Read a story of child neglect and abuse among JWs in S. Africa that was sent to me.

by AndersonsInfo 55 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

  • AndersonsInfo
    AndersonsInfo

    I regard the information below as true until proven false because of corresponding with a young man in S. Africa for a few years whose story I posted on my website: http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/stories/caleb.html, "Freedom From An Unsafe Haven, by Caleb." Although some of the accounts of abuse of children in S. Africa in the story below are older, Calab wrote me details of abusive treatment meted out to young people in his area that he chose not to put in his story for fear he could be identified. Calab in now in University in another part of Africa and very happy after breaking the chains that engulfed his mind.

    Barbara

    SHOCKING!!! By Llewelyn du Toil of Pretoria, South Africa http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=264961873574546&id=179830665449008

    FALSEHOOD’S FLAME: A STUDY OF CHILD NEGLECT AND ABUSE AMONGST JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN SOUTH AFRICA, STRETCHING BACK OVER A PERIOD OF SOME THIRTY YEARS

    These are the Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Africa and this is their REAL and UGLY TRUTH: Read here how their children are used and abused, molested and even raped, often beaten and neglected, forced to go without meals and to sometimes sleep outdoors, regularly worked like slaves and impoverished, all while their parents sit “haughty” in the front pews during church meetings and this organization’s elders look the other way, or rather take their abusive parent’s side, when children bring these transgressions to light!

    Labour: Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s) are regularly used and abused to do local house chores, home maintenance and garden work without proper remuneration or pocket money. This includes cleaning their local ‘Kingdom-Hall’ Church buildings, which happens around once a month for each internal bible-study group, depending on the size of the congregation. Children of all ages are also used for “slave labour” in big JW’s church-building projects (e.g. Eikenhof Circuit Assembly Hall south of Johannesburg City and the Head-office of JW’s, S.A., at Roodekrans Bethel Home, Krugersdorp, Johannesburg, as well as their new Mega Circuit Assembly Point in the Suburb of Midrand, halfway between the Cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg. Here children have been working over several years, without ANY remuneration except for a meal or two, and without proper safety gear around new buildings during the various stages of their erection and on building-sites under construction. This is in line with the organisation’s motto of keeping costs down by using “volunteer” workers, while creating a general feeling of unity via symbiosis. While the author does not imply that children should be exempted from any and all chores and even some housekeeping duties, the examples given here, observed over several years and also experienced by himself when still a child at school, are tantamount to ‘slave labour’ and ‘work camps’. Laws concerning child labour under the previous Regime, the National Party, were very lax and apparently exploited by this Organisation to achieve massive construction projects at the minimum of expenses…

    Incest, rape and molestation: Incidents of these three despicable acts from experiences in Southern Africa, as well as examples popping up from other parts of the world, appear to be much more prevalent amongst Jehovah’s Witnesses than once thought. The sad fact about these atrocities is that they are usually hidden for many years, before coming to light and the mothers of these abused children are ALWAYS the last to know about it. In single cases where they might become aware of it early on, the wives of these paedophiles (being the good Christian mothers they’re supposed to be) usually keep it quiet, preferring to resolve such issues inside their marriages or through the local congregational church structures. The other sad, but inexcusable fact, is that elders MORE OFTEN THAN NOT cover up these incidents quickly before it gets out in the open and puts the Organisation or its local Congregation to shame! For example, when a schoolgirl reported her stepfather’s paedophilistic nature, his fondling of her and her sisters, and his openly masturbating acts to local elders of the Springs Central Congregation, (Jhb, S.A.) they retaliated by calling her a rebel who “drew him out” (by sitting open-legged in front of him)! Furthermore, they threatened her with disfellowshipment (ex-communication) from that congregation, effectively gagging her in the process and burying the whole case, instead of acting against the transgressor! This threat, from a trio of weakling, yellow-bellied “Elders”, was not only unnecessary but downright illegal too, since she was only a 17 or 18 year old high school pupil and not even a baptised member of Jehovah’s Witnesses at that time! Yes, such is the justice in this Organisation, who claims to be the ONLY true religion on earth, hence their name for their faith, namely the “Truth”! This oversight on the elders’ part to take him to task, resulted in him continuing with his evil ways, eventually one day running around naked in a park in the town of Springs, ONLY THEN being disfellowshipped for his transgressions, but not after he has ruined his three stepdaughters’ lives! He is now desperately trying to get back to the “Truth” of Jehovah’s Witnesses and will in all probability ruin another family in future, since paedophiles are very, very seldomly rehabilitated! (A known fact amongst psychiatrists and physicians in the medical fraternity)

    Physical and mental abuse and violence: Children of JW’s in S.A. are regularly beaten over transgressions and/or violently forced into submission when they beg to differ from a parent or step-parent. This was especially the case in the seventies and eighties, when corporal punishment of children was still allowed in South Africa. One classical example here is that of a seventeen year old boy who suffered terrible mental and physical abuse under his stepfather, a “staunch and exemplary” Jehovah’s Witness (or so everybody thought). The boy frequently had to go to school or church meetings with a blue eye and bruises, while congregational elders did NOTHING about this or even enquired as to the nature of his injuries… Many times he had to forfeit a meal when his stepfather found a reason (mostly negligibly small) to discipline him and he had to sleep outdoors on at least one known occasion! His step dad also forced him to search for part-time employment for countless hours on the streets when he was still under age, a very difficult thing for him to do, then took away the money he earned that way! Thankfully, one specific elder in the local congregation did something about this matter, when he got to hear about the case and he got his money back without retaliation! The stepfather, a six-foot, 200 pound man, was apparently feared by most church members because of his size and stature and not often ridiculed or easily questioned by fellow worshippers of that congregation. He painted himself as the picture of a perfect Jehovah’s Witness, a good provider and loving, caring father. But behind closed doors and out of sight of fellow worshippers, he created a hell-home for his stepchildren. Impoverished by his stingy nature, they were forced to wear second-hand clothes and hand-me-downs, to live in a shabby house a stone’s-throw away from their schools and the local congregation, and to live a generally stunted lifestyle, while he freely squandered money on himself and his hobbies!

    Another typical form of abuse children are subjected to, is isolation from “worldly” (non-Jehovah’s Witnesses) influences, friends, peers and especially their own family members. This includes a very limited amount of TV-viewing and also censorship of their correspondence with friends and family. They are VERY often denied access to their biological parents when these are not JW-members or especially in cases where a biological father or mother has been disfellowshipped for some reason. This is supposedly to “protect” them from bad influences coming from these non-believers and the possibility of them being lead astray from the path of the “Truth”, (although there are more than enough of these “bad” influences at the “wordly” schools they have to attend)! So bad are these cases, fully justified of course by scriptural texts and preaching lessons from elders, that many children grow up COMPLETELY alien to their real mother or father and can only look them up and get to know them better, once they leave home to study further or find employment elsewhere! Children of JW’s are encouraged to the point of super-saturation, to proclaim their gospel on the streets and to even partake in congregational preaches and talks from podiums (from a very young age), and are praised and paraded when doing so, but elders fall strangely silent when these same youngsters report misbehaviour and molestation onto themselves! Children of normal JW-members are even strongly discouraged to attend universities, supposedly to “protect” them from bad influences coming from these places, by the VERY same elders or elder’s children who are studying or have studied at these tertiary institutions!!! (The author was an actual witness to this fact, when he attended a talk years ago by an elders’ son on this very subject!) The logic behind such reasoning baffles the mind, until you consider the possibility that elder’s might actually FEAR a ‘clever and informed’ flock that can more-easily see through their deceit and lies, and therefore make better decisions for themselves, of course!

    These are only a few examples of what is happening in congregations throughout South Africa. Please read other blogs, sites and pages (see links below) for more horror stories from S.A. as well as from other parts of the world. Spread the word about this hushed-up subject in a world that still prefers to cover atrocities against it’s defenseless ones, and NEVER, NEVER let what happened to you or one of your family members, EVER be repeated upon ANY of your children or someone else’s child, where you could have prevented it!

    Thank you and God’s blessings upon all of you who attempt to bring light to a dark and dreary world and justice to those from whom it was snatched in ONE single judgement, by wolves masquerading in sheep’s clothing…


    Interesting sites and pages on these topics:

    Internet: www.jwnews.net
    Facebook: Disfellowshipped Jehovah’s Witnesses support
    Facebook: Natalie asks you
    Facebook: A happy life AFTER our Jehovah’s Witness experiences
    Facebook: The REAL truth about Jehovah’s Witnesses
    Facebook: Dear Watctower Bible and Tract Society
    Facebook: Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses and Friends

  • metatron
    metatron

    Sadly, I think as Oprah may have suspected in setting up a girl's school, this sort of thing is common in Africa.

    The media - perhaps because of post-apartheid sympathy- kept horror stories about baby rape (you read that correctly, sorry) in South Africa out of exposure( because of a widespread rumor that sex with an infant could cure AIDS). I once spoke with a Gilead missionary who confirmed my opinion that, the further you get from Brooklyn, the crazier congregations tend to be.

    A bit off topic: The media currently is suppressing news that Afghanistan has a national 'culture' of sodomizing boys (called 'bacha'). When British soldiers encountered this, even these warriors were shocked.

    As for the Governing Body, I'm not shocked by anything they cover-up.

    metatron

  • steve2
    steve2

    The South African writer appears to have a vested interest in casting a filthy pile of blankets of condemnation over the Watchtower Society by making allegations that range from rape and molestation (clear offences even under South African law) through to (shock! horror!) JWs over-protectiveness of their children (Oh my God! These parents even censor what their kids watch on TV and restrict their friendships with non-witness kids. How cruel. Not )

    If, as the author sensationally alleges, South Africa is rife with all manner of sexual and repressive behaviours within families, who can blame JW parents scrupulously ensuring their children are protected from these social ills?

    Beyond the crying need for the merest slab of evidence (which I understand the author does not divulge to protect his identity), the reader would have to wonder how rife these kinds of despicable home environments are evident in other christian groups as well. If, however, the writer genuinely believes the incidence of parental neglect and abuse and parental over-protectiveness is more prevalent among the JWs than among other religious sectors of South African society, he needs to get off his comfy writer's chair and take the compelling, amassed evidence to his local Police Station - just do something rather than tantalize the reader with more unsupported allegations against the Watchtower for the amused shock of Western readers. Next.

  • sizemik
    sizemik

    Steve2 . . . some of your responses totally baffle me.

    You accuse the author of having ". . . a vested interest in casting a filthy pile of blankets . . . that range from rape and molestation . . . " on the WTS . . . and then project the blame to external social influences. You then lambast the author again for not launching a one-man campaign, appealing to the golden chalice of "South African law" and not providing slabs of evidence for your own personal judicial mental construct.

    Why do these practices need to become "more prevalent than among other religious sectors" before they are considered unacceptable. We know these practices are prevalent among JW's . . . and this man's personal account simply confirms, that in this particular country, things are no different . . . possibly worse.

    I certainly don't accept that the authors motive is to "tantalise readers for their amusement." I for one am neither shocked, tantalised, nor amused. And when did South Africa leave the "western world" . . . they're a long way west of NZ.

    I feel that there are a number of self-appointed, pseudo-intellectual, self-aggrandising posters here, who see certain subjects (and posters) as merely a stage for their contra-by-default, attention-seeking dissent.

    Just remember this . . . the greatest ally to those that have suffered at the hands of the WTS . . . is that in telling their story, nobody believed them. They couldn't provide "satisfactory" proof. Perhaps you would like him to produce his "two witnesses?"

  • steve2
    steve2

    Just remember this . . . the greatest ally to those that have suffered at the hands of the WTS . . . is that in telling their story, nobody believed them. They couldn't provide "satisfactory" proof. Perhaps you would like him to produce his "two witnesses?"

    Sizemilk, it is mischievous to suggest that I do not "get" the atrociousness of the Watchtower's 2 witness rule or that I am repudiating believing the child victims. If you read my response carefully you will see that I actually state there is a need for action rather than shock horror telling of what is allegedly going on right now in South Africa in kingdom halls throughout that country. Sure, it is no comfort at all to, say, suggest that child abuse is the same among the JWs in that country as it is among other religions. No argument from me. But I did not bring up the issue of comparisons - it was the author who alluded to the prevalence being higher among South African JWs (evidence? please I'm over the "professional" Havor-Montague type educated guesswork).

    I know from my own personal experience as a JW kid who was 'taken advantage of' to put it discreetly by an old Salvation Army "major" when I went from door to door alone (it was comon practice back in the late 1950s early 1960s among witnesses) how terrifying abuse is. I know what it is like to feel that you can't tell anyone because no one would believe you - so I don't need that pointing out to me.

    I am pleased that you did not respond to the other part of my earlier response: the author seemed intent on blaming the witness parents regardless of what they did in raising their kids so that even their over-protectiveness is criticised and made to appear pathological.

    I expect no more of anyone here than I expect when the JWs themselves make allegations agains others. Allegations are easily made, less easy to retract and modify. I am amazed that, if as the writer says, the sexual and physical abuse of South African children at the hands of their parents and others is so rife, that even bodies such as the UN have not been advised. I also understand that there are groups in South Africa dedicated to the eradication of sexual abuse of children. Not one word about them in the writer's account.

    Child abuse is despicable. I applaud efforts to wipe it out. But I remain suspicious of writers who appear so intent on going beyond child sexual abuse to almost evey other aspect of the JWs to call into question even pparently responsible protectiveness in a country known for a higher tolerance of umna rights violations. As a wise judge once said, "Stick to the facts...you'll have greater success winning me over if you do".

  • dgp
    dgp

    My two cents: On a website run by Spanish-speaking, evidence was presented that witnesses have to work as "volunteers" in construction projects, make a contribution to a general fund meant to indemnify WORLDLY third parties in case the construction resulted in damages or injuries, but, surprisingly, every witness was told to take their own measures regarding an accident or damages while working. If I am not mistaken, this was in Chile, not the most brutal or corrupt country in the world.

    And, in general, these are the same kind of horrors we keep hearing regarding the Watchtower. Perhaps an detail here or there may not be true, but we know that the picture presented here is real. I surmise that some of you guys know it from experience.

  • metatron
    metatron

    Make no mistake, this sort of behavior is an epidemic in SA.

    http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2010/03/02/south-africas-child-rape-epidemic/

    Don't expect much from the UN. They've had repeated problems with UN soldiers committing rape and war crimes.

    I don't know that Witnesses there are any better or worse in this regard. All we can say is that the overall response of the organization in covering up and suppressing these crimes worldwide is disappointing and often repellent.

    metatron

  • diamondiiz
    diamondiiz

    Horrible but if it's a cultural problem it only shows that jws are greatly affected by their environment while Crooklyn boys look the other way or have no idea how other cultures differ from their plush western lifestyle.

  • sizemik
    sizemik

    If, as the author sensationally alleges, South Africa is rife with all manner of sexual and repressive behaviours within families, who can blame JW parents scrupulously ensuring their children are protected from these social ills?

    For a start . . . I don't see your own statement of "sensational accusations" from this author trying to "cast a filthy pile of blankets over the WTS" as being derived from any greater imposition of "facts" than the author you demand them from. It's very much sensationalism in itself. So don't demand standards you obviously have no intention of applying to yourself.

    And you're right . . . you of all people should know very well that the imposition of strict association limitation, is not derived from a true desire to protect children, but rather a WTS imposed cult tactic . . . and is in itself a form of child abuse. To attribute some higher moral virtue to it is absolute nonsense.

    If every individual who endeavoured to tell his story of his WTS experience had to meet your standards of proof and a pre-requisite to "win you over with the facts", no story would ever be told. There is not a single abused child who can prove what happened to them . . . not without witnesses or an admission from the abuser . . . both of which are about as rare as rockinghorse shit.

    The high tolerance of abusive practices in SA lends weight . . . not doubt . . . to the authors claims. In the midst of such an environment, one would expect the JW's to shine even brighter as a beacon of Christian virtue. Rather it appears to be license to behave in an even more depraved manner than their JW counterparts from other lands.

  • Violia
    Violia

    Ditto what Sizemilk said.

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