Obviously everyone has heard about the Tom and Katie divorce situation, but now there are rumblings about exactly what led to the divorce and the rumblings claim….
A super secret Scientology school called the Sea Org is to blame–a phrase that is a situation in itself.
My good friend Shannon who really coined the phrase “Ok, here’s the situation” (at least in my universe) broke down the mega-situation to me today.
I looked into it and discovered she was right. The story appeared rooted in reality–there is in fact a super secret Scientology school called the Sea Org geared towards children and it’s no wonder Katie would be so concerned about 6 year old Suri being exposed to it. Experts claim the school is a religious cult and employs abusive mind-control techniques on children.
No big surprise that Scientology is at the center of the divorce as reported in the UK Independent. What is a bit of a surprise is the secret Scientology school for children at the root of it –(although I did know about the Sea Org prior, but a lot of the public does not and a lot of people don’t know about Scientology’s alleged record on child labor).
According to the group “Ex-Scientology Kids” people in the Sea Org go through a very intense militaristic training process where they clean churches, do laborious chores for the church, live in army-like conditions, and receive boot-camp type punishments for misdeeds. And the majority of Sea Org members are the children of Scientologists. According to the group:
“This is because not everyone is qualified for the Sea Org. If you have ever taken LSD, or undergone psychiatric treatment of any kind, you are automatically disqualified from joining. However, the children of Scientologists are perfect bait for Sea Org recruiters. Scientology kids almost never do drugs, they have never seen a psychiatrist, they already understand the Scientology lifestyle, they’re eager to get out on their own in the world, they have no property, no career, and few possessions to worry about, and they are young enough to be susceptible to guilt-trips, group pressure, and grandiose promises.”
The group highlights some of the serious concerns about this organization:
“Critics believe that the Sea Organization is one of the most abusive groups in the world. The abuses that go on daily in the Sea Org are all that more egregious because, due to Scientology’s religious status, law enforcement is reticent to investigate. Here are just a few aspects of Sea Org life, taken from hundreds of personal testimonials from ex-Sea Org members, that are decried by critics:
- Anyone who leaves the Sea Org without permission is declared a Suppressive Person by the Church of Scientology, and is ostracized from family, friends, and loved ones. It is very difficult to get permission to leave the Sea Org, and one cannot simply quit and then walk out the door. The “approved” leaving process involves up to 3 years of hard physical labor, E-metered confessionals, social isolation and group pressure.
- Sea Org members live in horrible conditions. Members are often denied proper sleep and are often forced to skip meals because of the pressures of the job.
- Sea Org members are denied proper medical care. They are not provided health insurance, are not given sick days, and the Sea Org will not purchase their medicine for them.
- Because Scientology has religious status in many countries, labor laws do not apply to the Sea Org. Therefore, Sea Org members have no protection from long and abusive work hours. “
- Families who have members in the Sea Org and other members who are not in the Sea Org rarely see each other. Mothers and fathers with children in the Sea Org may not call them directly, but must call the organization and ask to speak with them.
- Letters that Sea Org members write to their families, and letters that they receive from the outside, are screened by Sea Org censors for “entheta” (unhappiness, negativity) before they are passed on.
- If a Sea Org member commits a punishable offense, they are sent to the RPF, or Rehabilitation Project Force, which is a sort of boot camp for “bad” Sea Org members. People on the RPF may only eat the food left over after the other SO members have eaten, may not speak to a Sea Org member unless spoken to, are not allowed to walk (they must run everywhere), are not allowed holidays, receive even less pay than SO members, and are required to do hard manual labor for long hours. People can be assigned to the RPF for up to 10 years.
Thus it’s not surprising that Katie has some concerns. It also seems like Katie may have been plotting this for some time by establishing residency in New York so she could file for divorce in the state which is much more lenient in granting sole custody.
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