Image courtesy The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Amongst the worst things I have been exposed to as a Doctor of International Conflict Management is the abuse of children. I am not so naïve as to have forgotten that US Presidents have participated in human bondage, starting with George Washington, who “owned” at least 13 slaves; I know the institution is far from infallible, yet I never expected to hear “he stole her” from a person in such a place of public trust in the 160 years since the end of owning humans in the US.
Virginia Giuffre was a child when she was “recruited” or “stolen” from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, depending on which version of the story you believe. It is hard to imagine what exactly Donald must have been thinking or remembering when he chose those words. “Stolen:” taking a belonging without permission. Far from a reflection on a life, potential, or the future, the word reflects upon an object. He never shows a reflection of sympathy or remorse.
I have interviewed hundreds of people, read their memoirs, and reviewed evidence on the atrocities they have experienced. There is no limit to things people have endured to prevent the suffering and abuse of a child. Many chose to take the abuse on themselves to spare the child, not just their own children, but any child. Here there is no indication of that shared humanity, no hint of saving this child from the abuse she experienced.
Virginia Giuffre had more courage than Trump ever will. One of the first to come forward as a victim or a survivor, describing the offenses of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein she experienced; Trump has done more to protect the abusers than to pursue justice or aid for those who were abused. Giuffre started Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR) a nonprofit tasked with advocating and providing education for victims of trafficking: “a safe and empowering space for survivors of sex trafficking to reclaim their stories and stand up for themselves and each other.”
One can ponder the abuse Trump could have prevented in the past and could address now, if he chose to think about the stolen children and the steps he is empowered to take on their behalf. At this point a thousand FBI agents have been tasked with redacting Trump’s name from the Epstein file. He has taken more initiative to address the comfort of Ghislaine Maxwell than the children she molested.
The children who were stolen were threatened, a common terrorist tactic employed in abuse; the abusers told the children “nobody will believe you” and in the words of another brave survivor, Sarah Ransome, “It was made very clear to me, that first trip, that if I ever went to the authorities, if I told my parents, if I told my friends, if I ever left, Jeffrey said to me, ‘I will kill you. I will hunt your mother and father down, and I will kill them.’”
They were silenced by abusers. They reported the offenses, and they were ignored. Now, it seems, they are being silenced again. But the spectacle is anything but quiet. The victims, survivors, and their families are not enjoying the circus. Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, reminds everyone: “She wasn’t stolen, she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trump’s property.”
There were words spoken to provide some justice to victims, they came from US Attorney Damian Williams, who said:
“[the] sentence holds Ghislaine Maxwell accountable for perpetrating heinous crimes against children. This sentence sends a strong message that no one is above the law and it is never too late for justice. We again express our gratitude to Epstein and Maxwell’s victims for their courage in coming forward, in testifying at trial, and in sharing their stories as part of today’s sentencing.”
They groomed, molested, and abused children. Trump lied about making the information about the abusers and those who aided and participated in their crimes public. Now, Trump is prioritizing his own protection over children and victims of abuse—their privacy has not been safeguarded–only his has, it seems. It is an unspeakable evil; it is our responsibility to prevent the cover up and finally take these crimes seriously.
“Dear United States,” a survivor wrote before indicting the behavior:
“I wish you would have handled and would handle the whole ‘Epstein Files’ with more respect towards and for the victims. I am not some pawn in your political warfare. What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely.”
Trump and his DOJ’s abuse needs to be stopped, the children were robbed, but now the survivors need a chance to get their lives back. Justice must be served, not merely on Maxwell, but on everyone who criminally enabled or participated in these heinous acts, for that to happen.
The post The Stolen Children appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Wim Laven.