Hello AnonymousII
I am a part of MkSafetynet, a Canadian. I have heard about the US law which allows prosecution of sexual crimes abroad, but have never been able to track it down (in spite of contacting at least one US lawyer). Do you have more information about that law.
Could you e-mail me with the name of the law at bevandernie@cogeco.ca or post it here?
Secondly, if you have the time to write up for our website regarding the church being bound by law to report abuse rather than investigate it internally we would love to post in on our website http://www.mksafetynet.net
This would probably tie into the new anti-trafficing laws and make it mandatory for missiona agencies to report allegations/suspcions of abuse in their current off-shore schools. So far, almost 100% of the written policies of mission agency’s have internal investigations (there are 15,000 children in these schools today, all of them offshore). If you are are willing to post something there, it could of course be anonymous.
Submitted on 2009/07/28 at 1:38pm
I read some of the stories here and I felt heart broken, but also hopeful. As the founder of TCKID, I wanted to leave a quick note to support your mission. Thank you for your great work, please keep it up & continue to give a voice to those who are suffering in silence.
This is just unbelivable ….i pray for all who have been hurt and GOD will Help you bring them DOWN!!!! please keep your heads up and know that you and your families are in our thoughts and prayers!!!
Some of us reading this blog may be like me; I check it almost daily and so want to see that New Tribes has taken a firm stand and are fully supportive of the least of these – the children who were harmed and now are adults. I am rooting for both New Tribes to be who they can be for the adult MKs. I want to remain anonymous as, depending on the outcome of this huge issue, my New Tribes affiliation could possibly backfire on me.
Submitted on 2009/07/13 at 4:37pm
I hope that justice is served and that these child abusers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. All NTM staff always emphasized that our actions have consequences. And these people should not only have to repent, but should also be punished justly for their actions–even if it means serving time in prison because that is what is deserved! I am behind you ALL THE WAY!
Submitted on 2009/07/09 at 5:23pm
As a former missionary who has been doing advocacy writing and offering
support to MK’s, as well as the much larger population of survivors of abuse
by leaders in the faith community, I welcome your post. Please feel free to
contact me personally through my site http://www.takecourage. org
I know the reactions to your stories from NTM cause great pain. Sadly, what
you describe about the absurd apathy is far from unique. It is, in fact,
the norm in institutions of all sorts whenever someone comes to bear witness
of atrocities. And that’s exactly what you are doing–bearing witness,
which is really a gift to these people and a spiritual exercise! They do
not even want to “open” the gift to see what’s inside because of their
disbelief, born of shame and fear. It’s especially painful to experience in
the Christian community because of the pedestal and the power of the leaders
in this territory that claims to be following and speaking for Christ.
This collusion adds to your excruciating pain, yet it is important for you
to know that you are not alone. These people who are not receiving you in
the spirit of Christ have a lot of work to do before they can come to face
their own hypocrisy.
There may be individuals somewhere in the group who will do that.
Occasionally, individuals ARE eventually able to wake up and become strong
advocates. Unfortunately, they often become scapegoats along with you.
This is because the group, as a whole, remains in neurotic denial.
The more you expect them to quickly wake up because of something you say or
do, the more you will be setting yourself up for disappointment. I spent
years myself doing this. In every case I’ve ever encountered, most support
and understanding has to come from outside of the group where the abuse
occurred.
There are many choices, but none of them hold guarantees. It is vitally
important that everyone in your group understands that in the beginning.
Your courage in speaking out is admirable. You offer people oppotunity
whenever you tell your story. You also put yourself at risk for re-injury.
Yet it is the telling of many stories, often over generations, that
eventually help to create paradigm shifts in groups.
I trust that MK Safety Net will be a source of the broader support that you
will be able to build in time, IN SPITE of the people, even sometimes family
and close friends, who are currently unable or unwilling to play that role.
My husband and I lost our careers as missionaries because we chose to stand
up to our colleague and the hierarchy of the largest evangelical mission
board in the world (ie. Southern Baptist Convention). We know the pain of
rejection which you are experiencing acutely at this time.
One word of comfort: It is good that you have one another, though hearing
one another’s stories is a bittersweet experience. Some of the MK’s I’ve
known who have suffered greatly because they really did not know another MK
survivor and have still found none in their own group.
Now, you are starting to build a whole community. Thanks again for reaching
out. Above all else, please take care of yourselves, first and foremost.
I will pray. My heart breaks for you and those that have had to deal with this travesty. God is sovereign and we must trust and believe that His will will be accomplished, and at last the darkness of this abominable secret will come to light – the perpetrators repent and serve out just consequences; the victims finally come to a place of peace and grace, that the Lord and only He can give, that will transform them physically, mentally and spiritually.
Submitted on 2009/07/06 at 5:25pm
I would like to respond to the issue of a third party doing an investigation. There have been three independnet investigations of abuse into missionary schools by ICI’s (Independent Commissions of Inquiry). Their reports are on our website, http://www.mksafetynet.net The members of the ICI were all Christian in the very broad sense of the word. None of the ICI members had anything invested in evangelical missions so they did not need to protect missions/missionaries. The victims generally have the right to veto a potential member put forward by the denomination/mission agency if it is felt there is a conflict of interest. If you decide to go this way and set up an ICI, some of us who are involved with MKSN can walk you through it. Ideally, each ICI reflects the group who is creating it; but we can give you a template to work with.
