For the children of polygamy, another journey
On Saturday, mothers at the shelter housing hundreds of children removed by authorities from the polygamous FLDS compound in Texas wrote the governor complaining about their accomodations. So far the governor's office has not commented, but the children now have another new home.
We just watched 19 buses drive from the old shelter in San Angelo, Texas to the city's coliseum. After 11 days in custody, the mothers and the children will probably, at the least, appreciate the change of scenery.
The state won't comment yet on exactly why the move was ordered.
– David Mattingly, 360° CorrespondentComments to the 360° blog are moderated. What does that mean?
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Filed under: David Mattingly • Polygamy |
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I wonder...
Where are the elderly women?
Where are the disabled children?
While we do not all agree with Polygamy, our primary focus must be on the children.
Children born into a way of life, a culture unknown to us but primary to them. These children will and do require special handling, to have seperated them from their mothers, may, infact, not be the most beneficial to the children. The children are suffering anxiety, they will suffer seperation anxiety, strange surroundings and cultures, unsure of how to respond. The programming doesn't end because they are out of the compound.
Let's treat them withe extra special care, caution and love
I'm sure the mothers are worrying about the eventual disposition of this case – where will the children end up, will they be separated from their children, can they go home to the ranch if they want and if not where are they going to call home? This was a huge disruption to their lives and there must be a great deal of anxiety over what happens next. I hope they find out soon.
Annie Kate
Birmingham AL
David, thanks for the update but I have one question:
Why are millions of $ from the US govt. still going to FLDS
businesses by way of manufacturing contracts.
I read an earlier piece that the mothers' were upset about the medical exams given to the children. Also a statement made about several of the children having chicken pox. I suspect that the children have not been immunized. I'm curious as to whose medical records were confiscated from the compound. I'm wondering if the children were upset at the medical exams because they have suffered physical abuse? The lines could be blurry. It's not unheard of that one interpretation of abuse would be couched as the need to do an 'exam'. If a rampant outbreak of chicken pox occurs- there are a lot of long lasting issues that will have to be dealt with. Given that tragic birth defects occur if a mother contracts the disease during pregnancy- and given that this sect appears bent on creating a certain type of offspring, I have to wonder what happens to children born with birth defects. As to their accomodations- obviously the current housing is foreign to them. I would hope that the lessening oppression and prying bring the women to a place where the fear of the unknown is bearable, and the good intentions of those assisting them form paths to understanding.