SCANDAL FROM GILEAD SCHOOL

by bj 6 Replies latest jw friends

  • bj
    bj

    Bill & Joan Cetnar, in their book, QUESTIONS FOR JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, relate an interesting case of a young Thai missionary, who turned crazy during the course of Gilead. On her way back home she jumped from the boat and was alleged that she was eaten by sharks. President Knorr tried to keep it secret.

    When I tried to investigate by writing to Brooklyn and the Bethel of Thiland, none of them answered my registeried letters. Therefore, I would like to know if anyone out there have any further information, such as the name of this student, etc.

    Did Edward Dunlap ever commented on this case?

  • Maximus
    Maximus

    Following is from www.disfellowshipped.com. Click on Judicial Proceedings and go to Dale Baker. (www.disfellowshipped.com/Judicia_bakers.htm) Leaving out http:// not wanting to print the entire document here.

    ________________
    Dale: I'll tell you another story that happened at Bethel. You know Russ Kurzen? Do you know Art Barnen? [Barnett] They both worked on the Bethel reception desk. They had a sister from over in Thailand who developed a psychiatric problem while she was going to Gilead. Several times she tried to jump off the roof of Bethel. Did you know her?

    Elder J: Yes, I knew her.

    Dale: In the first place, they wouldn't send someone back to Thailand with her to take care of her, even though she begged for a plane ticket, or at least a companion. They sent her back by boat, by herself. She had another one of her seizures, she jumped overboard. What happened? When the word got back to Bethel and Russ Kerosene [Kurzen, transcriber's error] told somebody, he got called on the carpet and taken off his job for letting that out and letting the Bethel family know about it.
    When I was at Bethel there was a young man who developed diabetes. We didn't have a doctor there, and they wouldn't send him to a doctor or to a hospital. He just got so sick he couldn't get out of bed and go to work so they decided to send him home. Some of his friends thought. "He isn't going to make it home, he has to go all the way to Seattle on a bus." The least we could do for him was to help buy him an airline ticket. So about thirty of us got together and chipped in about five bucks apiece. My roommate took it down to the Bethel office and said 'We've got a little money to put with the Society's money so Jack can have an airline ticket home. That way we know he'll get there.' And they told my roommate that he'd better get right back up there and give every penny of the money back. The Society had decided how he was going home, and we had taken up a collection; and evening that nobody's perfect. No person is perfect, that was unscriptural. Well, they took the poor kid down to the bus. He was practically in a diabetic coma; they had to put him in the bus because he couldn't figure out which one to get on. We didn't hear from him for almost a year. They picked him up in a drunk tank somewhere down in Iowa, and some police officer recognized that he was sick and put him in a hospital. He had been living on skid row for six months. His one living relative was worried sick about him, nobody knew where he was. Finally he recovered enough to write his friends that he was ok. Is that caring? And that was before the sister lumped off the ship. But it's the same story. Do they ever learn?

    Elder J: There were several who came from Thailand, because I was in Thailand. There were several other sisters from Thailand in her Gilead class. Because of her condition they kept her for a number of months longer so she could rest and recuperate. I know Brother Franz was personally involved trying to help her.

    Bette: But since she requested an airline ticket home, why didn't they do that? Or if they had to send her by boat, why didn't they send someone with her since she asked them to?

    Elder J: I don't want to comment since I don't know all the circumstances, but I do know that it did happen because I was on the receiving end in Thailand at the time.

    Bette: And then there was another case at a district assembly where babies were getting heat stroke and dying, and there were two doctors who were Witnesses working in first aid, and they went to chairman's office and asked them to please make a public announcement to the effect, "Mothers, don't leave your babies in the sun, don't let them sleep, don't leave them there. They could get seriously overheated and die." And they were told that the assembly program was too precious to be used for personal announcements.

    Dale: I don't necessarily see these people as uncaring or unloving. I see a system that says that the message, the work, is more important than people.

    Bette: And refuses to take responsibility, because everything is under God's direction.

    ________________________

    This situation is well documented, many of us were acutely aware of it.
    As to Ed: he was painfully aware of this and other situations, finally had a belly full. I'm not aware of any public comment.

    Maximus

  • bj
    bj

    Maximus, thank you for your comments. The story that Dale related continue adding weight how careless they are. It would be interesting to know the name of this young man who develloped Diabetes. (Yes, I like all details)
    As James said, you boys need to write a book with all the stories that goes on at the Bethel as I'm sure there's many things not yet said.
    Any further comments on the above mentioned case? (was it Ray or Fred Franz who was involved in it?)

  • Moxy
    Moxy

    maximus: it wasnt clear from that conversation whether or not the thai sister died or not. can u clarify?

    did everyone notice the last (next to last?) bethel grad photo in the WT that had been expertly retouched to remove one couple for whatever reason, presumably they did not graduate. it was an excellent retouching job and you can only see where they were by the assymetry in the remaining members. they actually created images of hands that wouldve been invisble behind the removed individuals. i wasnt around these boards at the time so maybe this was discussed extensively.

    mox

  • Dino
    Dino

    Hello all ,What year did that happen? Im glad this was brought up because I had read that experience on that website and it jogged my memory of when my wife and I attended the annual meeting in 1990 Russell Kurzin gave an experience of how he had recently been reprimanded by the entire governing body. Kind of like reading your own public reproof letter before a packed Stanley Theater. If you've ever listened to one of his talks, he is very earthy and all over the map.His mouth is his worst enemy. Nice enuff fellow, though. Dino

  • Maximus
    Maximus

    bj, I've given the short version. Fact is, they knew she had problems and even FRED Franz wanted to help, to send her by plane. Didn't happen.

    She had taken all her clothes off and been found running through the halls, later attempted suicide as a jumper. Hazardous on a boat, and everyone knew it. Whether she had a seizure or not is conjecture. Did they find her body? What we do know is that she was overboard and never found. Folks who cared had this ugly picture of someone ultimately consumed by sharks. Russell Kurzen will take MANY other stories with him to his grave.

    M

  • bj
    bj

    Dino, according to Cetnar it took place in 1956/7. Unfortunately, not all find their Shangri-La. At Brooklyn, some found their grave!

    Maximus, this reminds me in what Ludwig von Pastor said to Pope Leo XIII that if the Roman Catholic Church had nothing to fear from the truth she ought to open their Vatican archives to scholars. But till now, it's easier for the WTS to criticize others then doing herself so. (see W92 15/10 p.28; G98 8/12 pp. 12-13)

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