FREE FROM BONDAGE by Nadine Pleil ..........
Heather Johnston
A particularly moving passage: "Our children lived in fear. When we
walked through the hallways and encountered the American Brothers,
they would hide behind my skirts and cry. They thought that we would
be sent away because so many of their little friends had disappeared.
Our oldest son told us later that at the time he thought the world was
coming to an end. No doubt for him the end of his world had come.
Little did he know that this was only the beginning of a long
agonizing time for him filled with grief. Finally, as a teenager, he
was removed from the New Meadow Run Bruderhof by two Servants. He was
not allowed to visit us for many years. We were told how to punish
our children, who began to resent this very much."
hjj
Heather Johnston
More from FREE FROM BONDAGE BY Nadine Pleil.....After their expulsion
from the community.
One of the Servants informed us that Helga (one of her 8 children)
would be brought over to us by a couple from New Meadow Run. She had
traveled by truck to Woodcrest and from there to the Pennsylvania
community. At both places she had not been allowed onto the
community,and at New Meadow Run she had to stay at the Shop. Around 7
P.M. on Saturday November 29th, our Helga was brought to us. I heard a
car door and said to Augusto and the children, " That must be Helga."
We were all excited and ran out to meet her. Our excitement soon
turned to horror. Helga came shuffling down the walk like an old lady.
Her eyes were bloodshot. I could not believe my eyes. What had
happened to our vibrant, sparkling happy daughter? I really could not
understand what I was seeing. "Hello Mama, Helga said in a hoarse
voice. "I'm so glad to be here"
The children just stood looking at her. They could not say a word
because they didn't even recognize their sister. Augusto (her husband
and father to all the children) was in shock. I looked at him and he
at me. The people who had brought her whispered in my ear that Helga
had her medicine in her handbag. I was so startled that I said,
Medicine, what Medicine? The children were still watching us in
silence. I had to sit down. I buried my face in my hands and cried.
What had they done to our daughter? Augusto quietly left the house as
he generally did when something troubled him. It was Helga the child
who had been so hurt who came to me and put her arm around me. "Mama
it's going to be alright she said. "I'm with you and Papa now and with
my brothers and sisters"
The people who had brought her left very quickly and so we were on our
own. The antidepressents that she had been described were not helping
her. She felt that she was a burden to us which of course she wasn't.
Augusto and I had no idea what kind of state of mind she was in. We
had been told nothing! When we asked the community why we had not
been told that Helga had been going through so much emotional turmoil
and had been put on antidepressants we were told that this had only
been witheld from us "out of love". Helga's situation really began
when I was put out of the brotherhood. She saw how I was isolated from
all the other people. How I had to do housecleaning all by myself and
could not cope with that. People were not supposed to talk to me. All
these things became too much for her. The only response she received
was that she was too emotional and that SHE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SEE
ME. The thought of not being able to spend Christmas with her family
was too emotional? All these things preyed on her mind until she just
fell apart. Helga was having a nervous breakdown."
Welcome to the Bruderhof people. Drugging children without the
parent's consent.
It's against the law. Good Lord. What a nightmare these people have
had to endure.
hjj
Melchior Fros
> parent's consent. It's against the law. Good Lord. What a nightmare these people have had to endure.
Heather, I'll step in and provide some additonal insight which
suggests the b'hof regrets past behavior and seeks to avoid repeating
mistakes.
In the late 80's, I believe, having read "Torches Rekindled", the
b'hof's warts-and-all version of the Great Crisis, I entered into a
short letter exchange with the author's widow. In fact, it was she who
had made me aware of the book and had offered to send it free of
charge. She expressed regret for the mistreatment of (former) B'hof
youth (I was one of them). I got the impression she respectfully
listened to a few suggestions I made, which I hoped would improve the
teen-Servant (minister) relationship, and create an atmosphere of
trust and *enabling grace*, rather than one of fear (as Helga Pleil,
among many others, endured).
I do not know what steps have since been taken to enable teens to pass
through their turbulent years and emerge as confident, healthy,
vibrant young b'hof adults. But I hope the kind of details described
by N. Pleil are safely in the past and will never be repeated. Never,
ever. I hope sincere apologies were and continue to be issued.
The Catholic Church in the USA should be commended for (finally?)
dealing forthrightly (so I hope) with priest abuse of minors. The
cloud of secrecy has been lifted...albeit with considerable promptings
and threats of legal action. The RC Church is taking recongizable,
preventive and healing steps. The b'hof, I worry, has not yet reached
the point where it can openly (publicly) talk about the kinds of
issues raised by Mrs. Pleil and other authors.We can hope that as time
goes on they too will be freed of their past, and beome more open and
more willing to engage in restorative dialog.
It is not so much that things happened, as it is that recognizable and
corrective actions are taken to prevent them from happening again.
Mel
Heather Johnston
Apologies from the Bruderhof? I personally would like to see that
right here.
On these newsgroup. I have finished with Nadine's book and believe me
she got no apologies from those people who treated her so inexcusably.
She spent 40 some odd years of her life for those people and got
booted out for daring to speak her mind. It will be a cold day in
Hell in my opinion that those people will apologize for anything
they've done. Quite the contrary. They are still keeping families from
each other, they are still working everybody like dogs to support
their ever-growing empire and I am about to start reading the next one
Torches Extinguished. I will read every single one and continue to
post those parts that I think people are very interested in reading. I
realize that alot of this stuff happened many many years ago, and yes,
maybe things have changed as far as drugging children, etc. etc. The
Shunning continues however and as far as can tell it's against the law
to keep parents from their own children in this way. Case in point.
Joseph Idiong and the other two Nigerians who were banned from seeing
their children. What ever became of that lawsuit. The last thing I
read was that a court order was issued to force the Bruderhof to allow
visitation. Is that in fact what happened. So many of these court
cases get thrown out before they reach a judge. That one indeed made
it in front of a judge who demanded the release of those children to
their fathers. Or at least to allow visitation. One can only wonder
what eventually took place in the end. It's no wonder with what goes
on in the Bruderhof that these guys feel a need to have not one but
several teams of high-powered attorneys on retainer in addition to
Public Relations spin doctors at the ready and working no doubt, daily
to protect the Bruderhof image.
Thanks for your response, Mel.
Heather Johnston
Melchior Fros
I understand your indignation. I've dealt with the attendant feelings
too. Do what you need to do. Consider a visit some time.
I do not know if you pattern your life after the teachings of Jesus,
but one of the crucial things I've learned from my b'hof experiences
is to embrace what I call "enabling grace". It is easy to point out
another's flaws. It is harder to enable the person to move onward.
I had the privilege of befriending a young b'hof man who subsequently
returned. He recently told me that a root cause of relational failure
is dishonesty. I agree with him!! I told him that should he ever
return to the b'hof, I would count on young people such as he to lead
in the pathway of peace and reconcilliation. I asked him not to forget
me/us. I hope he doesn't.
Mel
Heather Johnston
Mel, are you insinuating that somehow Nadine's book is dishonest.
That the courage it took to write her very real and heartbreaking
experiences spanning 40 years and three continents is somehow
dishonest. "The root cause of relational failure is dishonesty" seems
like a backhanded way of somehow blaming Nadine and her very brave
family for what happened to them. Perhaps this young man about whom
you are referring had to come back because he had nowhere else to go
and no real skills to use in the "outside" world. Making toys for
children with specialized equipment such as the Bruderhof uses, hardly
prepares one for the outside world when you are expelled with little
more than the clothes on your back. If you read Nadine's book, you
would learn that for a family of 8 and their parents, a rundown shack
in Washington, Pennsylvania and if I remember correctly, about 500
dollars, was all they were given. This after 40 years of service to
the Bruderhof. How can you reconcile such treatment.
And by the way, Helga was in her 20's when she was forced to take
antidepressants, not a teenager as you suggest in your post. This I
repeat, is against the law. Period. Nobody can be forced to take
medication...and this young girl, formerly happy and vibrant was
depressed for one reason and one reason only. She was forcibly
seperated from her loving parents and siblings. Medicine was not the
solution here. She needed her family. Thank God she got back to them
in time. With all due respect Mel, you sound a little bit like Angie,
apologizing for the Bruderhof when they are the ones who should be
apologizing. I'm still trying to figure out who polices these people
when they commit illegal acts like forcing kids to take drugs that
they don't need. There are laws against that sort of thing. My father
is a doctor so I do know a little bit about this. IT'S AGAINST THE
LAW! period. Heather J.
Heather Johnston
I appreciate your suggestion that I visit an actual Bruderhof commune
and see for myself what it is about. At this point in time, they
would probably sick the german shepards on me. I have already gotten
the 2-page warning letter via e-mail from one of their "firms". The
attorneys outlined each and every little piece of worded material that
I have previously posted here that might be potentially libelous. The
amusing part came however, when in the letter warning me about the
comments I've made concerning my opinions about the Bruderhof, they
also forbade me from mentioning the actual letter that they sent. In
other words, what they were saying in a nutshell was, "Hey you, you
better quit saying what you think about the Bruderhof because we don't
like it. But don't tell anybody we said that". So, there. I just did.
Somehow, a visit to any of the Bruderhofs would be not in the
forseeable future. I would certainly love to do that however. The
chances under the circumstances are slim at best, you understand.
I would like to express my deep deep respect and admiration for the
Pleil family, particularly Nadine. I recommend her book FREE FROM
BONDAGE to anyone who has ever considered joining the Bruderhof from
someone who spent a major portion of her life there.
Nadine has seen it all. From Paraguay to England and onward to
Pennsylvania.
The writing is engaging, the stories ring with a truth that simply
cannot be denied. For anyone to suggest that these stories are not
true, it is they who are threatened by that truth.
hjj
Heather Johnston
What happened to the other posts that accompanied this thread. Nadine
Pleil did not object to me posting excerpts from her book. Who took
those posts off the newsgroup.
Unmoderated? Obviously not.
hjj
Melchior Fros
Heather, context is everything. I reported that someone raised on the
b'hof, having lived "outside" for a while, was able to discover on his
own a truth which ,I believe, goes to the heart of the rift between
the b'hof and it's former "children".
Thanks for writing.
Mel
Heather Johnston
Mel....you are calling Nadine a liar. When you strip away all your
"context is everything" babbble....no insult intended.....but It's
Bruderhof babble. I'm getting to be able to spot it right away.
You are saying here in plain english that Nadine is a liar. I
heartily...no not heartily....I mightily disagree. What an insult
that is to her and her family after all they have been through.
Angie says that the Bruderhof doesn't have to admit guilt just because
I or some of the ex-members point the finger. This comment of hers
ironically came right after that was exactly what happened to
Elizabeth and her friend at age 6 as told in her memoirs.
hjj
The elders INSIST that their members admit guilt. No question about
that.
The Amish do the same thing. Guilty or not...just confess to whatever
crime we want to saddle you with and everything will run alot
smoother.
No kidding.
hjj
A. Merchant
I'm concerned that you are on a feeding frenzy of anything negative
about the Bruderhof and when there's a hint of something that might
actually be "ok" or "good" you totally negate it. You are eating up
the books you've found written by former members. I suggest strongly
you use some common sense and caution when reading these. Someone's
"truth" can be distorted by the rush of emotions they experience when
making a huge life change. With that I am not saying that Nadine and
others are lying, I am simply saying that I believe that writing those
books was a way for the authors to feel vindicated in some way but
that isn't always the most soul-healthy way to do things. We so often
live to regret our words when they are spoken out of emotion,
especially the emotion of anger.
There are things that I know that would not be appropriate to discuss
on a public forum such as this about some of those who have left
(neither would I do it in private, especially with someone unconnected
to the Bruderhof): their version of what occurred isn't necessarily
factual. I will openly say I distrust people who hang on to anger, and
anger is what I believe the emotion is that prevails in many of those
corresponding here. There's no seeking forgiveness or to forgive,
there is only anger and the sensationalism of a good "cult story".
It's amazing how tightly closed the heart can become.
rumspr...@yahoo.com (Heather Johnston) wrote in message news:<ff024fff.03072...@posting.google.com>...
Heather Johnston
Angie....when you state that "their version of what occurred isn't
necessarily factual"....you are calling them a liar. You are
contradicting yourself with these kinds of statements. I enjoyed
reading your blissfully remembered youth on the Bruderhof......when is
your book coming out? You have a real talent for writing. However you
seem to be the only one here who had a Pollyanna adventure on the
Bruderhof. You didn't suffer what these people suffered and to say
that you are not calling them liars but insinuating that you know
things about them that would be inappropriate on the board......it's
like a tease. It's negating what they experienced which is very real
for them. You had a much more idyllic experience than they did and I
don't understand why you can't let their truth just be their truth.
They lived it. They have endured alot of pain. Can't you just let them
express that without constantly suggesting they forgive and forget
because it's good for their soul. You are not in the position to tell
people what is good for their soul. Especially not these people who
have suffered tremendously because they dared to speak their minds.
hjj