Woman “Imprisoned” on Scientology Cruise Ship for 12 Years
December 1st, 2011Via: The Sideshow:
For most people, an extended stay aboard a luxury cruise liner sounds like a dream vacation.
But Valeska Paris says she was held against her will aboard the Scientology cruise ship “Freewinds” for more than a decade. During her stay on the vessel, she alleges, she was forced into hard labor and never allowed to leave the ship without an escort.
In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC News) Lateline program, Paris claims that Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige sent her to the ship when she was 18 in order to prevent her family from pulling her out of the organization.
The story sounds amazingly fishy… It’s a cruse ship. Lots of passengers who come and go. Every time a cruise ship docks, there is a lot of activity. Supplies are brought on board. Wastes are taken off. Passengers and luggage are transferred on and off.
Assuming they kept her in uniform the whole time, she could have still easily acquired a set of civilian clothing, and walked off the ship.
If she couldn’t walk off, she could have jumped. A ship in port isn’t all that far from land.
She *did* go on shore, although “never allowed to leave without an escort”. Unless they were handcuffed, she always had an option.
So she didn’t have her passport. That’s not a problem, it’s a solution. She is in their country illegally. She will be arrested and deported.
She also had the option of going to the American embassy. At some point in 12 years, I’d hope that she could have figured out that phone books exist. Or people in shops. or, or, or… It was 2.5km (1.5 miles) from the port (Nieuw Wharf, Willemstad, Curacao) to the U.S. Consulate General for Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles (J.B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao). That’s one of their 4 regular ports. 12 years.. Frequent trips there.
She wasn’t held hostage. She was coerced to stay. Coerced, and she fell for it. Stay or you’ll be thrown into a volcano and nuked? Stay or you’ll never feel your inner alien? Stay or we’ll beat you into submission. Whatever. She had options. She *chose* to stay. Regardless of the threat, if she wanted to leave for 12 years, she had every opportunity to escape.
More than likely she realize that, after 12 years, she was was scammed. She worked 12 years, to not get her inner alien to do the cha-cha. She had a life savings of stolen tourist crap and flat feet.