A Simple Life

Mennonites living in Belize exist apart from the government, with limited technology and surrounded by farmable land.

Daniel Shank Cruz

Produced by Eve Lyons
New York Times
September, 15, 2018

When Mennonites began moving to Belize in the late 1950s, they did so for the same reason their ancestors have migrated for centuries: to live in line with their religious beliefs, including the separation of church and state, pacifism and sustainability, without interference. That means apart from the government, with limited technology and surrounded by farmable land.

Mennonites, a traditionally sectarian Christian denomination, trace their roots to the Anabaptist wing of the Protestant Reformation. Today they number approximately one million worldwide, with most living in parts of the developing world, including Paraguay, India and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Those in Belize, called Old Colony Mennonites, descend from the settlers of Chortitza, the earliest Mennonite colony in the Russian Empire. Their ancestors moved from the Netherlands and what is now Poland to present-day Ukraine in the 1780s, then to Canada in the 1870s, Mexico in the 1920s and, a few decades later, Belize.

An agreement with the country’s government checked off certain ideological boxes for them: They were able to negotiate exemptions from military service and given permission to establish private schools where lessons would be taught in their primary language, a Low German dialect called Plautdietsch.

The group left Mexico in the mid-20th century primarily for reasons of faith, but land was also a factor and now affords them some distance from outsiders. Consequently, the Belize Mennonite community has remained largely out of the public eye. But their way of life offers much for those dissatisfied with the realities of a hyper-connected urban existence to ponder.

Mennonites place great value on community and consider family to be a building block of the broader group. Their relationship to God is collective, rather than focused on individual salvation, though they may hope for that too.

The Mennonite belief that Christians should be “in the world but not of it” has fostered a sectarian ethos that prizes self-sufficiency and mutual aid within the group. Older children look after younger children; neighbors help each other fix farm equipment. The goal is to live as cooperatively and as peacefully as possible.

In Belize, Mennonites express themselves through dress and design, too.The plain styles of clothing that they may wear are highly regulated, though more loosely so for men, who often buy their clothing in stores.

Women, on the other hand, make most of their own garments and are expected to wear prayer coverings on their heads whenever they are in public. A generational shift in dress styles has slowly taken place, with bright colorful printed textiles replacing somber solid colors.

Similarly, while Old Colony Mennonites fill their homes with simple, plain furniture with clean lines, aesthetic flourishes like patterned lace curtains or elaborate wallpaper patterns may be incorporated.

The group’s interactions with technology are also influenced by their communitarian ethic. It is often assumed that people who reject technology do so out of fear of its all-consuming nature, but the choice has more to do with skepticism and adherence to principle.

For instance, their rejection of cars for personal use is not because they believe motorized vehicles are inherently bad — they use tractors for farming — but rather their emphasis on the importance of community. If one were to have access to a car, one would be tempted to leave, but the limited travel range of horses and buggies keeps Mennonite settlements close-knit.

Of course, it’s 2018, so some Mennonites use smartphones for business, and sometimes those smartphones end up in the hands of their children. That members of these communities now have infinite access to the outside world in their palms means the Old Colony Mennonites could be on the cusp of a major shift.

Already there have been other signs of modernization, including the increasing number of Mennonites — both men and women — who are employed by outside businesses (factories, for example) rather than have the traditional, hyper-local occupations of farming, carpentry and mechanical work.

For many of them, life is still insular. But whether it remains this uncomplicated has yet to be seen.

Jake Michaels is a photographer in Los Angeles. He is working on two monographs that will be published in the spring. Daniel Shank Cruz is an associate professor of English at Utica College.


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/15/style/mennonites-belize.html

Are there Amish graduations? A primer on Lancaster County's Amish and Old Order Mennonite schools

Staff Writer
Lancaster Online
May 22, 2018

It’s graduation time for Lancaster County’s Amish and Old Order Mennonite schools.

Hundreds of schools will send eighth-grade graduates into the world with no pomp and circumstance. Plain-sect children will leave their private parochial schools, which were established as a right fought for and won before the Supreme Court.

In 1972, church members and their supporters argued that their religion and education were so entwined that a requirement to go to high school would take teens away from their culture and ultimately destroy the community. Since then, the number of Plain schools has grown to more than 300.

The schools are more than academic; they’re an important part of culture.

“Education is never a neutral endeavor,” says Steven Nolt, senior scholar at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. “It’s always shaping you for some kind of life. Old Order schools are training children for a successful Old Order way of life.”

Here's a primer on Plain-sect education, with insight from Nolt, schoolteachers and a school board member who spoke recently to a full house at Garden Spot Village and did not want to be identified.

Where do Amish and Old Order Mennonite children go to school in Lancaster County?

They go to their own private schools. There also are a few schools that combine both sects.

These students attended public schools through the mid-1900s. The first Amish schools opened in East Lampeter Township in the 1930s.

How long do students go to school?

Amish and Old Order Mennonite students attend school through eighth grade.

In the 1940s and ’50s, there were conflicts with the state over keeping older children out of school, and some Amish fathers were jailed. That was resolved in 1955 with an agreement to allow Plain sects to operate their own schools, where students could leave after eighth grade.

If students graduate eighth grade before age 15, they must go to what’s known as a “three-hour school” until that birthday. Students work during the week and keep a journal, then meet one day a week at the home of a teacher to review eighth-grade lessons.

Less-restrictive sects, such as the Weaverland Conference, go through 10th grade and have larger schools.

How many Plain schools are there in Lancaster County?

There are 254 Old Order Amish schools and 54 Old Order Mennonite schools. Most are one-room schools. A new school is built when there’s a need for students in an area.

What is the overall philosophy of Amish and Mennonite education?

The objective is a basic education so students can be an asset to the community.

“Schooling is both a way to get the basic academic skills that you need for making a life in the world,” Nolt says. “And also a place for cultivating the values and dispositions that are necessary for having a successful Old Order life.”

The curriculum and schools discourage competition and encourage cooperation. It’s typical for teachers to have a bulletin board showing when a group has mastered a lesson instead of tracking individual students.

“At recess, they tend to require the students to form new ball teams every day so there aren’t any ongoing competitions or rivalries,” Nolt says.

It’s a structured environment, but that structure can foster creativity.

What are the schools like?

The schools are small, mostly one-room, and are low-tech, with a clock or maybe an engine-powered water pump. That shows technology isn’t important.

Each school has 25 to 35 students seated by grade. The teacher, sometimes working with a teacher’s aide, will call a grade or two to a work table in the front for lessons.

What subjects are taught?

Reading, writing and math, up to pre-algebra, are taught in English. There’s time for penmanship and geography. There’s not a lot of history or science.

Most of the schools have some German instruction, with an emphasis on reading to understand formal religious texts like hymnals, prayer books or the Bible.

Who decides what is taught?

The Old Order Book Society was organized in the 1950s to evaluate books for schools. Each school has a school board made of several students’ fathers. They make decisions on hiring teachers and pay.

Who are the teachers in these schools?

Teachers are graduates of Amish and Old Order schools and usually women age 17 to 20. Few make teaching a career because when they don’t teach after marriage. There are a few male teachers, but that is rare, Nolt says, partially because pay is low.

For example, one local school pays $50 to $75 daily.

Teachers meet every six weeks to share ideas.

Do students take achievement tests like the PSSA?

They’re not required, but some schools have used their own written tests or the Iowa Assessments.

How long is the school year?

School starts in mid- to late August and ends in early to mid-May with about the same number of days as public schools: 180. That’s possible because breaks are short (two days off for Christmas) and there are few snow days.

How do students travel to school?

Schools are within walking distance, so students walk, ride on a scooter or get a ride from an older child driving a pony cart. In rural areas, students might use a school bus.

What does a typical graduation ceremony look like?

There is an end-of-the year picnic with family members.

Can a student continue his or her education?

“If you as an eighth-grader are thinking that differently from your parents about your future, you’re probably not on track to joining the church,” Nolt says.

https://lancasteronline.com/features/together/are-there-amish-graduations-a-primer-on-lancaster-county-s/article_830ebe14-3ccb-11e7-a66d-03664f671cf9.html

D'Amato: Nothing pure in CBC's Mennonite series

Waterloo Region Record
By Luisa D'Amato January 12, 2017 


"Pure," the new CBC Television drama about drug-smuggling Mennonites that premièred this week, is a little bit like the cocaine that is at the centre of the story: It's seductively thrilling, and it's bad for you.

Toronto-based critics have raved about the gorgeous cinematography and fine acting. All true.

But the show — which is seen as a Mennonite version of the American hit series "Breaking Bad" — has also profoundly upset people who actually know something about this small, distinctive and vulnerable subculture.

They say the CBC was grossly inaccurate in its portrayal, and has engaged in hurtful stereotyping.

"There's a lot of misrepresentation," said Marlene Epp, who teaches Mennonite history and is also dean at Conrad Grebel University College at University of Waterloo.

"The Old Order Mennonites, for all their faults and impurities, they're law-abiding. They're good people. They're a good example of living on the land, and living simply, and being peaceful.

"I fear that community will really get maligned and tainted because of this portrayal."

The show's premise offers a double-entendre on its title. The cocaine is pure, and in the fantasies of outsiders, so is the secluded rural community of Mennonites in which it plays out.

The story shows a group of "Mexican" or "Old Colony" Mennonites running drugs from Mexico to Canada.

They're a separate group from the Mennonites who came to settle in Waterloo Region from Pennsylvania in the late 1700s. Some descendants of those early pioneers kept a simple lifestyle, using horses and buggies instead of cars. They're called "Old Order" and live in the country around Kitchener-Waterloo.

But the show acts like a giant blender, whirling them all together along with several other Anabaptist subgroups, and throwing in a bunch of bizarre details on top, like the crucifix mounted above a door in one scene, which in real life never would have been there.

"The show seems sloppily researched and caricatures what it purports to be a real community," wrote Royden Loewen, chair in Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg.

"It gets many things wrong: the accent, the names, the dresses, the theology, the very buggy used, the church architecture, the very notion of the existence of a 'colony.'"

"The inconsistencies are bewildering," says local blogger S.L. Klassen in her post "Oh, what fresh hell is this?" at www.slklassen.com.

"It's as if CBC is pushing us all towards some kind of new Mennohybrid world where groups who have been almost oblivious of each other's existence for 500 years are suddenly swapping up their wardrobes and, in a great Babel-esque move, speaking in a brand new and distinct accent."

Not to mention the horrifying violence, casually employed as it often is in crime dramas, and profound abhorrence of which unites Mennonites of all stripes.

Why does this matter? It's just a show, after all. Drama doesn't resemble real life, as we all know. And if this was Hollywood, or even a privately owned TV network, you could shrug and not watch it.

But this is CBC, which gets $1.2 billion a year in public funds, so the rules are and should be different.

In fact, CBC has a mandate to "inform, enlighten and entertain; to contribute to the development of a shared national consciousness and identity; (and) to reflect the regional and cultural diversity of Canada."

"Pure" certainly entertains, but it does the opposite of informing, enlightening, and reflecting regional and cultural diversity.

In part of the show, the police chief tells off an officer who is investigating the case.

"They're Mennonites who live on farms, not Mennos in buggytown," she says. "Watch the tone."

CBC brass, are you listening?



http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/7061674-d-amato-nothing-pure-in-cbc-s-mennonite-series/

Old Order Mennonite sentenced to 5 years for 'unfathomable' child abuse

Community forgives offender, leaves 'vengeance to God'

By Riley Laychuk, CBC News 

Sep 06, 2016

​Unjustifiable and unfathomable were just two of the words used to describe the abuse of children in a Manitoba Old Order Mennonite community as a judge gave a five-year sentence to the man considered the "main actor" in the abuse.

"The crimes are serious, unjustifiable and, in fact, unfathomable," Justice John Menzies said, describing the children as victims of torture. "What could a child do to deserve that kind of treatment?"

Justice John Menzies handed down the sentence of 5½ years Wednesday afternoon in a Brandon courtroom full of members of the Old Order Mennonite community, which cannot be identified due to a publication ban.

The man, who previously pleaded guilty to seven counts of assault with a weapon and one count of assault, sat silently in the prisoner's box as the Crown gave a lengthy background on the case and on the small, insular horse-and-buggy community where the abuse took place from 2011 to 2013. 

The man pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to one count of sexual assault. A second count was stayed by the Crown in exchange for the guilty plea. 

About two dozen community members sat in court Wednesday, some with their heads down, while others held their heads in their hands. Several left the room when the Crown attorney started detailing the facts related to the sexual assault charge. 

Respected elder 

The Crown described the man as the "main actor" in the abuse, directing and involving others in the discipline of the community's children. 

The prosecutor said the man was a respected elder in the community, and parents were told to take their children to his home for counselling.

That counselling turned into discipline sessions, with cattle prods and straps used to punish the children. Another four men and one woman also were charged for participating in the abuse.

The man's defence lawyer called his actions an "unfortunate chain of events," saying the man believed he was doing the right thing for the community at the time. He said his client is sorry and regrets his actions.

Harsh words from judge 

While delivering his sentence, Menzies read out the names of each of the victims. Their names are protected by a publication ban.

"I hope that as I read out those names that you could see their faces," he told the man. "This is not the type of offences that happened once, or happened twice; these are offences that were inflicted on numerous occasions over the course of years.

"Long, prolonged periods of angry questioning, isolation, physical assaults, prolonged assaults with leather belts, beaten with wooden boards, electric shock with cattle prods.… Who on this earth could possibly think that that is conduct that a child justified?" he said.

Menzies characterized the abuse as a war waged on the community's children, turning their church, which should have been a place of comfort and refuge, into a place of terror. 

"What does a young child think when they are struck 40 times with a leather strap?" Menzies asked. "All you taught them was how to be victims." 

​The 5½-year prison term was jointly recommended by the Crown and defence lawyers earlier Wednesday morning, and the lengthiest sentence for the abuse to date. 

Fourth man sentenced

The man was the fourth man to be sentenced for the abuse, which involved dozens of the community's children. He showed no emotion as he was led out of the courtroom by sheriff's officers while the community members in the courtroom stood in silence. 

Two previously sentenced men received sentences of six months to a year, and another man was sentenced to 18 months in late June. 

A woman was handed three years probation for her role in shocking two girls with a cattle prod and hitting another one with a strap. 

Thirteen people were initially charged in connection with the abuse. Charges against four men and four women were stayed in 2014 after they agreed to peace bonds requiring them to enter counselling and not contact the other accused.

Social workers took 42 children from 10 families into custody after the abuse came to light. 

Thirty-eight of them have since returned to live with their parents in a community that does without modern technology such as running water, television and the internet, which they would have experienced in foster care.

Two teenagers refused to return to the community. Two of the children were made permanent wards of Manitoba Child and Family Services. 

Leave 'vengeance to God'

Outside court, a community leader handed reporters a statement, expressing deep regret and shame over the abuse but forgiveness for the offender. 

The statement said they do not want to seek revenge or reimbursement for any of the losses they have suffered.

"We leave justice to the government and vengeance to God," the statement says. 

The community now hopes to heal and provide safety for the families, the statement says.

Court heard that 13 families lived in the small community at the time the abuse came to light. Nine remain. 

---

Full statement from the community

As members of the [name withheld due to a publication ban] Mennonite Community, we express deep regret for the abuse and shame that took place in our midst.

We want to humbly [re-build] the community in harmony with Christ and his teaching. 

We do not want to seek revenge or ask for reimbursements for the losses we suffered, instead we choose to forgive the offender and desire that he would come to full repentance so the he can be found forgiven from God as well. 

We leave justice to the government and vengeance to God.

Our desire is that our community may heal and our families be safe.  

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/final-old-order-mennonite-sentence-1.3750493

 

Old Order Mennonite makes emotional apology in child assault sentencing

Riley Laychuk

CBC News
February 17, 2016

 

Old Order Mennonite 

A 32-year-old Old Order Mennonite man made an emotional apology to the children, the RCMP and the child welfare system at his assault sentencing hearing in Brandon Wednesday.

The man previously pleaded guilty to five counts of assault with a weapon and one count of assault. He'll have to wait until at least April 11 to be sentenced.

The Crown asked for 18 months in custody for the 32-year-old man, who cannot be named in order to protect the victims in the case. CBC News is also not identifying the insular horse-and-buggy community.

The Crown gave a lengthy history of the case Wednesday morning, detailing how children in the community were abused with cattle prods, straps and by the hands of their abusers between 2011 and 2013.
One child suffered nerve damage

Court heard that one of the children sustained nerve damage while others sustained bruising as a result of the prolonged abuse that, the Crown said, took place because "zealous adults conceived that strong punishments were necessary to save the children from the sin of lust."

"The adults came to believe (mistakenly) that most of the children in their community had been sexually active with their parents and other siblings," Crown attorney James Ross stated in a written submission.

The defence made its submission Wednesday afternoon. It included a letter of apology, read by the man to court quietly and with obvious emotion.

"Quite clearly he's remorseful," defence lawyer Scott Newman said, adding the man took responsibility for his actions in the early stages and has engaged with CFS to learn new ways to parent.

He argued that the man should only receive six to 12 months in custody and disputed the Crown's assertion that the man was the second-worst offender of the four. He is now living with his wife and children in a new community, Newman said, adding it hasn't been an easy three years for the man and his family.

"The important thing is that the accused expressed significant remorse for his role in what had happened and took full responsibility and he's prepared to face the sanction the court hands down to him," Newman said outside of court.

"There will be a period or an attempt at reconciliation. My client indicated he wants to reach out and make apologies to all those that he's hurt and all those that have been affected by his actions and we'll have to see whether or not people are prepared to accept his attempts at making amends."

​​Many members of the small Old Order Mennonite community arrived at the Brandon courthouse on a school bus. A few sat with their heads down during the hearing. They declined a request for comment.
Child abuse investigation into excessive discipline

Meanwhile, another man entered guilty pleas on Wednesday morning to seven counts of assault with a weapon and one count of assault. The 58-year-old man is considered to be the community's leader, described as a "main actor" in the case. He will be sentenced at a later date.

All these charges stem from a child abuse investigation in which social workers apprehended 42 children from 10 families. That was all but one of the community's children.

So far, 38 have been returned and are living with their parents, who are receiving counselling and parenting courses. Two of the children have been made permanent wards of Child and Family Services.

While in foster care, many of the children have been exposed to modern technologies they would not have seen at home, from electricity and running water, to television and the internet. Two teenage children are now refusing to return to their conservative Christian community.

Originally, 13 people were charged in connection with excessive discipline – in some cases, involving straps, whips, and cattle prods.

In 2014, charges against four men and four women were stayed. They agreed to peace bonds to enter into counselling and have no contact with the other accused.

In addition to today's sentence, two other community members are already serving time ranging from six months to one year for their assault charges. A woman was sentenced to three years' probation for her role in shocking two girls with a cattle prod, and strapping another one.

According to Crown submissions, not all of the men took part equally or performed all the acts alleged, but each took part in long-term repeated acts of harsh discipline of multiple children.

Apology letter to the court

We are gathered here today because of my wrongs. I have griefed many people due to my past conduct.

I am sorry how I treated the children. I did not treat the children with respect as a Christian should. And due to my conduct the children's trust and lives became shattered.

I believed the stories to be true at that time but now I want to say sorry to you all as I see that not all was as I was led to believe.

To the RCMP I want to say sorry for the time and money spent on my case. I am ashamed and deeply regret the past.

To the Child and Family Services I also want to say sorry. As I struggled to understand the legal system I did not always respond as would have been my duty. I also want to apologize for all the time and money spent because of my mistakes.

To the children, I want to say I am sorry how I treated you. It was not right what I did, nor was it a Christian example as was my duty. I am sorry I let you down. You suffered much and I caused you pain and distress.

For a long time I wished I could have permission to apologize to you. I want to live in such a way that you can feel the sincerity of my apology and that you can once again trust me to lead a godly walk of life which is also acceptable to our Heavenly Father. Again, I am very sorry for how I mistreated you, and I wish you strength and hope as you go on in life's journey.

I humbly ask you all for forgiveness for my wrongs. It is my desire and my goal to live in such a way that my regret of the past can be felt and seen. It is my desire to love and care for my wife and children.

I now want to accept what the Courts feel is fair judgement for my wrongdoings.

With files by CBC's Karen Pauls

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/old-order-mennonite-sentencing-hearing-1.3452109

RCMP investigate allegations of sexual abuse on Old Order Mennonite community

Karen Pauls

National Reporter 

CBC News
February 1, 2016

The RCMP is investigating allegations of sexual abuse on an
Old Order Mennonite community in Manitoba. The allegations
come from Emma, left, and Anna Marquart,
 who left the community in 2013

The RCMP is investigating allegations of sexual abuse on an Old Order Mennonite community in Manitoba, CBC News has learned.

The allegations come from two women who left the community in 2013.

Anna Marquart, 26, is now married to a non-Mennonite man from the surrounding area. She took his last name when they married. Her 24-year-old sister, Emma, is living with them and has also changed her last name, saying she doesn't want any association with the community anymore.

"Up until now nobody was strong enough to withstand what the community members say did not happen," Emma said in an exclusive interview with CBC News.

"They are good at covering up. Their deceit is really crafty. Their lies are worse. I have experienced all of that. It is very hard to get out of that," Anna added.

Both women allege the abuse began when they were still living in Ontario, before their group broke fellowship with the larger community in late 2006 and relocated to Manitoba.

Anna's first memory of abuse comes when she was four or five years old, and forced to give oral sex to a member of her family. She said the anal sex started when she was 10.

"That was so bad, I almost fainted and puked. You weren't allowed to go to doctors so you had to suffer the pain," she said.

A September 2015 gynecologist's report indicates her injuries required sutures.

"It sounds like she lived through a nightmare," the report reads.

Emma alleges she was also five when a family member forced her to give him oral sex in the bathroom of their Ontario church.

"I still remember it because it stunk so much," she said.

The abuse continued for years, involving different men. Emma said she was gang-raped by five men at age 14 while she was already pregnant. She didn't know who the father was, but says the pregnancy was terminated.

"They gave me something and when I woke up, my belly was less and there was lots of blood."

When the community moved to Manitoba, Emma said she was pimped out to local men who were brought to a shed or workshop for sex. She heard the men promising to pay but never received any of the money.

"I hated it. I fought as much as I could but if you fought till you were tired, then you had no strength left. You got beaten," she said.

Emma said she got pregnant a second time, after being raped by a family member.

The girl was taken away at birth and is still living on the community. She's been brought up to believe she is someone else's child, Emma claimed.

"I am willing to do a DNA test. I love my daughter and I would like her to have a better life," she said.

However, someone who knows the community well and is trusted by its leaders is convinced "this is a false allegation."

"Emma has lived in the community continuously and if she had given birth to a child it would have been known by the community and the fact of it disclosed to me," said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous.

The women recently gave lengthy police reports, detailing decades of alleged abuse.

"Our case is ongoing and as such, the allegations are being investigated," RCMP spokesperson Sgt Bert Paquet wrote in an email.

"This specific case brings its own challenges, however as with any investigation, once completed, we will consult with the Crown to determine whether or not charges will be laid. Several investigative steps still need to take place before this decision is made."

CBC News has learned RCMP officers recently visited the home of the girl Emma claims is her daughter, although Paquet will not confirm if they took DNA samples.

The sisters know they'll be called liars and will be criticized for telling their story publicly. They say it's taken years to gather the courage to leave and speak up.

CBC is not identifying the alleged abusers, several of whom are no longer living in the community

However, one is already facing charges of sexual assault involving an adult and a child between 2010 and 2013. He is contesting the charges.

Community leaders were asked for an interview through an intermediary, but they declined to comment.
'We don't hear about it because it's internal'

Old Order Mennonites are deeply religious, hard-working, frugal, and have a strong sense of community.

Many eschew technology and modern conveniences, and are known for using horses and buggies rather than vehicles. They are not part of social welfare programs or healthcare.

They try to stay separate from Canadian society and are often distrustful of outsiders.

"When issues of abuse or something like that becomes public or comes before the courts, then internally something hasn't worked," said John J. Friesen, a retired professor from Canadian Mennonite University, and an expert on conservative Mennonite, Amish and Hutterite groups.

"Either the discipline system isn't functioning properly in that community or the person they attempted to discipline isn't taking discipline."

It takes a lot for someone to leave a closed community like this because they are usually leaving their family and kinship groups, and giving up financial and psychological support networks, he said.

"That's a big break and not done lightly. [Leaving] would be very big because everything that's familiar to them would then be lost, given up, and they would need to start over again, rebuilding a different life on the outside. It's traumatic," Friesen said.

"If somebody leaves and they state a reason why they left, my first inclination would be to believe them because the price they would have to pay for leaving is so high."

While most Old Order Mennonite or Amish communities function very well, Friesen said problems can develop if they are isolated geographically or psychologically from other like-minded groups that hold them accountable.

Karen Pauls is an award-winning journalist who has been a national news reporter in Manitoba since 2004. She has travelled across Canada and around the world to do stories for CBC, including the 2011 Royal Wedding in London. Karen has worked in Washington and was the correspondent in Berlin, Germany, for three months in 2013, covering the selection of Pope Francis in Rome.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/old-order-mennonite-sexual-abuse-allegations-1.3424523

Mennonite fined $50K for abducting kid from child services

Sun News
November 7th, 2014
Dean Pritchard
QMI AGENCY


WINNIPEG — A male member of an Old Order Mennonite community that was thrust into the spotlight after all of its children were seized by child welfare authorities amidst allegations of severe physical abuse was fined $50,000 Wednesday after admitting to helping hide one of the children for several months.

Neither the man or his southern Manitoba community can be identified by name.
The 31-year-old man pleaded guilty to assisting in removing a child from his community, knowing he was in care.

The fine, jointly recommended by the Crown and defence, is the maximum allowed for the Child and Family Services Act offence.
Additional charges of child abduction and obstruction of justice were stayed by the Crown.

The boy disappeared May 26, 2013, and wasn't located until late August.
Court heard the man helped hide the boy at a number of community homes before he was relocated to a home in Saskatchewan. He repeatedly told CFS and police he knew nothing of the boy’s whereabouts.

Crown attorney Nicole Roch said the man and other community members hid the boy and other children so they couldn't provide police statements regarding allegations of sexual and physical abuse.

Defence lawyer Ted Mariash argued the man was aware the boy was unhappy and "struggling" in his foster placement and only wanted to help him.
The boy "came to my client in an extreme state of need and my client acted accordingly," Mariash said.

More than a dozen adult community members were arrested and all of the community's children were taken into care last year after allegations surfaced that the children had been subjected to severe physical abuse, including being shocked with cattle prod.

Most of the residents have dealt with their charges by way of peace bonds. The community's former de-facto leader Enos Bauman remains before the court.
The boy remains in foster care "and has expressed significant concerns about returning to his community," Roch said.

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2014/11/20141107-184502.html