July 18, 2003
FSM 254 / FN 363
Special Issue!
Part Two of a Two-Part Series
Copyrighted April, 1994 by Family Services, Zurich, Switzerland
As with Part 1 of this series, please remember that this compilation is not intended to provide pat answers for every situation you will face. In fact, some points may appear to offer conflicting advice. As always, you will need to counsel together, & ask for the Lord's specific guidance & leading to help you discern which points can best be applied to your situation.
Demonstrations get results! It was only days after our worldwide protest that our children in France were returned to us.
Picketing & demonstrating nearly always get media coverage; they draw attention to our cause, get out our side of the story, & reflect badly on those we are demonstrating against.
Make the event as big as possible by notifying the press, radio & TV news departments well in advance of your demonstration. Contact them again by phone early in the morning of the protest to remind them of the time & place.
Picketing should mostly emphasise the violation of human rights, police brutality, cruel treatment of foreigners, etc.
If we focus on human rights & civil liberties, & police brutality, much of the World can agree that even "cults" should have some rights & should be treated as human beings. Even if the public really rides the "cult" issue in response to our counterattack, there's not much they can say to defend themselves if our human rights have been violated.
A sackcloth vigil to protest raids may not be appropriate as a first recourse because this could be construed as quite fanatical by most & seem to give the authorities justification for having taken our kids away. It's better to have mothers & fathers & sisters & brothers out there saying "Give our children back!" rather than red-robed prophets.
If there are several Homes in your area, each Home could maintain the picket for one day at a time on a rotational basis, or each Home could contribute a certain number of demonstrators each day. Picket signs, banners, lit & other equipment can all be produced in teamwork & shared.
Everyone participating in demonstrations should be well briefed & prayed up beforehand so that they will be ready both physically & spiritually to face some opposition.
"Targets"
Demonstrate outside of institutions where our children are being held.
Picket at City Hall or appropriate government buildings.
Picket the judge's office or house, or the police chief's—whoever's guilty.
March on the office or home of the prime minister &/or president.
Internationally, in addition to the embassies, chambers of commerce, consulates & diplomatic missions of the country where the persecution is taking place, other locations to picket could include that country's national airlines & tourism offices. Highlighting the fact that foreigners have received brutal treatment in that country will probably make tourists think twice about going.
International events & cultural events where the country in question is doing PR shows can be targeted for demonstrations, both in the country where the persecution is being held & elsewhere.
Aim Straight
Make it clear in your signs & literature, etc., that you are not coming out against the general public or country as a whole, but rather against the specific officials or government agencies who are responsible. The purpose of the demonstration is to sway public opinion to our side. Don't antagonise the people.
Give everyone a chance to hear the truth. For example, even if embassy staff talk bad about us to those who are inside on business during our demonstrations, it often arouses their interest & they want to hear our side when they come out.
Be careful that you are not provoked into a fight by hecklers. Watch your sample.
Permits
An application for permission to demonstrate usually needs to be lodged with the police several days before a demonstration. The police may shorten considerably the time of advance notice if you cite valid reasons for them doing so.
If the number of demonstrators is small, then it may be easier to obtain a permit on short notice.
The police will inform you regarding where & how you may demonstrate (i.e., not on the private property of your target; amplified megaphones may not be allowed etc.)
It's usually best to keep the element of surprise by not informing your "target" that you are planning to picket.
Relations with the Police
During previous demonstrations, most of the police around the World were friendly & courteous. The notable exception was in France, where they gave strict rules for the demonstrators to abide by & told them that if they moved off of the designated space, they would be hauled off to jail.
Meet with the police on the scene of the demonstration before starting, & give them your press release & other material on the situation. Show them your presentation album. Explain that the Bible teaches us to "obey the powers that be" & thank them for their protection. Since we will undoubtedly be doing more picketing, the more goodwill you can build up with the police the better.
Be prepared for the police to take photographs of you & samples of all your lit, & even check names & ID.
The police will undoubtedly receive some flak from the target of your demonstration, & may pass some of their requests on to you, such as a request for you to move across the street. You are within your legal rights to demonstrate in the spot detailed on your permit; however, if the police are firm about the request, comply. In exchange for your cooperation, they may be lenient in other matters.
The police may be required to fill out reports on demonstrations, & if you are cooperative, then this will go down in their reports & will build up goodwill.
A policeman told one of our teams, "Your cooperation with us in keeping the demonstration peaceful & staying off the sidewalk [& all the little things they asked us to do] was very much appreciated."
After reading our Statements, one set of policemen assigned to one of our pickets realised what kind of characters our enemies are & asked what they could do to help protect us if we were to get attacked by them during our demonstrations.
In one city, the police were so won over by our team's sample that they escorted our team safely out of the demonstration area after one of our enemies had showed up the day before.
Flyers & Lit
Place a high priority on distributing flyers, press releases, Statements & other relevant lit to those who witness your protest. Remember, the written word will go further & continue to work long after the event.
Some demonstrators should have their hands free of signs & be designated to pass out flyers & man the literature stand.
Letters of Protest During Demonstrations
At some time during your demonstration, deliver a letter of protest to those whom you are demonstrating against, detailing your grievance. If you can do this with considerable fanfare, reporters, photographers & cameramen present, all the better. Or take your own photos &/or video footage to the media.
If attempts to hand in a letter of protest are rebuffed, get photos or footage of this.
If all else fails, try to find a third party (i.e. someone else entering the office) to deliver your letter for you.
Signs & Banners
Use periods for acronyms such as "C.A.N.", "U.S.", "U.N.", etc., to make your message clearer.
Along with the regular picket signs, long banners are also particularly effective.
Make signs & banners large, bright, colourful & clear.
Signs with light-coloured backgrounds & dark lettering are generally clearest & most easily read from a distance.
Have a slogan or picture on both sides of the picketing sign.
If your Home or area has an artist, you could consider having art work on some of your picketing signs, such as a picture of a mother nursing her baby, behind bars. Pictures should be shocking, as well as clearly understood at a distance.
Sandwich-board signs that can either be worn or placed on the ground are very effective.
You may want to make the handles of your picketing signs long enough so they can rest on the ground at times & still be clearly seen by passersby. This makes picketing less tiring for the arms.
Varying lettering styles & not making the signs look too perfect gives picket signs a more personal, spontaneous & "genuine" character.
As it is quite likely that we will be doing more & more demonstrations, save any signs or other materials which you may be able to reuse. Some Homes were able to use their French signs for Argentina picketing by simply changing "France" to "Argentina".
Petitions & Petition Postcards
Have petitions &/or petition postcards for passers-by to sign, registering their outrage & solidarity with us.
Before circulating petitions at demonstrations, find out what is the officially accepted format & language for such petitions in order for them to bear legal weight with the government. Among other things, the specific laws or rights that you feel are being breached need to be quoted at the top.
Advertise your petition postcard drive with a big banner reading, "Send a postcard to to stop Human Rights violations!" or something to that effect. Catch people's attention & show how they can get involved.
An easel or table can be set up where people can fill out & sign a petition or petition postcards.
Have a supply of postage stamps on hand so that those completing petition postcards can buy a stamp from you & leave their card with you to mail.
Be Highly Visible
If permissible & feasible, park a flat-bed truck on your demonstration site, to use as a stage.
On a march it could be good to stop at a few key points along the way to sing & deliver short speeches.
Megaphones
A good, powerful, battery-operated, hand-held megaphone is a great asset during demonstrations. Whatever you say, read or chant over a megaphone will be heard blocks away & also penetrate your "target", creating quite an unnerving effect!
You may need to inquire specifically about the use of megaphones when you apply for your permit. If amplified megaphones are not permitted, make your own out of card stock.
It has proven effective to read press releases & protest letters over a megaphone.
Do voice tests of those on your demonstration team to determine whose voices come across best over the megaphone. Some people just sound better & clearer than others.
Whoever is talking on the megaphone can make sound-bite challenges such as: "You can take our kids, but you can't talk. Come out & talk with us or let us come in & talk with you!" (See "Chanting" below.)
Singing & Performing
Try pre-recording songs like, "Onward, Christian Soldiers!", "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus!", "They Say a Man Can't Be a Christian", "Jesus the Light", etc. Broadcast them over a PA system & have everybody sing along with them.
Children performing at demonstrations, as well as press conferences, can be a very powerful witness. Our children's sample speaks louder than all of our enemies' lies. In cases where they're accusing our parents of abusing the children, the public would expect to see abused children, not our bright, happy, smiling, outgoing, well-adjusted kids. At one embassy the staff & officials seemed more ruffled by the children's singing than anything else. However, having young children picket may not be a good sample & could be considered "abuse", so be sensitive to the situation. If kids participate, keep it short & quit before they tire & "droop".
Chanting
Chanting slogans can be particularly effective. Whoever leads these should use a megaphone, if possible.
Chants such as, "Give our children back!" or "We want justice!" etc., are quite powerful!
Use back-&-forth chants like, "What do we want?"—"Our children back!"; "When do we want them?"—"Now!"; or "Cult Information Centre"— "Lies! Lies! Lies!"
Other Attention Grabbers
In cases where our young children have been taken from us, their parents can demonstrate with empty baby buggies & signs saying, "Give My Baby Back!"
Put up "missing children" posters of each of our sweet little children's faces, like they do for missing children in some places: "MISSING: AMERICAN CHILD, last seen happy at home before (name country) police broke in, brutalised parents & took him/her away. Anyone knowing his/her whereabouts, please contact distraught missionary parents at ."
Make enlarged photos of the main culprits (judge, police chief, etc.) & use them in a visual display at your demonstrations, along with pictures of smashed doors, bruised or battered bodies, weeping parents, missing children, empty children's beds, etc.
Enlarge the relevant press releases & include them in the visual display at your demonstration site. The Homes under attack could also post these on their gate for passers-by to read.
Boycotts
Many activist groups are geared to such boycotts & can rally considerable support. Once you're organized, notify the persecuting country of the boycott & provide them with a list of participating groups.
At demonstrations, promote a boycott of the persecuting country's goods with a sign with the words, "(Such-&-such country's) goods" behind a red circle with a diagonal line across it, which is the standard symbol when something is not permitted or not recommended.
Some of the Signs Used to Protest the Raids <R>in France & Argentina Were:
THE FAMILY PROTESTS POLICE BRUTALITY & HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT
NO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN FRANCE!
CHILD ABUSE BY FRENCH POLICE & SOCIAL SERVICES!
CRUEL TREATMENT OF (NAME COUNTRY) CITIZENS IN FRANCE!
FRANCE BREAKS THE U.N. RIGHTS OF THE CHILD AGREEMENT!
LET OUR CHILDREN GO!
NO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN FRANCE!
GIVE OUR CHILDREN BACK!
POLICE BRUTALITY IN FRANCE!
FRENCH POLICE USE GESTAPO-LIKE TACTICS ON CHRISTIANS
FRANCE VIOLATES HELSINKI FINAL ACT SECTION 7!
A.D.F.I. CULT IN FRANCE GUILTY OF CHILD ABUSE!
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN FRANCE!
"IF THEY HAVE PERSECUTED ME, THEY WILL PERSECUTE YOU ALSO."—JESUS
A.D.F.I., C.A.N., F.A.I.R., DIALOGUE CENTRE? THE MODERN INQUISITORS?"
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY IN FRANCE? NOT FOR RELIGIOUS MINORITIES! (The first part is the French counterpart to the American quote in God we trust".)
PERSECUTION IN FRANCE: 1293—THE CATHARS, 1993—THE FAMILY
FOREIGNERS ARE NOT SAFE IN ARGENTINA!
MISSIONARIES GET JAILED IN ARGENTINA!
VISITING ARGENTINA?—DON'T LET THEM KNOW YOU'RE A CHRISTIAN!
BOYCOTT ARGENTINA!
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM!—STOP TRADE WITH ARGENTINA!
BOYCOTT GOVERNMENTS THAT ABUSE CHILDREN!
THE INQUISITION IS BACK!
STOP ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT ABUSE OF CHILDREN!
RELIGIOUS RIGHTS!—IF THEY TAKE THEM FROM US, THEY WILL TAKE THEM FROM EVERYONE!
CONSPIRACY AGAINST CHRISTIANS!
RELIGIOUS GENOCIDE IS NOT GOOD GOVERNMENT!
IF IT CAN HAPPEN TO US, IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!
RESTRICTING RELIGIOUS RIGHTS IS A MOCKERY OF DEMOCRACY!
STOP CRUSHING CHRISTIANS!
STOP THE INQUISITIONAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN!
ARGENTINA AUTHORITIES TAKE ORDERS FROM U.S. HATE GROUPS!
ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT KIDNAPS MISSIONARY CHILDREN!
DUNGEON CONDITIONS FOR 8 JAILED MISSIONARY WOMEN: 2 X 2 METRE ROOM, NO WINDOW, ONE MATTRESS, ONE BLANKET, NO TOILET!—IN ARGENTINA!
AMERICAN CONSUL IN ARGENTINA OFFERS TO FREE JAILED TEENS IF THEY'LL DENY THEIR FAITH!
MOTHER & HER THREE-MONTH-OLD BABY JAILED IN ARGENTINA!
NO HUMAN RIGHTS, NO TRADE!
NO JUSTICE IN ARGENTINA!
PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN IN ARGENTINA!
ARGENTINA PERSECUTES MISSIONARIES!
STOP THE DIRTY WAR" AGAINST CHILDREN!
THE DIRTY WAR" GOES ON!
ARGENTINE JUDGE CAN'T FIND FACTS SO HE PEDDLES LIES!
DON'T FLY ARGENTINE AIRLINES! (When outside a travel agency.)
MARQUEVICH: JUDGE, PROSECUTOR, JURY & EXECUTIONER!
CORRUPT JUDGE LIES ABOUT MISSIONARIES!
WHO'S PAYING JUDGE MARQUEVICH?
Public Prayer Vigils
If you choose to have some time of public prayer during your picketing demonstrations, following are a few suggestions or ideas to consider:
Newspaper reports on this type of demonstration will probably be published on the religion page & have a different readership than most of our other publicity.
When notifying the media of your public prayer vigil, contact the religious editors.
Get the churches involved. Contact the pastors of churches, asking them to mention our missionaries in prison during their sermons & to ask their congregations to pray for them. Even the more modernistic churches may rally to the causes of religious freedom & human rights.
Find some way to draw the public into your prayer vigil, such as passing out small candles & asking people to "light a candle for religious freedom" or passing out ribbons & saying, "Please wear this ribbon today in memory of religious freedom." Choose something that will have universal appeal.
Many religions & cultures relate lighting candles to prayer, so you may want to light candles at your public prayer vigil.
Make a large display listing of the names of all the people you are praying for & their ages, accompanied by photos, if possible. (One 1967 issue of Life Magazine printed the pictures of every G.I. that had been killed in Vietnam that week—page after page after page of just snapshots with names—& this really brought the cost of the war home to the American people.)
Display the Family symbol on a banner.
Pass out little printed cards explaining what you are praying for & asking others to pray for our missionaries when they get home. This card could also appeal for other types of support—financial, legal & otherwise. Be sure to include a contact address or phone number.
Set up a table or easel for people to sign a petition.
Have a number of large Bibles in prominent view.
You may wish to use a microphone or megaphone so that your prayers will be heard & understood by those watching.
Have small pillows available for those kneeling in prayer on the ground or pavement.
You may choose to involve children in your public prayer vigil, as children kneeling in prayer is a very powerful sight. Be careful, however, not to have them kneeling or participating for too long, or it could appear extreme. Usher them off at the first sign that their attention is wandering or their countenances begin to fade, or this could backfire.
Prepare written prayers which can be read.
Read or pray in unison, particularly familiar passages like the Lord's Prayer.
Pray deliverance verses & Psalms right from the Bible, such as Psalm 35, 36, 37 & familiar passages such as Psalm 23 & the Lord's Prayer. For this you may want to have a big Bible set up on a podium. A number of people could take turns reading prayers from the Bible.
Include appropriate prayer songs such as "The Prayer of St. Francis." That song was very popular in Japan during the major media war of 1992.
Sing appropriate songs from "Fear Not" & other Scripture song Tapes, such as Psalm 23 or Psalm 121.
Quote appropriate memory Psalms, Chapters & passages.
As the Lord answers your prayers, be sure to testify to as many of those you notified of the need as possible. This would include contacting the churches you asked to pray with you, preparing a press release for papers who wrote about your prayer request, individuals who contacted you in response to the cards you passed out, those who signed your petition, etc. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!"—Psa.107:2.
The Family now has enough friends & contacts worldwide that we should be able to make it so hot for those people who stir up trouble against us that they won't want to have anything more to do with us! When persecution strikes, our Family worldwide should appeal immediately to any friends, relatives, or contacts who might be able to bring pressure to bear on the government or judge involved. They should be pounding on their doors & being importunate to get their attention & get some action.
Our contacts should also be encouraged to contact their friends & colleagues to take action on our behalf. Our support could snowball as people we know contact others.
Written Statements
Encourage friends to write directly to the judge or other authorities involved.
Encourage friends to help in the media battle by writing letters to the editor, refuting negative articles & extolling our good works.
Some friends may need help knowing what to write, in which case you could provide them with some specifics, possibly even sample letters, outlining the main issues they should cover & how these issues could be approached.
For more on who to contact for written statements, see "Statements & Affidavits", Persecution Tips Part One, FSM 253, page 4.
Putting Our Friends in the Know
Before they can help, our friends will probably need to know specifics of the situation, such as where the adults & children are being detained, what the actual charges are, if any, etc.
Keep friends & helpers up to date by sharing press releases & positive news reprints, etc. Speak faith & try to major on the victories, but be frank about the problems we face.
Provide those doing supportive statements, or petitioning on our behalf with the names, addresses & phone numbers of those they will be working with or through in the country of persecution, as well as the names & particulars of those who are fighting against us.
Guard Our Friends' Security
Protect your mailing lists from unnecessary danger of attack by keeping their names & addresses encrypted.
When gross violations of our human & religious rights are committed, such as occurred in Australia, France & Argentina, we've got to make a big stink wherever we can! Take our case to UN agencies! Take it to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, legislative & government officials, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.!
Governments who take our children must be shown that they have broken international law by violating the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, etc. Prepare press releases & flyers to that effect to show that we are going to make them take this seriously.
Protest any serious human rights violations such as: 1) brutality which took place during the raids; 2) inhumane prison cell conditions; 3) violence, coercion or falsification during interrogation;4) attempts at faith-breaking &/or involvement of deprogrammers or other ACM agents; 5) deprivation of basic necessities; 6) cruel separation of children from their parents; 7) prejudicial treatment by court officials; 8) court involvement in the spreading of false & unsubstantiated charges.
Who To: In the Country Of Persecution
Foreigners involved in raids should contact their embassies &/or consulates for help. Consular officials are very used to helping in these types of situations & we have found them to often be helpful & even very instrumental in getting positive action on our behalf.
Consular officials can also often get in to see the children, even in cases where this has been refused to the parents, & can therefore possibly act as a two-way conduit for information—but do so with caution as not all consular officials are favourable. Each situation must be prayed over & judged on its own merits.
Contact the members of the national government (i.e. members of parliament, congress, etc.) who represent the area where the raids took place & give our side of the story.
Contact the Internal Affairs Department of the Police & the Internal Affairs Department of the judicial system where this is taking place. (In some countries this is called the Inspector General's Office.) These departments exist in almost every country & serve as the policing body within the framework of the judicial system & the police. It is their duty to investigate abuse &/or corruption that is taking place within those branches of government & answer to the Attorney General of the country.
For example, if a particular judge is biased or being manipulated by CAN, the Catholic Church, etc., the Internal Affairs Department of the judicial system should conduct an investigation from the inside. This would put quite a bit of pressure on him.
The same would apply to the police. If they abused their authority while raiding our Homes, or if there were valuables missing that belonged to us, they could be investigated.
There may be children's rights associations that we can complain to about the treatment of our children in the care of Social Services.
If the situation involves Americans, consider approaching the American commanding general of any U.S. forces stationed in or near the country of persecution. For example, we could have contacted the general in charge of NATO, based in Brussels, Belgium, concerning the case in France.
Who To: Worldwide
Protests to the persecuting country's consulates & embassies should be made as soon as possible.
In some cases, it might be wise to first try to explain our situation & position to embassy or consular officials of the persecuting country, rather than picket right off the bat. It may be possible to win them over, or at least help them to not get personally offended when we demonstrate.
One of the U.S. State Department's functions is to handle complaints involving U.S. citizens overseas. Ask the U.S. embassy in the country where the persecution is taking place to assist in the speedy resolution of our case. When the State Department contacts the embassy involved, this sends the signal that Washington is watching, which often helps to get the officials on the scene moving faster. (Note: In most other countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the equivalent of the U.S. State Department.)
When persecution involves foreign nationals, appeal to the following agencies to assist them:
* The Helsinki Commission, persecuting country's desk: The Helsinki Commission's formal name is "The Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe, the CSCE". This commission is comprised of 33 European countries, as well as the United States & Canada. The treaty this commission oversees has definite provisions against religious persecution. The Helsinki Commission moves very slowly.
* The World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland. The WCC are mostly modernists, & have considerable influence. There are also regional & national councils of churches.
* ACRM (American Council for Religious Movements). They have a reputation for success with high level mediation between governments & NRMs. They have a membership of 1,800 people, including a number of scholars & lawyers, who they call on for counsel & to write statements. Before they get involved, they require a proposal as to what needs to be done. (If ACRM is needed, please contact your CROs who will contact those in touch with ACRM.)
* The World Court, which is based in Den Haag, Holland.
* The Human Rights Court, in Strasbourg, France.
* International Human Rights Watch. This organisation has offices monitoring human rights on every continent: Americas Watch (North & South America); Asia Watch; Helsinki Watch (Europe); & Middle East Watch.
If your country is at odds with the persecuting country over any other matters, this will probably make your country's officials even more upset & willing to help on your behalf.
Keep your consulate & embassy officials updated on any shenanigans of the local judges, prosecution, or police & document this.
How To
Do some investigative work to find out who is an authority at the offices to which you plan to appeal. Make appointments to see the right people.
When lining up appointments with different influential people, it will soon become clear where these people in key positions stand in regards to us.
First impressions are important. Before explaining the persecution or lodging your complaint, show the representatives of the various agencies you are dealing with an overview of the good works we are doing internationally. Win them first, or at least help them to see the definite positive aspects of our Work.
Make it clear that your grievance is not a personal thing, but rather that you are lodging an official complaint on behalf of our Members directly involved in the conflict.
Carry a portfolio containing copies &/or summaries of favourable court rulings from around the World & other key documents & affidavits. This portfolio should be very presentable & easy to refer to, & include a table of contents. Documentation is the key, as they will expect concrete explanations in writing. The more documentation you have, the more attention will be given to your case.
Know your facts & figures. Study pertinent reports, press releases & other material so that you can present the situation clearly & accurately.
With officials it is good to remember that the anti-"cult" crowd may well have gotten to them before you, so they could initially be very antagonistic. If this is the case, try to find an influential friend to intercede on your behalf & arrange an appointment. A face-to-face meeting can often turn the tide.
Don't be put off by officials who initially might be warm to our approaches, but then turn cold. They are all servants to their governments & sometimes are just obeying orders. Your contact with them is still having the desired effect by putting pressure on the authorities in the persecuting country to release the children & allow us our rights.
If you are rebuffed by an official, try to go to his or her superior. Often the higher up they are, the more concerned they are about their country being portrayed in a bad light, & thus the more sensitive they will be to our civil liberties & human rights complaints.
To get action, it may be necessary to take a fairly aggressive approach. Kick up a fuss until you get to see the right people.
Don't take no for an answer. Politely remind those you are dealing with of their duty as public servants in government to help in situations such as yours.
When following up on a particular government agency which you have approached before, always refer to your previous attempts to get them to take action, listing all the relevant details of each letter, phone call, fax, meeting, etc.
Those handling top-level contacts should be prepared to present our case to government agents as lawyers would in a court of law.
For example, when confronted with the claim that it was the Home Schooling situation that prompted the authorities in France to keep our kids, one of our representatives to the U.S. State Department wisely made it very clear that this was only a pretext. If that were the case, he continued, then why were the children in Lyon released & the children in Aix-en-Provence held? The officials nodded their heads & said, "Yes, that's a good question!" They took note of the point & said that it would be included in their next fax to the U.S. embassy in France.
Our representative went on to say that regardless of what law was being cited, human rights were being violated there: Children were being deprogrammed, families were split up, children were being told that they might never see their parents again & were lied to, etc. He pointed out that the real issue was human rights violations of the children & their parents; that they have a right to freely choose their own religious belief system & operate according to that.
He also explained the different violations in regards to international law with the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child, as well as Section 7 of the Helsinki Final Act. This helped to set the officials back a bit & they shook their heads in agreement that what he was saying was true.
Contacting Elected Representatives
In some countries, elected representatives (i.e., congressmen & senators in the U.S., or members of parliament in many other countries) are duty bound to investigate all complaints coming from their constituents. Many have a time frame within which they are required to answer all constituents. In the U.S. Congress, most offices say they abide by a three-week period in which to answer citizens. If Congress then contacts the State Department, the State Department is required to answer senators & congressmen within three days. If we complain in enough different areas where we have Homes, it should get some action. It would certainly make our case officially on the record & widely known.
Lobbying in the nation's capital is not the only way to reach politicians. It is often more effective to contact elected representatives at their district offices rather than trying to reach them at their offices in the capital. These officials have staff who manage their district offices & forward such messages. This adds weight to such complaints, as they are clearly coming from the politician's own constituencies.
Visit them personally, if possible. If you can't get an appointment with them, speak to their legislative aides (preferably those specialising in human rights issues). Go prepared with a letter describing the situation & relevant supporting literature, which you can leave with them.
Telephone calls to policymakers can be more effective, faster, & cheaper than letters & postcards. All senators, congressmen & members of parliament have offices in their home states/districts. Chances are, one of their district offices is within the local dialing distance of your Home. Many such offices report that ten telephone calls on an issue have a greater impact than ten letters. Faxes can also be very effective.
In addition to contacting your own representative(s), find out what district jailed Family Members are from, & then contact their elected government representatives to inform them that one or more of their constituents are being held in a foreign jail on false charges.
Confine your letter (or phone call) to one specific issue.
Tell your representative exactly what you want done.
Give your reasons for requesting action, but avoid emotional arguments or language that is demanding or threatening. While the subject may be emotion-laden, use facts & illustrations to make your point. Point out the moral issues involved.
Make it personal. Write in your own words. Be brief; try not to go over one page.
Ask for a response; ask your representative what action he/she will take on the matter.
Consider asking for a personal appointment in order to present further documentation & discuss possible courses of action.
Always keep copies of correspondence with your representative.
Have an address & phone number where you can be contacted.—Answer all phone calls & letters promptly.
Thank Yous & Follow-Up
Once a case is resolved, we should be sure to follow up any officials we put pressure on, sharing a victory progress report & thanking them for their consideration & assistance in helping to right a wrong. Keep a line of communication open & continue to minister to those who are receptive.
Strengths, Weaknesses & Teamworking
Different lawyers have different strong & weak points. It is important to find these out, as that will help determine how you will work with them. For instance, it might be necessary to help them do their "homework" if courtroom preparation is not their fort.
Once you are in the heat of battle, it is difficult to judge how good a lawyer is. It pays to have already established relations & know all there is to know about your lawyer in times of peace, before the war hits.
In one situation, a friendly lawyer wanted to help, but couldn't take our case as it was out of his particular area of the law. Instead, he acted as sort of an unofficial ombudsman for us, assessing how our lawyers were doing & giving us advice & information on the side.
Our Lawyers' Role
Time & time again, we have seen how "waiting" on our lawyers to make the first move via diplomatic means, &/or allowing them to restrain us "so as to not offend the authorities," only results in us missing a golden opportunity!
Lawyers are not always right.
We need to learn not to let our lawyers call all the shots, particularly when they try to persuade us against demonstrations, picketing, etc. The Lord expects us to make the Truth known!
Our lawyers' role can be to pick up the pieces, while our job is to get out the Message, & to kick up a stink if necessary in doing so!
Government & law enforcement agents who are known to be antagonistic should be referred to your lawyer. Understand your rights in such cases & claim them in a winsome way, if possible.
Ours is a war of words, & in battle situations we need to get our press releases & other material out quickly. It is sometimes necessary to have our lawyers check that our releases conform to the law, but don't let them hold them up indefinitely. A deadline might be helpful.
Finding New Lawyers
There are associations of human rights lawyers such as the World Jurist Association who may be able to give assistance.
Sometimes we receive offers of help or advice from new lawyers when we already have one or more that we are working with. In such cases, it might be possible to put your lawyer(s) in touch with them to see what they can help with. Maybe they can teamwork.
Lawyers will often not get involved with us or take us on as clients unless we have an actual case. However, some have been so turned on to see us out demonstrating against persecution the Family was suffering elsewhere, that they wanted to visit & learn about us.
Lawyers don't like surprises, so level with them on our controversial beliefs on topics such as the Jews. They could face extreme opposition from the Jewish community if they take us on as clients. We are controversial, to say the least. Give them the opportunity to bow out gracefully. But if they stick with us, they should be ready for a rough ride! We have some Jewish lawyers who when informed of our controversial beliefs, still want to defend our right to our beliefs!
If a lawyer you've retained does not seem to be delivering the goods, it might be necessary to find another. It is best to not have to change horses in mid-stream, but we have done it successfully in some situations. Pray for specific direction on this & be Spirit-led.
Beware of "ambulance chasers"—or lawyers out to make a name for themselves at our expense. Some want to make a big splash at a press conference, etc., but then do no follow-up & poop out.
Communications
Lawyers are busy people & often hard to get ahold of to answer questions. Prior to your appointments with them, fax them a list of questions you need answers to or points you plan to discuss. This will help ensure that your appointments are productive.
It is important to pass on to our lawyers even the most minute details. Info which we consider too small to mention might be just what they need to get the cases thrown out on technicalities.
Lawsuits
In some places, we have been told that we cannot sue unless we are legally registered. But a top law official explained that in his country it was our constitutional right & quoted us the law & gave us a photocopy of the paragraph. He suggested that the case could be filed in the name of a national who has children, & that they could also sign it "in the name of The Family, a missionary group."
When you initiate a lawsuit, sometimes you can't pull out. Then if you lose, you have to pay not only your own court costs, but the other person's legal fees as well. Therefore, if you lose a suit you've initiated, you stand to lose a lot of money. And then, on top of that, the other side can file a counter suit. So before entering into any kind of lawsuit, make sure you understand all the ground rules.
In instituting any legal suits, we'd better be very sure that it is the Lord, because not only is it going to tie us up & take up much of our time, but it is going to take a lot of money that we don't even have.
Some grandparents with whom we've had good relations in "peace times" have stood up for us in difficult times.
Collect your mail regularly. In France, one set of System parents had been notified of the raids three weeks before they happened. They had written their daughter in the Family about them, but the Home had not collected their mail for several weeks & missed the warning.
Of all of the parents of Family Members throughout the World who are going to be barraged by negative propaganda, the parents of the brethren who are in jail will probably get it the worst. If we're not feeding those people & all they get is CAN propaganda, they will be ripe to fall into our enemies' camp & may soon start thinking about "rescuing" their grandchildren. The Family should contact the parents of the brethren who are in jail, especially the parents of the Americans, as they seem to be the ones who would be the first to be motivated or goaded on by our enemies to try to get custody of their grandchildren. Send them a positive media package immediately, & give them anything & everything as an antidote against the lies of our enemies. Phone the parents of those who are in jail. The parents will be grateful to hear from us, even if they're not so favourable. They, of course, are very worried & would welcome all the firsthand news we could give them. You may want to call them from a lawyer's office, letting them know that this is the lawyer that has been retained by the Family & that we're calling to inform them of the situation. Ask them to please call us with any information they have, & let them know that we'll be sending them a packet of information right away. All we need is one such parent to tell us that our enemies have been in contact with them to try to encourage them to get their grandchildren. Once we know what's going on, we could start screaming our heads off about it & expose our enemies' plans to kidnap & deprogram our kids!
The names & addresses of close relatives need to be compiled, along with any pertinent information, including each Family Member's Bible & legal names, how many children they have, their children's names & ages, what sort of relationship they have had with their parents until this point, & any other details that those contacting the grandparent should know.
"We should publicise the recent victories in which the anti-`cult' deprogrammers & people have been put in jail. The last thing in the World they want is to have their evil deeds exposed, so let's publicise it!" (ML#2872:51.)
When ARM (Anti-Religious Movement) agents raise their heads in a case, & file affidavits & start the police in motion, proving their involvement, we have them in a place where we can publicly & legally expose them. We are in a position to counter attack.
Following the release of the children, instead of making your case just an embarrassment to the government, make it an embarrassment to those who were behind the government's attack. If there's any way to prove the complicity of anti-"cult" organisations or others, do so. That will very likely strengthen your legal position.
In one case, when the judge said the accusations he heard may not have been true, our lawyer pointed out that an anti-"cult" organisation had given the police & judicial system false information in order to goad officials into doing their dirty work for them. The judge became quite upset at the idea of him being "used" in this way.
Supply our friends with the names of those who are behind the persecution, including any mainstream organised religions who are involved, such as the Catholics or the ACs.
CAN has very much infiltrated the U.S. State Department, & has loaded them with files on us & other NRMs around the World.
CAN is considered quite credible at the U.S. State Department, which uses CAN for an information base on so-called "cult" organisations.
Often ARM groups are, by their nature, illegal organisations because they are against the basic provisions of the law. This can be used against them.
Watch out for snakes coming in to spy out our liberty. Recently a long-term enemy came to a Home saying that he had a change of heart & wanted to mend his ways. Three days later he hosted a seminar where he blasted us & accused us of child abuse & a host of other crimes. Fortunately our Members got advance notice of the seminar & were able to go & refute the lies. Two former Members boldly stood up for us & exposed his chicanery. n
Lord, bless & keep us all close to You & obedient. Help us to truly be as wise as serpents & as harmless as doves, as You told us.—To be constantly in communication with You, Lord, & close to You & in Thy Will, the hallowed protected center of Thy Will, Lord, united closely together in Thy Spirit, with one mind & of one accord, doing what we know is right & what You want us to do. Then we know that You will take care of us & protect us. Praise You Lord! Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus!" (ML #2641:49).
Copyright 1996 The Family