
it makes me a little emotional to write about this. being a movie freak, of any type, i freely give my opinions, mainly balanced ones knowing that perceptions can differ within seconds, however, very few movies touch a chord that brings up the passion in me to write emotionally.
we are ignorant of much of history that powers have managed to bury away from us not because they think we are too weak to accept them but because they are too weak to acknowledge them.
when an order of nuns in dublin sold off part of the convent to real estate developers in recent years, what emerged were the remains of women with scandals buried in unmarked graves. were they prostitutes as the nuns would have readily claimed they were?
the catholic church.
those who know me and have read my blog, please forgive my obstinacy and determination in proving karl marx right over and over again when he stated that religion is the opium of the masses. i don't know... i continue to think that way. he may have said it with some other context in mind but generally, i think we are all followers, we would be absolutely lost if we didnt have anyone to lead us.
the so called prostitutes have been virtual prisoners, confined by the catholic church behind convent walls for perceived sins of the flesh and sentenced to a life of servitude. the place was called the magdalene laundries. another misconception of the bible, mary magdalene was the so called prostitute and therefore wayward women or fallen women who were sent into such a laundry prison, were named just that...the magdalene laundries. and to think they existed until just a decade ago and no one ever raised an objection. makes us lesser beings doesn't it?
and to top it all, just imagine this, they were closed only because they were not profitable enough with the emergence of the washing machine in every home being a possibility. and since i am topping it all, it is more pathetic to know that none of these women were ever given any compensation, not that it mattered, but still, there were no apologies and no regrets.
even though, the magdalene sisters by peter mullan had a more distressing effect and showed real threatening and disturbing behaviour of the nuns, especially the mother superior, the dvd i just witnessed broke me apart.
sex in a cold climate, an appropriate title for a documentary that is so appaling and frightening that you will wish throughout the 50 minutes that it is not based on a true story, that it never really existed.
but it did.
the historical documentary is the horrific true story of sadistic and abusive nuns running a slave laundry factory. (not to mention the sick priests who think these women are their price whenever the sex urge arise). the magdalene laundry in ireland under the auspices of the catholic church's sisters of mercy had young women working under vile circumstances paying for their sins by washing other people's laundry. these girls were accused of sexual or sinful contact with men. this dvd is about an interview with four different women from such an institution, and how they explained what really went on behind those mysterious walls. one such woman's sin was that she was simply too pretty and with her looks she would definitely be a fallen woman unless she was sent to the laundry for discipline. all the four women, eventually escaped from that prison but the emotional and physical scars never left, in fact they literally damaged their entire lives.
i wonder reallly and please help me understand. these nuns have taken vows. what happened? what changed them into beasts and violent prison guards? they spent their every moment delighting in persecuting these young hapless teenagers. what went wrong?
the shameful degradation of the girls being humiliated by the nuns and then what about their families? aren't they beasts too? the movie was only a testimony by the magdalene inmates and even though i have more to say, i wonder why the church never really did anything about this? they did not know?
i ask again. did they not know?
isn't that inexcusable?
was there another side to this story? some measure of good has to be done along with all that is bad right? was there any such good? can we even look for it after knowing what were done to these women? is there a justification for it?
another friend watched this dvd and said she was lucky she did not grow up during those times in ireland, but i say this boldly and with passion, that honestly they are so lucky that i did not grow up during that time. they would have literally been mass murdered.
watch it if u can and know that cruelty did not only exist during hitler's and pol pot's times.
4 comments:
Hi,
I serve on the Justice for Magdalenes committee (www.magdalenelaundries.com), a small group seeking justice for the survivors of Ireland's Magdalene Laundries. The $64,000 question is, indeed, how can 'charitable' brides of Christ perpetrate such inhuman treatment against their own gender.
Many psychologists bleieve it is attributable to somehting called the 'shadow theory'. Prison guards (as you aptly compared the nuns to) often suffer from it. When someone is placed in a position of power, especially when those in their charge are deemed 'less than' by society, it becomes too easy to abuse them. They lose their humanity in the sight of these 'pure, holy' nuns, who along with society and their superiors, have placed themselves on a pedestal of feminine untouchability.
So any women who's experience was different than that -- raped by a cousin, left pregnant by a soldier boyfriend, or just considered 'too cheeky' or 'bold' -- became their targets.
There were a few who tried to make the women's stay more bearable...most notably playwright Patricia Bourke-Brogan ('Eclipsed') who wrote about her experiences as a young novitiate at the High Park Convent laundry in Dublin. She left the order after witnessing the inhumane treatment of women at the Laundry. She would try to sneak extra food up to the women who were pregnant, care for wounds left by abusers, and otherwise assist the women. But the Patricias were few and far between.
We are now trying to file a petition with the UN Commissioner on Human Rights since Ireland seems to steadfastly chose to sweep this under the carpet. We won't let that happen. At bare minimum, these women are owed a pension for their work. And more importantly, they are owed an apology. The only religious or state entity to publicly express an apology was the American Sisters of Mercy (and they were apologizing on behalf of their Irish counterparts!)
it is exciting to know that my review and opinion brought about a comment from a person from the justice of magdalene's committee. whether it is to justify my anger or just to explain the present situation, it is still honorable of you to allow me information i would otherwise have had to search for. i immediately went to the magdalene laundries website and will go to it every now and then to check on the updates. i appreciate the work you are doing and so it brings me to thank you on behalf of all those who suffered and also on behalf of those who arent able to contribute or help in any way even though they might have wanted to or they might still want to. just out of curiosity, how did you get hold of my blog content with such amazing speed?
I share your views, that we both share with Karl Marx (and it is one of the few things I share with him!) that religion is the optium of the masses
Religion itself is a form of imprisonment, and what these poor souls went through in Ireland (and in other parts of the Roman Catholic gulag) is probably something of a reflection of the 'spiritual' serfdom and brutality they suffered.
Thank you for highlighting this important film
Hi,
Watched the documentary yesterday. Didn't find it surprising... after all, there have been many more atrocities of greater magnitude inflicted by the Roman Catholic Church down the ages, especially during the Inquisition. And its still a damned sight better than the punishment meted out to "sinners of the flesh" in several Islamic countries. All you need to do is google "death by stoning" to view videos from the past decade.
And what is the sense in blaming the Church only? The Old Testament / Torah / Quran list multiple instances recommending stoning. Just take a look through the Book of Deuteronomy - it says even "disobedient sons" should be stoned to death. I'd rather wash clothes for a couple of years than face a mob with rocks. God knows I qualify as a "disobedient son"!!
Having said that, I didn't think too much of the documentary itself (as a film).
May I draw your attention to another documentary (not completely related to this) that you may enjoy? It's called RELIGULOUS. Check it out. http://lionsgate.com/religulous/
Cheers,
R
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