FAMILY UPDATE NEWS #6--Special Argentine Update--September, 1993 DO

"Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me." (Ps.35:1--The whole Psalm is very inspiring!)

         Recent media storms have delayed our getting the FUN out to you. Lots more news is coming your way soon, D.V., but with the World focused on Argentina right now, we wanted to get the following update to you immediately.

Background of Persecution in Buenos Aires, Argentina:

"Beware of Dogs"
         In July backsliders Ed Priebe ("Hart"), Richard Dupuy ("Watchman"), Miriam Padilla (Bolivar), and Abigail Berry (a 20-year-old now claiming to have been raped as a teen, however she herself denied this in 1989, when she testified under oath to the Argentine Federal Court that she had in no way been abused in the Family), visited Argentina to stir up trouble for the Family. British press reported that ex-Members went first to the Catholic Information Center and the Catholic Bishops Conference in Argentina to get their help in pressuring the government to attack us. (Interestingly enough, after the raid the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Antonio Quarracino, proposed that the Catholic Church take the children who were "liberated"!) (See Press Release #9, "Testimony of Ex-Members is Unreliable".) They gave authorities copies of dance videos that Priebe had stolen from a storage facility in the Philippines, and other videos that were possibly obtained from ex-members. The videos have clips of some children doing innocent "houris" type dances. This type of video was banned and ordered erased long ago. (See PR#3, "Religious Group Disclaims Reports of Child-Sex Videos" and PR#4, "No Traces of Sexual Abuse Found in Religious Group's Children".)

Five Homes Raided
         On September 1, at 2:00 a.m., Police Commissioner Carlos Rebollo launched a raid on five D.O. Family Homes, including the Training Center. Also raided were a few non-D.O. Homes, including Sara (59 years old), the mother of a disciple who put up such a fight that they thought she was a Family leader! They locked her and seven other women in a tiny (2.2 x 2.1 meter) cell that had only one filthy mattress, one blanket, no ventilation and no toilet. Her lawyer said the cell looked more like a dungeon than a cell. Two Family women were with her. Sara has now been released for lack of evidence. An Argentine Government Official was visiting Sara at the time of the raid, so they took him in as well. The raids were requested by Buenos Aires Judge Roberto Marquevich of San Isidro. (Please pray for this judge's removal from the case.) He said U.S. and Canadian embassies had asked him to investigate kidnapping charges.

Police Action
         The police were not as brutal or violent as in France, but they were still verbally abusive and terrorised the children, breaking in with machine guns, which they pointed at them. Family Members testify that police officers also stole their belongings. The Family were only able to take the clothes they were wearing, and no personal possessions. The State insitutions didn't provide the children with enough blankets, so they had to huddle together under the dirty ones they were given. (Thank the Lord, these conditions soon changed, in answer to prayer!)
         Police took photos and later gave them to journalists to make it look like reporters were present. Only one Home was allowed to call their lawyer. One policewoman taunted during the raid, "You think you're the children of God, well, the children of the Devil are going to take your worldly possessions away from you!"

Close to 200 Taken
         Thirty-nine adults and over one hundred children were taken into custody. Newpapers say 19 different nationalities were involved, including Americans, Canadians, Spaniards, French, and one each from Germany, Norway, Greece, Ireland, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Venezuela, plus Argentines and their children. (See PR#1, "Missionaries Denounce Argentine Police Raids" and PR#2, "Family Members Freed in Argentina".) Thank the Lord, 21 of the adults and YAs taken into custody have now been released from prison, but they are not allowed to return to their Homes.
The Charges
         Prosecutor Carlos Villafuerte announced "finding" several (280) pornographic videos (obviously planted!) as well as pornographic literature. He said he will try to prove that the Family runs a global child-sex network. Other of their ridiculous charges include: racketeering, rape, involuntary servitude (slavery), kidnapping, sodomy (which some Catholic publications call oral sex), sexual and physical abuse, incest, forced prostitution (see PR#6, "Charges of Prostitution Are Groundless"), child pornography and violation of children's human rights.
        Further investigation by Argentine Supreme Court forensic experts found no evidence of sexual abuse in all 137 children examined. However, prosecutor Villafuerte said he had enough "other evidence" and hoped the psychological evaluations "would turn out to be more relevant." Please pray for some honest doctors, as claims are now being made that though "rape" can't be proven, they are trying to say some of our children have "sexual wounds". A spokesman for the medical team of forensic experts assigned by the Supreme Court to examine the children disputes Judge Marquevich's claims that the children bore any wounds indicative of sexual abuse. No kind of questionable lesion that would confirm a sexual violation was found. (See PR#15, "Argentine Forensic Experts Dispute Judge's Claims".) However, these children have been examined again by a new team of doctors and were handled very roughly and even yelled at. The prosecution must be desperate! (See PR#4, "No Traces of Sexual Abuse Found in Religious Group's Children" and PR#8, "Psychologists and Courts Find Family's Children Psychologically Sound".)

The Media Storm Begins!
         In the days that followed the raids, lack of evidence did not stop reporters from quoting wild rumours, ranging from "Satanic rituals" and "salvation-for-sex" (source: CAN) to child sex and selling "secret" videos to rich businessmen (source: Edouardo Lausse, an Argentine backslider, whose Bible name was "Benjamin Amor", who was interviewed on Spanish CNN.) Jose Maria Baamonde, head of SPES Foundation (the equivalent of CAN in Argentina) was also quoted, and even ex-Member Ruth Ellen McKee/Frouman, who died two years ago, was quoted as though she were alive, making kidnapping charges and demanding the Family return her children.

Backsliders Get on the Bandwagon
         Detractors in the U.S.A. like Gail Sherman ("Bithia Masseuse", an enemy who, along with others, is currently forbidden by a restraining order issued in California from bothering us in person), Ian and Marie Christine Haworth (U.K. anti-cult group FAIR ), Joyanne Treadwell ("Little Joy"), Samuel Ajemian ("Zac the Greek"), Koa Spencer (now working with our enemies, claiming abuse), Ruth Gordon ("Ruth Selah"), Asa Matian, Daniel and Robin Welsh ("Samson Warner" and his wife "Mercy") and others have been very active in fighting the Family.

CAN Remains Canny!
         In an otherwise negative article, the Los Angeles Times quoted Priscilla Coates, chairwoman of CAN's Los Angeles affiliate, who denied they were behind the Argentine raids. She also said there was no evidence of any sexual abuse by the Family in Southern California. (See PR#7, "CAN Official Concedes No Child Abuse in Family Communities".) A letter to the L.A. Times editor from one irate subscriber blasted the paper for the article against us and said, "You spilled the beans ... when you revealed the source of your information as the Cult Awareness Network (CAN.) CAN is a paid offshoot of the Jewish, Anti-defamation League (ADL.) Their charter is to destroy non-Jewish religious separatists. CAN `advised' the FBI before its slaughter of the Branch Davidians. As a CAN spokesperson later admitted, the outcome of the Waco tragedy was a success by CAN standards. CAN is now persecuting the American branches of the Family and will persecute any Christian separatist group. You should investigate why government agencies allow themselves to be manipulated (even so far as to killing the Davidians and the family of Randy Weaver) by clearly religiously biased non-government secret societies like the ADL and CAN."

The Family Mobilizes and Fights Back!
         Family Members around the World flew into action and fought back with a fury, and a round of Family Press Releases hit the press to expose the lies. The media exploded around the World, especially in the U.K. and U.S.A. In the U.K., Family spokespersons Gideon and Rachel Scott were inundated by reporters. A point of interest is that the September 4th edition of the Daily Mail (U.K.) reported that Michael Hames (48), the head of Scotland Yard's Obscene Publications branch, who was leading the investigation against the Family in Britain had a heart attack and was hospitalised, hampering the investigation.
        Frontline Family Members in the U.S. and elsewhere have taken up the torch and punched through with good rebuttals, in spite of some very heavy editing and slanted coverage by the media. Gordon Melton (World-renowned expert on new religions) as well as many other professionals rallied in support of us, but many good interviews were blocked by biased media. The Family worldwide geared up for picketing and protesting in front of Argentine embassies and consulates around the World, decrying the Gestapo-like raids. (See PR#5, "Noted Religious Scholar Denounces Raids in Argentina" and PR #10, "Expert Says The Family is the Object of a Relentless Misinformation Campaign".)
         Eighteen Family adults remain in custody, while the rest (mostly YAs and singles) have been released. Some mothers have been permitted to stay close by their children who are four years old and under. (However, recent news reveals that Flor, a mother of four still in jail, has been separated from her children, one of them being a five month old baby. Her husband, who is not detained, has not been able to locate their children. Please pray for them.)
         Titus and Charity delivered a powerful appeal on Argentine government-owned TV (Sept.8), but police came and arrested them at the end of the show! Studio people and reporters were greatly upset by this heavy-handed treatment, and consequently the media coverage swung more in our favour.
         Around the World, Argentine cultural, business and government facilities felt the sting of Family ire as sign-packing Family picketers and telephone protesters descended upon them. From the moment he stepped off the plane on a visit to Brazil, Argentine President Menem knew the Family was not pleased, as our protesters followed him almost everywhere!         Our Family in Argentina is fighting back, though the deck appears to be stacked against us and the legal system there is very corrupt, Judge Marquevich in particular. He is a federal judge and questions of custody are not even in his jurisdiction. There are a lot of legal irregularities and much manipulation is going on, such as misquoting and distorting the reports of the forensic doctors who examined our children. The Family in Argentina is working on finding more good lawyers. Please pray they get the best! The situation is still tense, since the police seem to want to arrest all the Family Members they can.
         Please pray against CAN influences in the U.S. State Department.

Officials Fear The Truth Getting Out
         It seems the people who work in the Argentine institutions where they have our Family Members in custody have not been allowed to leave since the arrests. Officials are afraid these employees will speak the truth, that our children are not abused. The officials are trying hard to keep the lid on the situation, but the truth is starting to leak out and the tide of public opinion is turning. The experts who examined our children are saying that allegations of child abuse are false, and that they found no evidence of abuse. They said the few things they found when they examined our children could have been caused by natural physical wear and tear, a fact which is common knowledge. A good newspaper article came out, quoting a spokesman of the doctors who said the judge's comments contradicted their findings.

Our Family In Bonds Keeps On Witnessing and Winning
         The adults (the ones who have not been charged, but are staying in the institutions to be with the children) and children held in custody have been allowed some freedom within the institutions. Unlike France, where the parents and children were separated, some parents are with their children, helping to look after them, and the morale seems good amongst the brethren. At one institution, approximately 80 brethren (women and children) are together. PTL! As for our men who are in jail, a friend of the Family was able to visit some of them and reported they are all very encouraged, and that the jailers like them; they're witnessing and winning souls and are winning over their jailers.

         We close this edition of the FUN with this heartcry written in a note by Genai, of Amy and Phillip, one of our precious teens in bonds in Argentina. Genai writes:
         "Please also pray for my situation, as the American embassy is trying to take me to live with my grandmother. I miss the Family so much and I can hardly wait for the day that we will be together again. The Lord is helping us to witness a lot and it's been a beautiful experience. A lot of people that didn't want to have anything to do with me (because they said I was `the rebel') are now getting to know me and see that I haven't been `brainwashed'. A big kiss to everyone. Even though it's been a very difficult time, I'm happy because the Lord chose me to suffer for His name--in reality this isn't anything compared to what the martyrs suffered. Thank you for your love. Greetings to everyone. Love, Genai"

        We love you and pray for you as you continue to fight the good fight of faith! "Nothing can stop the Truth of God and the Word of God. It'll go on right to the End! 'Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the World.' (1Joh.4:4) God is a much greater Enemy to the Devil's forces than they are to us! The Lord will do mighty signs, wonders and miracles to keep us alive and keep us going and keep us preaching His Love and showing His Love to millions to the very End! When we walk through the waters they'll not overflow us, when we walk through these trials and tribulations they'll not overcome us. No matter how mighty the great armies of the powers on Earth are, they can never conquer our righteous cause! In spite of all World events and all war and politics and future famine, Lord, Thy Truth is marching on! They can't stop our reign! Hallelujah!" (DM2:209,220)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family