Something I find very distasteful is the way the Tambo report is packed full of repeated insistence that some MKs told IHART everything at Tambo was just hunky-dory!
One of my friends said, "To say that, indeed, some abuse occurred but not to everybody is like a police officer telling me that my house was burgled, but hey! Lots of other houses were untouched!"
Really, this was supposed to be an abuse investigation. It is not even appropriate to keep deflecting attention away from the pain, with your little burbles about how happy some MKs were in that terrible place.
pg 3 - "The definition of abuse has changed greatly from that time to this... I had many experiences that would be considered "abusive" today, but which I did not consider to be abusive at the time."
pg 6,7 - "A second community has had different and more positive experiences and memories... this community has expressed frustration at having its MK experience denied and marginalized as inauthentic, and having its more positive voice shut down in the MK groups. Many of those who are accused of abuse by the first community are seen as loving authority figures by the second community. Some in this second group flatly deny the allegations made against certain individuals, and believe this is injustice and that the allegations are false."
pg 11 - "There were plenty of staff who, to this day, I have very fond memories of and who never contributed knowingly to any abuse that I’m aware of."
pg 14 - "But the situation was not all dark—MKs agree that there were also some great teachers and dorm parents, and that most students were well-prepared for their continuing education."
pg 18 - "Some teachers and dorm parents were gifted with children, were wonderful, and were well-loved by the children."
pg 19 - "I want to emphasize that I was not abused in any way. I did have some hard times, but even while there and feeling I was not understood or liked by staff, I have to tell you, there was much God was working in my life due to the hard times I was going through. I am deeply grateful to my time at Tambo because I believe it became the vehicle to my own personal journey to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior."
pg 20 - "The experience at Tambo was not uniformly bad. Some students had wonderful experiences at the school and with staff, and attribute many successes in life to lessons learned there. Some of the staff were warm and loving."
pg 21 - "In fairness, the boarding school situation was always complex. Some MKs did well and really enjoyed the environment. Others have mixed feelings, valuing the fun and enriching opportunities, but identifying inappropriate behaviors and sources of pain. For others, the experience was filled with torment. These different reactions were caused by a complicated mix of the individual temperament of the child and the particular adults who had the most impact on the child’s life. At times, in the histories told to IHART, different teachers and dorm parents are almost unrecognizable as the same person from one MK’s account to the next."
pg 29 - "MK perceptions of these environments vary greatly. Some MKs did not feel that the dorm life was emotionally abusive. Some teachers and dorm parents were kind..."
When I line these all up in one place like this, truly, the attempt to distract the reader from the stark reality of the rampant abuse of innocent children at Tambo is just nauseating.
I am NOT easily distracted!
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