"Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt." Exodus 22, 21
Dear Reader!
A horribly inhuman scandal was emerging within Germany recently; Security officers working in different fugitive camps across Germany are now under investigation for abusing and humiliating fugitives, taking photos and videos of some of their criminal acts. The media coverage shed light on the chaotic fugitive handling in these days of severely increased fugitive numbers needing at a minimum food, shelter, and protection. To be overwhelmed with the sudden need and therefore not being able to quickly deliver best care possible for every single fugitive is one thing, but for individuals to abuse their power and responsibility over people in desperate need is plainly shocking. A movie like "The Experiment" shows how easily people are seduced by the power their are entrusted with for a time and how in their minds they can justify to mistreat the ones without power.
I cannot imagine the living conditions and circumstances in these fugitive camps but apparently only 4-6 officials were hired to tend to and protect hundreds of people in one facility. Lack of supervision led to officials with alleged neo-nazi background to get away with cruelly "lording over" problem causing fugitives and rather than keeping their human dignity in mind, "disciplining" them without measure. It is unknown at this point who exactly was subject to their abuse.
This situation really strikes a chord within me. First, the scenario that someone in need of help falls into the hands of a predator.
Any abuse, including spiritual abuse, is made possible by the mere state of need or lack of empowerment of a person. Overpowering a weaker person is different from misusing a person entrusting themselves in someone's care because they are out of other options. I do not know much about the mindset of a fugitive but I understand the need to leave everything you knew behind and hand your life over to someone else. I cannot relate to having to flee from my home country because I am faced with war or violent persecution. But I can relate to realizing the need to start anew and needing help with that. It takes an element of trust, which is always a risk. "Will the person/group/country I entrust myself with end up taking advantage of me or even hurt me?" is probably not the first thing on the mind of a desperate person, having been sparked to trust someone.
But "Sandy" (I changed her name for obvious reasons) was neither in need of help nor a fugitive when she left her home country, the US, and married the Co-Leader of our group. Though she may have had three severe conditions of a different kind. When I met her first at the infamous women's conference in 2007 it became obvious by simply spending time with her that she was an awesome young woman of God in many ways, especially gifted in ministering to and shepherding others, but when it came to her personal life she only had one thing on her mind besides having an unhealthy relationship to her very needy and mentally sick sister: To get married, soon.
So obviously we shared the obsession of getting married soon, but I thought I had the advantage that I thought God had told me that I was going to marry the Co-Leader. When I told her about it on a walk through our beautiful city I heard a voice inside of me saying that it won't be me marrying the Co-Leader; but it will be her. I acknowledged that voice as fast as I ignored it. But I never forgot.
When the Co-Leader went to the US a few months later and came back after a week an engaged man it was clear that I had heard right. Besides that in the meantime I had had my own conviction of leaving the need for a husband with Jesus, so I felt a sense of relief about the development of the story. Within half a year of that conference she had left her life in the US behind and moved to Germany, ever since then having never been able to return to her former home again, neither for funerals or weddings or simply to visit. Celebrating her upcoming wedding as a miraculous move of God, quoting some spiritual guy on marriage that "we don't get married to become happy, but to become holy", she had no clue that she would literally lose her voice in the process. Poor Sandy.
In the next post we will learn more about what happened to her,
To discovering that the Good News are much better than we thought!
