Heavy Exit: Basel life in the clutches of Scientology



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We are in an age where everything is possible. In the "Golden Age of Tech 2" to be exact. That's what David Miscavige, the spiritual leader of the Church of Scientology, wants to tell us. Now, it should be even easier for us humans to find total salvation and enlightenment. But is not it all humbug? The fact is, more and more people are turning their backs on Scientology and going out. One of them, Andrea, from Basel, who had separated from the sect a year ago.

This was definitely not an easy step for her. Unlike many other members, some of whom are still involved in Scientology today, she was not there willingly. His parents saw Scientology as a last resort: "They had a very broken relationship that almost ended in divorce. Despite counseling couples and psychologists, this has not improved. Scientology seemed to be the solution for her, "says Andrea in an interview with barfi.ch. The same thing happens to many members of the so-called church. If one finds oneself in a situation of delicate life with no way out, the pseudo-religious movement promises to help

A terrible adventure

For Andrea, the church was part of his daily life. She attended public school, began attending a business assistant training, which she subsequently dropped. The reason was the "luck" in Berlin for Scientology to work – it was promised – to help the needy. "Of course, I did not miss the offer, it sounded like adventure." A good payment was also promised and a nice place to stay. The reality, however, seemed very different. "Sometimes I got closer to five euros a week, if I was lucky 15."

Even the beautiful housing was far from reality. A handful of other Scientologists, she had to share a small apartment, living in the smallest of spaces and working in inhuman hours, that was what her everyday life was like.At 9:00, her work began until she was working. at lunch time after a short lunch break, we continued until dinner. After another short break, it was time to work again until late at night. There was not much time to relax, anyway, to think about it anyway. Mentally, she was at a standstill. "One of my friends, who came to Berlin with me and also a member of Scientology, died of hunger up to 46 pounds at 1.64 meters in height," she says. After founding the ideal Org in Basel, she came back here.

Back in Basel and continue to do it: help others. And in his opinion, but also that of his parents, Basel was full of people that needed help. According to the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, they simply had to lead them to freedom and happiness.

Scientologists also need to conduct audits to find this path to happiness (see box). "I do not know how many audits I had to do, it's really countless, in part, these hours lasted all at once," says Andrea, who was supposed to serve not only as a speaker, but also as a questioner Her job in the Scientology staff was to see the members behave properly, what happened around her, how the members were treated in part, she did not get along.

Ron says

In his family, he took the figure of a prophet. "We have always followed the teachings of Hubbard. If you had to choose between two paths, we would always choose what Ron said was the best. The teachings of Hubbard are based on his book on Dianetics. The fact that Hubbard was an intelligent science fiction writer before his "breakthrough" is kept secret within the sect. All publications before the historical book do not exist, were invented by critics to make Scientology diabolical – hence belief.

Although Ron never admitted that there was a two-class society in the Church of Scientology in Basel, it's exactly like that. The lower ones include those who do not have money and yearn for salvation. The superior is reserved for wealthy donors. The family of Andreas has found himself in the deep class. Understanding: In order to find salvation, Scientology needs some levels of instruction and auditing. Of course, it costs money. A lot of money. Members often borrow money only to attend more classes. So does his parents. She has also traveled extensively between America and Switzerland to attend other courses in the country of origin of the religion. How many thousands of francs have been spent, they probably can not estimate.

The levels are divided into eight "OT", where one is the lowest, eight the highest. And now the pinnacle of this system: in spite of countless courses followed, overseas, tireless commitment to the church and tens of thousands of francs in investment, Andrea does not even reached the first level "OT" in almost thirty years. His family is deprived of the path of salvation, because it belongs to the lower class. And that will never change in the future. The subclass is there to keep the system running, invest their non-existent money in the machinery and put all their life in the organization. Insiders say that there are now twelve "OT" levels – so the rich have an interest in investing even more.

Health goes to

Anyone who works for the organization has nothing to expect but to give. Andrea's body started to rebel. Taking medication or seeing a doctor was taboo. Ron did not want that. "I went to the doctor once to take medicine, and when my mother found out, they immediately took me away." Ron says that vitamins and supplements help, not the doctors' demons. by members, "No matter how nasty and horrible you are, the others applaud and tell you how good you look."

Andrea has back problems that accompany her since she's young.These have never been treated until they came out a year ago.At today, she receives fifty percent of her IV pension. [19659017] The Savior

After her release, Andrea experienced what many are afraid of: she was followed by members of Scientology. "When we went shopping in Germany, Scientologists were also in the same store. And also at the cinema, two members attended the same performance, a few seats from us. These are just two examples. Although she is still afraid of being persecuted, she does not expect it. He had become calmer. Not less thanks to his friend, who is a strong supporter. Thanks to him, she made the exit.

The two met each other at the fall fair. At first, Andreas Freund did not know their Scientology membership – he was never part of it. Nevertheless, there was a relationship with "the church", but involuntarily. "A lot of Scientologists lived in my old house, I did not know it at first, they also tried to recruit me," he says. So, it happened again and again that members rang the night at 23:00 clock to have a coffee. Although it has nothing to do with people. Even on Sunday morning at 9:00, he was not spared. A classic tactic, as cult critic Manfred Harrer confirms: "They want you to get angry, lose control. So they make you insecure and then offer you help.

Through the relationship with Andrea, her friend learned more and more about Scientology. He was already very critical of the community from the beginning. "But I did not have the right to communicate that openly! Otherwise, they would have taken Andrea away from me, forbade them to contact me." He accompanied her to many events, gaining the confidence of The sect. Nevertheless, he never let himself be recruited. For years, he tried to make Andrea understand that Scientology does not protect them, but only harms them. The exit is a difficult step for Andrea: She grew up in the community, believing that we wanted to help people only. When her back problems worsened and the visit to the doctor was refused until the end, she also had serious doubts

Exit

Last year, she did his exit, not only thanks to his friend. Action Against Scientology "(GAGS), who is always at your side today. Since then, she has been following psychological treatment to treat the experience. For them, it's time to start a new life. Unlike many other dropouts, she has the advantage of having strong support with her boyfriend and GAGS. She broke contact with her parents. These continue to be members of Scientology.

Andrea now approaches the second chapter of her life. And even though Scientology has stolen a large part of its life, membership has unintentionally had a side effect: Andrea has become very strong throughout the experience. Let's hope that no matter, she will master these challenges and lead a normal and beautiful life. We wish him all the best and a lot of strength.

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