川島真彩の幸せの部屋

Mr.rokusyo man in 30s

My mother became a JW believer when I was a 6 years old boy.

My mother was very kind until she became a believer.
She used to celebrate each of my birthdays with a big birthday cake.
She used to give me a present and prepared a treat for Christmas every year.
For New Year holidays, she made Osechi-ryori which is served in nests of lacquered boxes.
The Boys’ May Festival dolls were decorated in the alcove and there was a carp streamer up in the garden on May 5th.
I used to go to local shrine’s festival with my uncle’s family.

Those things have ended suddenly when my mother started study with JW. I was 6years old and I couldn’t understand what have happened.

On my birthday, there was no cake, no words of “happy birthday”.
On Christmas, the meal was same as usual.
I remember clearly that I tried to give my mother a Christmas card which I made at kindergarten, but she refused to receive it.

From that day, there were no May Festival dolls nor carp streamer at my home.
It was prohibited to go to local shrine’s festival.
I was prohibited to play with my school friends, and my mother drove them back when they came to my house.

She gave me a strict order that I could only play with JW children.
If I play with non-JW children, she whipped me.

In those days, I witnessed the scene that my father and mother were quarreling a lot. Before they used to be on good terms.
My father didn’t allow my mother to go to JW assemblies with children.

My mother didn’t follow his command and she brought children to assemblies so he locked and shut us out many times. Each time, we went to my mother’s JW study master, who lived nearby.
That master (senior believer) often said “In your father’s hart, there is Devil Satan. He is attacking you to discontinue JW study.”

To hearing it, I believed “My father is influenced by Satan” seriously.
Even now it makes me feel sorry to think of my father as I did.

The first time when I went to JW assembly was when I was 6years old and was with my mother on Sunday.
Soon, I recognized that the assembly was boring, I said to my mother, “I don’t want to go to the assembly.” But my mother didn’t allow me that, and she whipped me strongly every time when I said, “I don’t want to go.”
At assembly, if I doze off she whipped me, and if I didn’t take a note, she whipped me also.

While such thing continues, I became follow her meekly to go to assemblies, and I stopped saying “I don’t want to go.” I had a fear that if I say it like that, she will whip me until I die.

It may be unbelievable now, but in those days, it was lectured frequently at assemblies, “I whipped my child with a log because he said “I want to quit JW”, and I succeeded to let Satan go out of my child”.
JW believers discussed at assemblies, “What kind of material is good for whipping, and how many times should we whip” often.
In toilet in Kingdom hall (JW’s assembly hall), there were always rubber hoses and belts of the enamel for whipping.

During the assemblies, there were always whipping sounds and children’s crying like screaming.
For several times, neighboring inhabitants called the police to hear the children’s crying, and a police car was dispatched.
Still it wasn’t uproar.
Maybe it’s because public awareness was loose for physical punishment.

During the whipping, I must not cry nor make a sound uttered in agony. Anyhow I had to endure a pain.
If I cry, my mother said “you still have Satan in your mind” and whipped more.
Even if that whipping was unreasonable, I mustn’t make an excuse nor argue.  If I do that, whipping will be several times.

It depends on families, but in those days, JW children were whipped almost same ways. Whipping was 10 times or more for each time.

I hope to let many people know how did the JW children were brought up and how hard their childhoods were.
And I hope there are no more abused children in JW like me.

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