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Dozens of children seized from Manitoba Mennonite community


memmy

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probably not many details because they need to protect the privacy of the children....but 50 taken. Wow. It's so rare that the RCMP or children's services go into isolated communities (Bountiful, for instance, which is FLDS) and considering that the Mennonite association wanted to offer them help with parenting, it must be pretty bad....

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This reminds me of the case in Aylmer, Ontario 10 years ago:

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/2574/ju ... nking-case

That case involved a church that was a Mennonite offshoot, which taught that parents should literally use the rod to discipline their children. There was some controversy over the apprehension of the children: the parents didn't have a good grasp of English, the children didn't appeal to be in any immediate danger, and the social worker apprehended the children without a warrant when the parents refused to promise that they would not use objects to discipline the children.

These cases show the reality that changing laws when it comes to corporal punishment isn't merely about waving a magic wand, outlawing some practices and having them instantly disappear. Laws need to be enforced, and at times that enforcement can be rough.

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Cattle prods? :pink-shock:

I mean, do you really need anyone or any law to tell you that using a cattle prod on a child is wrong? Really?

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They likely came from Central or South America. There is an influx of Mennonites from there - can't remember if it is Uruguay or Belize - near the Mennonite town where I used to live, and they seem to start their own churches, as the existing ones are not quite the right flavour of Mennonite.

This is so sad - but at least these children have hope now. They said they are placing them in 'culturally sensetive' foster homes. There are plenty of Mennonites to choose from in Manitoba. Brandon may be the Mennonite capital of the world. I checked out the Maxwell post from when they were in Brandon, and there were a lot of Mennonite looking fundies in attendance.

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Yowzers. Those poor children. :( I also immediately wondered if they were from the colonies in the southern hemisphere. Super insular and very different from the Mennonites that settled in North America and have been established here for ages.

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  • 1 month later...

cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/08/15/mb-mennonite-kids-cfs-winnipeg.html

Leaders with a rural Manitoba Mennonite community met with child-welfare officials on Thursday as they work on reuniting dozens of children with their parents.

The children were removed from the private community by child and family services (CFS) officials after four adults — three men and a woman — were charged with multiple counts of assault, including assault with a weapon.

A CFS letter was sent to the community late last month, listing a number of concerns officials have about returning the children to their parents.

Community leaders have already indicated that the families would agree to a set of conditions, including only spanking children on their buttocks with their hands.

They have also agreed to not leave marks or injuries on the children from disciplining them. As well, children would only be disciplined by their parents, not by teachers or pastors.

Some history

cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/07/01/mb-mennonite-holistic-healing-circle.html

"It's anguish," said the unofficial spokesperson. "It is very, very hard on them."

A court-ordered publication ban means neither the community nor the people can be named, in order to protect the identity of the alleged victims.

But in talks with several people connected to them, it was revealed that the roots of their troubles go back more than a decade.

Splinter group moved to Manitoba

At the time, they were living in another province, as part of a larger community, but there were divisions within. Some members believed in more severe "child disciplining" than others.

Even though they were extremely conservative and secluded, these members wanted to be more conservative and more sequestered from the rest of the world.

So in 2006, they "splintered" from the rest of the community and relocated to rural Manitoba.

In the years that followed, they've led a peaceful co-existence with their neighbours around them. They kept to themselves and their traditions while keeping business ties open, selling everything from custom-made furniture to fresh asparagus.

But 18 months ago, tensions surfaced again. Some of the children began to act aggressively and sexually.

Alarmed, families removed them from their homes and placed them with other families in the community — leaders, as one person close to them described it, who had "the gift" of parenting.

That's when the alleged child abuse occurred, in the form of corporal punishment, for their behaviour.

"They really felt it was for the salvation of their children," said a former member from the larger community back home. "They love their children."

Tensions came to a head in January, when members from the home community came to Manitoba to check up on them, with talk of taking the children back home.

"The people here had concerns about the pressures coming from the people [from the home province]," said their designated spokesperson.

The bottom line? They were afraid they would lose their kids, and they feared the members taking them would subject them to more abuse. That's when they approached authorities and asked for help.

But instead of stopping the kids from going home, authorities investigated and arrested the four adults who had allegedly "disciplined" them.

The authorities then seized the children, more than 20 of them, and placed them in the care of extended family members — including some from the original community.

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An update

cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/08/15/mb-mennonite-kids-cfs-winnipeg.html

Leaders with a rural Manitoba Mennonite community met with child-welfare officials on Thursday as they work on reuniting dozens of children with their parents.

The children were removed from the private community by child and family services (CFS) officials after four adults — three men and a woman — were charged with multiple counts of assault, including assault with a weapon.

Court documents allege that the children were assaulted with cattle prods and straps between July 2011 and Jan. 31 of this year.

All but one child was taken from the community and placed in foster care. Since then, their parents have been hoping to have their children returned to them.

A court-ordered publication ban means neither the Mennonite community nor the people charged can be named in order to protect the identities of the alleged victims.

In what CFS officials called a starting point, members of a restoration team that includes child-welfare officials and leaders from the community met on Thursday to discuss how to get the children back.

A CFS letter was sent to the community late last month, listing a number of concerns officials have about returning the children to their parents.

Community leaders have already indicated that the families would agree to a set of conditions, including only spanking children on their buttocks with their hands.

They have also agreed to not leave marks or injuries on the children from disciplining them. As well, children would only be disciplined by their parents, not by teachers or pastors.

And here is the history of what happened, which brings a lot to light:

cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/07/01/mb-mennonite-holistic-healing-circle.html

But in talks with several people connected to them, it was revealed that the roots of their troubles go back more than a decade.

At the time, they were living in another province, as part of a larger community, but there were divisions within. Some members believed in more severe "child disciplining" than others.

Even though they were extremely conservative and secluded, these members wanted to be more conservative and more sequestered from the rest of the world.

So in 2006, they "splintered" from the rest of the community and relocated to rural Manitoba.

In the years that followed, they've led a peaceful co-existence with their neighbours around them. They kept to themselves and their traditions while keeping business ties open, selling everything from custom-made furniture to fresh asparagus.

But 18 months ago, tensions surfaced again. Some of the children began to act aggressively and sexually.

Alarmed, families removed them from their homes and placed them with other families in the community — leaders, as one person close to them described it, who had "the gift" of parenting.

That's when the alleged child abuse occurred, in the form of corporal punishment, for their behaviour.

"They really felt it was for the salvation of their children," said a former member from the larger community back home. "They love their children."

'You lose balance'

But, the former member said, they lost their focus — an inherent risk when you cut off ties with the outside world.

"It's so sad," he said. "I know what they were looking for, but you won't find it by vanishing from the world while you're living in the world. You lose balance."

Tensions came to a head in January, when members from the home community came to Manitoba to check up on them, with talk of taking the children back home.

"The people here had concerns about the pressures coming from the people [from the home province]," said their designated spokesperson.

The bottom line? They were afraid they would lose their kids, and they feared the members taking them would subject them to more abuse. That's when they approached authorities and asked for help.

But instead of stopping the kids from going home, authorities investigated and arrested the four adults who had allegedly "disciplined" them.

The authorities then seized the children, more than 20 of them, and placed them in the care of extended family members — including some from the original community.

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