Tears of the Silenced: A true crime and an American tragedy; severe child abuse and leaving the Amish. by
One freezing morning in early March I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. I was a frightened Amish girl with no where to go, a second grade education and no ID or social security card.
When I was six years old my family started to live and dress like the Amish. My sister and I were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where we were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse and extreme physical violence. My step-father kept a loaded rifle by the door at all times and we were to terrified to try to escape. We knew that no rescue would ever come because only a couple of people even knew we existed and they did not know us well enough to care.
In my late teens my parents feared we would escape and took us to an Amish community where we were adopted and became baptized members. I was devastated to once again find myself in a world of fear, animal cruelty and sexual abuse. Going to the police was forbidden. A few years later I was again sexually assaulted, I knew I had to get help and one freezing morning in early March I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. As a result I found myself plummeted into the strange modern world with only a second grade education and no ID or social security card.
To all abuse survivors out there, Please be encouraged, the cycle of abuse can be broken. Now, ten years later I am a nursing student working towards my Masters degree and a child abuse awareness activist.
About the author, Misty Elaine Griffin
In writing my Life’s story (Tears of the Silenced) I hope to bring awareness to child abuse. It is an epidemic in our society and is happening more often than one might think.
Based on my life’s story. I am survivor of severe child abuse, when I was six years old my parents started to follow the doctrine of the Amish. At age 22 I left the Amish church and am currently a nursing student and a child abuse awareness activist. I am also raising awareness about sexual assault among the Amish.
Excerpt from Tears of the Silenced.
I walked through the front door of the tiny police station and went over to a heavy wood counter, where a middle-aged policewoman sat at a computer. She looked up as I stood there, watching her. I saw a surprised look on her face as she stared back at me. I imagined I was very different from the people who normally walked up to her desk.
I was a young Amish woman, just a little over five feet tall, wearing an almost ankle-length, plain, teal-colored dress and apron, followed by knee-length black socks and black shoes. My coat was a homemade denim coat with a high collar and hooks and eyes going down the front. On my head was a stiff white Amish kapp that covered nearly all my reddish brown hair and was tied in a small bow under my chin.
I was shaking as I stood there, looking at the woman. I tried to get up enough courage to say something, I knew I was going to be shunned by the Amish church for what I was doing. I could not speak. The thought of being shunned was terrifying but I did not know what else to do. My whole body was trembling….