Posts by Anke Richter
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Great work, Byron. I wish more people would understand the link between these hate preachers and groups like Voices for Freedom or the Outdoors Party. This is such valuable background info for context. Will put the link up on FACT (Fight Against Conspiracy Theories) tomorrow!
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Great work, Russell! The link where I can chip in to support your work doesn't lead me to any such page (but another story) - did I overlook something? Btw, please come to the Investigative Journalism Conference in August if you can: www.cij.org.nz
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You courageous woman, Emma - thank you for that clear message and your beautiful strong angry voice. Good angry. I hope this piece gets handed out in sex-ed in schools. I hope it will hang on pub walls and in locker rooms and in men's toilets. I hope this lands somewhere, preferably the minds of growing boys. Never too late.
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thank you, Russell. Great post.
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Thank you, "Putting the pieces together" - I am also really grateful for this ongoing discussion and that more people have come out of the shadow since my story was published. Feel free to contact me directly and confidentially if you like (richter@weltreporter.net) and I can help to connect you with others who also want to heal those wounds from their past. It looks like more projects will be happening now where the CP saga and dilemma can be addressed from different angles. If you want to contribute to shed some light on it, then please let me know.
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Thank you, Claudia.
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Up Front: Fringe of Darkness, in reply to Finding A Voice,
Thank you. I have nothing but respect for you and for how you sum up what needs to be addressed. Your powerful words have probably reached more people than you will ever know. I had feedback from a CP woman in Australia wanting to apologize after reading your letter in N&S. This makes me hopeful that a process of reconciliation might be starting, slowly. Thanks again for speaking up.
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Apologies for the long silence – I have been away. A lot has come up in those last days that I’d like to reply to. Will try and sum it up. Emma has already done a great job.
1.The mothers/women at CP: There were many predatory women at Centrepoint. And that’s a loaded label alread and doesn’t do everyone’s experience justice, as there were also teenage boys who seemed happy to have relationships with older women and had no regrets, like Angie’s brother Karlos Meiklejohn. It’s a grey area. There were also boys who were sexually abused by women (and might have only realised that later on in life, not at the time) but no charges could be laid because that wasn’t a “sex crime” at the time. The law has since changed. Most of those women were mothers themselves but didn’t necessarily abuse their own children. I think it’s safe to say that many of them were not paedophiles as such. I am reluctant to get deeper into the paedophilia subject because it brings up all the complex questions around this topic which lead to knee-jerk reactions. And because they’re so complex and I have no easy answers to them, I had to stop the book. So whatever I add here would be inadequate.
2. Angie is doing fine and has fully recovered. She had her surgery in the end. She is an amazing woman who will go on doing more for those who want to heal their CP past. I am sure she appreciates feedback via the email at the end of my story.
3. The “wanking comment” guy: Yes, the police had been notified by the parents and are aware of him. My article only has 6000 words, my manuscript already had 80,000, and yet that didn’t even cover all that I knew and have unearthed. I could only give little glimpses of my research as to not overwhelm the reader.
4. Hippies? No, CP wasn’t a hippie commune to start with – it was very middle-class, and its founding members were doctors, psychologists, lawyers. They weren’t “eco” or green either, not even in later years when that was the way of most alternative communities. Many people ended up at CP because they were in need of therapy and couldn’t cope – like Angie’s mum, who was undiagnosed bipolar. Or Louise’s mum, who was suicidal. Many others were curious about the new-agey therapies coming from Esalen and Poona where Bert Potter had studied. And about the sexual exploration the workshops offered. Back in those days, most counselling was only available through the churches.
5. Gloriavale: Yes, many similarities indeed. In fact, Barri Leslie – the brave older woman in my story who fought so hard to shut CP down – made me aware of Gloriavale and the sexual abuse there early in my research. When those who left Gloriavale told how they found it hard to cope on the outside - not being used to doing mundane practical things by themselves, like shopping or opening a bank account - I was also reminded of Barri and Louise's accounts of how they struggled after they left CP. And how they had been told on the inside how hostile and screwed up the outside is - and then found it to be exactly the other way around. The family sleeping quarters at Gloriavale also make it more common for children to witness their parents having sex. And there is/was this similar emphasis on the women being there for the men to procreate and fulfill their desire.
CP was a patriarchal place in that way, although quite a few women told me how much sexual freedom it gave them and that they didn't have to hide their libido but could come on to the men - quite different to what they had experienced in normal society, and therefore liberating for some. -
Kyle, thanks for adding your well informed comments and insights about FGS. I was of course aware of the controversy around her but had to leave that whole aspect out of my story.And she wasn't available for an interview. After the SST story came out, she let North&South interview her for a long feature which put her in a much better light - a good PR move on her part. Since then she has not been available for any media, as far as I know, especially not in regards to Centrepoint (she downplays that connection).
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Up Front: Fringe of Darkness, in reply to ,
Steven, thank you for all your comments here and your empathy.