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“CONCERNED RELATIVES”
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Brochure on Concerned Relatives
Page 1
Concerned Parents or PROVOCATEURS?
The statement of the “Concerned Relatives” was signed by a crew of disreputable individuals, including some who have tried blackmail; have embezzled from People’s Trouble while infiltrating it; have even been involved in the manufacture of ammunition and have advocated ridiculous and mad schemes of violence in order to achieve “revolutionary ends” in the classic manner of agent provocateurs; have used and trafficked in drugs; molested their children; operated credit card rackets; forged checks; stolen money from the church treasury; treated black youngsters as house slaves; engaged in welfare fraud and exhibited highly unstable personal patterns, including sadism.
They have now threatened publicly to hire mercenaries to illegally enter Guyana and use whatever means necessary, including armed attack and kidnap, to capture relatives, nearly all of whom are adults, even seniors, who have made it very clear that they are happy and wish to remain where they are!! Why??
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Text, pages 2-4
(The following are excerpts of a message read to members of the press by Harriet Tropp, member of People’s Temple Agricultural Project at Jonestown, Guyana, South America)
“I am speaking on behalf of People’s Temple in response to the grossly false and malicious statements that continue to be made about our community here in Guyana. Individuals participating in a self-style group of “Concerned Relatives” have now threatened publicly to hire mercenaries to illegally enter Guyana and to use whatever means necessary, including armed attack and kidnap, to capture relatives in the People’s Temple community. These threats were made public in a California newspaper. Peoples Temple has already alerted the President, the US State Department, and appropriate government officials in Guyana. This group of “Concerned Relatives” is a cruel hoax. If they have to send mercenaries – hired guns who will violate laws and resort to killing and mayhem to fulfill their contract – then they reveal the real nature of their efforts.
“We demand to know where the money is coming from to allow them to hire killers. We also demand that the media, which has shown such eagerness to attack our organization, show equal vehemence in condemning this criminal effort and its perpetrators. Actually, this is not a new tactic in the move against the Guyana community; armed agents have already been sent in illegally and have tried to assassinate Rev. Jim Jones, as well as kidnap people. Those attempts have been successfully thwarted. We hope that the public will see the cruelty and evil behind the base motives of these public liars. The people involved in and brought together and have been given assurances that they would be backed up in whatever they were trying to do against People’s Temple. Their number is very small compared to the many relatives and parents who are coming here to visit the project.
“Our community is a dramatic expression of our deep desire to build a meaningful future for mankind through cooperation and sharing and eradication of class division. Our contribution has been recognized by many, many people who have come to visit this democratic cooperative. Teachers, workers, government officials – people from all walks of life in Guyana, as well as representatives from nations the world over have come and congratulated us for what is being accomplished. They have praised us for the example of cooperative living and diligent development of this beautiful region.
“The chairman of the Guyana Livestock Corporation, a man who is a member of one of the most important business families in Guyana, call this project the purest egalitarian society he had ever seen, a community without elitism. Just this week 35 educators from an attending school district, together with a delegation of the most outstanding students in the entire nation, visited us unannounced and spent the entire day. They were overwhelmed with what we are doing. We are making tons of friends here. We are building goodwill. Providing a constructive presence, we can only enhance cooperation and counteract the negative stereotype of North American people.
“Our medical department is known far and wide for its excellent services, and many lives have been saved. We have programs in agriculture, livestock development, a complete school system and a host of community projects. Just a few days ago, representatives from one of the largest news agencies in the world spent several days with us. Representatives from other news agencies have been to the project as well, and have pronounced it a remarkable, impressive achievement. Within three to four weeks, several relatives and parents who are not members will be visiting here. They are coming even with a degree of cynicism because they have been approached by this committee. We do not ask that people who come agree with us; however, these relatives are not coming with an intention to harass, and so very welcome. One is the leader of another church denomination.
“We object to this small committee of “Concerned Relatives” because we have a firm proof for all involved in that group have talked about kidnapping and mercenaries. That type of element is not welcomed by ourselves nor by the people of Guyana.
“Young people here are finding productive, new lives, free from the pitfalls of inner city environment that would have caused a large percentage of them to become involved in one form of anti-social behavior or another – behavior which would have cost the US taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. We are tired of seeing people and organizations that are trying to develop constructive alternatives, to build cooperative lifestyles, being harassed unmercifully, lied about, falsely accused of crimes, and, in many cases, brought down. In recent months alone, there have been several examples of this in the Bay Area.
“Here in Guyana, we have come to build a community for a significant number of people, well over a thousand, who have been hurt, anger, alienated and victimized by adverse conditions that prevail in the declining inner cities of advanced Western society. Many who were not in such desperate circumstances have also come to join us and build because of the peaceful, natural environment, ideal weather, and the chance to serve. The vast pejorative of our members remain in the US.
“We deeply believe in the celebration of life. It is the intention of Jim Jones, and always has been, to light candles rather than curse the darkness, to find and implement constructive solutions rather than merely complain about problems. But under these outrageous attacks, we have decided to defend the integrity of our community and our pledge to do this. We are confident that people of conscience and principle understand our position. We make no apologies for it.”
The many expressions of support we have received from members of the community have been very encouraging. If you wish more information or additional literature, please call 921-9654, or write to: Peoples Temple, 1859 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94115.
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Call-out and block quotes on interior pages, pages 2-4
WHY? IS PEOPLE’S TEMPLE BEING ATTACKED? BECAUSE:
WE HAVE TAKEN UP FOR JUSTICE AND LIBERATION CAUSES;
WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER SUCCESSFUL SURVIVAL PROGRAMS THAT HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, PROVIDING FOOD, MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, JOBS, TRAINING, & THE KIND OF POWER AND SOLIDARITY THAT RACIST FORCES IN THE US WANT TO KEEP FOR THEMSELVES;
WE HAVE SEVERAL THOUSAND MEMBERS;
WE LIVE A COOPERATIVE LIFESTYLE AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GENERATE SOME WEALTH THEREBY, WHICH HAS BEEN USED FOR THE WELFARE OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN HUMAN SERVICE PROGRAMS;
WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PUT OUT A FREE NEWSPAPER THAT HITS HARD ON INJUSTICE;
- “Our community is a dramatic expression of our deep desire to build a meaningful future for mankind through cooperation and sharing in the eradication of class division.”
- “We are confident that people of conscience and principal understand our position.”
- “The people involved in and brought together and have been given assurances that they would be backed up in whatever they were trying to do against People’s Temple. Their number is very small compared to the many relatives and parents who are coming here to visit the project.”
- “We object to this small committee of “Concerned Relatives” because we have a firm proof for all involved in that group have talked about kidnapping and mercenaries.”
- “We demand that the media, which has shown such eagerness to attack our organization, show equal vehemence in condemning this criminal effort and its perpetrators.”
- “Young people here are finding new lives, free from the pitfalls of inner city environment that would have caused anti-social behavior that would have cost the US taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
- “We are only one of many progressive groups who have been targeted for destruction because we are uniting poor and working-class people across racial lines.”
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Endorsements, page 5
COMMENTS ABOUT JONESTOWN, GUYANA, FROM ON-SITE VISITS:
“I am impressed.” – Assistant to UN Ambassador Young
“Impressive work.” – US State Department Officer in charge of Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago.
“Peace and love in action.” – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guyana.
“It’s very, very impressive. Thank you for this opportunity and best wishes.” – Writer from one of the world’s largest news agencies.
“Fantastic, beyond one’s imagination, miraculous, beautiful, a true example of socialist living. Amazing, impressive.” – Visiting teachers’ delegation.
“Incredible, fantastic.” – Head and one of the original founders of the MARCO Medical Net. (Doctors who provided emergency assistance via ham radio all over the world.)
“I have been to Paradise. It’s there for anybody to see… I saw a community where there is no such thing as racism… There is no such thing as ageism… I have never seeing so many happy faces in my life as I did in Jonestown the three days I was there… Why are those people so happy? They are learning a new social order. They are learning an answer to a better life. When I returned to the States I told my partners in the office that I had seen Paradise. From what I saw there, I would say that the society that is being built in Jonestown is a credit to humanity.” – Charles Garry, Attorney.
“Jonestown is the purest egalitarian society I have ever seen.” – Distinguished Veterinary Doctor and Chairman of the Guyana Livestock Corp.
“The People’s Temple Agricultural and Medical Mission is a first-class example of community life. I have never before seen so many people of varying races working happily side-by-side. I couldn’t help but be impressed.” – Guyanese Dental Surgeon.
“Very impressed with progress since I visited one year ago.” – Minister of Works and Transportation, Guyana
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Commentary on Tim Stoen, page 6
“I have always made known my high esteem for Jim Jones.” – Tim Stoen, 8/23/77
[Newspaper article, “Ukiah weekly target of $5 million lawsuit”]
Tim Stoen left the Guyana agricultural project (for which he had always voiced the highest praise) one month before the above article appeared. Then he dropped out of sight – and has resurfaced now, six months later, completely reversing himself in forsaking his commitments of some 10 years. Why?
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[“Trouble brewing in Guyana,” editorial, Ukiah Daily Journal, April 13, 1978]
A potentially explosive situation is brewing in Jonestown, Guyana.
On Tuesday of this week some 25 relatives of Jones’ followers who are residing in Jonestown, the Guyana settlement, led by Steve Katsaris, went to the Temple headquarters in San Francisco.
Katsaris’ 24-year-old daughter Maria, who has resided in Jonestown since last summer, indicated through letters to her parents that she is satisfied to stay in Guyana. Katsaris accuses Jones of violating human rights by holding relatives as virtual captives.
ONE FATHER HAS EVEN THREATENED TO HIRE MERCENARIES TO RAID JONESTOWN AND “LIBERATE” HIS SON BY FORCE. TROUBLE THAT COULD LEAD TO AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT MAY LIE AHEAD.
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Concerned Relative Brochure
[A second draft of this document is also discussed here.]
THIS NIGHTMARE IS TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW
WILL YOU HELP US FREE OUR FAMILIES?
WHO ARE THE “CONCERNED RELATIVES”?
We are individuals having only one bond in common; relatives isolated in the “Jonestown” jungle encampment in Guyana, South America, under the total control of one man, Jim Jones. We espouse no political or religious viewpoint. Our only concern is for our families. We are bewildered and frightened by what is being done to them. Their human rights are being violated and the fabric of our family life is being torn apart.
WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS BEING DONE TO OUR RELATIVES?
These are the sad and terrible facts:
*All decisions in Jonestown are made by one man, Jim Jones. There is no democracy. There is no dissent permitted.
*Armed guards are stationed around Jonestown to prevent anyone leaving unless given express permission by the leader. 200 guns have been transported in. A “SWAT” team patrols the borders of Jonestown:
*Passports and monies are confiscated by Jones upon arrival of his members in Guyana so that they cannot be “cleared” by the Immigration Officials to leave Guyana.
*Long distance telephone calls to the United States are prohibited as part of Jones’ campaign that all family ties be cut in favor of his “cause”.
*All incoming and outgoing mail is censored.
*No one is permitted to leave Jonestown except on business for the “cause” and then only in the company of other residents who are required to spy and report back to Jones.
*The residents are told that if they try to leave the Peoples Temple organization, they will be killed and their bodies left in the Jungle.
*Their leader, Jim Jones, says publicly that a “unanimous vote” of the 1,000 residents at Jonestown (including children) was taken to put “our lives on the line” if the alleged “harrassment [harassment]” continues. Jones has held mock “mass suicide” sessions to condition his members to die for “the cause” at the moment he gives the order.
WHY ARE WE DEMONSTRATING?
Because we are desperate and don’t know what else to do. Neither the Guyana government nor the United States government thus far has been willing to intervene. Jones simply ignores court orders.
We want our loved ones to be allowed to live in freedom. There appears to be only one way to achieve this – to publicize the truth.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP US?
Three Things:
*Pray for the safe return of our loved ones soon, even if only for a one- week home visit at our expense, return fare being guaranteed, so we can know they have free will to choose.
*Write to the two officials with power to force Jones to respect human and legal rights:
Honorable Forbes Burnham
Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Public Buildings
Georgetown, Guyana, South Americaand
Honorable Cyrus Vance
Secretary of State of the United States
2201 “C” Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520
* Give as you feel led to help defray expenses, which are considerable. Send your check to:
CONCERNED RELATIVES AND CITIZENS
Post Office Box 654
Lafayette, California 94549
(An application for tax-exempt status will soon be filed with I.R.S. Our attorneys say “Concerned Relatives and Citizens” meet all the requirements and that approval by the I.R.S. will be retroactive to include donations made now.)
THANK YOU FROM THE DEPTHS OF OUR HEARTS
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[could be end of conspiracy book]
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PEOPLES TEMPLE PRESS CONFERENCE FOR POSITIVE RELATIVES
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[Editor’s note: This press conference was also recorded and released as Tape Q 844. There are slight variations between that transcript and the one below.]
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT THE TEMPLE MAY 28, 1978, WITH CHARLES GARRY, AND POSITIVE PARENTS: Moore’s, Prokes, Lu Vee Davis
Garry: Welcome to the press conference. The purpose of this press conference is for you to meet seme of the people who have been to Guyana, Jonestown – very recently, people who are not members of the Temple, and you will be able to ask whatever questions (you) feel free to ask. I would like to introduce Mrs. Moore, Rev. Moore . . .
Isabel Peron (Channel 2): Can you identify which ones are Temple members? And which ones aren’t?
Garry: Yes, I will, and this is Mrs. Davis, whose mother and sister are there …
Lu Vee: My daughter and grandson.
Garry: I see. And are you a member of the Temple?
Lu Vee: I am a member of the Temple.
Garry: And Mrs. Prokes … Miss [Vicki] Prokes, whose brother is Mike Prokes, who is there. Are you a member of the Temple?
(Vicki shakes her head.)
Garry: And Mrs. Prokes, who is the mother of Mike Prokes, who is one of the active members of the Temple, he’s down in Georgetown, he just recently left Jonestown, and uh, Ms. [Leona] Collier, who is a member of the Temple, and Rev. [Guy] Young, on this aide, and Jean Brown and Jim McElvane, both members of the Temple, and I am the attorney for the Temple, and I’m not a number of the Temple. I think we ought to start out first by having the Rev. John E. [V] Moore, who’s formerly a Methodist superintendent, now has an active pastorship I believe in Reno. . .
John Moore: That’s right.
Garry: That’s where this den of inequity is. He just recently came from Guyana. … tell us about your experiences there.
John Moore: I’m John Moore. I’m pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Reno, Nevada. We have two daughters [Carolyn Layton and Ann Elizabeth Moore] who are members of the Temple. Obviously my wife and I are not members of the Temple.
One of our daughters, our oldest daughter has been there been a member for perhaps eight years and our youngest daughter for about six years. One, the older girl, is a teacher, and the younger girl is a nurse. We were in Jonestown uh, just a few weeks ago. We were a week in Guyana. We were several nights at Peoples Temple house in Georgetown, and we were waiting transportation into the project – the agricultural project – and then we were in the project itself for three days, and the two words that come to my mind and uh, immediately while I was there and as I tried to reflect on my experiences were “impressive” and “amazing.” It almost boggles my mind to see that great clearing and to understand how so much could have been done in the relatively short period of time
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several years, but the last year in particular, when there’s been a large number of people there. My wife can share her impression because she reacted and responded in the same way.
Isabel Peron: Sir, did you ever get any impression that people were being kept there against their will, as charges have been made?
John Moore: Neither in Georgetown, where there were probably 25 or 30 people living, coming and going, all the time, with total freedom, nor at the project itself, did we – did I have – I’ll let my wife speak for herself – did I have any feeling that anybody was being restrained or coerced or intimidated in any way.
Isabel Peron: You were allowed to talk to all of these people?
John Moore: We talked to anybody and everybody that we wanted to.
Isabel Peron: And they told you they were happy, content, and glad to be there?
John Moore: Well, it was so obvious, it seems to me, that I didn’t go around with the intention of asking people ‘are you happy, are you not happy?’ Uh, we talked about what they were doing, and what they were interested in, and all of them were engaged in some activities or work that was particularly important for them, they were about business which they regarded as important.
Suzanne Saunders (Ch. 7): Were you allowed to tour the entire facility?
John Moore: We wore ourselves out, walking around the facility. I think about a thousand acres, 800 acres have been cleared, and it’s in the midst of a jungle, and that’s part of what’s impressive, and all except a part of the land that’s not been finally cleared, has been planted with various crops. We went to the piggery, the chickery, dairy, to the mill, where the refining, the flour, the tubers from the cassava, we were first impressed, certainly I was, with seeing the older people at the time we arrived about noon, engaged in calisthenics with an instructor, keeping their limbs and joints and muscles limber, and then we went to the nursery, the child care center. I had a feeling of freedom, but Barbara, how about you;
Susanne Saunders: Can I ask you first why you went there?
John Moore: We went there to see our daughters.
Susanne Saunders: Were you concerned about them?
John Moore: Of course. We love our daughters, and uh, we’d been separated them- from them. We haven’t seen them. We have a grandson there. We haven’t seen them for a year.
Isabel Peron: Do they have any intention of coming home?
John Moore: They have no intention of coming home, certainly at this time. They have become a part of Peoples Temple because they chose to do that. That was their own free decision.
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Dick Townsend: How old are they?
John Moore: One’s thirty-three. Talk about children – they’re adults. They are both adult … she will be 33 this summer, and the other is 24.
Isabelle Peron: Did you find that any other people there wanted to leave the Temple? Any of them have any intentions of coring back to San Francisco?
John Moore: Well, I would expect that in a community of over a thousand people, coming from the United States and going into an agricultural project such as that, that there would be people who would not find it to their liking, and who would want to come back, and who would expect to come back. I didn’t talk to any particularly, who wanted to, but what did impress me was that people who were living in Georgetown, in the house there, were all eagerly waiting for the time when they could return to Jonestown, and the project itself.
Isabelle Peron: Did you talk to Rev. Jim Jones while you were there … did he express any concern about the charges being made back here?
John Moore: Yes, he did express concern. He’s concerned that what they are trying to do, and of the time and the energy and the expense involved in what he regards as totally unfair and unfounded attacks, on Peoples Temple and the project.
Isabelle Peron: But did he say anything about coming back himself to defend those charges?
John Moore: No, he did not sxpeak of that.
Garry: Why don’t you give us your impressions, Mrs. Moore?
Barbara Moore: My impressions are, having just experienced our visit there, that this is a beautiful, heroic, creative project! It is absolutely miraculous. There are excellent medical services, excellent educational services, and it’s a community of caring and sharing with an- an added dimension and this dimension I would say is love, if you want to use that term. Uh, in a sense, it reminds me of uh, a New Testament community in the purist sense of the word, in the love and concern for all that we observed, and with complete freedom for creativity, those who want to uh, farm are uh, are farming, and those who wish to teach, teach. Uh, those who like to cook, cook. They have an excellent nutritionist who is working scientifically all the time to discover new uses for the indigenous uh, plants and growth there, and is in contact with the Guyanese experts uh, to discover new and useful uh, uses for these various uh, crops there. And that was very impressive to me. Uh, it was most uh, impressive to see the elderly people, the older folks who had their- their neat little yards, their little white picket-type fences and uh, their opportunity to take classes if they wished to or to garden or to just sit. They also have a lovely library of over eight thousand volumes from poetry to how-to-do-it, and uh, this is most impressive, that one could sit and read.
Isabelle Peron: Mrs. Moore, what was your initial feeling when your daughters
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said that they were going over there, and that they were members of Peoples Temple … How long have they been in Peoples Temple?
Barbara Moore: Let’s see I think John said that one of our daughters has been with Peoples Temple about eight years, is that correct? (John agrees) That’s close … and the other one has been with … about 5 years. And my initial reaction, as one of the original Jewish-type mothers, was, I would rather they be closer to me. But I think my reaction was that of anyone whose children have moved a long distance. I would be just as lonely at times … if they had moved to France, or England!
Isabelle Peron: Well, when the charges were raised, about Peoples Temple and of course the project in Guyana, were you ever concerned about it, or did you think that they knew what they were doing, and that they were dedicated to their church?
Barbara Moore: Yes, there’s always a question in one’s mind when you read charges. This bothers one. And yet, if one is concerned, and knows the people involved, and is familiar with their integrity, and the kinds of persons, I don’t think that … that the charges, uh, bothered me so much as having my children so far away.
Townsend (or Keeney??): Did Peoples Temple pay your expenses to come to Guyana?
Barbara Moore: Definitely not. No, we went on our own. This was a vacation.
John Moore: We paid our way here, today, too. (Barbara agrees).
Garry: By the way, until I’d seen you sitting at this table, had I ever seen you or ever discussed this with you at any time?
John Moore: No, we never met.
Suzanne Saunders: Could you tell us what you know about how the place works in terms of people doing different chores, you said, people who want to farm– farm, and things like that, but are they paid for their labor?
Barbara Moore: Well, would you like me to answer, or John? I think John is, is uh, more proficient in answering any technical questions than I am. No, they are not paid in a cooperative living situation, were they?
John Moore: It is a cooperative, and as far as I know there’s no exchange of money within the project itself. The food is provided for everyone, there is medical care for everyone, there are educational opportunities for everyone, there are work needs and opportunities for members of the community. And I think obviously those people with certain skills and experience move into those fields. If it’s a tool and die maker in a machine shop, or if it’s a man in agronomy, they work in those particular fields. On the other hand some people who’ve not had experience in specific fields- One of the great things I think is the opportunity for some of the younger people particularly to be learning skills which were- That opportunity is not present here.
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Ivan Sharpe: Can you recall anything your daughters said to you about how happy they were? Can you describe?
John Moore: Well, they always write about it in ecstatic terms, don’t they?
Barbara Moore: Yes, they said they really weren’t interested in returning to the United States.
John Moore: That’s a little bit hard to take, but that’s what they said, and that’s what they feel, and that’s where they are.
Isabelle Peron: Are they generally older, younger, or are there a wide spread in terms of ages?
Barbara Moore: Are you talking about my children?
Isabelle Peron: No, the community.
Barbara Moore: It’s a complete city and one thing they do encourage is the nuclear family. There are families there with children. You can choose to have your own home, or if you’re a single person, you may live in a dormitory, whichever you prefer. They have a lovely nursery for infants; they have a nursery for toddlers, and of course a fine educational set up.
John Moore: They have probably 35 preschoolers, I don’t know how many they have in school; they have newborn babies, several babies have been born there. They have a daycare nursery for parents who work, and there are those who are caring for them; and then they have the older people. That’s really a part, of the beauty of it, we felt.
Suzanne Saunders: I’m rather confused about just how many different projects you recall that Peoples Temple has there. You mention Johnstown, but …
John Moore: Jonestown, the agricultural project, as I recall the sign going in, Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, the other sign Jonestown. It’s all the same. The agricultural project is at Jonestown. There is a house in Georgetown uh, and as people come into the country, they of course come to Georgetown.
Male reporter: How many buildings are there?
John Moore: I could only guess. Maybe 25 places where people- But this is just a guess, and it could be way off. The buildings are modest. That’s tropical climate. For example, where they cook and where they eat, there are roofs to protect them from the rain, but the sides are all open, uh, there’s a clinic. The doctor [Larry Schacht] has his office. There’s a building for nursing supplies places for people to sleep, they have a whole kitchen area, the dining area. They have a lumber mill, a machine shop. Then, in addition to that, of course, they have the buildings for the cows, for the pigs, for the sheep and where they do their grinding of the cassava.
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Barbara Moore: There’s more buildings than that. Excuse me. Well, there are the shops and the office buildings, but there must be 100 or so, because of the residences, the houses that they live in as well as the – I really couldn’t even hazard a guess. It’s a whole town.
Isabella Peron: You sound rather impressed. Would you think it’s rather Utopian there?
Barbara Moore: Oh, yeah. A lovely Utopia.
Isabelle Peron: Did you get any sense of how the authorities regard it?
John Moore: We didn’t talk as I recall with any government authority, but it’s my understanding that the school is accredited by the government of Guyana, that they’ve had people from the Department of Agriculture and their agricultural stations there working with the people at the project. And certainly they’re supporting the health center, there’s no question in my mind but that the health center is the best facility in that whole region in Guyana. There is a government, I think, nurse-practitioner in Port Kaituma a few miles away, but that simply does not have either the personnel, skills, nor the equipment that they have. The health services are provided for the Amer-Indians or people who live in the community as well as members of the project itself.
Isabella Peron: What did you say the name of your church was, First Unitarian?
John Moore: No, the First United Methodist.
(unidentified) Rev. Moore, as your wife said, it was so utopian. Why these negative stories? Why are the stories coring out like this?
John Moore: First, we did not go down there because we were disturbed by stories. We’ve lived with criticism. Oar children have been involved for a number of years. We went down there because we love our children, and we wanted to see them and cur grandson. We believe in them and their integrity, and that they’re doing what they want to be doing. That’s why we vent down there. Obviously people have different opinions. That is, we as parents have made our decisions as to how to relate to our children, and when they become adults- and our youngest daughter was just out of high school when she went to live with her sister and chose to become a part of Peoples Temple. And as they made their choices to- about their lives, we have supported them in the choices which they made. Other parents, I suspect, have more difficulty, and uh, partly- perhaps my own history with my own family, but I, the way my parents related to me that I can relate to my own children in that way. So that when we’re thinking of other parents and their concern about their children, I can understand in a sense that uh, other parents are very different from us in what- how they relate, and have through the years I presume related to their children. In terms of people who are not parents that are critical, uh, I don’t know what their reasons might be. I think generally uh, the media is concerned with what is newsworthy, uh, whether that’s good or bad and what sells papers. That’s my bias. And the fact that that’s whatever seems gets people to read or hear, that’s what gets in print, so I suspect there are a variety of reasons why people are critical.
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Barbara Moore: I think it’s fear too, a fear of something that is unknown, it’s a mystery.
(unident.): But Peoples Temple has always been open to news with information about. . .
Barbara Moore: Absolutely, yes.
Suzanne Saunders: You may have already said this before – the population was around 1000, is that right?
Garry: Well, it was around 900 when I was there in October. I was there for four days, and now there’s almost 1500. About 600 or 700 people have gone there since I was there in October. And I might say that the housing – they put up a cottage in one day. It’s all prefab, with this mill that Rev. Moore talked about. I saw them put up a cottage in one day, from the ground on up, ready for occupancy. I would also like to point out that there were 3 wells that have been dug. Water is all over the place, both in the chicken area, where the pigs are kept – by the way, that’s almost a colony itself. That area is about 3 miles away from where the cottages are, so you don’t have the benefit of the odors. Where the pigs are, it reminded me of a very fancy building in a state fair, didn’t it remind you of that, and was Charlie the pig there? He’s my namesake. For instance, the chickens – we had chicken dinner one night, I think it was Thursday. They butchered (I don’t think they use the word butcher, but whatever they use,) they had 250 chickens that they cooked that night. I might also point out that the kitchen is a universal kitchen, and it feeds the entire group. Everybody eats the same thing, and the menu is different each and every night. We had pork chops one night, and I apologized to Charlie the next day, it was a matter of necessity. I was particularly impressed – the day that I got there, Wednesday late in the afternoon, I flew in from Georgetown, within about an hour and a half bumpy ride on a bus into Jonestown. I was impressed by the medical center particularly. All of the older citizens live right around the medical compound. Now this medical compound is something that you have never seen, and you probably won’t see unless you go there. It’s a- it’s almost a- it’s almost a miracle. This young doctor who was trained uh, from the Temple- graduated with high honors at the University of California in Irvine. And uh, has performed miracles. No one goes there without first being thoroughly physically examined. Were you given a physical examination?
John Moore: We weren’t, but we’ve heard of it.
Garry: I went through a physical examination. Uh- For one thing uh, Jim Jones wanted to be sure that his lawyer was going to live long enough to represent him, and I think there was kind of a selfish interest there. Uh, but the doctors said to me that people who come there with high blood pressure- most of them come there with high blood pressure, uh, particularly the older citizens- and he said, we test their blood pressure 3 times a day; morning, noon and night. And he said after the first thirty days, the blood pressure goes down at least twenty percent without any medication, just the diet and the atmosphere and the relaxation. And- And another thing that particularly impressed me was that the senior citizens cottages are right around the compound, that every morning at eight o’clock, someone knocks on the cottage door, and says,
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“Did anybody have any difficulties last night?” Can you imagine the feeling of security that these folks have to feel that somebody cares for then, is interested in them, and will do things for them?
Isabelle Perone: You’ve got others that were saying the same things … Could we get to another question about Kathy Hunter?
Garry… Feel Free, . . now, Mrs. Davis, she has children there, Miss Prokes has a brother there, Mrs. Prokes has a son there.
Isabelle Peron: In recent days there’s been a whole bunch of talk about Kathy Hunter, a reporter who allegedly had been harassed by members from the project because she might bring back negative stories about them. Now is this press conference being held to counter those kinds of negative reports you think she might bring back? What about those allegations?
Garry: In the first place, let’s get a few things straight. Mrs. Hunter telephoned me one time, and she said I am a very close and intimate friend of Jim Jones and I would like to go there, I said, if you’re a close and intimate friend of Jim Jones, I would suggest you go down to the Temple in San Francisco, talk to Jean Brown or Tim Clancey or anybody else, and have a telephone/short wave discussion with him. I said, I’m sure it can be arranged. I never hear another word from her. The only other time I heard, I heard from her husband, about 10 days ago. He said, “My wife is down there someplace and I don’t know where she is. Now we were quite concerned about this, so we contacted the Guyanese government as to where she was, whether she was there, whether she wasn’t there. The Guyanese government informed us that she came there under false pretenses. She was not invited there by the Guyanese government, and the Guyanese government resented the idea of her coming down there and making representations. She made a representation that the Prime Minister of Guyana had invited her. They completely disown that. That’s all we know shout it.
Suzanne Saunders: Do you know if she ever got into the project?
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Garry: No, as far as I’m concerned, she never got into the project. Had she gone to the project, she would have been welcomed by Jim Jones, because there was a personal relationship between Mrs. Hunter and Jim Jones. As a matter of fact, Jim Jones has befriended her, her family, over a long period of years.
Isabelle Perone: Do you know anything about the story of her being in protective custody?
Garry: No, I don’t know anything about it. All I know is what the Guyanese representative, Charge of Affairs, has told us, and that is – the Charge of Affairs, the Honorable Minister Vibert Mingo, he’s the Minister of Home Affairs of Guyana – he said, “We’ve investigated and found her (that’s Kathy Hunter,) statement to be totally untrue, that she lied to gain entry into the country, which is a violation of our law.” That’s the official quote.
Isabelle Perone: Have you talked to Jones or anybody there to . . .
Garry: No one has contacted Rev. Jones, and as far as Jim Jones is concerned, he would have been very happy to have her there, because there’s been this long relationship over a period of many, many years – There’re personal problems with Mrs. Hunter that I would just as soon not have to say.
(unident.): She’s known Jim Jones for many years – was she involved with him in any way?
Garry: Well I don’t know any of the details except that there are things that Jim Jones has done for her children, her grandchildren.
Jean Brown: Well, Kathy Hunter’s been of course a long time resident of Ukiah, where the Peoples Temple had a church up there for a number of years. Jim paid for the birth of her grandson when her own children were in financial straits. He’s supported her in unpopular causes that she took on over the years.
(unident.): You said she was a long time resident of Peoples Temple?
Jean Brown: No, of Ukiah. Her husband is the editor of the Ukiah Daily Journal,
Suzanne Saunders: Was she ever a member of Peoples Temple?
Brown: No, just a friend, just out of a real affinity for both Jim (unintelligible word)
Garry: They’ve been good friends.
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JB [Jean Brown]: He invited her to come out to the project.
Q: So she did talk to him on the radio?
JB: I defer the question to Mr. Garry though about the personal–
CG [Charles Garry]: No I don’t think they spoke to each other on the radio, at least that was my– but Jim was expecting her.
IP [Isabelle Perone]: So you’re saying she went there without an invitation by Jim Jones
CG: Jim Jones had given her an extended welcome at any time to come down there. But she never made any plans to see Jim Jones, she never talked to Jim Jones. It was never cleared with the Guyanese government. You’ve got to get permission to go there. I’m sure when the Moores went there, you had to get permission from the Guyanese government to come there.
JM [John Moore]: We simply came through Customs. They wanted to know where we would be staying, and we said we were going to Peoples Temple, and the immigration officer recognized that, Jonestown, immediately, in fact he said Jonestown–
SS [Suzanne Saunders]: So, that’s all she would have had to do then, is go through customs, right?
CG: I don’t think there was any harrassment by the Guyanese government either. There’s some personal things that was said to me by her husband that I would just as soon not have to mention. These things happen to people.
Male reporter: Well, you’ve created a strange mystery by even bringing it up? Which leaves us in some sort of quandary.
CG: I am told that she has an alcohol problem. That’s been told to me by her spouse and been told to me by others who know her.
SS: Could you repeat what the pretensions were that she went in there for, as you understand it?
CG: I didn’t even know she was going to be there. I understood that she was going to talk to Jim Jones and work out the details on her going down there.
[illegible]: But didn’t you say that when she entered the country, she said that she was there by invitation of the Minister?
Garry: She said that uh, that the Prime Minister of Guyana personally invited her to come down there. And that she talked to him. The Prime Minister of Guyana knows nothing about this so-called-
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IP: They have also denied that they have her in protective custody?
CG: Yes, as far as I know. We found out, and I personally contacted our lawyer there to find out what’s going on. This is the report that we got.
IP: When did you get this report? – •
CG: I got this this afternoon. _
Q: Could you give this to us again, you said the Minister of Home Affairs, could you spell his name for us?
CG: His name is Vibert Mingo.
McEl [Jim McElvane]: You’ll find a copy of these things he has said out on the table.
CG: You won’t have to write this down, we have it xeroxed for you
Q: I’m confused on a point, you’re talking about this minister saying that she lied to gain entry to the country, and yet the Moores were just saying oh they just went through customs, same as they go through any number of countries.
CG: Before you go there, you have to – somebody has to know that you’re coming there, and the circumstances you’re going there.
Q: You’re talking about the country as a whole?
CG: Yes, the government of Guyana has certain immigration visiting rules and regulations, and before I went down there, in October, the Temple people in Georgetown made arrangements and said that I was coming down there, so when I arrived there, all I had to do was tell the Customs – as a matter of fact, we were 6-7 hours late because there was a strike at Kennedy, and I was six or seven hours late and we landed there about three o’clock in the morning, an ungodly hour to get there.
Q: Reverend Moore, were those arrangements made for you as well?
M: I’m not aware of any arrangements were made. However, our daughters and Peoples Temple knew that we were coming and they may have–
Q: When did you go?
M: We were in Georgetown two weeks ago, and we got into Guyana on Wednesday about, whatever that was, the seventh- the ninth of May, we were there for about a week.
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Q: You didn’t apply for any visa
M: There was no application
IS: Mr. Garry, is there someone, who’s the highest Peoples Temple people here?
CG: I don’t know, you see, the organization doesn’t have what they consider to be who’s in charge or whose the highestofficial. It’s not an elitist organization. Anybody can answer any of your questions. Shoot the question.
IS: Well, I’m just wondering what Peoples Temple’s reaction is to this Kathy Hunter story. Are you angry, upset, baffled?
Jean: Yes, all those. Angry. It’s a misrepresentation of the past facts. Mrs. Hunter, as Mr. Garry said, did call. She talked to me. I talked to her at length. She expressed her desire to go down to South America, and as much as we knew, she was planning to do that. The next time I talked to anyone from the Ukiah Daily Journal, I talked to Mr. Hunter, and he said that his wife was stricken and she wasn’t traveling anywhere. I don’t know what in the interim, happened.
IS: But she did call you.
JB: She said she wanted to go, yes, and we said, as Mr. Garry said, there was no problem. The only thing is, we didn’t hear from her after that. There was no communication and the next thing we knew, she was in Georgetown.
Female Reporter: When was the last time you heard from her?
JB: It would’ve been easily two months ago. The thing is that I think that it’s being projected as the Temple not only harassed her but, somehow, an element of terror brought into this by newspapers which is upsetting to us, because it’s not the case. When she did come to Georgetown, it was her own personal behavior which was the problem. It put the Guyanese in a difficult position as well. But I think we’re- as a matter of fact, I’d say we’re outraged that the representation has been that we have in any way tried to impede her or hold her or whatever. She would’ve been gone from there several days ago, but there’s been an airline strike.
Q: Did your people in Georgetown talk to her?
JB: Yes, they did, on several occasions. Frankly I think the best thing to do would be to call. I think that might be wise, to call Mike Prokes in Georgetown.
Garry: Why don’t you give them the telephone number of Georgetown and Mike Prokes. He’ll talk to you.
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JB: You want our reaction. Well, we’re upset. As a matter of fact, Mr. Garry made a very emphatic statement to the Examiner, that there was no terror involved, and put them on notice.
McElva: I’m concerned about how the media seems to take every opportunity to run away with any kind of sensationalized situation like what Mrs. Hunter’s husband – all the complaints I’m seeming to hear comes from what he said went on, and I don’t know what his relationship might be with some of the Concerned Relatives in seeming to cause harrassment continuing against our organization. If it was coming from another point other than George Hunter, I probably wouldn’t be saying what I’m saying now. But since he has such a close relationship with Tim Stoen and the other Concerned Relatives, if I wasn’t a member of this church, it’d be very difficult for me to believe anything
IP: So you’re saying once again that someone is lying
McElva: –harrassment – I don’t hink the Guyanese government is harrassing her in any way.
JS: So you’re saying it’s not Peoples Temple that’s been harrassing Kathy Hunter, it’s the Hunters who’ve been harrassing Peoples Temple.
McElva: I would say that, and I’m not speaking necessarily for Kathy
Q: Mr. Garry was this conference called specifically to counter these reports?
CG: This conference was initiated some days ago, and the Hunter incident has just been added to it. I didn’t hear about this Hunter incident until a couple of days ago. It came to me as a surprise, of course. When I talked to her, she was very anxious to go there, she said she was a personal friend of Jim Jones and she said “I wrote that article regarding Tim Stoen and Jim Jones.” She said what did Jim Jones think of it? I said Jim Jones respects your integrity as a reporter and whatever you wrote, he won’t find fault with it. I said you tried to give both sides of the story, and I said that’s all that Jim Jones and any other person can ask for, and that’s so –
IS: How are the Hunters harassing-
McElva: Well, if you’ve seen the Ukiah Daily Journal, and you’ve seen the headlines that seem to hold Peoples Temple as some kind of terrorist organization. That’s absolutely ridiculous. I would like to see some headlines couched around some of the statements made– some of the positive statements made by the people who’ve been– that are not relatives of members of the Temple.
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IS: That’s the only–
McEl: That’s all–
Q: Mr. Garry were you suggesting that we be given a phone number of Peoples Temple that we could contact
CG: Yes, you can contact Mike Prokes at Georgetown .
JB: 71924 You have to call the overseas operator and ask for Georgetown, Guyana, and dial 71924, and ask specifically for Mike Prokes.
CG: By the way, Mike Prokes was with CBS for a number of years
Q: Did he see Mrs. Hunter when she was down there–
JB: (can’t pick off tape)
CG: My impression is that he has spoken to her; whether he has or not, I don’t know, I have not spoken to Mike since I was there in October.
JS: (To Jean) But you’ve talked to others in Georgetown, and they have talked to Mrs. Hunter. Did they- What happened between them?
JB: A very warm invitations were extended to Mrs. Hunter to come down to the project. As a matter of fact, they had a party, and I don’t think she attended. But then it goes back to a personal problem
Garry: Here’s an article that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Saturday, yesterday, the early edition. But I didn’t see it in my home edition. You might look at this. Is anybody here from the Chronicle?
JL: Yes I am.
Garry: Here, this is your own uh, story on Prokes.
JL: Well I didn’t do it. I didn’t even know it got in the first edition.
CG: This talks about Prokes. What he said, what he didn’t say. Would you care to see it? I thought it was in the Chronicle.
JB: I was told it was the Examiner.
Q: So everybody that has come back from Georgetown has the same utopian picture?
LuVee: I was there for one month last year and I feel the same way as the Moores and our attorney here. It’s a very beautiful
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place and it’s a place that I would like to live at.
McElva: I have a sister and a niece in Jonestown. I’m looking forward to taking a trip down there myself. I have no qualms, no quarrels, no confusion about the kind of life that is going on there because I know what kind of life it is.
There are 2 attorneys down there who went down there and won’t come back. I didnt stay but 4 days, I didn’t want to get acclimated, I feel I have too much to do here.
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EXCERPTS FROM TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT THE TEMPLE
May 28, 1978, with CHARLES GARRY, and POSITIVE PARENTS: Moore’s, Prokes, Lu Vee Davis.
JOHN MOORE:
I’m John Moore, I’m Pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Reno, Nevada. We have two daughters who are members of the Temple, obviously my wife and I are not members of the Temple. One, the older girls a teacher, and the younger one is a nurse. The two words that come to my mind, immediately as I was there and as I tried to reflect upon my experiences were: “impressive” and “amazing”. It almost boggles my mind to see that great clearing and to understand how so much could have been done in the relatively short period of time. I think about a thousand acres, 800 acres have been cleared, and it’s in the midst of a jungle, and that’s part of what’s impressive, and all except a part of the land that’s not been finally cleared, has been planted with various crops.
I had a feeling of freedom. Neither in Georgetown, where there were about 25 or 30 people living, coming and going, all the time, with total freedom, nor at the project itself, did we – did I have – I’ll let my wife speak for herself – did I have any feeling that anybody was being restrained or coerced or intimidated in any way. What did impress me was that people who were living in Georgetown, in the house there, were all eagerly waiting for the time when they could return to Jonestown, and the project itself. One of the great things, I think, is the opportunity for some of the younger people, particularly, to be learning skills when that opportunity is not present here.
They have probably 35 preschoolers. I don’t know how many they have in school; they have newborn babies, several babies have been born there. They have a daycare nursery for parents who work, and there are those who are caring for them, and then they have the older people. That’s really a part of the beauty of it, we felt.
The school is accredited by the government of Guyana, that they’ve had people from the Department of Agriculture and the agricultural stations working with the people of the project. And certainly their supporting of the health center, there’s no question in my mind but that the health center is the best facility in that whole region in Guyana. There is a government, [illegible word] nurses practitioner, in Port Kaituma a few miles away, but that simply doesn’t not have either the personnel, skills nor the equipment that they have. The health services are provided for the Amerindians or people who live in the community as well as members of the project itself.”
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BARBARA MOORE: My impressions are, having just experienced our visit there, that this is a beautiful, heroic, creative project! It is absolutely miraculous. There are excellent medical services, excellent educational services, and… it’s a community of caring and sharing with an added dimension, and this dimension I would say, is love. If you want to use that term, in a sense it reminds me of… a New Testament community, in the purest sense of the word, in the love and concern for all, that we observed. And with complete freedom for creativity; those who want to farm, our farming; those who want to teach, teach; those who like to cook, cook; they have an excellent nutritionist who is working scientifically all the time to discover new uses for the indigenous plants and growths there, and is in contact with the Guyanese experts to discover new and useful uses for these various crops there. That was very impressive to me. It was most impressive to see the elderly people, the older folks, who had their neat little yards, there are white picket-type fences, and their opportunity to take classes if they wished to, or to garden, or to just sit. They also have a lovely library of over 8000 volumes, from poetry to ‘how to do it’… and this was most impressive, that one could sit and read.
It’s a complete city and one thing they do encourage is the nuclear family. You can choose to have your own home, or if you’re a single person, you may live in a dormitory, whichever you prefer. They have a lovely nursery for infants. They have a nursery for toddlers, and, of course, a fine educational set up.
One of the reporters in attendance at the conference stated that he thought she sounded impressed. Ha asked, “would you think it’s rather Utopian there”?. Her reply was, “Oh, yeah, a lovely Utopia”.
CHARLES GARRY: I was impressed by the medical center particularly. All of the older citizens live right around the medical compound. The medical compound is something that you have never seen and you probably won’t see unless you go there. It’s almost a miracle. This young doctor who was trained, Temple graduated in high honors at the UC at Irvine, has performed miracles. No one goes there without first being thoroughly physically examined. Every morning at eight o’clock someone knocks on the cottage door, and says did anybody have any difficulties last night: Can you imagine the feeling of security that these folks have, to feel that somebody cares for them, is interested in them, and will do things for them?
In the first place, tet’s get a few things straight. The Guyanese government informed us that she came there under false pretenses. She (Kathy Hunter) was not invited there by the Guyanese government, and the Guyanese government resented the idea of her coming down there and making representations. She made a representation that the Prime Minister of Guyana have invited her. They completely [illegible word]. As far as I’m concerned, she never got to the project. As she gone to the project, she would have been welcomed by Jim Jones. As a matter of fact, Jim Jones has befriended her, her family, over a long period of years.
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CHARLES GARRY (cont.) The Honorable Minister Vibert Mingo, he’s the Minister of Home Affairs of Guyana said, “we’ve investigated and found her (that’s Kathy Hunter) statement to be totally untrue, that she lied to gain entry into the country, which is a violation of our law”. That’s the official quote.
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x-4-j-8 – j-9b and x-4-j-10 – j-12 are two sets of duplicates of x-4-j-7p – j-7r
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[Editor’s note: This document also appears here. A contextual discussion appears here.
[This document appears on the letter of Rev. John Moore’s church, the First United Methodist Church of Reno, Nevada.]
A Visit to Peoples Temple Cooperative Project
Dr. and Mrs. John V. Moore have just recently returned from a visit to the Peoples Temple agricultural and medical mission in Guyana, South America, where they visited their two daughters and grandson who are residents there. Dr. Moore, with thirty-four years experience as a pastor, campus minister, and district superintendent of the United Methodist Church, is currently pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Reno, Nevada. Mrs. Moore is a writer who has worked closely with groups concerned with ministry to prisoners and their families, farm workers, disturbed teenagers and runaways.
The Moores have written the following article to capsulize their impressions of their trip to the remarkable model community established by Rev. Jim Jones and the members of Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ.
A Visit to Peoples Temple Cooperative Agricultural Project, Jonestown, Guyana
During the month of May, 1978, we had an amazingly beautiful adventure. We visited Peoples Temple Cooperative Agricultural Project in Guyana, South America.
Because so much adverse publicity has been circulated regarding this heroic cooperative of caring and sharing, we felt it important to share our first-hand experience in a town of 1100 people transplanted from Peoples Temple, Disciples of Christ, in the U.S.A.
Our two daughters, one a nurse and the other a teacher with our three-year-old grandson, had written glowing accounts of their life in this unusual project. We wanted to see for ourselves this new land.
We flew to Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, to the Peoples Temple headquarters, which is a lovely home where we were housed with others awaiting a flight to Jonestown, the site of the cooperative. Some of the people we met were planning to retire in Jonestown. One small boy had just had adjustments made on an artificial leg and eagerly awaited the hour-long return flight to the hinterland of Port Kaituma, and then home to the cooperative.
The quaint, attractive government buildings of Georgetown and its friendly black and East Indian culture in the democratic-socialist country we found most pleasing.
From Georgetown we were flown over a vast ocean of jungle to Port Kaituma where our small plane landed on a tiny airstrip. Members of the Temple met us as our plane arrived and drove us through the exquisite interior region to a turnoff where we observed the sign “Welcome – Peoples Temple Cooperative Agricultural Project.”
What a miracle it is! Over 800 acres of jungle have been cleared since 1974, most of it within the last year. All along the road we could see rows of cassavas, eddoes, bananas, sugar cane, and citrus groves. Further along the road we saw the “piggery” and the “chickery” and the dairy center worthy of the best in scientific animal husbandry.
What we found at the cooperative was a loving community of people in the true New Testament sense.
Educational facilities and nursery care and equipment are excellent. The school is government accredited, and unusually creative in its approach to the learning process. Teachers are excited by the possibilities for teaching in a setting so different from town and urban schools where they had previously taught.
Medical services under the supervision of a brilliant young doctor, Larry Schacht, are excellent. Larry, a recent graduate of the University of California Medical School in Irvine, is in radio communication with specialists in the United States and South America. His corps of nurses and technicians are well-trained, and the scientific equipment is first-class. All retired residents are checked daily. Services are also provided for nearby Amerindians and others needing medical care.
A nutritionist is constantly experimenting with vegetable and fruit products in an effort to discover maximum utilization of food grown in Guyana. The farm is thriving. Meals are a delight and our rich in protein, natural grains and vegetables.
Soccer, baseball, a good band, crafts, a library of 8000 volumes and outstanding teachers provide recreational and cultural opportunities for the youth of Jonestown. Birds and animals have become community pets. The band often plays for Georgetown events. It’s tops!
The nurture of children and family life is evident. Jonestown offers a rare opportunity for deeper relationships between men and women, young and old who come from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. Single adults, one parent families, and nuclear families feel at home in the community.
Jonestown is a mixture of frontier life and contemporary society. The small, neat gardens of the retired residents are in evidence on every pathway. There are opportunities for seniors also to take classes, sew, read, or just to sit. An older woman hoeing her garden brought to mind the words of Micah (4:4)– “… they shall sit everyone under his vine and fig tree, and none shall make them afraid…”
Whereas life is somewhat simple in Jonestown, the latest equipment and techniques are employed, for example in putting up prefabricated houses in one day.
Morale is exceedingly high. There is a sense of ownership which is rare in collective societies and not present under private ownership.
We came away from the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project with a feeling for its energy and enthusiasm, its creative, wholesome ways (imagine no television – but weekly movies for all), and an understanding of the fascination and high sense of adventure it holds for its residents.
John and Barbara Moore
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[Many of the comments on this page also appear at FF-1 – FF-2.]
COMMENTS ABOUT JONESTOWN, GUYANA FROM ON-SITE VISITS
- Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health, Guyana: “Impressive.”
- Charge D’Affaires, new assistant to UN Ambassador Andrew Young: “I am impressed.”
- Officer in Charge of Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, US State Department: “Impressive work.”
- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guyana: “Peace and love in action.”
- Minister of Education, Guyana: “Very impressive.”
- Regional Development Officer, North West Region, Guyana: “Very progressive.”
- Chief Official in the Ministry of Education, Guyana: “Very much impressed with everything, thanks.”
- Head Dental Instructor, University of Guyana: “Excellent community project.”
- British High Commissioner in Guyana: “A most impressive start and I wish you all success.”
- Chancellor of the University of Guyana: “Impressive.”
- Ministry of Agriculture, Guyana: “Very impressive, keep it up.”
- Minister of Works and Transportation: “Very impressed with the progress since I visited one year ago.”
- Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Transportation: “A wonderful experience, a model village community to be emulated.”
- Assistant Director General of National Service, Guyana: “Excellent.”
- United States Consulate in Guyana: “A very pleasant day in a very pleasant atmosphere.”
- A writer from one of the largest news agencies in the world: “It’s very, very impressive. Thank you for this opportunity and best wishes.”
- Regional Minister, North West Region, Guyana: “Keep up the good work.”
- Thirty-five teachers from the McKenzie District: “Fantastic, beyond one’s imagination, miraculous, beautiful, a true example of socialist living.” “Amazing, impressive.”
- Head and one of the original founders of the Marco Medical Net: “Incredible, fantastic.”
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[Editor’s note: The following information sheets also appear here.]
Feb. 28, 1978
[To] PA-Correspondence Unit
[From] CA/CSC-Welfare/Whereabouts Unit
[Subject] The People’s Temple
Attached are three information sheets for use in dealing with correspondence on the People’s Temple. Information sheets numbers one and three were cleared by CA, Deputy Assistant Secretary Hennemeyer and Assistant Secretary Watson while information sheet number two was cleared by ARA Special Assistant and Human Rights Officer George Lister.
We trust that these sheets will be useful to you in answering the many queries which have been received on these questions. We do not expect any real change in the case for at least three months so the sheets should be valid for that time.
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INFORMATION SHEET NUMBER 3
PEOPLE’S TEMPLE IN GENERAL
As part of the traditional and internationally sanctioned protection services, officers of the American Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana, periodically visit the People’s Agricultural Temple located at Jonestown, Guyana. These officers have been free to move about the grounds and speak privately to any individuals, including persons who are believed by their family and friends to be held there against their will. It is the opinion of these officers, reinforced by conversations with local officials who deal with the People’s Temple, that it is improbable anyone is being held in bondage. In general, the people appear healthy, adequately fed and housed and satisfied with their lives on what is a large farm. Many do hard, physical labor but there is no evidence of persons being forced to work beyond the capacity or against their will.
Should you have a specific individual about whom you want information, please provide the name of the person and the person’s date and place of birth to the Office of Special Consular Services, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. During the next visit to the People’s Temple by an officer of the American Embassy, that officer will attempt to speak privately with the individual in question, convey your concern and report to you.
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x-4-j-18
Newspaper article, “US denies Peoples Temple claims,” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, May 25, 1978
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x-4-j-19
Los Angeles California.
July 14, 1978
Mr. J. Nelson
Dear Mr. Nelson, Just a few lines to let you know that I think you should have these papers so that you will really know where your sweet wife is involved in. You may be looking for her to come back, but she won’t be back, because she has to do what that man Jim Jones say. I feel sorry for all of them over there for I have been there, they are in a slave camp someone told me that you are some kind of kin to Fannie C. Mobley there in LA you may call her she possibly may know something about the mess. I don’t know her telephone number but some of those Church members may have her number. From one who cares.
Ray Carter
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x-4-j-20
[Envelope addressed to Jimmy Nelson in Los Angeles]