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By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal religion writer
POSTED: 11:02 a.m. EDT, May 15, 2009
The childhood secrets of beatings, humiliation, sexual abuse and spiritual abuse that cast emotional ripples through decades of depression, addictions and broken marriages are central to a documentary that will premiere in Ohio at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Goss Memorial Church, 2247 11th St. SW in Akron.
''Our intention is not to place blame or be angry or bash the church. Our hope is that by telling our story, it will help other people,'' said Dianne Darr Couts, one of a countless number of missionary children who endured abuses in the 1950s and 1960s at a parochial boarding school in West Africa at the hands of evangelical missionaries.
The 70-minute film, All God's Children: The Ultimate Sacrifice, gives voice to those who experienced or witnessed rape, beatings with the buckle-end of belts that left children bloody, and the humiliation of wetting or soiling clothing because missionaries running the school would not permit them to go to the bathroom.
''The first- and second-grade teacher was one of the worst. She would pick up kids by their ears and upend desks, throwing kids on the floor,'' said Couts, 61. ''The kids were berated, called stupid and brutalized. The teachers were harsh and cruel.''
The Darrs — Couts and her three brothers, David, John and Richard — are among three families in the film who tell their personal stories of abuse. The children attended a parochial boarding school for missionary kids whose parents were stationed in remote outposts throughout West Africa. Their parents, the late Dick and Anne Darr, were sent out from Goss Memorial (where Couts' husband, Bud, is now pastor) to the mission field in Africa in the 1950s.
The Darrs grew up in Akron and lived in the Kenmore area. Their missionary work also was supported by The Chapel, Northampton Baptist Church, Community Church of Portage Lakes and other local churches and individuals.
The couple, and other missionary parents, say they had no idea that they were putting their children in harm's way when they left them in the hands of colleagues at the Mamou Alliance Academy in Guinea. The boarding school was run by the Colorado Springs-based evangelical Christian and Missionary Alliance.
''Our parents wept when they found out what happened there and they were very supportive of us,'' said Couts, of Akron. ''It was devastating for our mom and dad.''
Repressed trauma
The Darrs, like other missionary parents, discovered the pain endured by their children when, as adults, Mamou alumni began uncovering repressed trauma. The first reports of abuse at Mamou were made to the Alliance in the late 1980s.
The church, however, didn't take action until after David Darr, of Columbus, his siblings and other alumni staged a public protest at an annual meeting of the denomination in 1995 in Pittsburgh. The Alliance appointed an independent commission to investigate the allegations of abuse at Mamou.
The commission reported horrific acts of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. It documented that the first- and second-grade teacher from 1958 to 1966 engaged in an ''ongoing reign of terror and sadistic behavior.'' Seven former staff members and two former students who were found to have physically, sexually or psychologically abused children were asked to undergo counseling.
Among the substantiated allegations were students being beaten until they were black and blue and bloody, being sexually molested and being forced to eat their own vomit. The commission's report was the first of its kind regarding child abuse in evangelical circles. The Alliance issued an apology to the victims and their parents.
''Until you get the story out, you can't begin the healing. This had a terrible impact on my life,'' said Darr, 59. ''Our parents were fulfilling their call and serving God but it messed us up. I didn't choose to be a missionary. Nobody ever asked the question of what being yanked away from our parents was doing to us.
''They say our parents sacrificed not being with us. Hell, no! We were the sacrifice. Saving lost souls does not justify sending your kids off to be molested or brutalized.''
Darr, who now serves as a church pianist, said his experience at Mamou put him in a love-hate relationship with the church.
No love, comfort
''They punished us for not being perfect. They kept us in line with fear, telling us if you're not right with God, you're going to hell,'' Darr said. ''This was supposed to be the church. But there was no love. There was never any comfort. It was always about toeing the line.''
While some of the Mamou alumni have turned away from the church, Darr said his faith in God continues to help move him past his bitterness.
''Many of the lyrics in hymns bring me comfort,'' Darr said. ''One of those hymns is Great is Thy Faithfulness. I do believe that God is faithful. It's people who aren't always faithful.''
More than 200 children of missionaries from the Missionary Alliance, Gospel Missionary Union and other missionary organizations throughout West Africa attended Mamou from 1950 to 1971, when it closed. The Darrs were part of the Gospel Missionary Union.
Among the children abused were cousins of Scott Solary, the producer/director of All God's Children. Solary and his wife, Luci Westphal, completed the project together. Their goals for making the film include helping silenced victims speak out and encouraging religious institutions and organizations to provide compassion and justice for victims.
''This film is not about 'why' but 'how to go on from here.' We're hoping people will find it easier to open up so they can begin the healing process,'' said Westphal, of Brooklyn. ''We're hoping to raise awareness for people who have children, as well, so they will be more careful in making sure they put them in safe hands.''
The film premiered last year at the Sarasota Film Festival. Public screenings began this week in Florida. The Akron showing is the first in Ohio. Screenings also are scheduled in Columbus and at Minerva High School, where Couts teaches French. Couts, Darr, Westphal and Solary are scheduled to be at the Akron screening.
''I've never been one who was afraid to tell the truth,'' Couts said. ''We are survivors and we just want the church to be the church. We have been hurt and the job of the church is to love us, to care for us and to show compassion.''
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.
,sx Details Ohio screenings of All God's Children: The Ultimate Sacrifice:
• 7 p.m. May 23, Goss Memorial Church, 2247 11th St. SW, Akron. Dianne Couts, David Darr, Scott Solary, Luci Westphal scheduled to attend.
• 3 p.m. May 24, King Avenue United Methodist Church, 299 King Ave., Columbus. Couts, Darr, Solary, Westphal scheduled to attend
• 3 p.m. May 26, Minerva High School, 501 Almeda Ave., Minerva. Couts and Westphal scheduled to attend.For more information or to purchase DVD: http://www.allgodschildrenthefilm.com
The childhood secrets of beatings, humiliation, sexual abuse and spiritual abuse that cast emotional ripples through decades of depression, addictions and broken marriages are central to a documentary that will premiere in Ohio at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Goss Memorial Church, 2247 11th St. SW in Akron.
''Our intention is not to place blame or be angry or bash the church. Our hope is that by telling our story, it will help other people,'' said Dianne Darr Couts, one of a countless number of missionary children who endured abuses in the 1950s and 1960s at a parochial boarding school in West Africa at the hands of evangelical missionaries.
The 70-minute film, All God's Children: The Ultimate Sacrifice, gives voice to those who experienced or witnessed rape, beatings with the buckle-end of belts that left children bloody, and the humiliation of wetting or soiling clothing because missionaries running the school would not permit them to go to the bathroom.
''The first- and second-grade teacher was one of the worst. She would pick up kids by their ears and upend desks, throwing kids on the floor,'' said Couts, 61. ''The kids were berated, called stupid and brutalized. The teachers were harsh and cruel.''
The Darrs — Couts and her three brothers, David, John and Richard — are among three families in the film who tell their personal stories of abuse. The children attended a parochial boarding school for missionary kids whose parents were stationed in remote outposts throughout West Africa. Their parents, the late Dick and Anne Darr, were sent out from Goss Memorial (where Couts' husband, Bud, is now pastor) to the mission field in Africa in the 1950s.
The Darrs grew up in Akron and lived in the Kenmore area. Their missionary work also was supported by The Chapel, Northampton Baptist Church, Community Church of Portage Lakes and other local churches and individuals.
The couple, and other missionary parents, say they had no idea that they were putting their children in harm's way when they left them in the hands of colleagues at the Mamou Alliance Academy in Guinea. The boarding school was run by the Colorado Springs-based evangelical Christian and Missionary Alliance.
''Our parents wept when they found out what happened there and they were very supportive of us,'' said Couts, of Akron. ''It was devastating for our mom and dad.''
Repressed trauma
The Darrs, like other missionary parents, discovered the pain endured by their children when, as adults, Mamou alumni began uncovering repressed trauma. The first reports of abuse at Mamou were made to the Alliance in the late 1980s.
The church, however, didn't take action until after David Darr, of Columbus, his siblings and other alumni staged a public protest at an annual meeting of the denomination in 1995 in Pittsburgh. The Alliance appointed an independent commission to investigate the allegations of abuse at Mamou.
The commission reported horrific acts of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. It documented that the first- and second-grade teacher from 1958 to 1966 engaged in an ''ongoing reign of terror and sadistic behavior.'' Seven former staff members and two former students who were found to have physically, sexually or psychologically abused children were asked to undergo counseling.
Among the substantiated allegations were students being beaten until they were black and blue and bloody, being sexually molested and being forced to eat their own vomit. The commission's report was the first of its kind regarding child abuse in evangelical circles. The Alliance issued an apology to the victims and their parents.
''Until you get the story out, you can't begin the healing. This had a terrible impact on my life,'' said Darr, 59. ''Our parents were fulfilling their call and serving God but it messed us up. I didn't choose to be a missionary. Nobody ever asked the question of what being yanked away from our parents was doing to us.
''They say our parents sacrificed not being with us. Hell, no! We were the sacrifice. Saving lost souls does not justify sending your kids off to be molested or brutalized.''
Darr, who now serves as a church pianist, said his experience at Mamou put him in a love-hate relationship with the church.
No love, comfort
''They punished us for not being perfect. They kept us in line with fear, telling us if you're not right with God, you're going to hell,'' Darr said. ''This was supposed to be the church. But there was no love. There was never any comfort. It was always about toeing the line.''
While some of the Mamou alumni have turned away from the church, Darr said his faith in God continues to help move him past his bitterness.
''Many of the lyrics in hymns bring me comfort,'' Darr said. ''One of those hymns is Great is Thy Faithfulness. I do believe that God is faithful. It's people who aren't always faithful.''
More than 200 children of missionaries from the Missionary Alliance, Gospel Missionary Union and other missionary organizations throughout West Africa attended Mamou from 1950 to 1971, when it closed. The Darrs were part of the Gospel Missionary Union.
Among the children abused were cousins of Scott Solary, the producer/director of All God's Children. Solary and his wife, Luci Westphal, completed the project together. Their goals for making the film include helping silenced victims speak out and encouraging religious institutions and organizations to provide compassion and justice for victims.
''This film is not about 'why' but 'how to go on from here.' We're hoping people will find it easier to open up so they can begin the healing process,'' said Westphal, of Brooklyn. ''We're hoping to raise awareness for people who have children, as well, so they will be more careful in making sure they put them in safe hands.''
The film premiered last year at the Sarasota Film Festival. Public screenings began this week in Florida. The Akron showing is the first in Ohio. Screenings also are scheduled in Columbus and at Minerva High School, where Couts teaches French. Couts, Darr, Westphal and Solary are scheduled to be at the Akron screening.
''I've never been one who was afraid to tell the truth,'' Couts said. ''We are survivors and we just want the church to be the church. We have been hurt and the job of the church is to love us, to care for us and to show compassion.''
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.
,sx Details Ohio screenings of All God's Children: The Ultimate Sacrifice:
• 7 p.m. May 23, Goss Memorial Church, 2247 11th St. SW, Akron. Dianne Couts, David Darr, Scott Solary, Luci Westphal scheduled to attend.
• 3 p.m. May 24, King Avenue United Methodist Church, 299 King Ave., Columbus. Couts, Darr, Solary, Westphal scheduled to attend
• 3 p.m. May 26, Minerva High School, 501 Almeda Ave., Minerva. Couts and Westphal scheduled to attend.For more information or to purchase DVD: http://www.allgodschildrenthefilm.com
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Orrville, Oh
Posted 03:34 PM, 05/15/2009
Only after “All God’s Children” comply with demands of Natural Law (what Mother Nature, God, or Whatever Power decreed to be the reality of the real world), God, democracy, capitalism, the US Constitution, and free, fair, and affordable commerce.
Demanding every corporation, farmer, business, outsourcer sweatshop, and nonprofit, tax-exempt, organization and Church markets the cost in the wholesale and retail price of his or her product and service; Of every workers, consumers, and taxpayers living (including pension and health care). Enabling parents to love, nurse, nurture, discipline, protect, and provide, for every child (job) they conceive and fund schools, infrastructure, national security, government services, and etc.; with money derived from wages or independent business profit.
Will every Human Being that complies with realities demands afford life in The Real World!
Chicago, IL
Posted 04:08 PM, 05/15/2009
This is a terrific film about a horrific situation. But it also shows how courage and resilience and persistence can make a difference!
David Clohessy
National Director, SNAP
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
314 566 9790 cell
Posted 10:35 PM, 05/15/2009
I've had the privilege to view this documentary. It is extremely well done. The children, now adult, who suffered such horrible abuse at this boarding school, are amazing and brave for telling their story. An education that everyone needs to learn.
Judy Jones, SNAP director southeastern Ohio,
636-433-2511
long beach, ca
Posted 03:50 AM, 05/16/2009
Where does one go to find GOD? After many years of searching, i have found HIM in my own heart and not in the physical form of men who falsly believe themselves to be divine. We know that among the clergy and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church there are perverts, pedophiles, sexual predators, cheats, swindlers, embezzlers, hedonists, perjurists and murderers. Things that can be found in every avenue of society, but should not appear in such numbers among the clergy and hierarchy of a religious entity as powerful as the Roman Catholic Church.
