeling that 'I have to do something'.

This family is fascinating to researchers because something like this has never been reported before... anything new is fascinating to researchers. However, I don’t think the Ulas family is especially fascinating because they walk on all fours and so they imply something evolutionary; researchers would have been even more fascinated by them if they were walking only on their hands (like in a handstand), which has no connection to evolution. Scientists and researchers just like things that have 'never-been-seen before', or 'never-been-found-before'.

There was some tension between the military and the film crew/research team when we first arrived, because the military wasn’t sure that we were doing a scientific documentary about this family and this disorder. They were afraid we were going to make a political and/or environmental piece about rural Turkey, and depict it badly.

I did develop a deep connection to the family, and that's hard to talk about. I guess it is more about me than the Ulas family and their condition... I feel the same kind of protectiveness and connectedness to all sentient beings on Earth, especially the 'unfortunate' ones. I believe altruism is, in fact, not one sided but reciprocal.