Just this week three victims of 52 year old Ariel Castro spoke publicly after being held captive for over ten years in the basement of Castro's Cleveland home. They are Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight. Over the ten years the girls were beaten, starved, and raped. Amanda Berry was able to break out and go for help while Castro was out of the house.
After just two months of freedom the victims made their first public statements in a You Tube video posted for them by a Cleveland PR firm. A team of lawyers and crisis management experts are helping them without charge. They also have money donated to a fund to help with their recovery in excess of a million dollars. Other high profile kidnap victims waited longer to make their first public statements. Elizabeth Smart waited more than nine months, and Jaycee Dugard waited two years.
Psychiatrist Gail Saltz described the video as "smart" and "controlled". Their hair was styled and their clothes carefully chosen. They weren't crying. They did not look traumatized. They didn't talk about their captor. They were smiling and upbeat. According to Dr. Saltz this makes us less interested. They gave the media enough information to temporarily keep them at bay. Americans tend to gravitate towards the disturbing story. What the girls need right now is privacy to help them recover.
In their statements Amanda Berry spoke about thankfulness. Gina Dejesus spoke of the help of family and friends. Michelle Knight spoke about God and faith. To be sure these girls have a long road of recovery ahead of them.. I do believe they have a good start.
As for us, I think we have a lesson here. It is that to survive and succeed we need to have an attitude of thankfulness, rely on our family and friends, and strengthen our faith in God and ourselves. I'm not a fan of the "disturbing stories" the media insists on telling. What I do recommend is finding the lesson to help make a better life for all of us.
God bless Amanda. Gina, and Michelle.
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