--- title: Searching for a Golden Cage | TIME description: In a world filled with electric radiation from Wi-Fi and cellphones, Searching for a Golden Cage examines the lives of people they try to live off the grid. canonical: https://time.com/video/fLramj8O/ og:title: Searching for a Golden Cage og:description: In a world filled with electric radiation from Wi-Fi and cellphones, Searching for a Golden Cage examines the lives of people they try to live off the grid. og:url: https://time.com/video/fLramj8O/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fLramj8O/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Searching for a Golden Cage twitter:description: In a world filled with electric radiation from Wi-Fi and cellphones, Searching for a Golden Cage examines the lives of people they try to live off the grid. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fLramj8O/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Searching for a Golden Cage > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Searching for a Golden Cage [Watch (HLS stream): Searching for a Golden Cage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fLramj8O.m3u8) (12:46)  _Published 2014-05-06. In a world filled with electric radiation from Wi-Fi and cellphones, Searching for a Golden Cage examines the lives of people they try to live off the grid._ --- Jul 27, 2023 4:36 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) ['Take My Golden Cage and Give Me the Sky.' Saudi Sisters Gain Freedom With Emergency Visas](/video/yHTJ3bwE/) ### 'Take My Golden Cage and Give Me the Sky.' Saudi Sisters Gain Freedom With Emergency Visas [The Caged Live Tiger at This Prom Did Not Go Over Well](/video/6j4TMhUN/) ### The Caged Live Tiger at This Prom Did Not Go Over Well [Sharktacular: Shark Enters Cage](/video/QYAftbxQ/) ### Sharktacular: Shark Enters Cage --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ]. As soon as I heard there's a place with no cell phone towers, I was here in 48 hours and I never left cuz, my health was on the line at that point. [ MUSIC ]. More and more people are getting, extremely ill from these, and are being displaced from their homes. They're calling us Wi- Fi refugees. [ MUSIC ] It all started a year and a half ago. I would get headaches, chest pains. I was nauseous. [ MUSIC ]. I lost everything I worked for. I lost my marriage, my ability to work. [ MUSIC ] I lived in my car for seven months. I don't dare think about the future. [ MUSIC ]. All I can think about right now is trying to find one house without wireless radiation so I can sleep, and breath without page. [ MUSIC ]. This is, trip number six, trying to go and find a house. Although, I'm looking for a house in places that have less cell towers, less people, less neighbors to we cannot find a house that, I can actually live in. But, all you need is one antenna to, to make you suffer. [ MUSIC ] I first became ill in 1996. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about this, I would have thought anyone who had this, was a lunatic. I finally became so sensitized I couldn't be in a regular house. So, I built my own little tiny cabin. I have no electricity, I have no running water [ LAUGH ] but my health has improved. You know you get used to things. I've learned how to, enjoy, the ride of life no matter what. I've been told there's about, 40 to 45 people here who are electro- sensitive, but I've personally only known, between six to 15, at any given time. The other people are very quiet about it, they don't want anyone to know they have it, because it's an embarrassing, illness. And, they don't want people to, shun them or think they're. Crazy or whatever. And I've had give up every single thing in my life, because of this illness. I didn't do it because I wanted a natural lifestyle. I did it, to survive. And that's what most people, with this condition, are doing it for. In the U. S ., the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, the State Departments of Health. Do not recognize electrical hypersensitivity, as a real disease. Sweden has identified electro- hypersensitivity as a real disease, and apparently has, approved disability payments for individuals that suffer from it. This, syndrome is characterised by excessive fatigue. Often headaches, often ringing in the ears, often a sense that, the cognitive function. The brain isn't working as well as it, used to. We live in a wireless world, an electrified world, and there are very few places that one can, go to. That would reduce exposure. [ MUSIC ] Turn off my phone. [ LAUGH ] Thank you. [ MUSIC ]. [ MUSIC ]. Uh- huh, all right, that's it for today. I don't consider myself a victim. It's easy to blame everybody else for all my problems. I think we all have secrets, and that's, and that's okay. We don't wanna be walking around, telling everybody, everything that's wrong with us. There are time when I get very frustrated, because he doesn't [ LAUGH ] feel good. But then, I have to just back up, and say. It's not like he's choosing [ LAUGH ] this either. This whole thing has been, an interesting progression for me, because, each step of the way I think, I don't believe this, okay, now I believe it. You're overreacting, no you're not. And so, I had a hard time with the unit. But frankly, it has made a huge difference in his life. Because now he can get a good night's sleep. I'm, the first to tell the neighbors, you know what? I know that you think it's weird but honestly, Andrew's getting a good night's sleep now. And, that's all I care about. I'm worried about, people knowing that I actually have a bunker, you know. Me being a professional musician, you know, horn player and conductor and, it's just a little weird, that, that's where I sleep most of the time. [ MUSIC ]. I've spent the past month trying to find a house, so, there are about 200 houses here, all of these houses are houses that I am, eliminated this one's for. Too close neighbors, Wi- Fi. [ MUSIC ] Today we're going to see four or five houses. They're going to be in isolated areas, ssst the house is going to be in a beautiful place but, you know, it's just a beautiful prison. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] This is probably it. The standards are changing. [ LAUGH ] A good house is not really a good house [ LAUGH ]. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] My husband, whenever he used to see me speaking on my cell phone, he'd say, Dafna, please put it down, just for ten minutes. Because I was, six to eight hours on my cell phone. Then I would just smile, look at him, smile, and I was just laughing like everyone else, until it happens to you and there are no warning signs. But this is probably the best house we saw so far. Oddly enough. It's really a gorgeous, cute little town. But, it's really a pity that it has Wi- Fi and antennas everywhere. So, it's another cute town that I will not get to visit except passing through. [ MUSIC ]. I guess they were right. When they told me that it's, very rural [ LAUGH ]. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] This is the house we're going to see now, but I don't feel good here. I feel like my, ears are burning. Can you show me the RF meter? There is, 2800 microwatts per square meter. Probably industry people will tell you that's nothing and it's safe. But for someone like me who feels 10 microwatts per square meter. 4000 of them are pretty, intense. Let's get out of here There's no point. That's not going to be a house. [ MUSIC ]. Unbelievable, It's 0. 001, and it doesn't change. Yes! Feels so good. Wow. [ MUSIC ]. [ MUSIC ]. From 500 houses that i checked, and 60 that I physically visited, I found only one house that I could tolerate. This house. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] Hey. Hi. How's it going? All right. How's it going with you? Did, did you win the lotto? Did I win the lotto? I don't play the lotto. [ LAUGH ] Yeah, I won the electrically sensitivity lotto. [ LAUGH ] Yay. Yay. I'm the winner, you're the first runner up. And so, I learned that. If you want to have, or establish a relationship with, with somebody, don't discuss this. Because the more people you try to tell about it, the more you got. Stigmatized. Yeah, your Kind of way out there, you know. The thing about not being believed, I can take it if somebody doesn't believe me. But when you're fighting for your very, survival and your life, and you're 77 pounds, and you're dying, and your own family, the people you would turn to, don't believe you enough to try to help you get to a clinic, where somebody could help you, it's a life and death issue at that point. If I could have my life back, why would anybody in their right mind, want to come, to the middle of nowhere, give up their life, give up their home, give up their family, give up their husband? It's almost like I'm a separate race. You know? Right, right. I mean, I could see with people that don't have this disease. And we get along fine. And we do things, it's great. It's wonderful. But, there always comes that moment, when you realize. You're not like them. I will always, be in this little. Place here on earth, that has this invisible fence around it. That I can go to the border of the fence, but I can't step over the lines. I get phone calls all the time, or e- mails from people, that are sufferers from this disease. And, the, commonality of these, symptoms, is certainly has increased my confidence, that this is a real syndrome. And that if, they are sent to see a psychologist or a psychiatrist, with the implication that they're a little bit crazy, and they're imagining all of this, this is a very isolating, very rejecting kind of, response. [ MUSIC ]. Probably the biggest change, is for me I smile again. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ]. I love life here but last week I was told that, they're going to be a cell tower. That scared me, [ MUSIC ]. One cell tower and, I'm back to where I was a year and a half ago. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Searching for a Golden Cage","description":"In a world filled with electric radiation from Wi-Fi and cellphones, Searching for a Golden Cage examines the lives of people they try to live off the grid.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fLramj8O/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-06T23:21:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fLramj8O.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/fLramj8O/","duration":"PT12M46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/fLramj8O/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```