Who can know the mind, spirit and soul of a kidnap victim?
by James J. Keene PhD
January 13, 2003 What thoughts might be in the heads of kidnapped children -- mine and others? This "soul exam" is juicy speculation for victim children, adults who just want to peek inside and even kidnapped children who are now adults and hopefully have "grown up".
Why have my children not contacted me in the last several years? Prior to that their letters were "sanitized and controlled" as described in Missing Keene Kids. After that, nothing. As time passed their cognitive development hopefully continued. I had thought that this would result in some new perspective or curiosity on their part.
So what might explain this silence from children who had been quite talkative? Here is a true-false exam on some theories. Sharpen your pencil and turn in your papers in five minutes.
The "card-carrying member" theory states the well-known conventional view of typical kidnap victims -- whether child or adult -- whose dependency as captives eventually leads them to do almost anything to appease their keepers. Many captives can be integrated into their keepers' group a la Patty Hearst and many classic cases.
This is a simple theory to explain the data (no contact from children). Anything appearing to them to be contra to the group from their father would evoke a negative reaction. The kidnap or detention victim might actually advocate the captors' position and shun the new enemy -- the victim parent. This is the generally accepted "par-for-the-course" phenomenon. It is clean, easy and with numerous well-documented cases.
With this theory, are we done with the matter? The problem is that the "card-carrying member" theory is just too easy. Search for truth often requires more effort than looking up the "typical pattern" in books on family abduction, hostage taking and false imprisonment.
For example, we have the mystery of the missing "Go to hell" message. Where is it? If my children have been completely absorbed into the fantasies of the Davis-Flores gang, where is the "Go to hell" or "Get lost" message to their Dad? Not a peep. Not even something transmitted by a third party.
Then, are we to suppose that my children are just whimps who cannot stand up and be counted? They were not whimps before their kidnapping. They were taught honesty and decency, and to speak up about their ideas and concerns. So has the basic character of my children changed or has it been actively suppressed? Is the Davis-Flores gang in for a rude awakening when my children finally have the opportunity to speak freely of their nightmare without any pressure from others, without any duress?
The children were kidnapped at ages 10 and 7. Some say that by that time fundamental moral values and character features are already in place. Has all this been erased? Very unlikely. They were taught about work and integrity, about earning what they gain. Data indicates that the prime kidnapper has been a "free loader" at houses of her sister and brothers. Have the children forgotten that they have a home where they are not "free loaders", that they have a parent that can actually work and provide a home? Who knows?
Also is the well-known feature of parental kidnapping -- namely, the "unpopular" parent typically kidnaps children -- so the experts say -- to remove them from the "popular" parent so that comparisons can no longer be made by the children. Although their mother has plenty of merit, her continuing behavioral problems became disturbing and confusing for the children.
Thus, prior to the kidnapping, Nilda often said she would leave the family and leave the children with me. Thus, it was clear to all that the children had a solid relationship with the stable, victim parent and a deteriorating one with the abducting parent. Indeed, prior to the kidnapping, the repeated complaint of Nilda was, "The children love and obey you but they do not obey me." Note that the experts ["Family Abduction"] present this kind of data and theory, not me. It just so happens that the cited "typical motive" for kidnapping applies 100% in this case.
So my children may have become "card-carrying members" in the upside-down world of the Davis-Flores gang, but many nagging concerns remain about this theory.
The "fear-for-father" theory is much more interesting. Going through the chronology (as completed at this point), bits of data directly from the children can be found. One is that Grace once complained that the "lawyers were saying bad things". At that time and context, I considered that to be another case of child abuse to expose the children to such adult matters and rob their innocence.
In the "fear-for-father" theory, the children, known to be very close to each other, may have overheard actual threats to their father or talk of doing harm to their father. In fact, in the first days of the kidnapping, the abductor told me, "You will loose your job soon". The children have certainly had plenty of time to hear such things, with their many years of detention and no doubt, plenty of stressful clan pow-wows about the latest developments and "terrible things your father is doing". [In fact, I was just trying to follow advice of experts in books on parental kidnapping].
This theory supposes that the children would therefore have been "required" to only paint an "everything-is-wonderful" picture in their few letters early on (which were controlled anyway). The kidnappers would not want anything written down, much less by victim children, that would indicate that abduction was anything but complete bliss. Thus, free expression of the victim children was never an option. More important, the "fear-for-father" theory also explains their lack of contact with their father as time goes on.
As they continued growing, it became more likely that they would have the knowledge and means to send some sort of communication to their father, without the knowledge of their keepers. It does not require many social skills to address an envelope, obtain a postage stamp and discretely pop a letter in a mail box without being observed by others.
However, this would not be done, if a "fear-for-father" factor were in place. Indeed, there could have been much discussion and even a sort of celebration when, according to evidence, Dr. Cooles succeeded in trashing my job at Ross University School of Medicine -- a significant victory because Dad would be limited in financial resources.
So the persecution of their father may have been overheard at various points and perhaps my children even have heard worse, even to the extent of talk about harm to my physical person. Or even worse than that?
Now, when Grace turned 18, I had sort of thought that maybe this is a point where a contact might be made. First, she is legally an adult and may even be studying at a place away from the others. [The educational history of the children is very unusual as chronology updates show; and the desire to control -- so prominent in Nilda's behavior -- would suggest otherwise, that Grace, if in college, would be living at "home".]
On the other hand, I don't think Grace would leave her younger brother, Jimmy, "alone" in the situation they have experienced. Together, these considerations suggest, alas, that Grace would not take any risk to contact her father, even if means were available, with Jimmy still a minor controlled by the amoral Davis-Flores clan.
The "fear-of-cult" theory is another well-known factor. Indeed, the Davis-Flores cult seems to operate by its own rules, without regard for spiritual, moral, social or legal norms observed by average people. This pattern of behavior can be scary to anybody, much less young children.
The record shows that every effort was made to immerse my children in a state of terror right from the beginning of this wickedness. My children learned in a wham-bang fashion how their trust can be betrayed, their wishes ignored, their life uprooted and their security lost, at the hands of adults "who know what is best." If the handiwork of this kidnap gang was not so reprehensible, one might even admire how they have managed to pull it off up to this point.
OK, jeepers, a three item true-false exam. So kids, mine or others, can almost choose from a list -- this one is me. :-)
Copyright © 2003 James J. Keene
Original Publication: January 13, 2003
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