MK forum

For those of us who remain deeply connected to the issue of MK abuse and how the survivors are doing, here are some dates and events of interest.

Feel free to correct, add, or comment on any of these.

July 2009 – Fanda Eagles website created. Over 1,290,000 hits to date.

September 2009 – GRACE began the process of investigating MK abuse at Fanda, NTM’s school in Senegal.

June 2010 – The Forums were created on the Fanda Eagles website. Over 300 registered members, most of whom have posted at least once.

August 2010 – GRACE’s Amended Final Report on Fanda published

November 2010 – a petition, with 528 signatures, submitted to NTM. This petition and its signatures can still be viewed at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fandaeagles/ .
The purpose of this petition was twofold:
1) to insist that New Tribes Mission employ an outside agency to conduct the investigations of further child sexual and physical abuse allegations at NTM schools, training facilities or other entities under the auspices of NTM, and
2) to raise awareness regarding the ongoing child sexual and physical abuse and cover-up within NTM and provide outside accountability in dealing with these investigations.

Many posters on Fanda Eagles urged NTM to use GRACE for further investigations of MK abuse, but instead
April 2011 – Pat Hendrix hired by NTM as an independent coordinator who will administer investigations into past child abuse in New Tribes Mission. It is announced that Pat’s independent team will be called IHART: Independent Historical Abuse Review team.

May 2011 – IHART’s Vianopolis investigation team is named.

December 2011 – IHART’s Tambo investigation team is named.

January 2012 – IHART’s Panama investigation team is named.

Excerpt from a letter from Brian Shortmeier, May 11, 2011:
(I have taken the liberty of breaking the process down into steps and numbering them.)

"As I understand it, here is an overview of the IHART investigative and reporting process.
1. After gathering as much background data as possible regarding the school being investigated,
2. IHART investigators begin interviewing MK’s and other relevant persons.
3. When those interviews are completed, the investigators interview all available leaders from the era when the abuse was perpetrated.
4. Finally, the investigators question accused perpetrators if possible.
5. After reviewing potentially thousands of pages of notes, the investigators will submit their reports to IHART.
6. Pat Hendrix will compile one report to be sent to the Recommendations Panel.
7. The Recommendations Panel will compile disciplinary recommendations and follow up recommendations for NTM. (Note: Pat Hendrix is the one who selects the investigators and is also the one who will select the members of the Recommendations Panel.)

In addition to this,
8. Pat Hendrix will write a summary report to be given to the MK’s interviewed by IHART investigators. This will be written and sent by Pat, not by NTM. It will not be the full report because everyone does not want their personal details disclosed."

Added by me, an obvious step after #7:
NTM will decide what their response(s) will be to the disciplinary recommendations and follow up recommendations made by the Recommendations Panel.

So ... I return to the question of this thread:

HOW ARE WE DOING???

Have any of the investigations even reached Step #4 yet?

The months/years roll by. And still we wait.

I'm doing fine, thanks for asking.

I'm a little mystified as to why an intermediary step of a Recommendations Panel is required, why doesn't IHART just hand it's report with recommendations to NTM, then monitor any action or inaction taken?

I shall humbly await to be enlightened.

Apparently IHART does not see itself in that role of making recommendations. Its job evidently is to review abuse cases, as indicated by its name.

I would like to raise another question as well: Just exactly who is IHART?

I was told by an investigator that he and his team were not IHART. He said Pat is IHART. This man's team of investigators was hired by Pat, and their job is to interview victims and submit their findings to Pat/IHART. This would seem to match up with #5 from Brian Shortmeier's list of steps: After reviewing potentially thousands of pages of notes, the investigators will submit their reports to IHART.

"The investigators will submit their reports to IHART."

So the investigators are not IHART. Pat is IHART.

Pat and who else? If IHART is a "team" then it must be comprised of more than one person, correct?

Do we have the right to know exactly who is on this team called IHART?

I believe we do.

In preparing the list for the first post on this thread, I was looking back through older parts of this website. I was strongly impacted again by the methods and approach of GRACE. For example, read the letter they sent to Fanda alumni when they were seeking MKs who would be willing to give them information about abuse: http://fandaeagles.com/2009/12/letter-a ... rom-grace/

I shake me head sadly at our present level of communication. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1219

Do we have the right to know exactly who is on this team called IHART?

Participation in the investigative process, should guarantee a complete disclosure of who is involved and what each persons role is. After all MKs are being asked to give intimate details about their private lives and the lives of others.

I'm sure Pat won't mind clarrifying this.

I have sent this e-mail to Pat Hendrix, titled "Who is IHART?"

Good morning, Pat,

Could you please clarify for those of us who participate in the Forums on Fanda Eagles, just who exactly is on the team that is called IHART?

I was told by an investigator that he and his team of investigators are not IHART. That you are IHART, and their job is to gather information on abuse, and submit it to IHART (which is not them).

Since IHART is called a team, I am thinking that means there are other members of IHART, besides yourself? Or is it just you?

If you could please clarify this for us, I would really appreciate it.

Thank You,
Raz


Since I am under the impression that Pat does not read Fanda Eagles, I think this is the best way to reach her. I will let you know if I get a response.

We just received an email from an IHART team member encouraging us to get other students to contact them because they will not initiate a contact with any student. We have to reach out to them! Is this how GRACE conducted their interviews?

I don't think there is much of a presence of Fanda MKs here on the forums anymore. I am grateful Kari continues to keep this website open (and I learned recently that it is not free). I think we're kind of on our own here now.

I don't know if anyone that experienced GRACE's process will respond to you, so I will just suggest that we can learn at least some things about their approach by reading some of the letters they wrote to Fanda alumni. You can find these on the main page of the Fanda Eagles website, under "blog".

I would encourage you to read through GRACE's (Boz Tchividjian's) letters. It is very eye-opening exercise.

thank you,Raz