This post is unlike all the other stories I’ve written about Jamaica in the nine year existence of this blog. As much as it intrigues me it also brings a very ill feeling to my stomach for many reasons. You know when you see or hear things that just send chills through you? This is one of them and if you dig as deep into it as I did you’ll figure out why.
Every once in a while I surf the net for real estate listings in Jamaica, just for fun. Mostly it’s for my own torture because I could never afford the types of properties that intrigue me but I still check occasionally just for kicks. Since St. Elizabeth has made its home in my heart over the last few years I was looking at listings on the south coast when I stumbled across this giant place.
I won’t post a link to the actual listing because in some weird way I don’t want to dignify it with promotion. After everything I’ve read about it in the last couple of weeks it doesn’t seem right.
I was curious by the photo so I continued to read the listing which immediately sent shudders through my body and I’ll tell you why in a minute:
[infobox maintitle=”” subtitle=”Located in the Treasure Beach Resort Development project, this property -formerly Tranquility Bay Reform School- has over 30 rooms with two ancillary buildings for dormitory facilities or classrooms. 180 degree view of the Caribbean Sea, the other 180 degrees are of the historic Pedro Bluff and mountains. Recreational areas include tennis court, swimming pool, basketball court, football field and vast landscape nestled on a cul-de-sac on Jamaica’s South Coast. Buildings include spaces for conference rooms, administrative offices and roof top access for social events. ” bg=”gray” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
As soon as I read, “formerly Tranquility Bay Reform School” it brought back memories of a loooong time ago in my life when I found information about this reform school online. It was for personal reasons that I was Googling the information I was looking for. Although I never did anything with it I never forgot about it and have always wondered where in Jamaica it was and if it actually helped the kids who were sent there.
That was back in the day when I had no concept of the island. Ironically, all these years later I have traveled around and written about the entire island.
So back to that property listing, it refreshed in my memory that I had discovered Tranquility Bay online all those years ago so I decided to Google it again. To my horror I ended up getting lost in a maze of links upon links upon links, all leading to equally disturbing stories of what went on at this little island hell near Treasure Beach.
Tranquility Bay reform school was a place where North American parents could send their troubled youth as young as 12 years old for some…well….reform. One would think that a beautiful setting such as this would be an amazing place for kids to regroup, learn how to behave and come out as better young adults. But as I researched further I was horrified to learn of the abuse, the misplaced authority and the downright trauma these kids went through without their parents even knowing it.
It’s just really strange to comprehend that while Jamaica is paradise for millions of foreigners it was hell for thousands of others. This reform school was their introduction to Jamaica and it’s the only impression they’ll ever have of the island.
Many of the kids who attended Tranquility Bay reform school, now in their 20’s and 30’s, have formed current day support groups, still suffering the aftermath of the traumas they experienced there. As I said earlier, after running some Google searches I got lost in mazes of links all leading to what happened here: Official news stories, other stories that never made the news and the ultimate shutdown of the organization behind this school. Apparently the American organization called WWASP ran expensive reform schools in several other countries without any real qualifications or qualified staff. Most of those who attended have the same kinds of stories.
One of the things that did delight me in reading through some of the support group forums is that the kids (now adults) do have some fond memories of things like the Jamaican food they were fed and Jamaican patois that was being spoken around them and to them. I suppose if you were submerged into another culture for that long as a kid you’d pick out your favorite things about an otherwise bad experience too.
Anyway, I thought this was an interesting story to write about and my heart goes out to the parents who got sucked into this program and the kids who were forced to endure it. Not every child made it out alive and that just breaks my heart. It’s really tough being parents to challenging youth but think twice and do your research before sending your kids away!
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