All are agreed and there is no issue about the fact that the very young children receive a wholly satisfactory education. In my judgment, The Family are entitled to greater credit than just that. I find that the young develop their reading, writing and arithmetic skills at an earlier age than their contemporaries outside the communities. Moreover, I am satisfied by the evidence of MM, that there is a very wide variety of games, activities, arts and crafts gathered together in the "activity books", which would stimulate as well as entertain the young.
It follows that I have no qualms about the education S has probably already begun to receive and the education he is likely to receive over the next several years of his life.
The education of the children at a secondary school level is quite different. The case against The Family is summarised by one of its recent defectors, JG who expressed his concern in these terms:-
"Children suffer - you grow up in a one way street with no other thought of anything else to do except to be a missionary."
I must bear that evidence in mind when looking at the isolation of the children within The Family. I must also bear in mind the evidence of another defector, SC, that though life is geared to being a missionary, The Family "seem to be working on it (education) a lot more."
The crucial question for my decision is whether they are working on it hard enough. Their own expert witness Doctor Millikan is "not without some reservations concerning the education of the children above the primary school level." He accepted findings of Doctor Watson-Munro in Victoria, Australia who formed the opinion that the children were well adjusted and well educated but:
"His only reservation (which was not a serious one) was similar to my own, that the educational environment was less than full. For the teens, the educational materials available are limited to a narrow band of publications emerging from fundamentalist, creationist framework although it must be said that there is a concerted attempt within The Family to address this situation. They are at an early stage in developing educational materials for this age range. They are in a sense growing up as a movement with their children and what I observe is a change to greater diversity in the education."
I am satisfied that the strident strictures in the early "You are what you read" and "Book Burning" letters are not rigorously enforced and nor rigorously observed by the young. Perhaps they never have been. Berg may have sounded off in "The Advantages of Having Children" (May 1978) that:
"Much of that expensive Montessori junk is not even worth putting in your house". ... Stick to the New Testament and the Mo Letters and teach the children at home. Take the children litnessing take the children provisioning in every single home. Then the kids will be getting the best school possible every day".
MM endeavoured to teach by Montessori methods. SC used to go to the library when he was at the teen school at Wantage. The bookshelves at the Ward's home have books from the local library upon them. I am, however, equally satisfied that the children are not wholly free to pursue their intellectual interests as they wish. The education now seems based around "Program Studies" being prepared by the Christian Vocational College. The most cursory glance at it will reveal the heavy reliance placed on The Family literature for teaching over the whole range of the syllabus, from history and geography to current affairs and physical education. This is less than satisfactory. There is a dearth of good literature available. EM a childcare expert in the family, told me that there was a wide range of books that were available in the homes but when pressed, and pressed again, she could not recall a single title. Some material is absolutely prohibited. I can understand that Darwin's "Origin of the Species" might be proscribed material but I confess to being less able to understand what untold harm Greek mythology might do. In such a narrow environment an enquiring mind suffers:-
(a) because the material to broaden it is not readily available and in some aspects is not available at all.
(b) because generally speaking, enquiries are frowned upon on the basis that curiosity is the product of a doubting mind and doubt allows the Devil to take it over.
I am satisfied, however, that there is an awareness, which I find to be a growing awareness, that studying for public examination is permissible, indeed advantageous, but at the moment any such public participation takes place within a very narrow compass, if it takes place at all. The movement towards it may be strongest in America but there is evidence of it beginning to happen in this country. LA and VB and JL, spoke of this development with varying degree of enthusiasm, which I have to treat with caution in the light of the heavy emphasis The Family place upon the deficiencies they perceive elsewhere in state education. For example, MM was insistent on exhibiting to her affidavit an inordinate number of press cuttings reporting one school disaster after another or one educational failing after another in "system" schools. JL's antipathy seemed to stem from a murder at the school attended by her sister's children. They use these examples is to condemn secular education. It is not the most rational approach. I am far from accepting that "system" education is perfect - it never can be - but the leadership should not allow their judgment of what is best for their children's rounded education to be clouded by the exaggerations of the Traumatic Testimonies.
I have to accept that parents within The Family are entitled to educate their children at home. It is necessary, therefore, to see how well they are doing it. I have the benefit of a report of the Local Authority who conducted an investigation at my direction pursuant to Section 37 of the Children Act 1989. As part of that investigation officers of the Local Education Authority visited The Family for one school day. They reported as follows:-
"The educational activities are planned with reference to a defined, carefully structured and sequential programme of work that is used in all Family homes. Content is detailed for each identified level of ability and strongly reflects the religious and moral beliefs of The Family. Extensive guidance is provided for the adults who use the programme. Assessment and recording are built into the programme based on the six week marking period. Accomplishment sheets are maintained for each child for each period with accumulative record sheets also being maintained. Regular reports are made to parents of the children. The records were conscientiously maintained although the YC (young child) group had less in the way of documented records due to the recent changes in adults assigned to them. The teaching staff employed laid emphasis on children working under the close directional instruction of the adult. However, the small teaching groups enabled a great deal of discussion, questioning and flexibility so children had the opportunity to follow particular interests within the parameters set by the adults. Work with the teens laid more emphasis on independent enquiry although the sources and reference material provided are carefully defined in order to reflect the values and beliefs of The Family. Opportunities were being taken to make use of learning opportunities provided in the community and one of the teens had recently attended at a local education authority maintained community college on food hygiene. In discussion the adults responsible for the teaching all expressed interest in the children taking up the new opportunities that are being developed for external certification/qualification. The Family are interested in extending their knowledge of general national, vocational qualifications as a means of adding 'substance' to their own internal qualifications....There is an extensive collection of books and videos to support teaching and learning that are located in the various parts of the house used as teaching bases. There are many sets of encyclopaedias and BEKA books available. These tend to promote views and values that are consistent with those of The Family. The variety of other books is similarly controlled and early reading materials were concentrated on one rather dated scheme. The children are given the opportunity to use several public libraries and are guided in their choice of reading material. The rooms and furniture used for teaching purposes were all suitable for the range of activities that were being undertaken. Information technology resources are extensive and suitable software is available for all the children with data bases for the retrieval of factual information, word processing facilities and drill work/games for basic numeracy and literacy all being used during the time of the review. Resources for imaginative play were less in evidence in the teaching areas and there were few facilities for practical science enquiry or to support investigative work in mathematics and technology for the younger pupils. The extensive opportunities afforded by the large grounds for physical and recreational activities have been recognised.....The standards of work and achievement that the review observed were in line with norms expected for the age and ability of the children. In particular the children demonstrated good standards in oracy, numeracy and literacy, and their attitudes, behaviour and relationships both with the adults that taught them and with each other were excellent. The older children were able to work without close supervision, whilst the OC/JETT group gave an excellent example of co-operative and collaborative work which also demonstrated the ability to evaluate, modify and polish their own work and progress. The children were encouraged to question, to think and to find out for themselves, although this operated clearly within the values, beliefs and principles aspired by The Family. Adults took their tasks seriously and were concerned to discharge their responsibilities effectively. The use of praise was particularly evident in all the groups observed."
Their conclusion was that:
"From the review undertaken, the review team are of the opinion that the education provided:-
/ is undertaken within the strong and explicit framework of values and principles aspired by The Family;
/ is based on a strong relationship between adults and learners in a controlled safe and secure environment;
/ next, whilst there may be concerns about the effect on the children in the long term of being isolated to some degree from a wider community, nevertheless on a day to day basis the education provided offers activities that are broadly suited to the age, ability and aptitude of the children and which enabled the children to achieve standards that are satisfactory or better."
That report was prepared in November 1993. It seems that a year later further visits were made. This further report stated the following:-
"The curriculum followed is one that is prescribed for all Family homes, is American in origin and extensively documented. It lays heavy emphasis on the basic skills of numeracy and literacy through set and structured programmes of work in reading, language, arts and mathematics. There are other programmes in modern foreign languages, science, art, music, Bible reading, social studies, geography, history, health and physical education. The curriculum is also influenced by the national curriculum. The adults have consulted the recent draft proposals made following the Dearing Review into the National Curriculum and expressed interest in any support and advice the local education authority might be able to offer.....The range of the curriculum is broad and balanced in most respects. The teaching of art is confined mostly to colouring and drawing. To a certain extent science lacks coherence and the adults recognise the need to include more practical and investigative work....All the adults take their responsibility seriously and appear to be keen to do their best for the children".
The Inspector observed the secondary age pupils and reported this:-
"During the morning of the visit, the four children worked under the supervision of LA who had planned a number of different activities. The pupils participated well in a discussion on violence on television (stimulated by newspaper articles) and produced a short written summary of their opinions. The children went on to discuss the dramatisation of a story and, despite the age differences, all children participated and were involved in the task. The children talked about other activities and projects and performed an impromptu song followed by a dance. From the evidence in portfolios of work, science is more investigative than practical, but information technology skills were well developed. The children were following a course book for GCSE mathematics and extend their work by using a bank of activity stored on computer software."
Of the primary age pupils, the report observed that:-
"All the pupils were achieving at least standards that would be expected nationally of pupils their age and beyond. The pupils were keen and eager to participate and clearly enjoyed the activities. They were attentive throughout the session, responded well to challenge of the tasks and related well to each other and to the teacher. The session had good pace, AG clearly enjoying her role and had planned and prepared the material well and took into account the differing ability of the children. She was clear and precise in her instructions, developed the learning points well, praised and encouraged the children as they responded and was firm when necessary."
There was a second group of younger children working under LA:-
"The session began with handwriting practice. Standard of control and letter formation was at the level expected nationally and all the children could write in a fluent classic style....The two boys in particular were very contributive; they showed a wide range of general knowledge and drew on other learning to add to the discussion."
Of the resources the report said:-
"The range of resources to support teaching and learning is adequate. There is an extensive range of video material that links to the curriculum programme together with recorded wild life programmes. There is an adequate range of books and reference material, most of which reflect closely the religious views and values of The Family. A range of musical instruments is available, although equipment for science was less in evidence. A wide range of appropriate books relating to the national curriculum had been purchased from booksellers for use with younger children. A more than adequate number of computers and software is available.
Contacts and links with the local and wider community: Although children from the village visit the home, most friendships are within The Family. However contact outside the home is achieved through a variety of activity. Some of the older children give musical entertainment in other towns and some have performed in the recent Diwali celebrations in Leicester. The older girls have been to the local primary school to watch the teachers as a 'pre-vocational' part of their education. Some work has begun on looking at formal creditation for the education provided and one of the adult helpers has recently completed a 'clait' course in IT. The police have also been approached to run a cycling proficiency course and the local vicar is a regular visitor to the home.
Conclusion
The standard of work and achievement seen during the course of the visits is in line with the national expectations for the ages and abilities of the children. Standards in the key skills of literacy and numeracy meet those expected nationally with some children achieving beyond. The curriculum is close structured, clearly organised and the adults work in close co-operation with each other. In many ways the arrangement is that of a small private school with a particular religious emphasis. Most of the children seen were open, they relate well to each other and to the adults who teach them and are only too happy to talk about themselves and their work. The adults welcome the visits. They were at ease and open in all the discussions; they were happy to articulate their philosophy and appeared eager to seek ways to extend the quality of what they were doing. From the range of evidence available the educational needs of the children are being met."
I accept those findings.
So far as tertiary education is concerned, I do not recall evidence of any child who has gone on to further education. Peter Amsterdam wrote to me:-
"It is likely that the pursuit of extended post-secondary educational qualifications will entail temporarily stepping out of D.O. status. It would be very difficult for a home to provide the necessary resources to facilitate such courses of education. The development of the TS programme should make this option far more readily available and acceptable to those who wish to pursue it".
Those who did would labour under a disadvantage because they do not have the necessary grades at GCSE or at A level. From the observation of those who have left The Family but wished to pursue further education, I was left in little doubt that they have the ability but struggle to catch up with the formal requirements for entry to University. Many of the adults have had the benefits of that further education themselves but the very fact they are not able nor willing to permit this privilege to their children is an indication still of their conviction that the essential training is for the End-time and that the end is nigh. It is a limitation on the full development of the child. I shall turn to the implications of this for S when I reach the concluding part of my judgment.
This is an important topic. I must deal with a number of areas of concern, covering such matters as the emotional pressure to conform and to remain faithful; the loss of identity, self esteem and self respect and loss of freedom; isolation from the community and from the natural family and so forth. These are all matters particularly affecting the JETTS and teens. The JETTS are the 11-13 year old group, the junior teens are 14 and 15, the senior teen 16 and 17 and the Experimental Adults are the 18-20 year olds.
Although some of the early members of the group would have brought their children with them, it was not until about 1985 that World Services appeared to have become concerned about the problem confronting the teenage children who had been born into the movement and grown up within the movement. I must therefore consider the last decade or so of The Family's life. I shall endeavour to set out the developments chronologically and to correlate what was happening generally with what was happening to the children in this country over the past 5 years. To set that scene, I remind myself of the background against which these events were taking place. In particular:-
1 Early members were drawn from the hippy community. They were the drop-outs from a society whose religious, moral, social and political values they scorned and rejected. The message David Berg preached gave their life meaning and gave them hope. It was a 'revolutionary' message with the plain intent of overthrowing a secular order imposed by a system in the hands of Satan. Contact with the system was, therefore, contact with the Enemy. Fraternising with the enemy was punishable by God. As an example of what befell those who ceased to be members, the letter 'IRFers Beware: If you fail to tithe, God will take a collection!" written in February 1988 told the story of a former member who was raped and murdered because she had lapsed. The message of the letter was:-
"So it looks to me more like she may have reaped what she sowed and got what she deserved rather than died as a martyr.. I just don't believe God would let something like that happen to one of his absolutely dedicated wholehearted 100% full time servants or handmaidens if they were serving the Lord full time sincerely or doing the best they can to support God's works".
2. The metaphor of an army was frequently and powerfully deployed. It served to reinforce the messages of the paramount need for obedience and loyalty and also the draconian penalties, always imposed for mutiny and desertion.
3. Since the early days in the 1970's when influential parents of a young convert brought the Children of God to the attention of Governor Ronald Reagan and to the media, the movement has lived under the sword of persecution. Persecution drove David Berg into hiding; persecution drove them from Tenerife; persecution led to their retreat to the Philippines. To counter persecution, the movement resorted to secrecy. They used the word "Selah" for all things that were secret. In 1976, 'Gotcher Flee Bag' gave advice on how important it was to carry the few vital possessions one needed to make a quick escape. The Family literature was kept in a trunk and systems were imposed to ensure that its precious secret (which is a euphemism for incriminating) contents could be removed before the authorities could lay hands on them. I heard evidence of raids by the police in India and I am not in doubt about the intense security precautions that perforce were considered to be essential.
4. What bound the movement together was a religious fervour. They believed - so far as I know they still believe - that the End-time is at hand (even if some deadlines have passed!) The message that was preached and received was that one chose the prospect of eternal salvation or faced the certainty of eternal damnation. It is a message of all or nothing. An inevitable consequence in logic and on Biblical authority was to 'forsake all'. This call has been made from the earliest days of the movement. In 1972 in the 'One Wife' letter, Berg wrote about God being:-
"In the business of breaking up little selfish private worldly families to make of their yielded broken pieces a larger unit of one Family....don't forget this means your children also. If you love your flesh and blood children more than you love God's children of God's Family, then you really haven't come to the realisation of what God's Family is all about."
As recently as March 1993 Maria wrote to a leader who was having 'some trials over the fact that she and her children often had to be apart because of her work'. Maria said:-
"It makes your heart ache because it is so difficult for them to understand why they can't be with you or you with them. We feel terrible when our children have difficulties and we can't do anything to prevent it, we can only pray for them. But often it seems to me that this is part of our (and their) forsaking all for Him and His Work - forsaking mothers and fathers and children so we can put His Work first - and our children having forsaken their mothers and fathers for the very high privilege of being a member of his family."
So much for the ethos of The Family. In dealing with its more recent history as World Services presented it to me, I note how after RNR in 1978 The Family was driven underground by the 'anti-cult hysteria' following the Jonestown tragedy "with the media fuelling the public's outrage and fears, extreme prejudice and animosity towards new religious movements were the order of the day." Berg's response was to scatter The Family into smaller communities because:-
"Sometimes one of the smartest things you can do is to make your enemy think he has won! Make him think he has accomplished his purpose. When their target disappears they've got nothing to shoot at! The game is over and the enemy feels like, 'well, we accomplished our purpose!' (from Furlougher Backslider- or Supporter? July 1979)."
The Family were urged to begin their mobile ministry and became fragmented. They did not die. Indeed they spectacularly exploited the media through their broadcasting of their message through tapes and videos created by Music with Meaning. The circulation of the videos brought The Family together again. By 1983 many had returned to co-operative living especially as The Family continued its migration south and east. World services and Berg himself established a headquarters in the Philippines. It was there that MB joined them at the end of 1983. In 1984 The Family had to endure the unfavourable publicity of Deborah Davis, Berg's daughter, publishing her revelations about the inside story of life within The Family. In 1985 MB would have been 13 years old and Davidito 10. As I have already set out, The Family were already beginning to cope with the difficulties of adolescence about which Berg had written his 'Early Teens' letter. 1986 saw the gathering of the teens mostly aged 12 to 14 at the Mexican TTC. The Family says it then learnt of some of the sexual exploitation of these children. This had been revealed by the confessions made by the children through some early form of Open Heart Report (OHR). As larger teen homes operating virtually as 'high schools' began to develop through 1987, The Family became aware of the diverse activities, practices and disciplinary standards that were applied throughout the movement. Berg and his household were becoming aware of the difficulties which MB was undergoing. This section on emotional and psychological abuse must, once again, start with MB.
Her father had died when she was a toddler. Whether his death was suicide or an accident, is by no means clear: there are some strong indications that he took his own life. Her mother, Shula, was 'mated' with Andy Irwin. They had a child Adonis. MB had no contact with other half brothers and sisters. At an early age she was removed from her mother and was in the care of her grandmother, Mother Eve, Berg's wife. Her first knowledge of sex and her first sexual encounter came during that time with her grandmother. After some years it was a shock to her to see her mother and Adonis again and there was an unfortunate encounter as mother and grandmother struggled almost literally for her possession. The mother won. A few years later aged 9 she joined Music with Meaning in Greece. As I have already set out, it was there that she was filmed and abused. Berg must have known it for he would have seen the videos. In the history before 1980 it is acknowledged that 'these unique circumstances (in MWM) fostered a unique liberal sexual climate as well.' Berg must have known about that as well. In the last state Sara records:-
"At only 9 and 10 years old she freely watched adult videos, plus she was showered with attention by many of the men there which caused her to have an extremely high opinion of herself and this became of major importance to her."
Then, at the age of about 11½ she was sent to her Grandfather's compound in the Philippines. She met him in December 1983. She was completely overwhelmed by him. He looked like the prophet of God for the End-Time which she truly believed him to be. She told me in evidence that she had 'utter respect, fear and terror, love and adoration for him and because he was my grandfather, I also had more sentimental feelings for him.' That state of veneration did not last. As the months and years went by, his feet of clay were revealed. He drank too much, as is acknowledged in 'The Last State'. His language was coarse. He publicly fondled women in his household. He called upon them for sexual comforts. He made prophecies which did not come true. He was contradictory. He began to request MB to 'share' with men, for example her step-father Angel a Leader in the public relations section. Eventually he abused her and he manually ruptured her hymen. She became filled with doubt. That was hardly surprising. The confession of these doubts to Sara was at first sympathetically dealt with although Sara was driven to warn MB that doubting let the Devil in. She believed it. She believed in Satan. She feared him. But they were always encouraged to confess whatever was bothering them and MB was under a compulsion to make admissions even if, in the beginning at least, only partial admissions. When she was about 14, she again started recording her thoughts. She was again at first treated sympathetically by Sara, Maria and Peter Amstersdam. I accept that evidence. Milk of human kindness does flow through their veins and I must not forget it. By now MB was beginning to doubt. It seems common ground that she believed she was seeing devils and she complained that they were attacking her sexually. She expressed violent anger towards her grandfather. JC spoke of reports that she was trying to stick scissors up her vagina. On many an occasion I have had psychiatrists tell me that sexualised behaviour is often displayed by those who have been sexually abused. That thought did not cross The Family's mind or if it did they ignored it. They made the diagnosis of spiritual problems and treated her accordingly. I have dealt with the errors in diagnosis and treatment already. I will not have conveyed fully the tremendous pressure they put this young child under. There was not then and nor is there now any appreciation at all by The Family of the torment inflicted on this child. They urged confession upon her. She was obedient by nature. She confessed. She wanted to confess her doubts because doubts let the Devil in and she was afraid of Satan. She wanted to be right with God. The Family was all she knew. The Family was all she had. She wanted their approval. Sara recounts:-
"A year and a half after the teen training programme and when the searchers and other ambassador leadership were here, MB finally, after much probing, further shared some of the devil and witchcraft she had been deeply involved in and by that time she had almost stopped believing in the word and was doubting her salvation. The leadership here talked and prayed and exorcised her several times.. After 2 months and five major exorcisms over her, MB began to improve on a slow day to day basis. She was totally immersed in the word full time with top leadership reading aloud along with her to keep her mind and mouth and eyes and ears occupied and for a constant infilling of the Holy Spirit. Eventually she was nearly completely healed even of this constant mental and spiritual warfare of the Enemy and even these horrible pictures, which were now gradually fading away. Jesus never failed, as every time we prayed over her, even 50 times day, the Lord's mighty power would overcome and put a stop to this evil."
I have also set out how MB was beaten by her grandfather, slapped or 'swatted' by Peter Amsterdam and by others. MB told me. "It was humiliating because these people were important to me."
In my judgment what MB went through was a form of torture. To describe her ordeal, as it is portrayed to The Family in the 'False Accusers in the Last Days' letter published in January 1993, as being no more than a 'stiff stern talk with a little spank and a shaking' is, I find a travesty of the truth which is elsewhere recorded in their own documents. My findings will no doubt be rejected by The Family because, as they write in the same document, 'Spiritual truths (are) incomprehensible to flatlanders'. As a System judge, I am an archetypal flatlander.
MB's punishment was to be sent to Macau in mid 1987. Macau was a Teens Detention Camp. The Family prefer to call it a camp for Determined Teens, determined, that is to make change. I have no doubt it was more a case of The Family determined to change the Teens. It is difficult to be certain of the chronology of developing ideas for controlling the young, sometimes bored, disaffected, disobedient adolescents. It seems likely that ideas grew from Sara's experience with her group including MB, Davidito and Techi to a bigger grouping in the Philippines called the Jumbo.
