It’s been difficult these last few years not to become anti-american, to judge the US by the actions of its government, to not let the stupidity and venality of a minority (I hope) of its citizens sour me on the country as a whole. Articles like this two part series in the Observer don’t help, because they confirm all the stereotypes of Americans I’ve been tempted to believe lately, that y’all are halfway on your way to fascism and happy with it:
Were you to glance up from the deserted beach below, you might mistake Tranquility Bay for a rather exclusive hotel. The statuesque white property stands all alone on a sandy curve of southern Jamaica, feathered by palm trees, gazing out across the Caribbean Sea. You would have to look closer to see the guards at the wall. Inside, 250 foreign children are locked up. Almost all are American, but though kept prisoner, they were not sent here by a court of law. Their parents paid to have them kidnapped and flown here against their will, to be incarcerated for up to three years, sometimes even longer. They will not be released until they are judged to be respectful, polite and obedient enough to rejoin their families.
The last Resort, part I
The last Resort, part II
The first article goes on to describe the routine inside Tranquility Bay, how the children are treated, e.g. how they get to it in the first place:
The first most teenagers hear of Tranquility is therefore when they are woken from their beds at home at 4am by guards, who place them in a van, handcuffed if necessary, drive them to an airport and fly them to Jamaica. The child will not be allowed to speak to his or her parents for up to six months, or see them for up to a year.
The second article follows up with interviews with some of the people involved: staff, parents and the children itself.
Susie is 16, from New York, and here ‘because of having sex. Not going to school. It was my attitude. It wasn’t, like, drugs. The problem was, me and my mom, we just didn’t have a relationship. We could say how was your day, that was about it.’ The possibility that this was a normal phase is adamantly rejected by Susie.
‘No, that wasn’t normal. I would be doing the same thing all my life. I would never have got out of it.’ Her friend Michelle believes, ‘I’d be living on the streets now. And I think one of the biggest things I’ve learnt here is that everything happens for a reason. I came here for a reason. You see, I just wasn’t meant to be living the life I was living. I wasn’t meant to be homeless.’
What emerges from these articles is a picture of what I could only call a re-education camp; it would fit right in with current practises in North Korea. There’s the isolation from society, the constant supervision, the emotional abuse and breakdown of personality, the brainwashing by constant repetition, the punishement for unwanted behaviour and thoughts culminating in a “rewiring” (as they call it
themselves) of the children’s personality. Can you imagine sending your children there? Yet the article asserts it’s legal in the US and would be legal in the UK as well…
UPDATE: Long Story, Short Pier has more about this, including eye witness reports of survivors.
Found via PolitX, an excellent (UK) political blog.
No Comments