Por: Héctor W. Navarro

Reply to ed Priebe References:
About the Argentine's raids
in 1993.- January, 2001 My reply to Ed Priebe (Hart).
By Eduardo Lause
Dear Hart:
What follows is my reply to your letter.
I apologize for its length, but it happens that it is my desire not to leave a lot of issues aside; that's the reason why I'll answer every and each one of the points raised by you in your letter.-
For those of you who don't know who Eduardo Lause is, he was formerly a leader in the Family in Argentina, and his name was Benjamin Amor. Since leaving the Family, he was active in disseminating information about the Family, and started his own organization in Argentina. When Ricky, Miriam, Abigail and myself came to Argentina to work with the police in the preliminary investigation and give our depositions, Eduardo was called in to help us. Because Eduardo lived in Rosario, he couldn't often come to Buenos Aires, which is why I didn't mention him in my previous letter. He was only with us from time to time. But like us, he did give a deposition concerning the Family, and was video-taped with us when we were filmed by Argentine TV reporters.
Jose' Baamonde, head of SPES, the largest anti-cult organization in Argentina, didn't like Eduardo, perhaps because he saw Eduardo's small organization as a threat to SPES. Jose' tried to stop Eduardo from being filmed because he didn't want him promoting his own organization. But the rest of us ex-members insisted that if Eduardo wasn't allowed to speak, we would refuse to be filmed as well. Jose' relented and Eduardo was included I do remember all that, and particularly all and each one of you with all my love, as you all backed me up and showed your solidarity. What Baamonde did to me was the result of a competitive attitude against the organization established by Dr. Navarro and meagainst the abuse and crimes committed by the sects. Please allow me to put things in its right place: Baamonde's roll was limited to help and protect Abigail; in fact he never had a direct intervention in the course of the Court Case.
On the contrary, my deposition took several hundred pages and Dr. Navarro was the expert firstly assigned by Small Claims Court of Judge Doctoress Puccio, then by the Mercedes Minority Court in charge of Dr. Julio Cámpora for the Frouman case and finally by the San Isidro Federal Court of Dr. Marquevich, who ordered the raids and detentions. Dr. Navarro's expert opinion as presented to the Court, also took several hundred pages, a lot of which have been posted in our web site.-
I don't know if you remember that night at the restaurant in Luján, when in the presence ofMyriam Padilla, Rick Dupuy and Abigail, we talked about Baamonde's bad attitude and Abigail, who unconditionally defended Baamonde, angrily left the table before finishing her meal.- If I may, I would like to put it very clearly to you that the true reason that prevented me from being with you all the time was not due to the distance from Rosario, the town where I leave, but to the fact that before your arrival, my deposition was almost finished. When you arrived, the Court's minutes already occupied five volumes comprising my deposition, the police investigations and Dr. Navarro's deposition in his role of Judicial Expert.-
As for a long time I was dedicated to help with the investigations, my means of life – which consisted in hostelry administration – was somewhat neglected and as a result I was starting to have problems.-
Nevertheless, thanks to these activities I became connected with the legal environment and this prompted me to start with my law studies. Things are going well and I was appointed as Assistant Professor of Philosophy of the Law at the Law College. It was also thanks to these things that happened to me in the course of the Court Case, that I'd gotten a job at a Lawyer's Buffet.- Anyway, the time that we spent together at the convent was unforgettable and I always remember our conversations, particularly with you and Miriam, as it was the first time we met. My acquaintance with Rick dated from a time before your arrival as we have been together at Mercedes and Luján.-
Now, with regards to Baamonde, while I know that he has an anti-sects organization, which is dependant on the Catholic Church, I have never had any relationship with him and you very well know his attitude towards my person. But if I don't remember wrongly, you were his guest for about a week didn't you? Am I wrong? Eduardo, I mention this statement of yours up front because I will be disagreeing with you quite strongly on certain issues, but want it to be clear that I am not "against" you, and that even if you have the reputation of a "cult-fighter" in Argentina, you are still human and are not untouched by the injustices that Family members suffered. I never read your deposition, but I have no reason to believe you told any lies. So I hope everyone gives your letter a fair reading. Family members who suffered in Argentina may have a different version of the events you mentioned, and I hope they will post responses, but as long as a civil debate happens, it may bring a lot of truth to light.

We can't agree with everyone and on everything, but we can still be friends even if we disagree on certain subjects. This is the main difference between our present life style and the sects'; while you remain as a member of the later, you are downloaded with a certain line of thought and whoever thinks differently is considered as the enemy.But to-day, after having helped a lot of people out of cults and sects, I feel like a lot more of a human being than during my ten years with the Family. It is to be noted that during my last years in the cult, when I became a leader and a brilliant conqueror of new disciples, I had to do a lot of things that I didn't like.
That is why I don't quite get you when in your letter you say "you are still a human being"; you know me very well and because of that I don't grasp it when apparently you refer to my human conditions as if these were to be put in doubt.-
In his story, Watchman said: ""I believe one very important thing for anybody who's been in the Family.... to realize is that we're all in some way been victimized and that we we're honestly trying to serve God and do what we thought was best during much of our time in the Family. Needless to say, we all have to deal honestly also with our own responsibility for the thing we personally did we know were wrong and inmoral"
But you half acknowledged that, if I have something to respond for, it wasn't for the police proceedings nor for the Court's, but only for my wrongdoings as a shepherd. I hereby apologise to all those I could have in any way hurt, offended or harmed by my conduct while following the directives of the Family's leadership. I also apologise to all those that, due to my actions, were forced to abandon their families, their studies or their jobs just to follow a man believed to be of God and that in so doing, they were following on the path of God. Nevertheless, thanks are given to God! my position wasn't so high and I could only have committed some mistakes but never a crime. I don't justify the Nazis who killed thousands of Jews and then expected to come out clean of their crimes by the simple expedient of expressing their repentance. It seems that the Family assumes the same attitude. Those responsible for the imprisonment of so many children at the Macao camp are not worth of God's forgiveness nor anyone's with a conscience.-
You got me lost by your requirement that I should reply to all the points raised by you in your Open Letter to Hugo Gabutti, I'm not him and I have nothing to respond for the police actions or the Judges'. I only respond for what I know but don't get my wrong, I do not intend to dilute the suffering of those Family Members that were made to pay for the serious crimes that have been committed by others. My deposition is posted at my web site for all those who may wish to read it:
http://www.oocities.org/RainForest/Andes/3129/testigo1.htm
And let's be honest here: the raids in Spain, Australia and France had just happened and Family possibility of raids there too. That's why they continuously went to the authorities in the months anything you want to ask us, ask it.
Talk to us. But let's talk about the Frouman children." Do you think the Family would have complied and turned over the children to avoid the raids? Remember, they had just been through the French raids. I believe they would have. But what DID the authorities do when Family representatives continued coming to them, asking to dialogue and avoid any raids? Did they talk? No. The plans for nationwide raids continued in secret.
I've just laid my hands on some of the pamphlets dealing with the "religious persecution" in Spain, Australia, and France and afterwards in Argentina and they are all of the same tenor, they all accuse the four Countries' Governments of the same sins. Please allow me to reproduce what they say about what happened in Australia:
"Very early in the morning of May 15th., 1992, the police massively and simultaneously raided six of our Christian Communities in Sydney and Melbourne (Australia). 20/25 policemen, accompanied by 30 or 40 officials of the State Community Services Department, showed themselves up at the doors of each of our homes. Actually they forced their entrance, in some cases they broke the entrance doors. Making a show of their absolute lack of sensibility, they waked up 142 children aged between 2 and 16 years, who were living at the communities, and took the away pulling them out of their mothers' arms. They took them to an unknown place and warned their desperate parents to do nothing to resist … (Please refer also to "PRAY FOR THE PERSECUTED – DO 2868", "FIGHT OR FLIGHT – DO 2871 and "IT'S THE TIME TO ATTACK! – DO 2872")
In these letters Mo praised himself of being helped by Dianoetics and that what took Dianoetics 30 years to learn, was presented overnight to the Family.-
It was thanks to that contribution that the idea came out that, as the Authorities have been accusing the Family of child abuse, they should respond with the same accusation, and produce their claim to Humane Wrights Organizations and Amnesty International and also seek for an alliance with other religious groups which had suffered from persecutions, such as the Adventists of the Seventh Day, Witnesses for Jehovah and the like. This is what Mo says:
"Go to the lawyers, present your claims, approach the press and expose to the public light all that what the French have done! Lets produce bad publicity against them!" "Pressmen are always fascinated bad polemic issues, they love controversies and fights. Come out then to the arena and show them that you are fighting a war! Go out to the streets, armed with posters! God bless those who have already done it! Organize street marches of protest! God bless those who had guts and courage to do as I say! March through the streets with your children and take your babies with you in their carriages! Expose to the world what these malicious people, those who hate us and persecute us, are doing to us and to our children! (Maria: "Yes, make it patent to the public who are the real child abusers!") Yes! … the mother whose baby was taken from her arms and then returned to her after a while should go out into the streets, with the baby in its cot and a poster saying: 'They have attacked my baby! They handcuffed me and dragged me outside, almost naked!' Lets sue them everywhere we can!
Lets attack them! Don't let they have a moment of rest! Let them pay for lawyers and all the expenses due for moving their damned false witnesses from one place to another, these perverted liars who testified against us!" (DO 2872: 40,42)
They also cursed us, Ed! Is this a Christian conduct as prescribed by Jesus? He said: "Pray for those who curse persecute thou!" But that "prophet" wrote: "Oh God! Please curse CAN and the ADFI! Curse Ed Priebe! Curse Sam Warner! Curse Debora! Curse Mene! Curse Watchman! Curse each and all of those who are against us! Curse these cruel French policemen and those from other countries who have persecuted us! Curse the news media that published lies about us! Curse the Satanic forces that combat us! Deliver us from them, and destroy them, oh Lord! We know that you will comply and that victory will soon be ours; and theirs will be the bitter defeat! And they will be will be eternally sorry because they dared to put a finger on us! Thanks are given to you, Jesus!".-
"Ours will the pleasure to exterminate them at the decisive battle or Armageddon!" There shall be such a banquet with their blood, that all the predators on earth, the birds of the skies and all the beasts that get their nourishment from putrid flesh will be invited to devour a lot of flesh, the corpses of captains, kings, potentates and persecutors; the entire world will be so full with the corpses of all these people that there will no be enough time or room to bury them!" (DO 2868: 16,17)
Would these words be of God?
You must also remember what Isaac Numbers said in FSM 210 (NF 319) SPECIAL DO "SUMMIT 92" "DON'T FEAR THE PERSECUTION!":
"God punishes Spain:
1) Two of the cities where Homes had been established, suffered serious damages due to severe floods, which caused a lot of deaths. There have been exceptionally severe rains that flooded these regions,
2) Insects destroyed the crops of citrus in the province of Barcelona;
3) A terrorists bomb attempt produced a fire at the installations of an oil company in Barcelona, tourism fell by 29% and the Judge that was totally against us and lied about us at a television programme, suffered from a nervous breakdown and is now receiving psychiatric treatment. And this absolutely discredited his testimony!"
Such idiocies! These were only casual events, natural accidents that have also been suffered by the Family, like Tiago's and Tabita's child who was drowned in Brazil, or the Family children that were burnt to death inside there caravans when they caught fire and, as always, Mo cruelly attributed these accidents to "the sins of their parents" Such madness! I believe that I've sent you the English version of the cited letters, haven't I?
With regards to the Frouman case issue, below you will find a detailed explanation. But I think that you were extremely self-confidant, perhaps it was due to the important contacts you had been able to make among VIPs. Such as Doctoress Fernandez and Dr. Piotti. At the Mauro Viale TV show, the later was publicly exposed as knowing the Family's material as he himself educated HIS OWN CHILDREN with the "Kiddie Viddies" and that he was a frequent visitor at the Family Home in Punta del Este.-
Yes, you live in Argentina, Eduardo, and are closer to the facts than me. But It may also make you too close to the trees to see the forest. This is the first time that I have ever heard of the "Disappeared ones" as "guerrilla fighters".
Some of then undoubtedly were, but so many of the 30,000 victims who were imprisoned and tortured and shot and buried by the thousands in unmarked graves all over Argentina were innocent civilians with nothing more that left-leaning views, or were mere anti-military junta opinions. Eduardo, would you walk up to the 30,000 Argentine mothers, still dressed in black, still grieving, and tell them that the "Dirty War" they lost their children and husbands and daughters in was a battle between guerrilla fighters and the army? I don't think so.-
With regards to the issue of the "Disappeared ones" during the military dictatorship in Argentina, perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough because I don't think this is the principal issue in our discussion. These events happened in Argentina fifteen years before the Court Cases against the Family and by the time when the cases were presented, we have already been enjoying ten years of full democracy in Argentina, with no hard feelings. In spite of being no relation at all with the cases and if I may say so, please let me put very clearly to you that I do not condone the State Terrorism, neither I justify any type of crimes or injustice which attempt against individual freedoms and free thinking. After the Military Dictatorship and with regards to the 30,000 which disappeared, we have a slogan here in Argentina which says: "Neither forgetfulness nor forgiveness".-
It was thanks to the insistence of the "Madres de la Plaza de Mayo" and other human wrights organizations that we all became acquainted with what had happened, but it was only after a long time have elapsed.-
The truth is that we can not judge an entire Country or group of people based upon the conducts of only a bunch of criminals. But, in the case of the Family, you know that it is, or was, a totally vertical organization where dissent wasn't allowed and it was penalized by expulsion or excommunication. Perhaps this is what happened to you after your twenty years with the Family, supporting all sorts of abuses, injustices and maltreatment; after being a witness, even a co-participant, to the same kind of abuse being suffered by others. It was only after you left the Family that you finally realised what actually happened there.-
Curiously enough, what you and others did in Manila, as well as your >> personal "Revolution for Jesus" – thanks to which a lot of members stopped serving a man to serve God – seemed a criminal conduct to the Family. But they are not accusing you of being a co-responsible part in the Mene case:
"I will agree with you on this point: the treatment of Mene (Merry Berg) was a terrible injustice. I was living at David Berg's Hilltop Home in Antipolo when the whole incident with Merry happened. I never had any idea of sexual intrusions happening behind closed doors, so I can't confirm those details, but I was there the night the entire camp was told that Merry was a "demonic case" and we were all ordered to go to the main house, get down on our knees and pray desperately as Berg dealt with Merry. Everyone prayed loud, very intense prayers to rebuke the Devil and for Merry to yield, and to my shame, I confess that I did as well. I had just arrived at the Hilltop and knew nothing of the circumstances, so assumed that the situation was as I had been told."
"I didn't see Merry being tied to that bed down in the Nipa hut, nor did I ever see her slapped, but I do know that Merry received a lot of exorcisms and rebukes. Even though I and most others didn't actually see the rough stuff happening, we were aware that Merry was considered a "serious" case. I was assigned to sit with her one time in the Brick House going over a Letter on her reading list. I thank God that a few years later I was able to meet Merry when we were both out of the Family, and fill her in on some of the crazy things that were happening behind the scenes to help her understand the context that her mistreatment had happened in. I believe our conversation helped in her healing, and I was glad that I was able to share those things with her."
"So yes, I will agree with you that the things that happened to Merry Berg were very wrong, and it is recisely those kind of things that have made so many ex-members upset at David Berg. " I must confess that it sounds odd to me that you, being there in person as you were, never got a conscience of the physical, psychological and sexual abuse to which Mene was being subjected, as in "The Last State" letter, it was clearly written: "At the age of 11 and as a consequence of the grave bigotry and critical spirit she was suffering of, as well as being swell with pride and having started to unmercifully criticise Granddad and Mummy, she was punished by being watched over all day long and a lot more closely, she was subjected to constant supervision and wasn't allowed to drink wine, to set up for stable dates with the boys and watch "adults only" videos (¿?). Because she believed herself so good, beautiful and irresistible for men, she showed a renewed interest and desire towards the boys. It was thus that she quickly fell in love with several men at the Home.
She was tied up with ropes and condemned to sleep with a spiritual and physically strong adult man, able to subdue her. Berg said that with each pull of the rope, she was to be reminded that they had to tie her up because she wasn't to be trusted and that she should be grateful, as she was not to be stoned or burnt in a bonfire!".-
We, in South America were only recipients of that letter but you, at Antipolo, must have known a lot more than all of us because you have lived through it. The same would apply to Benjamino Portuguese, Watchman, Keda, Tony Zack Attack, Abigail and several other who are either dead or are not totally sane after having spent a time with the Family. Not all ex-members have been as lucky as we were!
And here we go to a point over which you do not agree with me. When I stated that all Homes were like jails and that the children were being scattered all over the Country, even over the entire world under the pretext of receiving a better Christian education and to keep a closer control over their parents, to reassure their fidelity as they knew that in case of desertion, they would be deprived of their children.-
You see Ed, until they started with the issue of the schools, it was more normal for parents to keep their children with them, but afterwards and with the excuse that the children shouldn't be educated under the "system" and that they should be split in accordance with their ages, all children were sent to "homes" or "schools" to which they were assigned according with their age. Parents had to sign legal authorizations allowing the so called "uncles" to become their children's legal guardians. The dominion thus transferred to these individuals was so ample as to allow them to take the children anywhere as they (the "uncles") wished.-
I also have to disagree with your sweeping statements that "nobody is allowed to keep all their children." This is simply not true, as many Family members can testify and as many ex-members can verify. Yes, separation of families happened, and it was unjust and should never have happened, and those who went through such painful separations should speak up and let their voices be heard. So there is truth to what you say, but you should also know that many families have stayed together. Be careful with your words. When you start throwing around generalities like "nobody" and "everybody," you lose credibility.
Eduardo, the Victor's Program is an entirely different issue. I disagree very strongly with the Victor's Program, and I'm sure the many teens and adults (in and out of the Family) who have suffered under the Victor's program would agree. It was an experiment that has mercifully and thankfully come to an end, and not a minute too soon. The abuses that were perpetrated in the Victor Camps show to just what lengths Family leaders were willing to go to enforce conformity and to hold on to members.
I was there at the HCS (Heavenly City School) at the time that the Victor's Program began, and at first it did seem like a mere time-in-the-Word, retraining program. But it quickly developed into something far more controlling and harmful. The Victor's program developed into an correctional system that dissidents were sent to. Although in the very beginning, the Victor's Program was not super abusive, as it advanced it not only took in "murmurers" and "problem cases," but brothers and sisters who disagreed on matters of conscience, as well people who simply wanted to leave the Family and go home to visit relatives, or people, like the brother who just posted on the General board, who was ordered to separate from his wife, but went through trials about it, so as punishment he was sent to a Victors Camp. How can anyone deny that these things were wrong?
The Family rightfully denounces the abusive, strong-arm methods of incarceration and deprivation of liberty that Ted Patrick and other Deprogrammers are guilty of, yet David Berg himself coined the term "reprogramming" (ML 1740:9) when talking about putting a Family member through a reindoctrination process. And Reprogramming was exactly what happened in the Victor Camps. I will never get the picture out of my mind of a frail young 14-year old girl, Merry Berg, listening to tapes on headphones while breaking up concrete in the Macau detention center. I'll always have that picture in my mind of a young teen boy, Benjamin Farnsworth, locked in a small attic for days at a time, in "isolation" because he was a "problem case."-Yet Ben's main problems were that he missed his father and that he was an intelligent teen who asked questions. I can't get the picture out of my mind of Ricky Dupuy undergoing one exorcism after another, digging ditches in the rain, all because he had asked to go home and visit his parents. Or of Comic being forced to clean out sewage tanks in the cold, all because he loved his wife and didn't want to separate from her.
I have very strong emotions about Detention Centers like Macau and the Victor Camps, but I can NOT go so far as to agree with your statement, Eduardo, "that dictatorial jail that the Family had ALWAYS been, where the kids are ALWAYS abused." If that was indeed the truth, then yes, you would be justified in raiding all Family Homes and taking all children into custody for their own good. But obviously, the Victor's Program is no longer in effect. Even Family leadership realized that such tactics were causing more problems than the "good" they hoped to get out of them, and put a stop to them. So it cannot be said that the Family ALWAYS abuses their children, or that the Family is ALWAYS a dictatorial jail, particularly now under the Charter when there is more freedom and individual choice. It appears that you are only focusing on certain facts and ignoring the rest of the picture. In too many cases, yes, the Family has been a punishing place to live, but if you follow your line of logic that the Family is ALWAYS an abusive, dictatorial jail, then it leads to the conclusion that ANY means that can be used to arrest and detain Family members and children is allowable to "fight the greater evil". And I cannot agree with that. That is why I believe what happened in Argentina was wrong. What do you think about the events in Argentina, Eduardo? Do you believe that the "good" (whatever that was) that came out of Argentina was worth it considering the pain and deprivation of rights it caused to the innocent Family children and teens, nursing mothers and babies? Would you do it all over again today? I wouldn't.
I must remind you that the April, '91 "Victor Programme" was extended to all over the world by orders from Maria issued under "The Discipleship Training Revolution" (Please refer to DO 2677):
"The Victors Programme was launched with the object to help some jetts and teenagers who were suffering from serious adjustment problems which they could not resolve on their own, and the adults of their Home could not help them out of these. What happened to several of these jetts and teenagers was serious enough: they were rebellious, mundane and arrogant and were uninterested on the Word or didn't understand it …. They were forced to leave their Homes and their parents to be incorporated to the "Victor's Camps". Once they get there, the first week or two are terrible! They miss the environment they are used to, they miss their loved ones and hate the rigid supervision and the enormous number of rules they are subjected to. They feel threatened because they are ordered to come out and tell all their most intimate secrets. The dislike the obligatory classes, hate the "rule of silence" and they hate to be punished whenever they brake the rules. All they wish is to arrive at the end of it all as soon as possible! …. We were saying to ourselves: If the limited "pasturing" they were allowed to, the electrifying classes on the Word, the emotional moments on inspiration and the high level of discipline associated to the Victors Programme were SO SUCCESSFUL and HIGHLY APPRECIATED by the jetts and teenagers that had the PRIVILEGE to attend the programme and were so ENCHANTED by they participation and received so many benefits; why not taking such formation system to their Homes, what is more, to all our Homes? … If it was SO SUCCESSFULwith those suffering from serious defects, HOW MUCH MORE IT COULD BENEFIT THOSE JETTS AND TEENAGERS WHO ARE NOT SUFFERING FROM SUCH SERIOUS DEFECTS! (Paragraphs 17 and 22 – Capitals are mine).-
You say, "As you have also been in Buenos Aires, I'm sure that you remember that the children at Pilar were allowed to roam in the gardens for only 45 minutes in a day, in limited groups and under strict surveillance." I don't remember ever hearing these details, Eduardo. I do know that children in the Family were under strict discipline and control, especially before the Charter, but I have also heard that those children went out witnessing frequently, and spoke Spanish as you say? They taught these children enough Spanish for them to be able to preach and sell posters. It does not mean that they happily and voluntarily complied with all of this. They were also forced to do hard work and cooking at the kitchen and do house cleaning, jobs which are not proper for young children to do. How much time did they have in their own hands to do whatever they liked and enjoy themselves?
I'm sure you remember what they did to Abigail only because of the terrible sin of having a cassette of The Beatles! If there is something I can proveis that they launched a special teens version of"Slanderers of the Last Days" because in its adults version, they were compelled to absolute fidelity or else: leave the Family. But at the time, it was Mummy's opinion that she didn't see it as being of conveniencethat "such decision should be imposed on our teens and that we shouldn't concerned the unnecessarily by an issue that falls far from their level of experience. As the Lord didn't drive a lot of them to take such a spiritual decision about their future, we do not thing it necessary nor judicious on our part to ask them to do it". As a consequence they could not, under any circumstances, decide for themselves to part with the Family to go to their grandparents or the father who wasn't or was no longer with the Family because being minors, it wasn't up to them to decide where they wished to stay. (PLEASE SEE "LAST NEW FLASHES Nº 179 DO 1-93).-
You say, "My mother works as a regent at some of the correctional institutes in Mendoza. From what she tells me, I know that the Garrigos Institute, where the Family kids were interned, is a model of order, cleanliness, good food and excellent care for the minors interned therein."
I don't know the conditions that existed there, and I wish teens who were held there would post on this kept separate from their parents, and suffered trauma as a result. How can you say the children were better off there than with their parents?
Garrigos was a Minority Institute, not a clinic institution.- On the contrary to what you say, I believe that a lot of these children have had, for the first time in years, the opportunity to see their parents again. These children were staying in Pilar with their "uncles" in charge. Their parents had to come to Argentina from the most remote countries. They had complied with Maria's order to "Forsake your children for the Lord and His works" (Maria's letter 198 (DO 2862-III-93. Paragraphs 4 and 5): "You suffer because it is hard for them to understand why is it that they can't stay with you and you with them. We feel horrible when our children are in trouble and we can do nothing to impede it but only pray for them. But very often, forsaking all for Him and His works implies precisely that; and this applies to us and to them. We forsake our fathers, mothers and children to place His Works in the first place, and our children must also forsake their fathers an mothers in exchange for the great privilege of being part of this Family (Mat. 19:29)".-
Actually, these children are prisoners of the Family, they have no options; while we, adults, have had voluntarily chosen to become part of the sect, the children are forced to live this jailing life, away from their parents and the have no other option but to stay and they don't know of a different way of life.-
In contrast we must acknowledge the fact that while the Family children were staying at the Garrigos Institute, they were at least not forced to read and memorize the Mo letters. But as they had been trained on the basis of the series of letters "Victory at Babylon", where they were taught that the Social Workers and Psychiatrists were of the devil, therefore they should never talk to them.-
You very well know that all that was done for the Authorities not to discover the kind of abuse they (the children) have suffered and that you acknowledged to have happened up to 1987, only six years before the police intervention in Argentina.-
terrible thing is that they stopped such practices not because children abuse was considered to be a perverse custom, but only because of their fear to be jailed. It is to be noted that in the Family, the fact that Mo was a perverted man wasn't known: a man who abused his own daughters and any other girl within his reach and who expected his followers to do the same!
something I wish to state very clearly is that I left the Family while Mo still lived and before the Charter.-
I hope and pray for it – albeit with poor expectations because I know the Family – that these conditions have changed; but I remember very well what happened while I was with them. Hart reports were compulsory; we all had other brother with whom we exercised mutual control. At the reports, nothing was left aside, not even how often we moved our bowels every day. Wasn't it like that?
You are wrong when you say that while affirming that such things happened at ALL the Homes, I'm losing credibility because you know very well that the same things happened at ALL the Homes which strictly complied with what the letters demanded from them as those were the source of all these dire directives designed to oppress the sheep. The Homes that were placed nearer the combo or the NAS were more in danger than those in a remote province, doing their work at a mission field. At these places they trusted the Lord and were not so pressed by the leaders to put in practice some of the most controversial doctrines from the Folks.-
According to what it was found, those children that were staying in Pilar used to go out to take some fresh air, play or get just a bit of sunlight, always in different groups and in accordance to their ages, and all of them were controlled by adults. Their stay outside never took more than 45 minutes. They were never seen altogether in only one group; I can't say if that was due to security reasons, schooling schedules or because the place was overpopulated and they didn't want the neighbours to know how many children were actually interned there. Something else that I remember is that, even though we lived at Homes equipped with a swimming pool, we were not allowed to sunbathe for more than fifteen minutes a day. Faith herself, believing that as Mo's daughter was exempted form the rule, was almost excommunicated for not complying (Rule breakers Beware! – DO >> 2710) what do you think? Was all of this intended only to protect us from the sun or to keep a dictatorial control over all and each one of us, so as not to waste our time enjoying ourselves instead of working?.-
I also believe conditions have changed quite a bit since then, with parents now being in charge of their own children and responsible for disciplining and raising them. You mentioned in an earlier paragraph that you were interested in "bettering" the living conditions of those who chose to remain in the Family, so let's hope that these conditions have now improved from what they were back then. From what I hear, since the Charter, parents DO have most or all of their children with them, and are responsible for their childcare and training.
I have read an article signed by Veronica Roldan, an Italian journalist, which speaks about the recent changes in the Family. It says that in April 1995, the group passed through new changes in their organization. The adoption of the "Love Charter" (or simply "The Charter") was officially confirmed. It's an administrative statute, articulated in two parts: "The Charter for Wrights and Responsibilities" and "The Fundamental Juridical Charter of the Family". The Charter is a document that comprises the goals and the most important beliefs of the movement and it is an administrative code of rules as well. In spite of being a new document, its contents have been taken from old publications of the group, mainly the "Mo Letters" and, as it is stated in its text, Berg supervised it in person before his death. Its principal goal is to create an structure and provide the members with a code of rules, which must be strictly obeyed in the every day life at the communities and in their religious activities as well. A copy of the statute was given to each of the 16 years and older fulltime members.-
As a member defined it during an interview, the Statute was "the beginning of a process of maturity for the group, implying new wrights but new responsibilities as well". It is being said that the new wrights are required and strictly obeyed by the members.-
The Statute also comprises the members' duties and obligations towards the group in general and the group's towards the members. There, the vertical and horizontal relations within the group are clearly and specifically stated, which implies that there "is no room for a doubt, everything is stated and legislated by The Charter".-
The visible changes produced at this new stage in the evolution of the group, are related to the reduction in the number of members allowed to conform a community: the maximum is 35 persons per Home; the education of children and the remunerated activities of adult members outside the Homes (neither were never practiced before outside the Homes); the strict control of the members' health with the intervention of University Doctors; the desertion of teens and changes in the hierarchical structure on a world level.-
Presently, the structure is conformed by a new spiritual leader, Mari, who together with her new husband, Peter Amsterdam and Gary, preside like a triumvirate over a working team known as "World Services". It is said that today the decisions are taken inside the Homes in accordance with the rules of The Charter and that there is no need to wait for the approval of the top leaders. Each of the members have a direct line with "World Services" and with Maria in person if it was ever necessary, to present their concerns, troubles, etc. If all the above were the real truth, nobody could be happier than myself, but in The Family they often talked about great "revolutions" and changes so may times and nothing really happened. So, I became rather incredulous.-
When they implemented the "Reorganization and Nationalization Revolution" (RNR) they staged a show as if the "chain" was finally broken, but in actual fact, there was never such strong an oppression on the part of the leaders as after the proclamation of the pretended rupture of "chains".-
All in all, my fight is not against doctrinal issues, I do not argue whether Mo is till speaking after his death or not; whether Phoebe, Abner and Aaron are celestial assistants or not. I have always fought to put an end to the abuse within The Family.-
If the abuse were truly stopped, it's the Lord's call for peace! Unfortunately, in view of the antecedents I still have my serious doubts.-
You say, "I'm sure the Family leadership knew that something was about to happen because all foreigners whose documents were not in order, were rapidly moved out of the country; all irregular couples whose marriage papers were out of order, were forced to get properly and legally married, and at the time of the raids, everything was in proper order."
I've also read a Family pub where the openly said that they knew that the raids were a real possibility, so it is logical to assume that they would try to get ahead of the events by not leaving any loose ends. But you are assuming too much when you mention that "all foreigners" and all "irregular couples" were forced to have their papers in good order. Is that something you are certain of? Yes, the Family knew that the raids were a real possibility but their hope was that they would hardly happen. Now you say something I never heard of:
"THE EVIDENCE KNOWN BY THE FAMILY
"During the raids, the police seized a page which said: FOR THE TEAM OF HOMES SHEPHERDS (Burn After Reading – BAR).-
Among other things, this letter said that each of the Homes should have a contracted lawyer specialized in criminal law (time limit for completion: 2 months after the last shepherd meeting which took place on June 6th., 1993); they should have a photographic camera ready, just in case the Home is raided; a team of psychologists and sociologists prepared to say that "your children are sane, well educated and adapted and inclined to cooperate and that they are able to behave well in society" (May I remind you that by the month of May they have already had a meeting at the Federal Court, which was related to the Frouman case? By mid April they had already released two of the youngest brothers and after this, nothing new developed. Perhaps they were wrongly advised) if I may, I'll continue with the seized document: "…must also have a secret place where to keep papers away from inquisitive eyes, etc. A security strong box, which should preferably be kept outside the Home and where you can keep part of the HER, is also highly recommended. You must start acting under the denomination of THE FAMILY to avoid being accused of hiding your identity or to being and deceiving the public credibility. You should also start filming videos showing as many public activities of your group as possible in the locality where you are staying, so as to get them to know you and be prepared to testify in your favour".-
The list is a lot longer and contains many details that, as I said before, shows that they (The Family) were in possession of the information provided by the so called "black octopus" and that some time between May and September they had already arrived to some sort of arrangement which included Dr. Centeno, then in charge of the Cults Secretary and who came out arguing in favour of The Family, saying that they had nothing to do with the old movement of the COG (Children of God).-
It was because of that, among many other things, that it seemed that everything was aiming at winning the case in Argentina. This can be deduced from reading the letter "THE BATTLE FOR ARGENTINA" between the lines.-
Jose Luis Passini, speaking for The Family during an interview conceded to the paper LA TERCERA DE CHILE, stated what follows:
"The last case in Argentina was one of the hardest for The Family". Passini lives in Chile since 1994 and he was in the group of Argentine members of The Family, which were accused of children's abuse and perversion. After arriving in Chile, he established himself at a two hectares piece of land, jus in the middle of a Mapuche community near Pucón and started what he defined as a "missionary work" with the Indians of the area.-
Passine recounts that in 1993 8 Homes were raided and 21 missionaries of the movement had been arrested (actually the number was greater) under the charges of abuse on minors, brain washing and other charges. The evidence produced by the ArgentineJudge Marquevich, included videos and documents where children dedicated to sexual practices were presumably seen.-
The testimonies of parents whose children were members of the group were added to the evidence mentioned above. They ascertained that while in the sect, their children had been indoctrinated and were severed from society.-
He goes on saying that the case could be considered only as a partial victory for The Family because, in spite of all the accused being partially acquitted, the Courts prohibited The Family to continue working as a religious group and they couldn't get the official recognition of Cults Secretary of the Government in Buenos Aires.-
Here is where I have to disagree with you, Eduardo. When we were staying in the Catholic convent, Ricky and I became close and talked very honestly and sincerely with each other. One night he shared the entire heart-breaking story of all the abuse he had suffered under Josiah and others in the Victor Camp in Tateyama, Japan. And because he spoke far better Spanish than I did, he talked more with Hugo and often passed on to me things that he had learned. So yes, he did tell me that, in his opinion, even Hugo probably had "skeletons in his closet from the martial law days." And yes, he did indeed tell me that Hugo had threatened you. I have no reason to believe that Ricky was making up that story. If words were put in Ricky's mouth, they were put there by Hugo, not me. Here's how it happened: shortly after I arrived in Argentina, I was taken to the city (Lujan, was it?) where Ricky was staying in a small hotel. We were moved a few days later to the Catholic convent in another city. The reason we moved was because the police were concerned that the Family knew that us ex-members were in Argentina. The reason was that someone who was "in the know" had spoken to a reporter of a small, independent news magazine in Buenos Aires, and told them all kinds of inside details about the investigation that was happening. They even said, "A Canadian has just arrived in Argentina to give testimony"-referring to me. The police were totally freaked out and had no idea who the "leak" was. Hugo was very concerned that the Family would see that magazine and read it and be warned. He asked Ricky and I what we could possibly do. That's when I remembered what the Family had done in Tateyama, Japan, when the "Shukun Bunshai" newspaper had published an article against the Family: Family leadership sent members out to all the newsstands in Tateyama very early in the morning, to buy up every copy of the paper before anyone in the city could get a copy. And it almost worked, though the Tateyama officials did eventually get a copy from somewhere else. So I told Hugo that maybe the police should do that. But after Hugo realized how many newsstands and shops they'd have to go to all over Buenos Aires, and seeing how big the circulation of even that small magazine was, he realized they didn't have the money or personnel to do that. But as it turns out, the Family apparently didn't read that magazine, or they would surely have been warned of what was about to happen. I forget the name of that magazine, but if any Family members care to check back copies of small, independent magazines that came out about September or so, these details can be easily verified. It was after that that Ricky told me Hugo had threatened you, that, "If you betray me in this, Argentina itself will not be big enough to hide me from you." Apparently Hugo was suspicious that YOU might have been the one to make the leak, and didn't trust you. But Ricky told me that you assured Hugo that it was not you that made the leak, and my understanding is that Hugo believed you. Anyway, Eduardo, perhaps Hugo never meant to carry out such a threat, but simply said it because he was freaked out about the leak which threatened to blow the whole investigation. At the time Ricky mentioned that comment to me, my thought was, "Wow, the police sure play rough here in Argentina." But perhaps Hugo said certain words to you personally, and later expressed himself slightly differently to Ricky when elling him about the incident? At any rate, Ricky DID tell me those words in the convent/guest house. I stand by that.
THE "LA VENTANA" MAGAZINE
This magazine is from Mercedes. It's written by a group of freelance journalists. Its name is "La Ventana" (I don't know if it is still in circulation). It is true that, when all of these events cam to the public light, we were all much disconcerted because they even put a call through to the place (a Home for Children in Mercedes) where Rick and myself were staying incognito, asking for an interview; such event got Hugo Gabutti effectively worried for the future of the investigation and started to get suspicious of everybody because the magazine published a lot of things, they seemed to know every step of the investigations and nobody knew where did they get all that information form. After a time it became known that Judge Campora (the Minority Judge), assuming the Federal Court would resolve on the raids very rapidly, had trusted the journalists too much, promising them the exclusivity of the news in exchange for their promise not to publish anything until such a time when everything was exposed to the public light, but he was betrayed and they published the news anyway.-
This was all due to the fact that the raids. which had been scheduled for May, were inexplicably delayed until September and the publication came out in June o July 1993, not September as you seemed to believe. Other of the hypothesis that had been considered was that the "black octopus", seeing that his activities had been discovered, betrayed the Intelligence Services. All in all, the incertitude was so generalized that everyone was suspicious of all the others, we were all nervous and in such circumstances, some measure of quarrelling was inevitable, we were all jumpy but nobody got to the extreme of threatening anybody as you said that Rick told you; it is probable that Hugo exaggerated a bit when he told Rick about these events or perhaps Rick misunderstood Hugo's words but the truth is that we were all in a very hot and bad temper and every time the Family members visited the Courtroom, everybody started to look for hidden microphones.-
It was perhaps unwillingly that you answered your own question. Wasn't it odd that this magazine was able to expose everything to the public light and that The Family was ignorant of it all? The complain was presented to the Court in Mercedes because that Judge sitting there had jurisdiction over Pilar, where the "El Rancho" was established. The magazine had a large edition and it wasn't withdrawn form circulation. I, myself was able to buy an issue at a kiosk in Lujan.-
The Family knew everything that was related to the Frouman case and were doing everything possible for the investigation to be left into oblivion. That's the reason why they released two of the four minors that were wanted by the Judge and the police.-
I remember that, in view of the nature of the work that was being done, the Tribunal lodged us (Dr. Navarro – who was the judicial expert – and myself) at a hotel in Lujan. One night, when the both of us were having a bit of a walk through the hotel's surroundings, it happened that two men on a motorbike passed near us and shouted: "Stop pandering and go to work" and they swiftly disappeared.-
It happened that the Judge had lodged us in Lujan so as to be able to maintain our incognito. At this stage and in view of the above, it is evident that The Family had top level informers.-
I think that Sam Ajemian was also persecuted and threatened by some of the fanatic members of The Family.-
Eduardo, this is a huge point, and now that you remind me, yes I do remember hearing one time about the Frouman children and the events that you described. I wasn't aware, however, that that was the incident that sparked the case against the entire Argentine Family. Are you saying that the whole investigation and raids and imprisonments of Family members in Argentina, stemmed from the Frouman case? Let me say very clearly that the Frouman case is heartbreaking, and parents being defrauded of their own children is very wrong. The fact that a dying mother was not allowed to see her own children is a terrible indictment against the leadership of the Family in Argentina, or whoever made that decision. Such things should never have happened. They are wrong and show only too clearly the abuses that can happen as a result of controlling policies. These are the things that make so many ex-members angry and even make sincere CMers question Family policy. One thing you have never mentioned though, is how the Frouman case turned out. Did the father eventually get his children? Was the issue resolved? I would be very glad to hear more details, and I'm sure everyone on this board would as well. I would also be interested in hearing from Family members, whether WS or regular CMers, if there is now anything in place in the Charter which strictly forbids such abuses from ever taking place again. Is there? But let me ALSO say, that the Frouman case could have and should have been resolved within the legal context it began in. If the Frouman case was the original issue that led to the raids, then I don't understand why the authorities needed to arrest hundreds of Family members and keep them in prison for months, and keep more than one hundred Family children in Institutions separate from their parents for months-if ALL the authorities were looking for were the Frouman children. Do you see what I'm saying? If all the authorities were looking for were the Frouman children, they should have pursued that matter doggedly within a legal framework. But to raid and imprison and punish the innocent for the actions of a few leaders was not justified. Eduardo, don't you remember what happened in Rick Dupuy's case? When he had a lawyer send a letter to the Family, insisting that they turn over his son, Romeo, to him, the Family complied and sent Romeo to Rick. The point is, things CAN be accomplished within the justice system, and the authorities in Argentina should have done that. I understand, as you say, that they were stunned to learn what Family leadership had done with the Frouman children, and I can understand the intensity of their feelings. Nevertheless, the Frouman case should have been handled without nationwide raids. This is why I believe someone or a group of people were pushing to "get" the Family, and the heartbreaking events of the Frouman case were their pretext to raid all Family Homes.

THE FROUMAN CASE AND THE 1989 AND 1993 RAIDS
I can see that there is some measure of confusion when both issues (the 1989 and 1993 raids) are addressed.-
The 1989 case was under the San Isidro Federal Court, which was presided by the Federal Judge Dr. Piotti. At Dr. Piotti's resignation in 1993, the same Court was placed under the presidency of the Federal Judge Dr. Marquevich.-
At the RAEF 210 (FSM) "SUMMIT 92", first part, The Family refers to the 1989 proceedings as they textually said: "In October 1989, three armed police commissions presented themselves at the doors of three of our Homes. Several men and women were detained and taken to jail. The others and the children were put under domiciliary arrest. At the same time, a publicity campaigned was launched against us by all the AC media and during several days we made the front page of the papersand form TV. Shows which enjoyed a great audience, they talked badly bout us.-
Nevertheless, at a private programme, which was very well known in South America, the reporter interviewed several of very important guests. Among them, it was Judge Puccio, as she was in charge to resolve about the allegations against us about the abuse of children and that we were notprepared enough to impart a good education to our children. She responded very positively and turned to pieces what the reporter was trying to do, so he publicly accused her of NOT BEING IMPARTIAL, he said: "As you talk, you seem to be one of them!" and she replied: "No, I am not part of the group. I am a Judge of the Republic and if what you were after was for somebody to agree with you, you shouldn't invite me to the programme in the first place, because I only speak about what was proved and what I consider to be the truth! (This dame, the Judge, kept on visiting the school in Argentina and still keeps a friendly attitude (GJ)"
Please note: The Judge referred to in the above paragraph was Dr. Eleonora Fernandez, who during her holydays took her children to Pilar.-
Peter Frouman wrote:
"First of all, while some of the above is correct, the part about my mom abducting her children from their father after he left the Family, is completely inaccurate. As is standard practice in most US divorce proceedings, as the mother she got full custody and he only had visitations wrights."
While in this particular point, it seems appropriate to ask Peter Frouman: Did your father know where all his children were? Could he effectively use his visiting wrights as granted by the Judge? We know as a fact that, when the mother was expelled from the Family as her cancer didn't recede because she "resisted" to be "healed", she lost contact with her four children and never got to know where they had been sent. Her letters, which are added to the minutes of the Court, are very moving. I have read them and can assure you that I've got very emotional about it all.-
The mother always asked the Judge to be allowed to see her children at least once before passing away. Frouman goes on saying:
"Secondly, while the Family leadership displayed an incredible lack of sensitivity and basic human decency in their handling of this case, they did not stop her from visiting her children and she saw them about four months before her death. However, they did not inform the children that their mother had passed away until several months after the event and subsequently cut off all communication with the children's surviving relatives."
At this point, we must put it clearly that what the Frouman children's mother really wanted was to have their sons back with her, because she had already left the Family. She wasn't only asking to see them from time to time.-
To what right was the Family entitled to, which allowed them to retain the minors against the will of their parents? This is a crime in all countries of the world.-
Peter Frouman goes on saying:
"Finally I would like to answer some of the questions Ed (Hart) asked in his response to Eduardo's letter. [Ed (Hart) wrote:] Are you saying that the whole investigation and raids and imprisonments of Family members in Argentina, stemmed from the Frouman case? [….] I believe someone or a group of people were pushing to ?get? the Family, and the heartbreaking events of the Frouman case were their pretext to raid all Family Homes. I have often heard from various sources (including my own relatives) that the Frouman case was what started the investigation that led to the raids"
And what follows is the Peter Frouman's reply to Hart:
"However, from what I know I would have to strongly disagree with this assertion. While the Family might have been avoid some of the problems they had by simply producing all the Frouman children earlier, the 1993 raids did not occur until months after two of the Frouman children had been returned to their father and the other two had left the country with their mother's second husband (who was not the father of any of the children and never had legal custody of them) The 1989 investigations and raids (in Bahia Blanca and elsewhere) occurred before my mother filed her complaint. Shortly after my mother filed her original complaint seeking the return of her children, she was informed ……. In fact, after her death in March 1991, the Frouman case was mostly inactive although the investigation of the Family on other unrelated matters continued. Thus, the investigation of the Family started before my mother filed her original complaint and continued after the authorities had almost forgotten about it."
Now it's me, Eduardo Lause, who want to answer Peter Frouman:
Before I say anything further, allow me to say that I feel terrible sorry for what happened to all of you, for the loss and separation you had to suffer and though one can imagine the measure of you suffering; as one have never lived through it, can not experience your pain and the horrors of your ordeal.-
In fact, your mother's original complaint was filed away and – possibly due to the influence of Judge Martínez nothing was done about it. When your aunt Rita Mc Lee and her then boyfriend, Arturo Godoy, ratified their complaint before the Court at Mecedes, Judge Campora intervened in the case and the search for the Frouman brothers started. It is possible that you know about certain things that we ignore here in Argentina. According with your recount of events, four months before her death, your mother was able to come to Argentina and the Family allowed her to see her children, but not to take them with her as it was her desire.-
Because of that, before she passed away, she asked your aunt to continue with the complaint in legal form and before the Court. I don't know about your Country, but here in Argentina, the administration of justice is rather sluggish. The 1989 investigation andraids were unrelated to the 1993 investigation, which was carried out in search of your abducted brothers and several persons were under the court's and the police scrutiny. What's more, after the case for your brothers was put in motion, several other cases were added. For example: Abigail Berry's case and her complaint for sexual abuse were also under investigation, as well as the disappearance of her brother from the zoo on July 22nd., 1987. This young boy, Christopher Joseph Pickus escaped and, terrified at the possibility that the Family could catch him up, went in hiding to San Juan, where he remained hidden and was considered as disappeared until August 2nd., 1994 when, being sent back by Judge Julio Campora, he returned to the USA.-
There was also the case of Brian Pickus (Abigail's step father and the father of Christopher), who in 1980 abducted his children from the Home where they lived with their mother, Candy Ann Clark, in the Honolulu County, an American State in Hawaii. In this case, the Supreme Court of Argentina ordered his capture to be extradited to the USA His extradition was funded on the crimes of house breaking and abduction and retention of minors.-
There was also a complaint filed against Cacho Sabatazo (Claire Borowich's ex boyfriend); another against Mario Torres. Both were charged with the crime of child's abuse.-
Another case I remember was the one filed in Rosario for deceiving the public credibility; there was another case in Cordoba for the same offence, as it was proved that the posters where the WS address was mentioned, were in fact the Family's and another one in Salta if I don't remember wrongly.-
Now you can see that, when the case passed on to the Federal Court, there were several crimes under investigation, not only the Frouman case.-
But I wouldn't be at all surprised if The Family was playing it long to gain time, all those advices on the best methods to evade the system and it laws are written at Mo's Letters. The Family believed that by returning two of the Frouman brothers and pretending that they did not know the whereabouts of the other two, would gain some time and would succeed in halting the investigation. Meanwhile, they sent the two children to Paraguay to hide them away. It is evident that they had neither a good discernment nor a "cheque" from the Lord.-
The logical thing to think was that they were not complying with God's will and that's the reason why God allowed The Family to suffer so much damage, to the point that they almost disappeared from Argentina.-
It was through Peter that we came to know that four months before her mother died, she was allowed to see her children, but not to take the away with her, by this they incurred in a flagrant violation of parental custody rights which the law grants to all parents with regards to their children under age (minors); this is why Peter accused The Family of "displaying an incredible lack of sensitivity and basic human decency in their handling of this case" (and I would add: Of so many other cases!)
In fact, it was only when the Family realised that they could find themselves in serious problems, that they decided to return the two elder brothers, aged 20 and 17 years old, allowing them to return to The family one year after, exactly as they were instructed to do.-
It is my belief, though I can't be certain of it, that the minors stayed two months at an open institution, waiting for the other two to be found or for The Family to return them in order for the four to be sent back to the USA. Clara B. and his stepfather, Baylin, promised to return the other two but, once the terms allowed to them by the Court finally fell due, the authorities went to Pilar looking for the other two minors, but The Family did not recognize Baylin nor the minors that were being looked for.-
If you want more precise information about this case, I'm in a position to suggest you to consult with Hugo Gabutti, who by then was in charge of the investigative work and doing everything possible and within his reach to get The Family to return the children and I can ascertain that on this he displayed his best efforts, used his own car, his time and his own money; fought against all types of adversities such as the lack of personnel, all sorts of difficulties and obstacle. Agreed, it was his duty but, he could have very well done what so many bureaucrats, employees and officials do, that is: exert the minimum possible effort, jus to justify his job, the time used and the money of their salary, to sum up: just do nothing and look anywhere else. If Gabutti were not the type of good, honest and efficient policeman, this case would have never be resolved and the Frouman brother would still be with The Family, being impossible for them to come out, because at a very early age, they would force them to have children of their own and get into the meat grinding machine.-
"After spending several months with their relatives, both of them decided not to return to The Family" If I may, here I would like to ask a question: These minors, who were denied to their parents, hidden and literally abducted, and as soon as they found the proper opportunity they "decided not to return to The Family", am I wrong in assuming that they have not had a good time there?
"The two youngest Frouman children remained in hiding in various countries in Latin America and were not allowed to have any communication with their US relatives" "Once again, The family waited months before even bothering to inform his younger brothers (who were still in The Family) that yet another one of their relatives had died" "The younger children were located and contact was re-established with their relatives only when The Family decided it was the right time to do so".-
Can we talk about religious persecution when so many crimes, offences and irregularities have been committed? Would The Family collaborated with the authorities as corresponded, not hiding information, providing a cover up and I dare to say: even patronizing the abduction and hiding away of the two younger minors and if they had returned ALL the children to their parents, the case would have been closed because it would have been only the case for the Minority Court, but the whole thing acquired notoriety when the other complaints were added and the "operational methods" of The Family became known.-
I'm sure that many innocent members of The Family suffered because of the wrongdoings of their leaders, but there are also a lot of them that were made at least accomplices of the crimes. BUT THIS, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES JUSTIFIES THE ABUSE ON THE PART OF THE AUTHORITIES, IF SUCH ABUSIVE TREATMENT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. PLEASE, DON'T TAKE ME WRONG.-
THE BLACK OCTOPUS
"They also had won over an intelligence agent. "The Black Octopus", who had been FFed., and who informed them of all the moves that were happening."
"Are you sure of this, Eduardo? If there was a "Black Octopus", he certainly didn't do a very good job, as the raids caught The Family totally by surprise"
Don't you forget Hart, the Black Octopus was discovered during a preliminary investigation, he was a policeman like Gabutti in what respects to his job. One of the hypothesis that tried to explain the fact that "La Ventana" magazine knew all that was related to the investigations, was that the "Black Octopus" uncovered everything known to him the minute that he was discovered. Lets not forget that everything was published just before the raids and the arrests, so it couldn't have taken The Family by surprise. Perhaps what happened was that they had been too confident that the VIP's they had befriended would solve all their problems and everything would end up in an "anticlimax".-
The "Black Octopus" wasn't the only one, there was also a so called "Tamborcito" ("Little Drum") who used to go for a barbeque and to drink "mate" with biscuits and a "Enano" (Dwarf). All of them had been in principle infiltrated and in the end, they did intelligence work for The Family. I do not know why are you so astonished as in Spain (at the Islands) the same thing happened.-
HUGO GABUTTI AND JUAN CARLOS REBOLLO
I'm happy to hear that. I still think Hugo is responsible for a certain amount, but if you assure me that he had nothing to do with the treatment that Family children, teens and adults suffered after the raids happened, that he did not even ADVISE Rebollo to treat them harshly, I would be happy to believe that Hugo is not responsible. I still need a lot of convincing, and as you know, I have asked Hugo a lot of questions in my original Open letter, which I would still like answers to. If I understand your correctly, you're saying that whatever abuse and maltreatment Family members suffered is as a result of the policies enforced by Inspector Rebollo? Can you tell me more about him? Or are there others involved as well? Obviously, someone is at fault. I heard recently on the Board that the Family has launched a lawsuit against the Argentine Police Department, so it appears that the Family themselves might know who are the responsible parties. Can Family members share any details?
I remember that Rebollo, contrary to Gabutti, was totally closed minded and prejudiced; he knew practically nothing about the case that he received without asking for it, what's more, he was mixed up and understood Mo as being Moon and talked about the Davidito Book and that the kids were like robots. He was given a list of all the things he had to do and how he was to proceed, the security measures to be taken and a lot of other things to which he never paid any >> attention.-
But we must bear in mind that once the judge took intervention and ordered the preventing arrest, the police as such did not have any decision powers. The Judges controlled all that happened after that,.-
Nothing of what happened at the Federal Court or the Penitentiary Service (Jail Guardians), had nothing at all to do with the police, it was out of their jurisdiction.-
One of the sisters also said to me that they ransacked her Home and some equipment was stolen; if something like that happened, they should have filed a complaint before the Court.-
I don't know if I have it right; it seems to me that The Family is claiming for that equipment. Is it true or I took you wrong? I have also seen a posting from a brother at the NDN site, praying for things in Argentina to be satisfactorily resolved.-
The only thing I remember about Rebollo is his first name and that he was the officer in charge of the El Tigre area.-
"I'm happy to hear you giving thanks to God for your recovery. When I was in >Argentina and asked you if you believed in God, you said 'No', so …………..
MY FAITH IN GOD
On this particular issue, I can say that I felt manipulated and dominated during such a long time that I almost couldn't believe that God ever existed. But now, after some time has passed and my injuries have finally been cured, I realised the great purposes of God in all these events. If we weren't alive these days, we wouldn't be able to see the miracle of the fast communication via e-mail, the blessing of internet and that instant knowledge was made available to everybody, acting like a catalytic for changes to happen at tremendous speed. That's the reason why I believe that God had a purpose for all that happened and that Hi was aiming at the salvation of a lot of people, those that finally left The Family, escaping from their oppression. On the other hand, these events also helped to force The Family to abandon all their most perverse practices and all these happened thanks to the blows they received both in ARGENTINA, Australia, Spain, France, England and in all the other places where the battle was fought; it also helped those still inside, for them to receive a more humane treatment and an improvement in their living conditions and, if what's being said is >> the truth, also more freedom.-
Whenever I think about my time with The family, I remember that I was attracted to them by their faith in Jesus, the time dedicated to praise the Lord, their songs and our expeditions to preach the Good News, but little by little everything became less clear and in my opinion they started to love the creatures more that heir Creator. In the first place, they excessively praised the prophets and showed an unconditional submission to the leaders, "obeying them as if they were God Himself"; they also gave too much credit to the devil, though it is good to believe in the existence of Satan and that we should never ignore His artifices, it is wrong to assume that his presence is felt in everything that happens and is contrary to our wishes. The (The Family) also filled us up with hate to the system, to our parents, the education that we received and they said that we were to set up the foundations of a new Nation but that we were our worst enemy as well as our spirit of pride, murmuring, doubts, anxiety and gluttony, to sum up, everything had its spirit and we lived terrified because of that. As an example I can mention Asrhaf or the "Chinese Spirits", the terror we felt when we couldn't collect enough money for the tithe on every 25th. day of each month and receive Sheba Bear punishment who, according with Mo, was killed because of that reason.-
I remember when Tim forsook his wife Deb, his children and Raquel's team to go and be aservant at Dad's Home. It was then that Mo coined the term "motorway spirits", because Tim kept some pictures of his children, just to give them a look from time to time and pray for them. Because of that he was blamed for Davidito's problem, which consisted on wetting his bed, instead of acknowledging that the disorder was a direct consequence of the abuse to which the poor boy was subjected.-
I also remember when we read the series about Gene, having seen the retouched pictures to give him a demoniac and sinister appearance and all that because of the "sin" of trying to protect his epileptic son. With all these new revelations, new prohibitions started to be established together with new rules and superstitions and the always present fear of doing something not liked by Dad. This is what happened to poor Keda, just because she dared to say: "Dad, we are ANXIOUS for your words!" And beating her with a stick exorcised her! Just because of that! Don't you remember it, Hart?
Now I was able to combine faith with my reasoning. I know that God will never ask me to do such crazy things and that "Grater is He who stays with us than that one that stays with the world". Also that we shouldn't be so traumatised and anxious by the devil because this is how we finish up praising Satan's doings that God's. I don't care any more about the countries' "goddesses" and gods. I don't believe any more that we must go to bed with them because, if they in any way exist, are only demons.-
I also believe that the Holy Spirit is a lot more comforting and exiting that the devil's doings…
My ministry today consists in denouncing all those merchants of faith, that deceive and deviate people from the right way. "Nevertheless, there were also false prophets among the people, as there shall also be false teachers among you. They, themselves shall silently introduce destructive sects and shall repudiate even the lord that bought them, bringing upon them an accelerated destruction"
(2 PETER 2:1 – NEW WORLD TRANSLATION OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES).-
I have simplified all this a lot for your benefit. To have it all so clear in my mind, was a long process that took years of my life but it is my hope that I have answered your question.-
With Lots of Love,

Eduardo.-