“After watching the documentary ‘This Is Paris,’ and seeing so many of my fellow program brothers and sisters tell their story, I decided to share mine as well.
I was sent to a behavioral modification program at the age of 16. Since I experienced it first hand, I thought it only right to share my experience, help spread the message, and bring to light the corrupt #WWASP and #TroubledTeen multi-billion dollar industry which profits off of physically, mentally, and emotionally abusing children. All while lying to and taking advantage of their parents during a vulnerable time in their lives, all for the sake of profit.
It was a Saturday afternoon; I had just gotten home from being at the beach all day with my friends. When I walked through my front door my dad was there to greet me and introduced me to his new “friends.” A man and woman, whom I had never met before. He then informed me that they would be taking me to my new school. I immediately tried to run out of the front door, but I was quickly restrained by those people. They handcuffed me and put me in the back of a white Oldsmobile.
As we drove away, I was screaming through the glass window, “Please stop this, I’m sorry, please.”
I begged my dad. “Please, I will behave, I will change, Dad don’t do this, don’t send me away.”
I watched out the window as my home slowly disappearing from my vision.
Three hours later I arrived at the airport in Atlanta, GA, where I was escorted, still handcuffed, down the long terminal, until I arrived at my gate. There I read the words “Air Jamaica.”
I thought to myself, “there is no way Dad would send me to Jamaica.”
Thoughts started racing through my mind. “What in the actual hell is going on? Am I really being sent to Jamaica? What is in Jamaica? Who is in Jamaica?”
I sat at the gate waiting to board the flight, completely stripped of all my dignity. I was still wearing my bikini under my beach cover-up, while uncontrollably crying. I had to board the plane last with my escort, still handcuffed, and placed in the very back row of the plane. It was Spring Break, so most of the flight was college students. I was given looks of pity, confusion, and curiosity as I passed the other passengers on the flight. This was the beginning of the nightmare that I would live for the next nine months and 12 days.
I arrived at the airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and was transferred to a new escort, a tiny little lady, who then drove me to Tranquility Bay, a WWASP program for troubled teens, located in rural St. Elizabeth Parish. Upon my arrival, I was taken to a room, where I was strip-searched and told to remove all my jewelry. I was then given a pair of navy shorts, a white collared shirt, and flipflops. I was then assigned to the “Knowledge” family where I was placed with a “big sister” who, over the next few days, would inform me of the rules, which I was to follow.
I was not allowed to speak unless I raised my hand and was acknowledged by a staff member; I would then have to ask permission to speak once I was acknowledged. If I was granted permission to speak it had to be “on task,” meaning if I was doing school work, it had to be about school work, or if I was in PE, it would have to be about PE. There was no casual conversation allowed, ever. All conversations were monitored by the staff. You were not allowed to look out the window for more than five seconds, or it was considered “run plans,” and you would be given a Category Five (Cat 5) punishment. Then they sent you to lay on the ground, face first, for a minimum of 24 hours, or until they felt you learned your lesson.
Some girls were restrained, beaten, and forced to lay on the concrete for weeks (and in some cases months) at a time if they chose not to “work the program.” Biting your fingernails and popping a pimple were also considered Cat 5 punishments. You could never enter a bathroom with a pen or pencil (another Cat 5). There was limited water, so showers were never guaranteed. If you did get a shower it was freezing cold water and you had a total of four minutes of bathroom use. You would be punished if you went over the time. We were not allowed to make eye contact with anyone and had mandatory headcounts whenever we went anywhere within the facility.
If you had to use the restroom in the middle of the night, you would have to scream for a guard and ask permission. The staff/guards were in charge of how much toilet paper you were given, and what you got, is what you got. There was no air conditioning, and the facility was filthy. Most girls had lice or scabies. All the letters that you would write to your parents were first read by staff, and if you mentioned anything negative in a letter, you would be punished. They would tell your parents that everything you wrote was lies because you were just trying to manipulate them like you have always done.
We were not allowed to speak with our parents until we became a Level Two or Three, (which took about three months to achieve, sometimes longer), and it was a 20-minute phone conversation once a month, with the staff listening the entire time. You were warned and threatened never to speak negatively about the program to your parents or you would be punished and lose phone privileges. We were forced to attend multiple high-intensity, brainwashing type seminars that lasted three to four days, depriving us of sleep and food. Trained facilitators would mentally abuse us through proven methods and techniques known to mentally break you down.
It was not until I achieved Level Four that my parents were finally allowed to come to visit me. Up until this time they had only seen a brochure of the program’s facility, which was completely fabricated. I knew once they saw the living conditions and the facility in person, that they would take me home with them.
Thankfully, I was right. They agreed to let me come home and my nightmare finally came to an end. I think that was one of the happiest days of my life.
Tranquility Bay is now shut down, along with most of the other programs that were located outside the US. Mainly due to child abuse, neglect, and death. It seems that as soon as one program is shut down in the US, another one opens up. This is primarily thanks to the #WWASP organization, which is responsible for financing, operating, and opening these corrupt programs. It is time that they are shut down once and for all.”