| June 14, 1999 Hare Krishnas on the hotseat By JEAN SONMOR Toronto Sun ERROR MSGThings seemed a little tense yesterday at the Hare Krishna temple on AvenueRd. just south of Davenport Rd. Word was just out that a big lawsuit wascoming down the pike, a class-action lawsuit that would put ISKCON, theInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness, on the hotseat once again.This time for alleged sexual and physical abuse of children in theirresidential schools going back 20 years -- "and even today," says theDallas lawyer preparing the case to be filed in the next couple of weeks. Although the Toronto temple is unlikely to play much of a role in the case,fuses were short when I tried to get information. Bhaktimarga, thespiritual leader who has run the temple for 26 years, was away, butKeshava, the spokesman, explained that they were ready for "these articles... You better not make any mistakes," he threatened. "We have our lawyersready. I'll sue you." It seemed a little extreme. I was simply asking aboutthe school they'd run in the temple. cheap hotel in Antwerp "We never had a school," he insisted. When I persisted that they had notonly had a school but in 1981 I had visited it and written a story aboutit, he started talking wildly about lawsuits and counterstories. Hmm! It turns out that Bhaktimarga was in Vancouver visiting society membersthere and he did remember the school, which functioned only briefly, hesaid, and not as a residential facility. My story, which according to ourfiles was not challenged, described a "live-in" school for a half-dozenkids under 12. I don't remember the details except that it was incrediblyfocused on religion. They were described to me as children of "the harshbliss" in a system where "more time is spent on religious studies than onscience, geography and French combined," I wrote. ERROR MSGBut more interesting, in retrospect, is the discussion of discipline."Sometimes I hit my hand on the desk to get attention or hit a student onthe shoulder. You have to or they won't take you seriously," said KrishnaDas (Chris Zajchowski), who was their teacher. All that the relatively benign Toronto experience does is give a flavour ofthe rigours in the hundreds of residential schools across North America andIndia where children --even some Canadian children -- were sent away fromtheir parents as young as four. Gradually through the 1990s, stories have begun to emerge about thehumiliations and abuse some of these children suffered. Anonymously on Websites like VOICE (Violations of ISKCON Children Exposed) or in very publicfashion -- when 10 former students confronted the movement's leadership.According to a New York Times report, they complained of being caned,denied medical attention and sexually molested -- even raped homosexuallyat knifepoint. Brno hôtelsThe society commissioned a Middlebury College sociology professor, E. BurkeRochford Jr., to report on the allegations. The harshly critical reportsaid it was impossible to quantify the abuse but that a "sizeable number"of the hundreds of children in the system had been abused, especiallyadolescent boys sent to India for schooling. But in an age where manyreligions and institutions are struggling with how to react to similarlyugly stories, ISKCON has taken the bold step of publishing Rochford'sreport in its official journal. prix d'hotel a 5 etoiles Arlandastad"We're still shocked out of our minds that this went on," says Padya Vali,Vancouver-based communications director for ISKCON in Canada. She also rana school in Seattle for 45 children and claims they never had a single caseof abuse. "We weren't looking for it," she says. "Our philosophy is simpleliving and high thinking ... We could be accused of naivete -- thinking wewould escape this worldwide problem ... We didn't know that some pedophileshad come into our system disguised as members." The naivete continues. Vali says she's not too worried about the lawsuit."We're not turning a blind eye to the problem," she explains. They'veresponded to the complaints by putting in a number of checks and balancesto codify their new "zero tolerance" policy. They've pledged to spend$250,000 a year for the next four years on their Child Protection Office,helping victims and charging perpetrators. When the courts look closely athow proactively they've gone after the problem, Vali believes they willhave significantly mitigated their damages. But it's hardly likely the victims will agree. After all, they sought outDallas attorney Windle Turley, who won a $120-million lawsuit against theCatholic church recently. No wonder they're nervous at the temple on AvenueRd. |