TVIND ALERT

Volunteer & solidarity worker in Norway, Mozambique and England.     Worked for two years at Winestead Hall, but now severed connections with the cult.

Winestead Hall

He was a volunteer 1996-7 up until the closure.   He was a group leader, but never a member of the teachers group.

Lillehammer

He was a trainee solidarity worker at the hotel in Norway in 1994-5.  He answered an ad and saved up his money.   He wanted to do something for other people.  He paid £2,000 up front.   ‘It was a very str5ange experience  -  very isolated.’

The hotel was dominated by the head Jon Normo.  But Normo suddenly left after falling out with the Teachers Group.  He was married.   Steen Conradsen was sent in to restore the situation.   Subsequently a new head, Tomas, was appointed

Conradsen was s strong character.  ‘He had complete power over all the other members of staff.  They looked up to him in a very strange way.  People quoted his words.  He set the tone.’   At group meetings, he would single people out and point at them.

‘I’m still wondering sometimes why we stuck it.  Two people quit.  A few of us thought about quitting at least once a day.’

In his group there were 13, from Hungary, Finland, Holland, France, Norway….   They had some teaching, but not much   -  a bit of history of Mozambique, etc.  ‘They didn’t encourage that sort of knowledge of education.  They wanted us to learn “organisation”, how to keep things clean and basically run the hotel.’

There was a fund raising period of eight or nine weeks.  They ere expected to raise £150-£160 a day.  ‘ You feel you can’t go home unless you have raised the money.  You are selling for 9 hours a day.  You have to find your own accommodation and hitch around.’   It was winter and very cold.

He went twice to the police and got himself arrested as he had nowhere to stay.  They were in small groups of  four or six volunteers.  They stayed in churches, hotels and people’s houses.  ‘When I think about it now I think how strange it is to run a school on these terms.

‘I can understand how some people who want to change the world might be prepared to take the risk.  But it’s a very strange policy for a school.’

His friend estimates they sold £9,000-£10,000 of postcards each.   It was normally £800 a week per person and they were at the school for 6 months, with at least 9 weeks selling.   ‘To first pay £2,000 and then almost £10,000 seemed crazy.’

They were told that they would raise 5m Kroner, of which 2m went to the school and 3m would be spent on Africa.

Africa

‘We didn’t see very much of the money.  We got five bikes, but they only arrived in the last four weeks of their stay.’  They already had good bikes in Mozambique so it seemed unnecessary expense.  ‘It was crazy, we should have been bought motorbikes or mopeds.

There were two groups of volunteers in Mozambique, The Bush Group and The Beach Group. The Bush Group was at Itoculu village, near Naccala town.  The projects were a family programme and a farm.   ‘At the farm we couldn’t see any kind of help given to the people whatsoever.    It was a huge cashew plantation and employed half the village   It was quite profitable.  I’m not sure if the money was used for development projects or not.’

They were told the farm had been bought by DAPP after the civil war.  Some people had been really upset but it was their own property.

A good solidarity worker could have set up lots of good projects but it was ‘not up to them.’    The project leader was Else-Marie.   She was almost never there.  She lived in the town where there was hot water and electricity. She used to go missing for days at a time.  The solidarity workers were left quite a lot on their own.’  Some of the villagers had farmed for years and there didn’t seem any reason why they shouldlisten to an untrained young white person who knew nothing about farming.

Family programme

They were supposed to be ‘mobilisers.  Some were good and effective.  The job was supposed to involve education, such as health education, new crops, better nutrition, and latrine-building.  There were 180 families.    ‘But there was always a lack of money.  We couldn’t even buy a football.’

‘Then suddenly, there were all these US dollars which were provided to build this huge DAPP house and office.   They had previously been houses in huts.  ‘I still don’t really know why or where the money came from.’

THE UFF- THE TVIND EMPIRE- THE TEACHERS GROUP

The Tvind empire is one of the press stamped name of a large amount of associations, foundations, companies, schools etc who are seemed in different kind of relations. They appear to have something in common. The most common are UFF (Country aid from People to People), DRH (The Travelling Folk High school) and Tvind.

The Teachers Group

The real name is the teachers group (TG). TG is a top-down managed cult who consists of idealistic members who are ruling the whole Tvind Empire. They’ve got several collective spread out over the whole world. You can be a member on trial for a couple of years, or write a contract for lifetime. As a teacher in Denmark you get your salary from the State, but 95% of the salary are put in to an account that you haven’t to access to. But the money isn’t important, it’s that they want you to sign a contract for lifetime, both on your money and your time. You won’t have any leisure time, but the collective will decide what you should do.
When you’ve signed in to the TG they exhort you to burn pictures and address books. It’s motivated by the risk of pursuit against both the TG and the private. When you’ve chosen to sign the contract for lifetime all your assets are given to the TG, as well ass all your future incomes.

The communism

The TG gets a lot of its ideology from Mao Tsetung and the communistic North Korea. They’ve understood the meaning of money and often talk about combat the capital with capital, i.e. one needs a lot of money to spread ones ideas.

Work for Africa

When I came in connection with the movement I had never heard about it before. I sat one day and looked after job in the papers when I got to see an ad with the headline “Work for Africa”. I would not get salary, but my expenses for dwelling and food covered, it said. First I would go to a school, then go down to Angola as a solidarity worker and finally home again for a period of “after work”. It seemed great, something meanful to put some effort in and furthermore adventurous. When I after someday got in contact with the contact person of the movement in Gothenburg, it came front that the work not just was unpaid. I would also pay a fee of approx. 20 000 crowns. It came first as kind of a shock, but if you saw it as a payment for a 16 months adventure and a contribution to the Third World, it was not so expensive, I thought.

The Travelling Folk High school

The Travelling Folk High school exists on several places, all obeying under the TG. The one I would go to is in Norway on a scale. When we came there it was a big party with candles and raisins on the table. All was enthusiastic and expectant. The headmaster was speaking, it was inspiring respect but still friendly, and I thought that this seemed to be my thing. People were caring about each other. Fairly soon we got our responsibility areas. The school lies in the old part of the Hornsjö
Mountain hotel, an after Swedish conditions fairly shabby hotel. It’s owned and runs of the TG. The school’s maintenance and drifting, plus the hotels swimming pool is runned by the pupils. It also happens that a group of pupils receives in assignment to handle the entire maintenance of the hotel during some weeks. This in order to learn oneself how it’s to handle unexpected tasks.

Responsibility

This procedure is very typical for the school’s/ TGs methods. These practical lessons became sometimes fairly absurd, for example when an 18-years old without economic experience would handle and be liable for the schools reduce food budget. Myself became responsible for the school’s maintenance. It involved to organising one building weekend per month, plus an entertainment afternoon per week. Then I would have prepared so that 30 – 40 persons could occupy themselves effectively a whole weekend respective an afternoon. How would I be able to know which tools, and how many persons that were needed in order to swap a rotten window? Or fix a ragged tumbler? Or put a new clinker floor in the hall? And all should take place at the same time. It was time for it at the schedule, but it wasn’t enough. We had also to work on breaks, evenings and sometimes nights.
Failure – guiding

At first I really did my very best to make it work. But after a while I realised that it actually wasn’t the meaning to succeed. If you succeeded against all the odds, there was always something that wasn’t perfect. The “acknowledgement” that one had succeeded came with another task, just to make sure that we definitely wouldn’t make it next time.
Why weren’t we allowed to succeed? The TG use problems and reverses in order to control its members and pupils/ volunteers. If you failed, this could be brought up at a general meeting where you first were grinned down in a mill of accusations. Then they went further on with to analyse why one was as completely incompetent. Maybe it would be due to the bourgeois growth one has had? That one had never has got to take responsibility anything? That one had never has got to feel the useful and solidarity group pressure within a collective?

General meetings

It existed a rule at the school who said that all must have an opinion. All must take position. Gee what I thought that it sounded good. This was a school where one took each other each other seriously.
Some of the pupils could sit quiet too long on a general meeting, maybe just because he hadn’t really made up his mind, or maybe he not didn’t even get what the general meeting was all about. Then the headmaster began to question him out. If he then came with the “wrong” answer i.e. had another opinion than what TG had, began an overwhelming arguing. When I before spoke about being grinned down in a mill, this arguing can be compared with pulverisation.
The attack from TG is always well planned and synchronised. Above all the headmaster was a very doughty agitator. We had often-general meetings. They could be about everything, but often about more or less constructed problems. I have always have had difficult in order to hold quiet which did that I ended up in the loophole.
A general meeting could go on very long. Afterwards one was entirely exhausted and it twisted in the head of all the words and arguments. On some way, despite the enormous group pressure, I knew I what I thought, but I couldn’t argue for it. The TG had crumbled my arguments so that the words no longer were something worth. This happened at almost all the general meetings.
At first I really thought that I was wrong. If I couldn’t argue so that people understood, something had to be wrong with my opinions. But on the evenings when I lay down and would fall asleep after a general meeting, I went through the entire meeting again, and I realised that it wasn’t so. I began slowly but certainly see that there wasn’t possible to win against the TG.
The general meetings were not a part of a democratic process. It didn’t matter if I was good or
bad of arguing. The exit was determined on advance of the TG, and they kept on until they had come where they wanted. This meant that sometimes one could go on for days. During my time it was never necessary, people were subdued in max 6 hours. But I know that in Tvind in Denmark and on the Red House schools in England, meetings has been going on for up to 2 days without sleep.

Manipulation

I remember especially one general meeting in the end of my time at the school, when it took long time for me to understand what it was the headmaster really meant. I sat hyper concentrated and first after half an hour I realised his opinion in the question. Then something strange happened.
When I at last grasped what he meant, I took it to me like a truth. His opinion passed by my critical “opinion filter” and took place like as the truth in my head.
It was first in the evening, when I thought it all through, that I realised: “stop and proof”, I don’t think like that. Then when I also then thought about the fear many of the other felt in order not to have the correct answer when the headmaster asked them out, the thing was clear. This was as clear as noonday a case of brainwashing. You could see pupils that were as white as a sheet of fear to end up in the loophole of the headmaster and the TG. They were happy if they had got the TGs opinion at all when they got the question. The neither had the time nor dared to critical judge if the TGs opinion was agreed with theirs. They were just happy if they didn’t have to be stoned.
Then I didn’t really know anything about brainwashing, mind control or “thought reform”, as it’s called in Swedish. I could just establish that this was a simple, but alas as effective technique in order to get people to absorb a certain opinion. I remember that I was ever so impressed of that the teachers were such good judges of characters. In some way they always knew what was going on at the school.

Espionage

One evening we were a gang pupils, both new and old, who were sitting down talking. The funny thing was that almost the same topic was brought up at the morning assembly the day after. Not exactly, but it led front to the same thing, to the same problems. I didn’t reflect so much over it just then.
But it became current again one evening when someone knocked on my door. It was one of the girls in a group who had been at the school a lot longer than I. She was wanted to talk about a thing that had happened during the day. She was afraid that I had misunderstood her and wanted for safety’s sake explains some things.
She began with to make sure, very seriously, that the headmaster didn’t send her. I laughed and said that I didn’t think so either. We talked and had a nice time for awhile. But when she would
go, she became serious again and protested to, once again, that she wasn’t sent by the headmaster.
That had me to very laboriously begin to open my eyes and see how things really were going on at the school. The headmaster had after all a lot of spies among the faithful students, whom he sent out to get to know what was happening. The headmaster and the TG knew all the time what the pupils discussed and which opinions they had.

Collect money

Besides our responsibility areas and the studies, we were also supposed to sell postcards for average 8 200 crowns per month and person.
When we were in Oslo for the first time, we had to fundraise in total 66 000 crowns in five days.
It was completely impossible. We were out in the streets from 09.00 o’clock in the morning until 21.00 o’clock in the evening. After that we ate in some restaurant where we had begged for food. At 19.00 o’clock we had to be out again to sell in our predestined areas. At 21.00 o’clock we went to a gym where we lived. We finished the day by study for some hours.
When I for the first time went to Oslo to sell postcards I had never heard anything negative about the movement. I had of course seen some things that where weird, but when I asked they had answers for everything.

Bad reputation

After a day out on the streets of Oslo I was totally exhausted. People almost spitted at us, and told us one bad story after another about the school and the movement. After three days I pulled the handbrake and demanded the headmaster and the teachers of an explanation. When we started at the school, we had had to answer if we were doing drugs or not. Now it was time for them to tell about their sins.
I was furious and asked why we had been thrown out in the streets, without the knowledge about the truth about the reputation of the movement. The headmaster was very upset and said that I didn’t have the right to accuse them.
It took from 9.00 o’clock in the morning until 21.00 in the evening to outline for the bad reputation. Partly on direct questions from us about things we had heard in the town, and partly as an answer to my request that they would put all the cards on the table. We would overhear anyway sooner or later. On the evening everybody was satisfied. I was enough pleased in order to once again feel convinced.
The time went and many strange things happened. I was still strong and it could go very hot on the general meetings. I was, despite all, still devoted – but also critical. It came often-front pupils that wanted talk. I knew that they were sent by the headmaster and played along in this absurd game.

Doubts

After a while I observed that I was left more in peace, if I was walking around and looked as excessively happy as everybody else. When I would go home for Christmas, I remember that I had hard to manage the TGs mocking grin when the saw our joy over to go home to our families for celebrating Christmas. The TG would to be sure not go home on some ridiculously middle-class keeping of Christmas. They would have general meeting in Tvind and put up the strategy for the coming year. During the Christmas days I had got the time to think. When I came back after the holiday a lot of new strange things happened, but then there was no longer time to think.
One day I demanded “time out” and said that I didn’t want to take part of any lessons. I wanted to get the time to think through what this school/ movement stood for and what I wanted and could stand for myself.
It wasn’t easy to think in peace, because the headmaster sent pupils who where suppose to talk me into being sensible every second minute. I hid in the attic and got enough of calm in order to part everything up, and to in writing formulate constructive criticism against the school and the TG.
I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t insane. I rang up a former pupil at the school, who I knew was very critical. With her support I could establish that it wasn’t me, but the school it was something wrong with. I decided quit.

Separation anguish

After have talked to the others I began laboriously to pack. In the head all the memories passed by, and the painful was, that now it wasn’t all the boring and heart- rending I thought of, but just the nice and fun memories.
I had become very attached to the other pupils and didn’t want to leave them. It began to go around in my head, and I thought that there was a shame if the TG would actuate me to leave all these wonderful people. If I stay, I do violence on myself. But if I leave them, I do as much violence on my feelings.
Then I can equally be left together with my friends. I had anyway found a lot of nice things here at the school. If I just could ignore the headmaster and the TG, pretend that they don’t exist, then it would be all right. The other pupils were happy that I would try to stay.
But the TG wasn’t happy and called to a general meeting the same evening. Now would all the doubts come up on the table, not just mine, but everybody’s doubts. I was now on the limit to a breakdown. I had neither eaten nor slept properly the last days. The psychical pressure was on the limit of what I could manage. Sometimes everything became black around me and I just heard
the voices. The smallest emotional dissipation would be able to make me collapse, so I decided not to say a word. Despite that the TG provoked it didn’t appear any criticism. The pupils knew what would happen if they opened their mouths.
I mumbled something about that just now I didn’t care about which methods and which philosophy the TG had. I just wanted to try to stay tuned along with the nice people that I had met at the school. It went a swish of recognition among the pupils, because it was exactly the way most of them reasoned.

The defection

That night I didn’t get a wink of sleep. The following day I didn’t hear a word of what was said at the lessons. In the evening I talked with the others, and said that now it’s enough. No more life under the TGs wings for me. I was by the way not the smallest interested of going to Africa in their management any longer.
I slept at the station and in the morning I took the train to Oslo. There I had made an appointment with some friends in the evening. I would stay with them for a couple of days.
I felt all other than good when I came to Oslo. I stumbled around during the day, afraid of myself and with a persecution complex that almost got me to hit a guy who was just asking for light. Thoughts about suicide twisted around in my head.

Dan Lindbergh

Textile Transformation EC Trading BV bankrupt 2000

Used clothes trading

Amsterdam

Declared bankrupt May 2000 owing 500,000 guilders (about £1.4 million, €2,250,000), mostly to other Tvind companies

The story of Textile Transformation

This Tvind company registered in Holland in the 1990s was a subsidiary of the UK-based Tvind company, Customlong Agencies (later renamed Agence Notre Dame Ltd). (A visit to Customlong’s address in the UK in 1996 revealed it to be a small seaside terraced house, most probably an accommodation address.) The principal shareholder of Customlong for more than 18 months, Danish national Flemming Gustaffson, was also a director of Textile Transformation.

Flemming Gustaffson is known to be a long-term member of the Teachers Group and a director of other Tvind companies in Holland and, reportedly, Hong Kong.

The company traded widely with other Tvind companies, notably Humana in Europe and Planet Aid in the USA, in the 1990s (see below).

Textile Transformation EC Trading BV was declared bankrupt in Holland on May 23rd, 2000. The company owed about 5 million guilders (about £1.4 million). There were many unpaid creditors but four million guilders (about £1.1 million) was owed to just five companies, four in Jersey and one in Ireland.

The four Jersey offshore companies are all Tvind companies: Holland Trading Ltd, Holland Enterprise Ltd, Holland House Ltd, and World Wide Suppliers. The directors of these companies are or were Birgitte Larsen (a TG member for around 15-20 years), Karen Thorst (a TG member for at least 20 years) and Karin Palmelund (TG member for a similar time).

The fifth company, registered in Ireland, is Brichwood Trading Company, directors Bernadine Calerie Kennedy and Darlene Aretha Penn both resident in the Turk and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean (another tax haven). Brichwood is reported in Holland to be in liquidation with a debt of 300,000 Dutch guilders (£84,000) to Textile Transformation – Irish company records dispute this and say it is still trading.

All five companies are owned by a holding company, Coriander Holdings Ltd, Jersey.

Textile Transformation and export to eastern Europe

In 1998, Humana Holland asked the Dutch Ministry of the Environment for permission to export unsorted textiles, through the company Textile Transformation EC Trading BV, but got no permission at that time.

Address

Oudezijds Voorburgwal 266, 1012 GL

This is the same address as numerous other Tvind companies including:

Marco Polo Transport BV

Procurement White Hall Agency BV

Who ran Textile Transformation EC Trading BV?

Poul Joergensen (b. 1958 – not the same Poul Joergensen as accused of fraud in Denmark)

Member of the Teachers Group

Was also a director and sole shareholder of Marco Polo BV (Amsterdam), closed down in 2000

Flemming Gustaffson

Member of the Teachers Group

Director of numerous Tvind enterprises, including:

Procurement White Hall Agency BV

Customlong Agencies Ltd (Sole shareholder)

Kirsten Kristiansen

Sven Pedersen

What are they doing now?

Poul Joergensen is running U’SAgain (Atlanta, Georgia, USA)

Sven Pedersen is very involved with Kwa Zulu International College

Han Gommeren, Dutch journalist, writes:

Textile Transformation was declared bankrupt on May 23 2000. If I look at the list of suppliers, it’s loaded with Humana-members all over Europe. According to the receiver Humana Holland ‘lost’ 500.000 Dutch guilders to EC Trading but anyway, one of the EC Trading-employees, Joop Trompert, now is working at Humana Holland in Bunnik.

The Dutch firm De Boer Groep, the biggest clothes sorting company in Holland, lost 1,5 million Dutch guilders on EC Trading, another firm (Wieland in Wormerveer) a little more than 60.000 guilders.

According to the receiver EC Trading was doing business with four firms in Jersey and one in Ireland. Two of four of these Jersey-firms are also bankrupt. Strange is that they all had the same director and the same shareholder who got millions in dividends in the years before these firms went bankrupt. The receiver writes that three of the debtors have the word ‘Holland’ in their name and were responsible for the biggest part of the turnover of the bankrupt firm in Amsterdam (EC Trading).

Here is a list of the suppliers of EC Trading:

Austria
Vienna
Humana, Perfekstastrasse 86-88, contact Mrs. Claudia Haslinger

Belgium
Brussels Humana
Gent Humana, N. Farmanstraat 2, Zeehaven-Zuid, mr. Jesper Wohlert

Denmark
UFF,
Copenhagen, Energivei 2 mr. Tom Miltenburg
Aarhus, Petersmindevei 5-7, Mr. Carsten Hansen

France
Paris Humana SNCF Gare de Fret mr. Eric Dorph-Jensen
Lyon Humana ZI Reventin-Vaugris miss Karina Bolin

Germany
Berlin Humana, Koepenickerstrasse 45, Mrs Monika Muesson
Cologne Humana, Herman Segerstrasse 33 mr. Moin Rizvi/mr. Neil

Spain
Barcelona Humana, Carreiera Nacional 152, mr Jesper Wohlert (again!)

Finland
Helsinki UFF, Jaervihaantie 12, mr Petri Vaeaenaeren
and two more towns which I can’t recognize

Great-Britain
Londen, Traid Ltd, Unit 5 Landis & GVR Complex, Victoria Road-Gipsy Cnr
Acton, mr Peter Stone, weigher Yeoman Aggregates Ltd
Londen, Planet Aid, 18 Goldsmith Avenue (no name)
Planet Aid, Stonepit Farm, Park Road Hartwell Mrs. Birgit Soe
Green World Recycling Ltd The Engine Workshops, Dock Road Sharpness,
Mr. Torben Soe

Greece
Athens Humana People to People, Kalvou 77 Miss Karina Wallin
Athens Humana People to People, Gonari Dimitrio Street, Karina Wallin

Ireland
Dublin Humana Ireland 16 Palmers Court Palmers Town, Miss Pauline van der
Stadt (Dutch)

Italy
PMI Humana Via Berlinguer 10-M mr Guido Bernardi
CRD Humana Via Bizarri 8-B mr Alberto Pedrelli
TGV Humana Via S. Maria Crosifissa di Rosa mr Flavio Pitozzi

Litva
Vilnius Humana People to People Baltic Senasis Traku Plentas 14 km
miss Ilona Daniuniene

Netherlands
Humana, Bunnik mr Rob Elsinga
Aratrans BV, Nijmegen W. de Jong
Dalwex BV, Nijmegen W. Willems

Norway
Oslo UFF, Tomte Gard mr Jesper Pedersen

Poland
Brn, Merkurv Ul. Swierkova 3 mr. Stanislaw Kulik

Portugal
PDA Humana Rua Bateira de Torneiro 1, mr. Per Albius

Sweden
Stockholm UFF mr. Steen Hili
Goteborg UFF miss Kristina Johansson
HBG UFF mr Bernt Hansen
LIN UFF mrs Birgit Soe (compare with Planet Aid Londen!)

USA
LAW Planeet Aid Clothes Collection 250 Canal Str. mr Freddy Olson mr. Per J.
(Jensen? I suppose, former director of Humana Holland)
MILL The Gooidwill Commerce Center 2620 West North Avenue
mr Earl Schamick
STM Sea Traders Inc. 866 Forest Path mr. Ata E. Ukanna

After a search along several chambers of commerce, it appears that Humana is doing business with Textile Transformation EC Trading Ltd in Amsterdam. Activities: im- and export and wholesale trade in clothing, Director and owner is Flemming Gustafsson , born in Denmark. According to Brunklaus and Bent Johanessen of the Organisation Against Tvind in Copenhagen, Gustafsson is conected as a teacher to the Tvind-group.

[Rotterdam Dagblad, 1995]

I am very skeptical about the charity status of Planet Aid and their dealings with Garson and Shaw. I also used to do business with a company called EC Trading. They ended up stiffing me for four thousand dollars. The contacts that I worked with were Sven Pedersen and Kirsten Kristiansen. I was amused to see that this company was in the Tvind fold. (US contact, 2001)

by Kine Aune

It all started in Norway when I was accused of rape 16 years old. I was sent to Peterslyst Ridecenter in Denmark. I encountered an empty school, because all the other students were in Turkey. They gave me a room in the camp school and I stayed there without an eiderdown freezing for two weeks. I asked the teacher on guard for an eiderdown but nothing happened. There were four houses in the area one teacher lived in each house with the students. I was afraid and nervous and there was nobody I could talk to. I was not allowed to phone home to my family during the first two weeks because the teacher on guard thought my family needed some time off.

When the school returned home they all rushed at me and I had a brake down number one. I did not do it on purpose but I was punished. I had to do the dishes for a week and here I met the only normal teacher on the school. She told me stories about the school, which I almost could not believe. She warned me of continuing on the school and advised me to go home to Norway as fast as possible.

The next day I got a room in the white house – as they called it. The next day there was a meeting about me. During the meeting I was told that I could go home to Norway for a weekend and a guardian was appointed for me. I thought the guardian was a person to trust so I told her that I felt like running off. I should never have trusted her. Now I was not allowed to go home at all.

Shut off from the world I became reticent and difficult to handle. On the first day of school I saw a teacher seizing a 12 year old student by the throat and without thinking I knocked the teacher down telling him that it is not allowed for teachers to attack students. I was punished with the most severe punishment of the school: I was whipped on my hands and legs with a horsewhip. Afterwards I panicked and ran away to my room just crying all the time. I was not allowed to call my mother. I started to smoke and I tried to kill myself. Fortunately I did not succeed.

After this incident I was very exhausted and it was hard getting out of bed but I was forced to get out as the daily routines under all circumstances should be kept up no matter how sick I was. The day started at 7.00 and ended at 18.00 when I went to bed. I did not eat anything. Luckily I had a lot of weight to loose. During 6 months I went from 140 kilos to 85 kilos. I asked permission to see a psychologist but the answer was no. All my own clothes were confiscated. The rules of the school said that you were not allowed to wear your own clothes. I had to put on the clothes they decided were appropriate. During four weeks I had an inflammation in the inner ear and could not get any help until the day my eardrum burst then I was allowed to see a doctor. The only bad thing was I was not allowed to see the doctor alone – they had to accompany me – so I could not tell the doctor about my situation.

Secretly I got hold of a mobile telephone and contacted a psychologist in Silkeborg. I should never have done that because when they discovered it all the students and teachers surrounded me and shouted a lot at me for a long time. So that did not help me. I decided not to give up and to do something. Finally I got the letter I had been waiting for during two months. It said that I was found not guilty. I packed all my things and thought I could go home but no I had to stay there.

Today I believe that it had been better to spend the time in a prison in Norway than to stay at the Tvind school. I stayed at the school for two years and was beaten every other week. In the end I was afraid to do anything. I completely lost the ability to talk and do the things I used to like. I could not go to a dentist when I needed treatment.

The days went by and I was no longer a human being, but deep inside me a tremendous force started growing. On my 18th birthday I thought: Now they can no longer do anything to me. I am a norwegian citizen and now I had come of age. I went to a meeting with them and asked for permission to leave, but they refused plainly. I went into town and talked to my psychologist who helped me. For the first time during two years I was able to call my mother and that was a very good feeling.

I have had a lot of bad experiences but something positive has also arisen. I learned to look at things differently and because of Tvinds treatment today I believe nothing can harm me any longer. I have experienced the worst things possible being a prisoner of the Tvind Movement. I travelled a lot of times to other countries with the school but without freedom it is not fun to travel.

It took 6 years before I could live again normally. I had a diploma from Tvind but it was no good in Norway. I had a lot of problems and every time somebody offers me a chance to go to school I start crying. You might say I have got a school fobia.

I have got scars in my mind and on my body because of my stay at the Tvind school. If I had known about Tvinds methods – what I later learned – I would have chosen to go to prison instead of going to Tvind. If I had been to prison I would have been released much sooner than I did. To day I sometimes get letters from the school about the so called reunions but I will never go back to Tvind again.

Two years on that school was like hell with blows and kicks from the other students and the teachers. I would not wish even for my worst enemy to have to go through what I experienced during those years. It is still difficult for me to talk about what happened at Tvind. But I try my best to tell people here in Rjukan about what happens at Tvind. I wish to thank you for trying to help the young people who are at Tvind. Maybe Tvind will come to an end at some time – one can always hope.

Many regards

Kine Aune

kineaune@sol.no

In February, 1983, the Tvind training ship Activ was lost in a storm off Dover – eight young members of the Teachers’ group died. Teachers’ Group sources say the eight had been called to a meeting with Mogens Amdi Petersen – using the ramshackle old boat was the only way to reach Denmark, but the young people did not dare disobey the call. Only one knew how to handle a boat.

As a result of this one senior member of the Teachers group, Carsten Ringsmose resigned and accused Tvind of recklessness.



---




” One of Tvind’s training ships, “Activ”, went down in the North Sea and all eight students on board died. The ship, a wreck which had been salvaged from the bottom of the sea, was owned by the Tvind-controlled shipping company, Thomas Brocklebank. When the ship left Dover, England [...] it was in no condition to handle the North Sea storm which waited. A court of inquiry established that “Activ”‘s engine was unable to cope in winds stronger than 12 knots or so. The 27-year-old ship master, the only student who had any boating experience, was informed that the wind at sea would be over 16 knots.

“After the accident, Carsten Ringsmose [a former member of the Teachers' group, head of the Travelling High School at Tvind - who resigned shortly afterwards] told Danish papers: “I knew the engine was not strong enough. Poul Jorgensen knew it as well […], but the ship master was not aware of it.” Mr Ringsmose said: “The Tvind schools are irresponsible and their leaders lie, distort and keep information secret.-”

A report from the court of inquiry revealed that the crew on board “Activ” had tried to get a Dutch pilot to escort them to Holland, since they were inexperienced sailors and unfamiliar with the North Sea. The pilot had refused, because he thought the journey would be too risky. He was alarmed to see damages in the ship’s wooden hull, water-filled cabins and basic equipment such as compass and radar inadequate or missing.

Despite the fact that the average age of the crew was 22, that the ship master had a fortnight of-sailing experience and the rest of the crew’s education consisted of a five hour test trip the day before they went to sea, Mr Jorgensen described them as a “highly experienced” crew. As if to prove Mr Ringsmose’s point about failing to take criticism, he denied any responsibility but blamed the Dutch rescue team for not getting there fast enough.

It was a double scandal, as the Tvind shipping company refused to cover the expenses of bringing the body-of Kristin Skagemo, a Norwegian girl on the ship, home. Tvind forwarded the bill to her family. “We were shocked. It was a second shock,” the parents told Norwegian television later. They were not uplifted by the Tvind students who attended the funeral either. They sang marching songs.”

[Source: Leiv Gunnar Lie]



---



“Adresseavisen [a Norwegian newspaper), undated, carries a warning not to trust Tvind by a couple whose daughter Kristin died when the Tvind training ship ‘Activ’ was wrecked on the Dutch coast in 1983. They complain that Kristin at one time wanted to get out of Tvind. Allegedly she was never left alone and when at home was contacted by telephone all the time. So in the end she went back.The parents issued a strong warning to Norwegian young people in an ‘Antenne 10’ broadcast. Allegations were made in the same programme in connection with Tvind’s fundraising for the Third World and projects the collected monies may have been used for instead.

"Extrablad [Danish newspaper] (1993) carries the headline ‘Tvind knew people were going to drown’. One of founder-leaders who left the organisation states that he warned against using the schooner ‘Activ’ and that he left because he did not want to be responsible for people drowning in ships of this kind.”

{Source: Fair News 1993]




---




“By the beginning of the eighties several serious accidents, including the death of many young students, had occurred. A terrible boat accident in 1983 became a scandal both in Norway and Denmark. In this accident, eight untrained youngsters were sent out in an old sailing ship. The ship was ordered out from the safe haven of Dover, to cross the Northern Sea in a hurricane. Not one of the 8 survived.

The deaths of these 8 Danish and Norwegian young boys and girls gave the Scandinavian peoples a shock, and are typical examples of Tvind’s total lack of care for the sect members lives. After the accident, the multimillionaire sect claimed that the students’ corpses should be brought home on the cost of their parents, as the sect did not any longer recognize any responsibility for them.

Tvind’s official spokesman, Poul Joergensen, often provokes opinion by being cool and arrogant when confronted with accidents that have happened to former Tvind-pupils. Like all members of the Tvind ‘teachers group’ he always tends to put the blame on the victims themselves.”

[Source: Anne Ellingsen]




---




Else Waale writes: “It was when in February 1983 I was told, that the ship “Activ” was lost and some of my friends drowned. They were all teachers and they were on their way home for a meeting. When we were called to those meetings, it was unthinkable not to come, no matter what. If there was a snowstorm, you had to come, there was no excuse for staying away. So they died for it.”




---



Press reports:


From Adresseavisen [a Norwegian newspaper]:
Couple from Norway who lost their daughter in 1983
“Don’t trust the Tvind movement”

Don’t trust the dictatorial Tvind movement. We lost our daughter much because of Tvind. The couple Soren and Ruth Skagemo from Northern Trondelag in Norway came with a strong appeal to Norwegian young people in yesterday’s programme ‘Antenne 10′.

In 1982 the couple Soren and Ruth Skagemo lost their daughter Kristin (23 years). The schoolship ‘Activ’ owned by the Tvind movement was wrecked on the shore of Netherland. All eight were killed.
Never let alone

“Kristin wanted for a period to get out of the movement, but she was never let alone. The telephone was ringing all the time. As the idealist she was, Kristin was at last persuaded to come back,” Soren Skagemo told Adresseavisen.

“She was not allowed to have a boyfriend. Everything that could make her think about other things than the ideas of the school was forbidden,” Skagemo said.


‘Antenne 10′

Norwegian broadcast. In the programme, it was also said that the money Tvind and UFF have collected don’t end up in the Third World, but for luxury houses, shipping companies and companies.

“That must be Norwegian Broadcasting Company’s own statement. But it is not surprising if it is true, it would fit well with the impression I have of the organisation.”


From Ekstra Bladet, Denmark, 1993

“Tvind knew people were going to drown”

“I warned people against sailing with a ship like the “Activ”,” Tvind leader for many years says.

The Tvind leadership, headed by Poul Jorgensen, knew in advance that the schooner “Activ” was a ship of death, a vessel that would sooner or later cost human lives.

Teacher Carsten Ringsmose, who was one of the founders of the Tvind Empire in 1970 and who, last year, as the chairman of the Travelling Folk High School, left Tvind in protest, told Ekstra Bladet:

“I left just because I would not at any rate share the responsibility that people should sail out and drown, with a ship like “Activ”.”

THIS IS THE TVIND SECT

by Anne Ellingsen. Leader of The National Movement against Tvind Norway
(1993)

The sect which I want to draw your attention to is not a “tradttlonal” religious sect. In fact its ideology is atheistic. Nevertheless it has got all the characteristics of a destructive sect, and I suggest that experiences from the Tvind sect might be useful in the study of sects in general.

The guru on the top of the Tvind organisation directs the extremely disciplined sect members activities. The organization is obsessed with money and power. Apostates are threaten and followed. Lying is commonplace, internal and externally. The members of the sect end up, as a result of a constant “brainwash” process, like fanatical believers – in this case in PRODUCTION.

Characteristically enough one of Tvind’s institutions is called “The Travelling Folk High School on the Road to Victory in the Struggle for Production and in the Struggle for the Peoples Welfare Frontline Institute”.

The aim of this “school” is according to one of the sects publications “the reconquering of the People’s soul, its beauty, its power, its strength and its triumphant power, Frontline Institute will concentrate its efforts on the present struggle for the peoples reconquest of its thin soul”.

Tvinds main sponsor for its more than 40 “schools” is the DanIsh state.

In 1987, former Danish Minister of Education (Mr Friedrikshol) said to the Danish newspaper Politiken: “I can testify that Tvind’s tactics are to talk and talk, complain and harass, threaten again and again. They are clever and they are dangerous. They are totalitarian Marxists with an unholy motive behind their organization”.

Danish authorities increasingly have come to feel the impact of a sect that cunningly has exploited the liberal legislation of the country. All that is needed to found a school that will be 80 % financed by the state, is 50 signatures. By now the Tvind sect has got 40 schools, and has received more than 1 billion Danish krone from the Danish state. Its activities are by no means limited to the country where it originated. Today the Tvind sect has got properties and companies in more than 45 countries, and made at least 115 countries all over the world the destinations for the tours organized by their so called “travelling schools”.

In most of Europe the boxes used for collecting second-hand clothes by the organizations HUMANA or UFF (Developing aid from people to people) is the sects most well known trade mark. Even though Tv!nd as such (as usual with Tvind-organizations), denies any links from HUMANA and UFF to their mother organization, we can document that the same handful of people stand behind all Tvind enterprises.

HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?

(Missing section)

……are expected to subscribe to so called “life time contracts. They then donate all of their time and earnings until the age of 67.

TROUBLE IN SCANDINAVIA? NO PROBLEM

Right from the first years of expansion, in the early 70s, critical voices had begun to rise against theTvind school and its activities. Former pupils and teachers accused the school for being authoritarian. It was criticized for its carelessness with the security of its members lives on the tours to Africa and Asia. I t also was increasingly accused for using “brainwashing” as the main technique of maintaining the control over its members.

ACCIDENTS

By the beginning of the eighties several serious accidents, including the death of many young students, had occurred. A terrible boat accident in 1983 became a scandal both in Norway and Denmark. In this accident, eight untrained youngsters were sent out in an old sailing ship. The ship was ordered out from the safe haven of Dover, to cross the Northern Sea in a hurricane. Not one of the 8 survIved.

The deaths of these 8 Danish and Norwegian young boys and girls gave the Scandinavian peoples a shock, and are typical examples of Tvind’s total lack of care for the sect members lives. After the accident, the multimillionaire sect claimed that the students’ corpses should be brought home on the cost of their parents, as the sect did not any longer recognize any responsibility for them.

Tvind’s official spokesman, Poul Joergensen, often provokes opinion by being cool and arrogant when confronted with accidents that have happened to former Tvind-pupils. Like all members of the Tvind ‘teachers group’ he always tends to put the blame on the victims themselves.

CARIBBEAN TAX PARADISES AND WEAPON STORAGES

Former members have for long claimed that Tvind-leaders are living in luxury on Caribbean tax-paradise islands for the money collected by the Tvind “charity” organizations UFF and HUMANA.

According to the Danish newspaper “Jyllandsposten” a former leader of one of Tvind’s “schools” in 1981 contacted police, press and authorities, warning about gun-exercises and weapon storage at Tvind-owned properties in Denmark. Young men from Mozambique were said to be trained at Tvind-owned properties by Danish Tvind leaders. The Tvind leader, himself a professional soldier, was able to describe the arms he had seen in detail. According to his testimony the reason why he came to know about the training of .soldiers at all was his military background. He had. been asked to train the soldiers.

Tvind itself denied all such assertions.

The response of the Danish Minister of Justice caused much anxiety when it was known that he had been stopping the police’s action before their search at the Tvind properties where the arms were said to be stored in large quantities.

Danish intelligence Service also destroyed the material from 3 years of phone taps on the Tvind organization, an action quite puzzling for the Danish public. The destruction was an order directly from the Minister of Justice. The reason for taping Tvind had mainly been police theories of Tvind having close contact with the Palestinian terrorist group PFLP.

In the question of overseas investments, journalists in many countries have solid proofs that Tvind really have established themselves in the Caribbean. And in Central America Danish Tvind leaders are living on big farms in colonial style.

ABROAD

When Tvind really started to get a bad reputation in Denmark, it had for long been focusing its attention, outside of Denmark. It had bought land and established companies abroad, often by manipulating local authorities or by direct unlawful actions. In Australia, USA and the small Caribbean island of St. Vincent the resistance has been hard. At St. Vincent, in 1985, after Tvind’s unlawful acquisition of the largest property on the island, Prime Minister John Mitchell expelled the group from the island and even broke the diplomatic relations with Denmark. Before he did so, he pronounced to a Danish TV team: “They are a subversive group. I fear that they will develop like “Jonestown” in Guyana on this island. I regret to say that my people is very hostile to the Danes, and even in fact to Denmark as a country”.

This and other scandals abroad where Denmark’s reputation has been severely damaged because of Tvind, has been reflected in Danish mass media. Each scandal arises in the Danish opinion the question of why actions are not taken against Tvind. But Danish authorities do not seem to want or be able to stop Tvind. Instead, its massive financial support continues.

Tvind has now got huge properties in Central America, on several Caribbean islands, in Africa, USA and Europe. For each new investigation previously unknown dimensions are revealed.

HIDING THE LINK TO THE MOTHER ORGANIZATION

In Denmark today, different Tvind-achievements like the 40 schools, the movements hotels, shipping companies, art centres, zoological gardens etc. are often trying to hide their links to their mother organization. It might be totally hidden from the students or workers at the institutions in the initial stages of their engagement, that they are in fact on their way to become members of the Tvind sect. It is surely even more difficult to control the Tvind enterprises in countries where Tvind is not so well known. I appeal to anyone who discover Tvind institutions around the world to report it to our organizations.

CONCLUSION:

Close contacts with parliamentary leaders and bureaucrats have been documented in Danish newspapers. The Danish state has so far supported the Tvind system with 1 billion DKR. This support has made it possible for Tvind to expand to the rest of the world. The sect is dangerous and should be watched with attention by authorities and private persons where ever it operates.

SOURCES for this outline have been:

-Norwegian and Danish Broadcasting
-Finnish tV2
-Vrij Nederland, French version,
-Cayman Compass
-Free Cayman Press
-the St. Vincentian
-the 2 hour long critical documentary film Ps Sejrens Vej – ”On the Road to Victory”. (Danish Broadcasting company 1985)
-the book “Flere Visne Blomster” (“More Dying Flowers”), wrItten by 20 former teachers and pupils in the tvind—sect (Copenhagen.1981)
-Norwegian newspapers: “Aftenposten”(18.12.90.,9.4.92.28. 1.93.), .“VG” (5.2.83.9.5.83,2,3.10.84.,23.12.90.),”Dagbladet” (30.3,85.), “Adresseavisen”(dec.91), Vart Land(11.11.92.,l.1.93.), “Bergens TidendeTM(3.6.92.,26.6.92).
-Danish newspapers: “Politiken” (16.12.87-.), Jyllandsposten (21.9.91,-8.1.89), “Fyens Stiftstidende (6.4.92.), “Ekstra Bladet” (4.7.8., April 91).
-the Danish and Norwegian trade unions’ magazines: “Stof og Saks” (dec.92) “Magasinet” (nr. 1 1993).

My own notes from a one year stay at a Tvind “school” in Ulfborg, Denmark and a travel by the “school” to India 1982/83.

Tvind’s own material, pamphlets, posters and books.

Anti-Tvind organizations have been formed in Norway and Denmark. their addresses are:

the movement against tvind cof Bent Johannesen Valmuevej 8
( 8800 Viborg
DENMARK
(Phone: 86 62 09 64)

the natIonal movement against Tvind
P.b. 66, 1960 Nesbru
NORWAY
(Phone 22 23 75 11)

We welcome everyone who have information on Tvind to contact our organizations. We also welcome new members, or people who simply want to support our work.

HUMANA ALERT
www.tvindalert.com

HUMANA’S NEW MONEY-SPINNER: SELLING AFRICA’S ART

Exclusive to Humana Alert

May 2006: The Tvind Teachers Group, which runs Humana, is rapidly expanding a new money-making enterprise: selling art by African sculptors at high prices to collectors in Europe, the United States and even Russia.

‘ Friends Forever’, based in eastern Zimbabwe near Humana’s African headquarters, may at first sight seem like a humanitarian cause, but on close inspection looks highly commercial. Specially-commissioned art by Zimbabwean sculptors is being put up for sale by Tvind at prices up to 10,000 euros each.

Exhibitions of the art have already been staged in the USA, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands, with shows currently under way in Italy and the Museum of Modern Art in Moscow. The sculptures are also for sale on the organisation’s website.

The new organisation makes much of its association with Humana, but in fact there is no mention of any humanitarian purpose, nor is it clear how much of the profits will be passed on to the African artists.

The evidence, instead, points to ‘Friends Forever’ being yet another Tvind money-spinning business. It’s curator, Sune Jørgensen, is a long-standing member of the Tvind Teachers Group, and president for many years of Tvind’s Arts Association of March 85. Sculpture sales have been put on by Humana Italy and Humana Spain, and in the USA, a recent Friends Forever exhibition was mounted in co-operation with Garson and Shaw, the Tvind-run used-clothes trading enterprise.

Eight members of the Tvind Teachers Group are currently on trial in Denmark accused of £10 million tax fraud and embezzlement in connection with allegedly non-existent charities in Britain, France, Malaysia and other countries.

FRIENDS FOREVER: THE TG CONNECTION

Who really runs ‘Friends Forever’? The organisation’s website, www.foreverfriendszimbabwe.com was registered last year by someone using the email friis@e-advice.dk. E-Advice is another Tvind company, which collects and sells old computers.

It gets better. We know the ‘friis’ is almost certainly Jesper Friis, a Tvind teacher who is the registered contact for several other Tvind websites including UFF in Norway and Humana in Spain. He is associated with Juelsminde, Tvind’s former school in Denmark, and also uses the email friis@humana.org.

‘Friends Forever is not just connected to Tvind – it is Tvind!

To contact Humana Alert: feedback@tvindalert.com

_____________________________
Change address / Leave mailing list: http://ymlp.com/u.php?Tvindalert
Hosting by YourMailingListProvider

–
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.7.0/345 – Release Date: 22/05/2006

News from Tvind Alert

Investigating the Tvind organisation and exchanging information in 50 countries

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk

No 10 Dec 1st 2002

————————

Jes Fabricius Møller’s brief information on Tvind and news update for non-Danes: http://www.staff.hum.ku.dk/jesfab/abouttvind.htm#update

Friedrich Griess’s German-language archive of Tvind news:

http://griess.st1.at/tvind

IICD Watch:

http://iicdwatch.bravepages.com/

————————–

Top stories

Denmark

TVIND BUYS A LUXURY CAR FOR AMDI

Tvind has bought a 150,000 Euro (1 million Danish kroner ) luxury BMW X5 four-wheel-drive car for Amdi Petersen, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten reports. The silver, 284-horsepower luxury car will be used to pick Petersen up from outside the jail in Denmark, if he is released on bail pending his fraud trial. Petersen and seven other members of the Teachers Group are facing trial in February.

There have been fears that if released on bail, Petersen will flee the country before the start of the trial. When he was arrested, Petersen was en route to Mexico, which does not have an extradition treaty with Denmark. However Paul Gade, the prosecutor, has commented that the purchase of the car is not a significant risk.

However Gade says the car purchase will make an interesting case for the tax-authorities. ‘The fact that they spend so much money on a car, is interesting because Amdi Petersen and several other Tvind-people for years have declared in their tax-return to have a annual income of about 10,000 euro (70.000 Danish kroner)’, says Gade.

BRITAIN

Winestead Hall School complaints

RETURN OF AT-RISK TEENAGERS TO TVIND’S UK SCHOOL PROMPTS COMPLAINTS TO AUTHORITIES

Teenagers with behavioural difficulties are again being sent for ‘residential care’ to Tvind’s Winestead Hall school in Britain, four years after the school was closed down by British authorities. Town halls are paying Tvind a reported £3,000 a month for each vulnerable teenager, although according to information received by Tvind Alert, they are being cared for by completely unqualified ‘volunteers’.

Two volunteers at CICD have contacted Tvind Alert separately with concerns about this. There is very serious alarm that the vulnerable teenagers – at present one from Sheffield, another from Denmark – may be in the ‘care’of completely unqualified volunteers, recruited by Tvind. The ‘carers’ are also unlikely to be positively vetted to work with children – as UK law now demands. If so, this is a very serious offence.

The volunteers are asking how the £3,000-per-teenager is being spent, since there is little evidence of any money going to the welfare of the teenagers or facilities at Winestead. Three years ago investigators found money was being passed to a Channel Island offshore company as inflated ‘rent’. East Yorkshire Youth Offending Team have been asked to look into the placements and the national Probation Service is to circulate information about Tvind Alert to probation officers.

ELAINE’S STORY ABOUT WINESTEAD

Meanwhile, four more volunteers have left Winestead and asked for their money back. One, Elaine, has contacted East Riding Trading Standards (the local body charged with consumer protection), health and safety officers and is also considering going to the police. She has demanded return of £1,140 in fees but has so far been refused a refund.

She writes: “I joined the CICD in Winestead, near Hull, on 4th November thinking it was a legitimate organisation/charity and have since uncovered many distressing and dangerous practices. I have told them I want to leave and they are withholding £1,140 of my money and the same for 3 other colleagues. They refused to talk to us about refunds ……If I had not been convinced before I am most definitely convinced now that money is being siphoned off for some secret project – probably politically motivated.”

Elaine’s story. http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/stories/elaine’s_story.htm

Netherlands

DUTCH CITY OF EINDHOVEN WANTS TO BAN HUMANA CLOTHING BINS

The city of Eindhoven, the fifth biggest city in Holland (more than 200.000 citizens), wants to ban the clothing bins from Humana. According to the responsible alder woman, J. Kuppens, the Court of Mayor and Alderman seriously doubts the integrity of Humana, following reports in Eindhovens Dagblad and other media, she said this week during a meeting of the advising council for environment. In October the council of the Dutch village of Oss decided to end the relationship with Humana for the same reasons. From January 1st next year the city of Zaanstad also ends the relationship with the controversial clothes collector.

(Source: Eindhovens Dagblad, Oct 28th)

USA

NEW IICD-DOWAGIAC BUILDING OPENS – DESIGNED BY JAN UTZON

Claims that Tvind is really an impoverished organisation that gives its last cent to the world’s poor are again challenged, this time by a brand new school building opened last month at IICD-Dowagiac, in Michigan, USA. The building is designed by Danish architect Jan Utzon, designer of the Sydney Opera House. Utzon, evidently sympathetic to Tvind, also designed Humana’s palatial headquarters building at Shamva, Zimbabwe.

Volunteers ‘fundraising’ on street corners, supposedly to finance their college courses, might find this interesting news. Unfortunately Tvind Alert does not know how much the Utzon-designed building cost, or which Tvind company paid the bill.

Utzon’s website, with pictures of Dowagiac and Shamva:

http://www.utzon.dk

————————————–

Messages/questions from readers:

NORWAY: If anyone of you reading this has been working in Norway for UFF or knows someone who worked there please contact me. I have some questions to ask. My e-mail reads hugmebaby@web.de

ITALY: Maurizio has offered to be a country contact in Italy.

He writes: “I’m as anybody else who wanted to leave for a while the reality to join a program with Humana abroad. I found a newspaper in a pub I’m used to go to. I found it very interesting, the dream of someone’s life. To help someone in Africa, attending a previous course in Norway, meeting a lot of new people. I opened the Italian web site and I started to search through DRH programs and all that stuff and I was amazed. I just loved it…..I went home after booking a private meeting with them. When I went home my uncle fortunately found out your web site and my dream suddenly disappeared. That’s all so far. I’m know in touch with a Social Centre that is trying hopefully to pubblicize the thing to kids.” maone@libero.it

‘Jeffrey’ writes: ‘Thank you for providing an open space for thoughts and truth. I am trying to find out more. It is difficult and kind of overwelming how much material there is out there.’

—————

NUMBER OF VISITORS TO TVIND ALERT THIS WEEK: 678

—————

TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY VISITOR THIS WEEK:

United Kingdom

Poland

United States

Denmark

Germany

Netherlands

Sweden

Czech Republic

Australia

China

And 41 other countries

—————

NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS TO THIS FREE UPDATE: 1161

—————

ABOUT TVIND ALERT

Tvind Alert is a voluntary network dedicated to investigating the international Tvind organisation and its creator, Amdi Petersen. Tvind Alert was created by journalist Michael Durham and receives no subsidy or financial support. (Some of us write books and occasional articles but believe us, investigating Tvind is not a lucrative occupation.) We welcome interesting new information and you can contact us through the website or at feedback@tvindalert.org.uk

The story of Tvind Alert can be found at: http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/newspapers/uk_press_gazette.htm

Tvind Alert is non-political, completely independent and has no connection with any government, political party, pressure group, media outlet or law enforcement agency.

—————

PUT TVIND ALERT IN YOUR INBOX

Know someone who would like our free newsletter? Forward them this email with these instructions–they can get on the list by filling in the ‘subscribe’ box on the front of the Tvind Alert web site http://www.tvindalert.org.uk or, in case of difficulty, by sending us an email at join@tvindalert.org.uk.

—————

SUPPORT US

Tvind Alert is looking into moving to a low-cost paid-for newsletter at a future date in the hope of financing a more professional and better-researched service. Please consider the care that has gone into this bulletin. Comments? Email feedback@tvindalert.org.uk

—————

Tvind Alert Hyperboard forum: http://tvindalert.hyperboards.com/

Tvind Alert Guest Book: http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/guestbook.htm

Michael Durham (UK) Han Gommeren (Netherlands) (Editors)

tel +44 (0) 7775 531612 fax +44 (0) 7031151871

tel +31 (0) 6 2411 3958

Marianna Maver (USA)

Jes Fabricius Moller (Denmark)

feedback@tvindalert.org.uk

Tvind Alert

Investigating the Tvind organisation and exchanging information in 50 countries

London (PO box applied for)

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk

__________

To unsubscribe: http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/unsubscribe.php?Tvindalert+michael.durham@journalist.co.uk

This newsletter is hosted by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com

News from Tvind Alert
Investigating the Tvind organisation and exchanging information in 50 countries

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk

No 8 Oct 13th 2002

—————————-

HUMANA ADVERTS: Have you seen a ‘Humana’ advert in your local paper? Tvind Alert is compiling a page of recent Tvind advertisements. Send us a copy of any Humana newspaper small ad, wall poster, flyer or handout you’ve seen, together with a note about where you saw it – you can email the text, fax it, or send a photograph or scanned image – and we’ll add it in. (Contact details below. A snail mail address will soon be available for correspondence.) The page has already been started at: http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/index/adverts.htm

—————————-

Jes Fabricius Møller’s brief information on Tvind and news update for non-Danes: http://www.staff.hum.ku.dk/jesfab/abouttvind.htm#update
Friedrich Griess’s German-language archive of Tvind news:

http://griess.st1.at/tvind

IICD Watch:

http://iicdwatch.bravepages.com/

—————————-

This week’s top stories

TWO MORE TOWN COUNCILS MAY BAN HUMANA

HOLLAND: 2002, Oct. 11: The town council of Oss (Holland) has ordered the court of mayor and aldermen to end the relationship with Humana. The court of mayor and aldermen has accepted the request and will ban the collection bins from Humana from public spaces. Another clothes collector will be given the upportunity to collect used clothes in Oss. With this decision Oss is following the example of other Dutch town halls. In the city of Eindhoven (200.000 citizens) a political discussion about Humana is due to begin.
(Source: town council of Oss/Tvind Alert)

DENMARK: 2002, Oct. 9, Dagbladet: The town council of Roskilde, near Copenhagen, is considering banning the UFF/Humana collection boxes from public space.
(Source: Jes Fabricius Møller)

—————————-

From the world’s press

HOLLAND: RAAK Magazine
2002, Oct: The monthly magazine RAAK from the Flemish Catholic Labour Union published an article on Tvind this month saying that the Foundation Humana People to People is a cover up for an economic and financial cult (Tvind) from the Danish guru Amdi Petersen. The publication was followed by articles in the Flemish press, in the newspaper The Interest of Limburg. The article in RAAK at the moment is only available in Dutch, acrobat reader is required to read it on:

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/newspapers/2002/humana3pages.pdf

DENMARK:

2002, Oct. 10, Jyllands-Posten: Amdi Petersens time in custody has been prolonged by four weeks.

2002, Oct. 9, Ritzau (De bergske Blade): Bodil Ross Soerensens lawyer, Bent Unmack Larsen, has excused himself from the case due to old age as he explains it. Ms Soerensen hopes to be able to employ the highly profiled defence attorney Merethe Stagetorn.

2002, Oct. 4, Ritzau: The 8 leading members of the TG have now been formally charged. The details have not been published yet

(Source: Jes Fabricius Møller)

—————————-

IDEALIST.ORG HOSTS A DEBATE ON TVIND

‘Idealist.org’ a website that lists many thousands of volunteering organisations, has been hosting a fascinating discussion on Humana on its message board. Many ex-volunteers have criticised Tvind programmes, and Humana has replied accusing the Danish government and media of lies and propaganda. Action Without Borders, which runs the website, is “a global network of individuals and organizations working to build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives.”

http://www.idealist.org

Tvind discussion:

http://www.idealist.org/bbs/cgi-bin/postlist.pl?SID=0ed3632ad742daf60a9ddf530a931166&Cat=&Board=Volunteering

—————————-

Messages from readers

TRAYTON MØBLER ApS, DENMARK
Wanted: any available company and director information on Trayton Møbler ApS (Herning, Denmark). Please send information to: feedback@tvindalert.org.uk

CALLING RED HOUSE SCHOOL PUPILS
Daniel Shuttleworth, a student at Red House School, England, 1995-8 would like to hear from other ex-students and teachers. Email lincoln_youth@hotmail.com

LYSHOJ FRISKOLE 2000-1
Hi my name is Kirsty McAteer and I was a scottish volunteer in Lyshoj friskole.I am looking for anyone who worked as a volunteer in the twind schools between 2000 and 2001 that I may have known while in denmark. Please contact me at the following address kirsty212@yahoo.co.uk

—————————–
ABOUT TVIND ALERT
Tvind Alert is a voluntary set-up dedicated to investigating the international Tvind organisation and its creator, Amdi Petersen. Tvind Alert was created by British journalist Michael Durham and receives no subsidy or financial support. (Some of us write books and occasional articles but believe us, investigating Tvind is not a lucrative occupation.) We welcome interesting new information and you can contact us at feedback@tvindalert.org.uk. The story of Tvind Alert can be found at:

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/newspapers/uk_press_gazette.htm

—————
PUT TVIND ALERT IN YOUR INBOX
Know someone who would like our free newsletter? Forward them this email with these instructions–they can get on the list by filling in the ‘subscribe’ box on the front of the Tvind Alert web site http://www.tvindalert.org.uk or, in case of difficulty, by sending us an email at join@tvindalert.org.uk.
—————
SUPPORT US
Tvind Alert is looking into moving to a low-cost paid-for newsletter at a future date in the hope of financing a more professional and better-researched service. Please consider the care that has gone into this bulletin. Comments? Email feedback@tvindalert.org.uk. Meanwhile, as a way of supporting our work, donations can be made at the web site.
—————
Tvind Alert Hyperboard forum: http://tvindalert.hyperboards.com/
Tvind Alert Guest Book is now open again: http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/guestbook.htm
—————
NUMBER OF HITS ON TVIND ALERT THIS WEEK: 886 (last week 822)
Current average hits per day: 126
—————
TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY VISITOR THIS WEEK:
United States (101)
United Kingdom (87)
Denmark (72)
The Netherlands (51)
Germany (33)
Sweden (25)
Belgium (22)
Poland (20)
Norway (14)
Spain (13)

And also: Finland, Russia, Italy, Botswana, Canada, China, France, Austria, Hong Kong, Ireland, Portugal, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Israel, Ghana, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Tunisia, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Turkey, Zimbabwe
—————
NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS TO THIS FREE UPDATE: 1,115
—————

Michael Durham (UK) and Han Gommeren (Netherlands), Editors editors@tvindalert.org.uk
Marianna Maver (USA) maver@wmol.com
Jes Fabricius Moller (Denmark) jesfab@hum.ku.dk

Tvind Alert
Investigating the Tvind organisation and exchanging information in 50 countries
London (PO box applied for)
tel +44 (0) 7775 531612 fax +44 (0) 7031151871

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk

__________
To unsubscribe: http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/unsubscribe.php?Tvindalert+michael.durham@journalist.co.uk+hangommeren@chello.nl
This newsletter is hosted by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com

__________
To unsubscribe: http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/unsubscribe.php?Tvindalert+michael.durham@journalist.co.uk
This newsletter is hosted by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com

News from Tvind Alert
Investigating the Tvind organisation and exchanging information in 50 countries

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk

No 7 Oct 6th 2002

—————————-

TELL US YOUR STORY. If you have an item for publication in this newsletter, please send it to us at editor@tvindalert.org.uk. If you want to contact Tvind Alert in confidence, pass on information or send something to the website, please email us at feedback@tvindalert.org.uk. DONATIONS: Tvind Alert has received $400 (£237) in donations. Thanks! The money will be spent on buying in news items, a mailbox address, Internet costs, translations, mailshots and incidental expenses. You can donate through PayPal: http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/index/make_a_donation_to_tvind_alert.htm

—————————-

Jes Fabricius Møller’s brief information on Tvind and news update for non-Danes: http://www.staff.hum.ku.dk/jesfab/abouttvind.htm#update
Friedrich Griess’s German-language archive of Tvind news:

http://griess.st1.at/tvind

IICD Watch:

http://iicdwatch.bravepages.com/

—————————-

This week’s top stories

DUTCH PARLIAMENTARY PARTY DEMANDS EUROPEAN INVESTIGATION

THE HAGUE: The biggest party in the Dutch parliament, the CDA (the party of the Prime Minister), is now calling for European cooperation in an investigation into Tvind/Humana. The party again has asked questions to the ministers of Justice and Home Affairs, Oct 1st 2002.
The questions are as follows:
1. Are you aware that Humana still recruits people in Holland to work as a volunteer in Africa? CDA points to posters attached in Amsterdam recently and last year in Groningen and to advertisements in the free newspaper Metro.
2. Are you willing to inform with your collegues in Denmark, Belgium and the UK whether the Tvind-cult is involved in unlawful and/or punishable affairs? Are you able to inform the parliament about the outcome from this?
3. Are you willing to contribute to an international investigation on Humana?
(source: CDA in Dutch parliament)

AMDI HAD A DOUBLE IDENTITY – Danish police

According to the Danish police, Tvind-leader Amdi Petersen had two identities when arrested in a Los Angeles airport this year February. One of his credit cards mentioned him as Amdi Pedersen (in fact is it Petersen, but this explains why in official documents he is called Pedersen), another credit card mentioned the name of Mr Cordoba.
This is one the reasons the Danish police doesn’t want Amdi Petersen to be released from jail untill his court case starts in February. They are afraid he might flee.
(Source: Danish press)

SOCIALIST PARTY IN OSS, HOLLAND, WANTS TO END RELATIONSHIP WITH HUMANA

HOLLAND: The Socialistic Party (SP) in Oss, part of the town board, says it no longer wants to continue the relationship with Humana as a clothes collector in the village. SP will ask 19 questions and one of them is whether the mayor and the aldermen are willing to ask a local clothes collector if it is capable to take over the collecting from Humana.
The council of Oss is talking about the clothes collecting in Oss, coming Friday, Oct. 11th. The mayor and the aldermen rather want to wait for an investigation the Central Bureau Fundraising has announced in July. That happened after publications in the newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad and two items on Dutch television.
(Source: Socialistic Party Oss)

—————————-

Messages from readers

Michigan school tries to silence its critics – Jodie’s story

CANADA: The IICD in Michigan tried to make disenchanted volunteers sign a ‘no-retribution’ agreement as a condition of getting their money back when they left. ‘Jodie’, a young woman volunteer from Canada, who left after a ‘nightmare’ in Norway, is now complaining to the Competition Bureau of Canada, her local newspaper (which carried the ad) and Canadaian members of parliament about her treatment. tofugiroux@hotmail.com
Jodie’s story: http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/stories/jodie’s_story.htm

The power of loyalty – A Finnish woman’s story

HELSINKI / DENMARK: A Finnish woman contacted Tvind Alert after leaving a Tvind college in Denmark – she wanted to say something to alert her friends and team mates still at the school. She felt they were being exploited. Unfortunately, her team mates, many from eastern Europe, did not agree – they just wanted to get to Africa. They didn’t want her to rock the boat. She has temporarily withdrawn her story to protect her friends – it is a powerful account and a version will be posted on Tvind Alert soon. She can be contacted on: m_fin@hotmail.com

German mother wants legal action against Tvind

A German reader contacted Tvind Alert, telling that she wants legal action to be taken against Tvind in her country. She contacted the German ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs in Bonn after some very unpleasant experiences from her son at the Tvind-school in Ulfborg. She wants the ministry to give advice not to sent teenagers to Tvind-schools anymore.
She’s thinking about writing a report to the German authorities about what happened to her son when he stayed in Denmark. She writes for instance: ‘My son got misused as a teachers help, and he learned .nothing in his week about school subjects for which he came to Tvind. On the other side the youth department, that paid a lot of money every month for the boys stay, had to pay for lessons that never took place at all. Also the rooms of the kids are more than disgusting, there are dirty stinking bath rooms, the most of the toilets are broken’.
Anyone who wants to write her can reach her at: sibylleprillwitz@freemail.de

Messages to the Tvind Alert Guest Map

http://pub30.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum=2572162163

Fifteen people posted to the Guest Map this week including these comments:

Great! It`s very important tell people this flimflam called TVIND (here in Finland known as Humana-people-to-people)! Thank`s a lot! (Girl from Finland)……Tvind was here in Vancouver recruiting for their California school. I’m glad I found the Tvind alert website while checking them out, it probably saved me from an awful experience! (John) …….the bit about planet aid donating 4 mil to nicaragua/guatemala is crap. i was there, how i wish they donated anything close to that to benefit our projects! (b)……… I’ve been in lindersvold-danmark-as a student for 5 mounths. I left when i realized that i was been exploited.greetings from porto, portugal (luis coelho)…….Went to the Travelling Folk High School, Sweden back in 1978. Keep up the excellent work with the web site. (Kenneth)…… Thanks! You helped us to warn our son before any damage was done! Keep up the good work! (Penny Hajduk)…… Good work – GO ON!! (Christian Gundlach/Berlin)……. been a student in Ulfborg 1981. I participated in the delegation team 2 in Zimbabwe, Chindunduma school (Hasse M in Stockholm)…. I enjoy the site – was with for 1 1/2 yrs. I enjoyed my work, but hated the org. (mdb)….. Been employed by The UFF in Sweden (Olle)….. my first love exploited me! (John)…… Keep up the good work! (anne johnston)

—————————–
ABOUT TVIND ALERT
Tvind Alert is a voluntary set-up dedicated to investigating the international Tvind organisation and its creator, Amdi Petersen. Tvind Alert was created by journalist Michael Durham and receives no subsidy or financial support. (Some of us write books and occasional articles but believe us, investigating Tvind is not a lucrative occupation.) We welcome interesting new information and you can contact us at feedback@tvindalert.org.uk. The story of Tvind Alert can be found at:

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/newspapers/uk_press_gazette.htm

—————
PUT TVIND ALERT IN YOUR INBOX
Know someone who would like our free newsletter? Forward them this email with these instructions–they can get on the list by filling in the ‘subscribe’ box on the front of the Tvind Alert web site http://www.tvindalert.org.uk or, in case of difficulty, by sending us an email at join@tvindalert.org.uk.
—————
SUPPORT US
Tvind Alert is looking into moving to a low-cost paid-for newsletter at a future date in the hope of financing a more professional and better-researched service. Please consider the care that has gone into this bulletin. Comments? Email feedback@tvindalert.org.uk. Meanwhile, as a way of supporting our work, donations can be made at the web site.
—————
Tvind Alert Hyperboard forum: http://tvindalert.hyperboards.com/
Tvind Alert Guest Book is now open again: http://www.tvindalert.org.uk/guestbook.htm
—————
NUMBER OF HITS ON TVIND ALERT THIS WEEK: 822 (last week 904)
Current average hits per day: 117
—————
TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY VISITOR THIS WEEK:
Denmark (105)
United States (95)
United Kingdom (72)
The Netherlands (34)
Sweden (32)
Germany (27)
Poland (18)
Finland (16)
Spain (14)
Russia (12)
—————
NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS TO THIS FREE UPDATE: 1111
—————

Michael Durham (UK) and Han Gommeren (Netherlands), Editors
Marianna Maver (USA)
Jes Fabricius Moller (Denmark)
feedback@tvindalert.org.uk

Tvind Alert
Investigating the Tvind organisation and exchanging information in 50 countries
London (PO box applied for)
tel +44 (0) 7775 531612 fax +44 (0) 7031151871

http://www.tvindalert.org.uk

__________
To unsubscribe: http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/unsubscribe.php?Tvindalert+michael.durham@journalist.co.uk+hangommeren@chello.nl
This newsletter is hosted by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com

__________
To unsubscribe: http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/unsubscribe.php?Tvindalert+michael.durham@journalist.co.uk
This newsletter is hosted by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com