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A CHILD'S LIFE IN THE SEA ORGPhoto of Zoe Woodcraft

Affidavit of Zoe Woodcraft


 


 I, Zoe Woodcraft declare as follows:


1.      I am 16 years of age.


2.      The statements herein are of my own personal knowledge and if called
upon as a witness, I can testify competently thereto.


3.      In 1986, when I was two years old, my parents and 15-year-old brother
joined the Sea Organization at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida.  My
seven-year-old sister and myself were put into the care of the Cadet
Organization at this time.  My family and I lived at a building on U.S.
Highway 19 called the "QI" which was an acronym for Quality Inn.  This
building was once a Quality Inn hotel.  The cadet organization was located
there.


4.      The room we were assigned to live in was very small, approximately
12'X 20'.  It was one room and one bath; very shabby, infested with
cockroaches and smelling of mold.  All five of us were in this room so it was
very cramped and nearly unlivable. 


5.      My parents were shocked when we were first shown these living
quarters.  When they had been recruited to come into the Sea Organization to
work for Flag they had been promised a new, two bedroom apartment in the
Hacienda Garden complex; that we children would go to private school and that
they would get one day off every two weeks.  We soon found out none of this
was true.


6.      After about a year we returned to England to take care of our visas.
I remember being in England and playing with a cousin and not wanting to
return to Florida and our horrible living conditions. 


7.      I also remember my father being suddenly sent away and I had no idea
when he might return.  This frightened me, as I feared I would never see him
again. I was told he had been sent to the ship but no one could tell me when
he would return.  He did return after 6 months.


8.      We lived in Florida for about two years and then my mother was
transferred to Los Angeles.


9.      In Los Angeles I was placed in the "CEO" which stood for the "cadet
estates organization."  This was a building located next to Celebrity Center
International.  This is where I lived, by myself, for the next two years.  My
parents and brother were placed in adult living quarters and my older sister
into the Cadet Org down the street.  This building housed only younger
children.  We did not live with our parents, but were assigned to the care of
"nannies."


10.      Eventually my father had to take a leave of absence from the Sea Org
to further take care of visa problems.  He rented an apartment at this point
and our family moved in.  He then began working for a company owned by a
Scientologist.  He was supposed to work in this company for one year in order
for our family members to obtain green cards.  Technically, I lived in this
apartment with my parents, however because both of my parents worked such long
hours I would be taken to the CEO in the early morning and then picked up by
my parents late in the evening.  This was my basic schedule until I was six
years old.


11.     When I was six I was moved to what is called the "Int Ranch."  This is
a compound in Happy Valley, CA.  We were told that this was a secret location
and I was instructed not to tell my father where it was as he and my mother
were now divorced and my father was no longer in the Sea Org. 


12.     I was placed in a dorm that was acceptable; i.e. nice carpet, neat
etc.  However, neither of my parents lived on premises and there was a
sixteen-year-old boy named Sterling Thompson who was in charge of about twenty
of us younger children, known as "pre-cadets."  All together there was a staff
of about six or eight adults who ran the compound and about one hundred
children living there.


13.     My schedule at the ranch was:  wake up at 7:00 a.m., take one half
hour to get dressed for the day then go to breakfast.  Meals were highly
regulated.  We were assigned seats and each table had a "table captain" who
made sure the assigned steward brought our food from the kitchen to the table.
It was placed on the table and we served ourselves.  Afterward we cleaned our
own tables.  We had half an hour to eat.


14.     After breakfast we worked, dumping trash, mopping floors, sweeping
etc.  We were assigned cleaning stations throughout the compound. All our work
was supervised by Sterling.  We worked for about 20 minutes.


15.     We then went to school for four hours with one fifteen minute break.
Often, the school schedule was changed.  Sometimes we did four hours in the
morning and two at night, after working in the afternoon, and sometimes we did
six hours straight. 


16.     Most of what I studied was Scientology materials.  I remember doing
the Basic Study Manual when I was six or seven years old and it was very
difficult for me.  This is a course geared for adults.  When I did not score
well on the final test, the instructor first told me to redo sections of the
course and then told me to redo the entire course.  I then had to start all
over on this course.  The only other subjects studied were reading and math.


17.     After school, we had half an hour for lunch, and then we lined up and
did group drills.  We did "left/right/left marching, chanting of Scientology
doctrines, and relay races to increase our "particle flow" so we could work
faster.  Then we received our work assignments for the afternoon. 


18.     The work consisted of such things as collecting rocks from a stream,
putting them in a wheelbarrow and taking them to where a stone wall was being
built; raking the football field after it had been mowed; and weeding.  Most
of the time we pulled weeds as the appearance of the compound was very
important.  We were often told how lucky we were to be allowed to live here.
We worked all afternoon from lunch to dinner.


19.     Before dinner, we showered.  After dinner, we went to study for two
more hours.


20.     One thing that occurred some months after I had been there was that
one afternoon we were all gathered up and directed to go to a house that was
for what we called the "big boys."  This was the house that Justin Miscavige
lived in with several other boys.  It was a very nice place, much better than
the dorms.  They had art paintings on the wall, whereas in our dorms we were
only allowed pictures of L. Ron Hubbard or the Apollo ship.  They also had
different colors on the walls and the bedding, whereas the dorms were in
nautical colors: navy and gold.  There was no house for the big girls.  Older
girls just lived in the dorms with us younger children.


21.     The day we were taken to the big boys house we were told to stay
inside.  I was told by the adult watching us that what was happening was we
had too many kids at the ranch and a health inspector had come to check on us.
So, we were hiding until he was gone.


22.     In describing my bedroom, I again state all bedrooms were done in dark
colors.  Bedspreads were navy with a gold Sea Org symbol imprinted on them.
The curtains were navy; the carpet was blue.  We had brown dressers upon which
we were not allowed to place personal items or family photos.  We were not
allowed to hang any personal photos or pictures; only the LRH or Apollo
pictures. 


23.     One of the courses I had to do soon after arriving was the "make the
bed" course.  I had to learn how to fold the sheet corners so the bed was
perfectly tucked and no wrinkles on anything.  The final drill was making a
perfect bed in less than five minutes.


24.     At the ranch we dressed in uniforms.  These consisted of khaki shorts
with a red t-shirt or polo shirt with the Sea Org emblem embroidered on it.
We also had sweat pants and dress pants and a vest.  We could not wear our own
clothes ever while on the ranch with the exception of pajamas.


25.     As far as free or play time, there was none.  Every aspect of our time
was scheduled and controlled.  Sometimes in the summer we were given
twenty-five minutes to swim but that is all.


26.     At the ranch there is also a form of punishment called "pigs
berthing."  This is levied against those who had a dirty dorm or dorm area.
The punishment varies in different cadet orgs, but in this one offenders had
to spend the night in what was called "The big house."  The big house was an
abandoned building with rotting floorboards and broken windows filled with
insects, rats and bats.  I clearly recall two girls about nine years old who
were forced to spend the night there and in the middle on the night they ran
screaming and crying from the building.  One of the girls afterward told me
that they had been terrified by the bats and couldn't stand it anymore.


27.     This ranch was hours away from normal civilization.  In the year plus
that I lived there we never went into town for a field trip; never went to a
movie, shopping or anything.  We were totally isolated.  The only time I ever
left was when I was allowed once to take a leave of absence to visit my father
at Christmas.


28.     At the age of seven I was also made an MAA.  This is a person who
watches out to make sure no one is slacking in his or her work and to write
reports when other children are misbehaving.  For example one incident I had
to write up on myself was when I had snuck into a snack shack and taken a bite
of someone's candy bar.  Another boy was made to stand up in front of the
group and list off things he had stolen, such as a pen from a teacher.  He
listed about thirty such incidents of having taken or borrowed things without
asking.  This was extremely humiliating for him - he was about ten years old -
and the next day he was kicked off the ranch.


29.     Every Friday night my mother came at about 2:00 in the morning to pick
me up in a car.  We would return to her housing about half hour away and I
would visit her until 12:00 noon the next day.  This was the extent of my time
with her.  On alternate weeks, when I was to visit my father, my mother
arranged for a friend of hers to pick me up and take me to my father's house
as my father was forbidden to come to the ranch.  I would stay there with my
dad over night until 10:30 a.m. then I would have to return to the ranch.  I
often asked to stay longer, but I was always refused permission.  This often
upset my father and me.  I felt like I had spent a lot of my life saying
goodbye to my father.


30.     The last few weeks I was at the ranch, I learned my mother had been
sent to New York on a mission.  After she was gone about three weeks, I was
sent to be with her.


31.     I was now in Manhattan.  Here, I lived in a room with my mother.
There was a bunk bed and I slept on top and she on the bottom.  This room was
relatively clean and nice as my mother was an "Int Missionaire" which meant
she was highly ranked and the other staff members were frightened of her
authority.


32.     My schedule here was to hang out all day with six or seven other kids
also in the building.  I did no schooling during the entire time I was in New
York, which turned out to be eleven months.  My mother once asked me if I
wanted to go to public school, but I thought public school was horrible and
"the enemy" as this is what I had been taught all my life.  I told her I
didn't want to go and she said ok.  While in New York, I turned eight. 


33.     At one point my mom put me in the Scientology course room to study
training routines, but I didn't like it and upset the supervisor and
eventually stopped.  I did get to go out each day to either a comic store or
to get a slice of pizza.  Other than that I had no outside contact with
non-scientologists.  Also, there was a guy named Eugene who's job it was to
watch the kids and he did take us to Central Park and to the empire state
building.


34.     Each Thursday night, my mother had to do the financial planning for
the scientology organization and she would not come to our room in the
evening.  I would go to bed, but early in the morning hours I would get scared
and wander around the building looking for her.  I usually found her typing
away in an office and I would stay with her until she came to bed.


35.     Right before my ninth birthday, we returned to Los Angeles.  I could
not return to the ranch, as they had no more room for me.  So now I went to
the Apollo Training Academy.


36.     The Apollo Training Academy is a training organization for scientology
cadets i.e. children age seven and up.  While a member of this organization I
lived in the Anthony Building [AB] located on Fountain Street.  The AB was a
four-story heap:  the pool was covered over with plywood and we were
instructed not to walk on it, as it was flimsy and unsafe.  Children played on
it anyway as we were often unsupervised.  The carpets were old and smelly and
there were a lot of cockroaches.  We slept in metal bunk beads with chipping
paint.  There was no proper bedding; not one of us had a complete sheet set,
blanket and pillow.  I slept without a pillow for many months.


37.     All of the furniture was very old and decrepit.  For light, we had
bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling.  The kitchens had also been ripped out to
make more room for people so there were exposed pipes everywhere.  These were
the worst conditions I lived in during my tenure as a child of scientology.


38.     This building was in an unsafe area of Los Angeles and I often heard
gunshots at night. It was a very frightening place for me to live.  The adult
woman who was supposed to be our nanny - there were about eleven girls in my
dorm - was missing most of the time.  She didn't even sleep there and I
remember never knowing where she was.  At this time, my mother was again on a
mission, this time in Mexico, so I did not see her at all.  My dad, however,
did begin picking me up again every two or three nights so I could stay with
him.


39.     The fact that I had contact with my father, who was not living within
the confines of scientology, made me happy.  This was a place I could go and
have nice surroundings and eat whatever I wanted and he would give me spending
money, as otherwise I had no money at all.  I also had better clothing than
the other children, who were wearing very poor clothing as their parents could
not afford nice clothes and there were no uniforms here.


40.     Meals at the AB were served three times a day.  I don't remember what
sort of food it was just that it was bad.


41.     The bathrooms in the AB were also not fully functional and we often
had no warm water, the tiles in the shower were moldy and we had no soap or
towels.


42.     In addition, the elevators in this four-story building never worked so
we always had to use the steps.


43.     My schooling during this year took place at the ATA building that was
a five-minute bus ride away in a scientology complex.  I again studied
scientology principles and policies, math, reading and spelling.  There were
about two hundred kids in this school and we were just packed together.  Kids
even studied in the cafeteria where they would have to clean up their studies
so we could eat.  We also had no real schedule at this school.  Every Monday
was beach day and I did no studies on that day.  We would often go to a park
and spend the whole day there, also.  They would also take us to a fifty-cent
swimming pool, however a lot of the kids did not have the money to swim so we
just sat around all day.  If we asked the teacher for money, she said no and
told us it was too bad for us we had no money. 


44.     Another activity we were assigned at the AB was what we called
"chicken picking" the carpet.  Since we had no vacuum cleaner, we children
were instructed to get down on our hands and knees and pick dirt out of the
carpet.  This dirt included paint chips and we were expected to leave our
section in perfect condition.  This was very hard to do, especially in the
small space between the carpet and the wall.  There would be all sorts of
small trash in there including paint and staples that hurt my fingers.


45.     I lived in the Anthony Building for about two years in 1992 to early
1993 when I received a call from my mother, who I had rarely seen during this
time.  She asked me how would I like to come visit her in Florida for about
three months.  I didn't even really know where she was.  I said yes, I would
like to go.  I didn't think I was moving permanently to Florida, because I
didn't want to leave my dad.  I just wanted to see my mom as I hadn't seen her
in a long time.


46.     So, I was flown out to Clearwater, Florida where my mom met me at the
airport.  She took me to her room at the Hacienda Gardens where I spent the
night on her bedroom floor, which she shared with another staff member.


47.     The next night, after I had been taken to a nice meal at a steak
house, my mom took me to the Quality Inn (QI).  She led me to a dorm room and
exclaimed, "This is your room!  It's nice!" and then she prepared to leave.
At this point I begged her not to go and leave me.  I cried and did not want
to stay alone.  It was one of the worst nights of my life.  I was afraid at
this point that I was going to be staying here permanently.


48.     Later as I lay in bed, very upset and missing my father and sister in
Los Angeles, I became sick and threw up my steak dinner.  The next day I
started on the schedule of the cadet organization. 

49.     Now, I had to work every day.  I worked in my mom's office (Hubbard
Communications Office) every afternoon filing and sorting letters.  It was a
similar schedule to the Int ranch schedule except instead of working outside
in the afternoon I worked in an office.


50.     It was at this point also that I signed a Sea Org contract.  Actually,
I had signed such a contract at some point earlier; this was the second one I
had signed.  This contract says I will work for the scientology organization
for this entire life and the next one billion years.  I also was told to read
a policy that stated that if anyone is in scientology and does not want to be
there they can just tell the captain and they will be allowed to leave.  Of
course, I didn't want to stay but I didn't want to upset my mother.  Also, I
was nine years old. 


51.     Schooling during this period was a bit broader than my previous
experience.  We studied some geography and some cultural information.  We also
had more diverse reading.  Always, about forty percent of my schooling was
scientology study.  When I first got there, I only did four hours of school
per day, in the morning, then worked in the afternoon, then just hung out at
the QI and played at night.  No one supervised our play in our rooms.  After
some time I started studying in the evenings also.  This was called night
school and it was purely scientology study.


52.     Though I did see my mother in her office every day I did not spend any
time with her.  She was very busy and if I wandered into her room she would
tell me to get back to work.  The only time we spent together was Saturday
mornings when I visited her at the Hacienda.  This was also the only time she
had to clean her room, so it was not real quality time.  Occasionally, I went
to her apartment the Friday night before and stayed the night.  This was
special to me.


53.     Contact with my father during this time was very difficult.  I did not
know how to initiate contact and my mother was not happy with me when I sought
her help.  I found out later that he would call and call and finally fax angry
messages demanding to speak to me.  I did eventually receive these messages
and permission to call him, but the deputy cadet commander always sat in the
room with me when we spoke.  From the time of my arrival at Flag, it was three
months before my first contact with my dad, and about four months between
calls thereafter. 


54.     After some time at the base, I was given permission to visit him twice
a year.  I originally visited him once in the summer and once at Christmas,
however my mother and the cadet org frowned upon this as I was staying away
longer than the time allowed for "leave of absence."  We were only allowed
three weeks leave per year and I would often extend my visits with dad because
I didn't want to go back.  I told my dad I didn't want to go back, but he was
still a scientologist at that time and told me I had to.


55.     I always got very depressed when it was time to return.  I would cry
through the whole flight and often upset the stewards on the plane. However, I
composed myself as the flight neared Florida because I didn't want my mother
to see that I was upset.  She always became angry if I showed I did not like
living at Flag.  I also knew my mom did not like my father.  She said he was
"Ex-Sea Org and therefore a DB [degraded being]."  There is church policy that
states this as a fact that sea org members believe wholeheartedly.


56.      I stayed in the cadet org for many years.  At one point I moved dorms
because I had been originally placed in a nice dorm, as my mom was
"International management."  However, when she got posted to Flag and became
regular personnel, I was no longer privileged. 


57.     The room I was moved to was much worse.  The pink carpet had brown
stains on it and it had the most cockroaches I had ever had to live with.
Only one other girl lived in this room.  I didn't know her because I hadn't
lived there long and I was shy and this girl was considered to have bad
ethics.  I stayed in this dorm for some months, and then I moved again.  From
1994 to 2000 I lived at the QI in various dorms, some nicer than the others.
I moved nine times that I can remember.  Only during the final six months of
2000 did I live with my mother.  By that time I was 15 years old.


58.     All of this moving was very unsettling.  Often, once you had become
comfortable you would all of a sudden be told you had to move.  Usually, this
was to accommodate someone of a higher rank moving into the area.  When you
were told to move you had to quickly gather your belongings and go to wherever
they assigned you whether you liked it or not.


59.     One of my work assignments was to demolish the walls of a room.  This
was a strange room that had plywood attached in two layers on all the walls.
We were ripping the plywood off the walls.  When I asked the cadet coordinator
what this room was he told me it was for "ethics particles" who had become
upset or hysterical.  He would place them (children) in this room and lock
them in.  Some of them had become so upset that they were kicking holes in the
original walls as they were only drywall, so he had layered the walls with
plywood so no one could kick through.


60.     Life at the QI was overall depressing and dreary.  The only place to
play was the parking lot.  We were always on a boring and strict schedule.  I
was never allowed to leave the QI premises and we rarely went on outings.  I
worked every afternoon and the entire day on Sundays.  In fact, on Sundays we
had "renos" (renovations) day where we worked to fix up the premises of the
QI.  If we did not have special permission on Saturday afternoons, after our
parental visits, we also had to do renos.  We were allowed to watch movies
every Saturday night in the cadet room and this was our one point of fun,
although we never got to select the movies; they were chosen by the governess
Italia and at one point she was in love with a move called "White Knight" and
we had to watch that movie over and over again for weeks.  This was not a
children's movie and it was unbelievably boring.


61.     After one change of cadet coordinators, our reading and music
selections were censored.  Our rooms were searched for offensive materials and
if something not approved was found it was confiscated.  For example an Alanis
Morrisett tape was taken away because she was "downtone" and "too much in
anger."  Archie Magazines were considered "too sexually oriented" and these
were forbidden.  Seventeen Magazine was also not allowed, nor were any fashion
magazines because of the "middle class orientation" and sexual content.


62.     Over the years I rose up in post.  (By the way, I was considered a
"missionaire" from the cadet org during the time I worked in my mom's office.)
I once was the animal room I/C (in charge) of the pets.  We had snakes and a
tarantula and rats and a bunny.  I liked this job.  I then went to work as an
"MAA" (Master At Arms), which deals with ethics.  I had many other jobs in the
HCO division and eventually became Exec Esto.  On this post I carried out
programs written by myself and the cadet coordinator to improve the cadet org.
When I was the LC (LRH Communicator) one of my jobs was to make sure all the
pictures of Ron Hubbard looked nice, so I was always cleaning cockroach feces
out of the frames and the cardboard backing.  I would also lead people in the
chanting of scientology doctrines.


63.     As the HAS and Director of Inspections and Reports I had to read the
"overt write ups" of the other cadets.  This would include the reports written
up about masturbation and other sexual activity between the cadets.  I also
participated in courts of ethics and committees of evidence for children.
These are disciplinary actions per church policies.


64.     During some of these years I was considered a pre-cadet and at around
age 11 I became a cadet.  There is some pressure applied to convince children
to become cadets.


65.     First, it is made clear that at around the age of ten or eleven you
should become a cadet and if you do not you are constantly asked why you are
not a cadet. 


66.     Secondly, cadets receive privileges that other children do not.
Cadets are paid weekly.  When I first became a cadet I was paid sixteen
dollars a week, but this was reduced to eight dollars some time later.  There
were special certificates that one could earn for extra money.  These were
originally worth $25.00 but were also reduced to be worth only $12.00.  I did
earn these certificates through good behavior and high production on my job.


67.     Thirdly, cadets were given better accommodations.  Non-cadets (called
simply "children") and cadets had to live separately.  If you were a plain
"child" at the age of ten and not a "cadet" in cadet quarters you were treated
differently and looked down upon.


68.     Fourth, cadets were allowed more freedom of movement.  They could
leave the QI premises by themselves (in pairs- never alone) and if their stats
were up they were allowed to go bowling.  If they were "Cadet of the week"
they received ice cream. 


69.     The drawback to becoming a cadet was that you were now, per the church
policy, on the route to becoming a sea org officer.  Per the policy, the
definition of a cadet is "one who is training to be an officer." 


70.     The first time I was asked to become a cadet I said I was not sure I
wanted to be in the Sea Org.  I was missing my dad and thinking of returning
to California.  The cadet coordinator was shocked and told me I had to work
this out.  I told him I might want to go to college.  He told me I had to do a
condition of doubt.  He also notified my mother.


71.     I then did the condition of doubt that is designed to keep people in
the Scientology organization.  During this condition you have to compare the
statistics of two groups you are trying to decide between.  I was shown church
propaganda about how wonderful the Scientology organization was, like Freedom
magazine. I was then shown statistics concerning crime and children using
Ritalin, as well as news stories about arsons and death.  This was to prove to
me that the scientology world had better statistics and was more ethical than
the "Wog" (non-scientology) world.  I was told about how bad psychiatrist were
and all the horrible things they do to people in order to compare how
scientology is a much better method of mental health.  Also, I was so ashamed
of being assigned this condition that I simply wanted to get out of it. The
condition of doubt is a lower condition and one also loses privileges and is
looked down upon when in doubt.


72.     I also had a conversation with my mom about my doubt.  She was angry
about my not wanting to be in the Sea Org.  She asked me if my father had been
influencing me against scientology.  She even called my sister in Los Angeles
and told her to relay the message to my father to not say anything to me
against scientology.  She asked me where I got the idea that I might want to
go to college.  She thought this was completely insane.


73.     At this point, I decided to stay in the Cadet org. I was eleven years
old.


74.     When I was twelve or thirteen I was recruited into the Cadet TTC
(Technical Training Corps.)  We were in training to become supervisors and
word-clearers for the cadet org.  I now studied the works of L. Ron Hubbard
eleven hours a day, six days a week.  On Sundays, I did ten hours of regular
schooling.  I was studying adult courses like the Student Hat course and the
Hubbard Qualified Scientologist course.  These are the same courses offered to
adults in the orgs and missions around the world.  I did this for almost a
year. 


75.     During this time I had no free days other than Sea Org day and
Christmas day and one two week trip which was very fun.  We drove on a bus and
went camping and visited Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.  This was an
extraordinarily special trip and only a few cadets were allowed to go.  In ten
years there had only been four such trips all of which were arranged by Rusty
Hilton and his wife.


76.     I was studying the Student Hat course for seven months.  It was very
difficult and I hated it.  Soon, I was being asked to leave the cadet org and
go into the Sea Org proper.  This looked attractive to me, as I hated the TTC
and the Student Hat course.  I decided to join the Sea Org (SO) and was routed
onto what is called the "EPF" or Estates Project Force, which is the first
step in training for the SO.  I was fourteen years old.


77.     Now, I begin the EPF.  Again I am moved to a new dorm, which was quite
crowded and located at the Hacienda Gardens.  I studied at the staff training
building near the Super Power building. 


78.     The general schedule was to wake at 7:30 or 8:00 to be at muster
{meeting} by 9:00.  We then had twenty-five minutes or less to eat breakfast.
Then we had to race to quickly clean up after meal.  From there I went to work
doing cleaning or heavy-duty physical work.  This included mopping floors,
polishing and dusting banisters, vacuuming, carrying camera equipment for Gold
studios, putting up plywood in the Hacienda Gardens where they were
renovating, laying carpeting and shoveling gravel, intended for the Sandcastle
roof, into the bed of a dump truck.


79.     Specifically, for many days I worked all day in the heat of a Florida
summer shoveling gravel into the bed of a truck.  The truck was very tall and
I had to reach and strain to toss the gravel from the heavy shovel.  I became
dizzy and faint while doing this work.  Sometimes we were given water but not
often and we were not allowed to take many breaks, as there was so much work
to be done. 


80.     Another time we were re-carpeting the Clearwater bank building.  There
were a lot of teenagers working on this project.  There was one hired carpet
layer and a bunch of EPFers.  We were tearing out carpet, putting down glue,
ripping out sideboards and using a "knee pusher" to flatten out the carpet.  I
worked at this for a week, sleeping during the day and working during the
night, all through the night.  The staff was eating in this building during
the day.


81.     While I was doing the above a older Russian man (about 60) named Sasha
had a carpet knife and accidentally slashed his arm.  He was bleeding terribly
and no one was doing anything to stop the bleeding.  I grabbed hold of his arm
and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding.  We walked to a van outside,
trailing blood, and drove to the hospital.  There was so much blood all over
that the nurse had to ask which one of us was bleeding.


82.     At the hospital, the doctor was trying to communicate to Sasha but he
didn't speak English.  I finally told him we were with scientology and he
agreed to treat him.  He received stitches and I returned to work.


83.     Another project we did was remove upholstery tacks from the nautical
chairs in the CB and replace them with new ones.  Again, we were working all
night long and sleeping and studying during daylight hours.  We did this for
three nights in a row.


84.     Mr. Dave Englehart, who was the EPF In charge, was known to have a
very bad temper.  One man named Vladimir from Russia had smelly feet and Mr.
Englehart told him to handle it.  One morning at muster he screamed, "What's
that fucking smell!  I thought you to get that handled!"  He then pushed
another EPF person (dorm captain) so the whole line of people was knocked
about.  He then went to Vladimir, who spoke and understood no English, and
yanked up his foot and knocked Vladimir to the ground.  He tore the shoe from
his foot and threw it, yelling at Vladimir that he should have soaked his feet
in bleach water.  Vladimir was very upset and shaken by this as were we all.


85.     There was another young man named Josh Greenwood who was younger than
me.  There was a bad storm and we all went to the Sandcastle to place
sandbags.  Mr. Englehart told us this was very important to protect the
Sandcastle and if any of us fell in the ocean to swim to the side and for no
one else to jump in to help.  Josh snickered at the intensity of Mr.
Englehart's speech and Mr. Englehart responded by shoving the boy and dangling
him over the edge of a high stoop - about five feet high - and pretending he
would drop him to the pavement below.  The boy was very shaken and cowed.


86.     On the EPF we had to be with our group at all times.  Once I walked to
the store by myself and the EPF captain ran after me and asked me where I was
going as I knew I wasn't allowed to go by myself.  Also, all phone calls to
anyone outside of scientology were regulated.  In fact I was told that
frequent contact with outside family members was forbidden; once a week was
too frequent.  Often, he would allow no phone calls at all, always complaining
about the outer contact.


87.     I was on the EPF for nine months.  This is an extremely long time to
be on the EPF.  Most people do it in weeks.  I had to go back for word
clearing on what I had studied on the TTC.  All of this study correction and
discipline for going slow and being told I wasn't smart really shook my
confidence and made me think I was a dull person.  Eventually, I just went
back to the cadet org.  This was in mid-1999.


88.     Here I worked again, reposted to a new job.  Of course, I was back in
a new dorm, but now I could also visit my mom on Saturday mornings.  On the
EPF, I couldn't see her at all because those on the EPF are not allowed the
Saturday morning time off.


89.     It is hard for me to remember what happened next.  At some point they
were working to get me to return to the EPF.  I kept saying no, no, no.  I
finally told them I was not at all sure I wanted to dedicate my entire life to
the Sea Org.  The moment I became honest and told them this, I was again
placed in a condition of doubt. 


90.     In addition, I was placed on a program to "handle" my feelings about
not wanting to be a Sea Org member.  While doing this program, my father and
sister (who was by now out of the sea org herself and living a normal life
with my father in Los Angeles) invited me on a vacation to Hawaii.  I really
wanted to go with them and I sought permission.  At first, permission was
denied, but I argued and argued until I was allowed to go.


91.     During this trip, my dad would mildly criticize the sea org and
scientology.  I always immediately defended both organizations, just as I had
always been taught.  When we returned to LA from Hawaii, my dad really came
down hard on me about the sea org.  Eventually, he broke through.  I admitted
I really didn't want to be in the Sea Org and I did want to try going to
school like a regular kid.  He told me I could stay with him right then, but I
felt so guilty and loyal to the church I insisted I go back and route out
properly.


92.     I then returned to Clearwater and upon my return my roommate Nicole
Graham warned me that they were again going to try to get me to re-start the
EPF, as there was some post that needed filled immediately.  She was also
trying to route out and that is the only reason a sea org member would tell me
something like this.  I was then able to mentally prepare myself for what was
to come.


93.     Three days after I returned, my mom came to visit the QI.  This was
her fist visit to the QI in years.  I immediately knew what she was up to.
Acting very motherly and using her affection, she and the cadet coordinator,
Jim Sydjeko, asked me to take a walk.  As soon as we were outside the office,
they stopped and my mom started in.


94.     She told me I had been working on my program and she wanted to know
what I had decided.  She said there was some post I was needed for and I
should return to the EPF.  Well, I answered her honestly, telling her I wanted
to go to college and become an interior decorator.  When she heard this, my
mother was absolutely floored.  She became visibly irritated and her
"motherliness" no longer came through so well. 


95.     Of course, for the next hour and a half she tried to talk me into
staying and rejoining the EPF.  She asked me how I was going to help the
planet by going top college and a lot of other stuff I just didn't know at the
age of 15.  However, I had seen my mother do her work on many other people.
Often, she had held me up as a shining example of a cadet, even though I was a
thoroughly miserable child.  I knew what was going to come out of her mouth
before she said it.  Thus, I was able to maintain my position.  I wanted to
leave.


96.     Now, I was given what is called a "routing out" program.  These were
steps I had to take to leave the Sea Org.  Most of the steps had to be worked
with other people and I soon found that, as a matter of course, there was no
one able to help me.  After weeks of no help and no progress, I grew angry.
Additionally, steps were continually being added to my program.  Eventually,
my mother said I should word clear the entire Student Hat, which is a huge
course, and this was added to the program.


97.     I became very upset when they added the Student Hat.  I had been word
clearing for years and all it made me do was think there was something wrong
with me.  When I became upset they blamed me, saying I was only angry because
I still had mis-understood words.  At this point, also, I was supposed to
still be attending regular school, but now 90% of my studies were Scientology
doctrines and policies.


98.     During this time I was trying to stay in touch with Astra (my sister)
and my dad.  I called them every week or two.  This was seriously frowned upon
and the staff and my mother often scolded me for it.  I was made to feel
guilty and told I was doing something wrong (i.e. it was an overt to stay in
contact with these "outside influences.")


99.     After a couple of months, I was so filled with anger that I began
arguing frequently with Jim Sydjeko, the cadet coordinator, begging for a word
clearer and the other help I needed to do my program.  He just yelled at me
and said I was out-ethics and selfish, that they had more important things to
do than work with me.  When you are routing out you are no longer important
and no one will help you or treat you well.


100.    Sometimes, he would yell at me and advance towards me, backing me
against the wall and yelling at me so hard that spit flew from his mouth into
my face.  I would start sobbing when he did this, and he did it several times.


101.    My mother also did not like Jim and was blaming him because he had not
"handled" me as a cadet to stay in the Sea Org.  In the afternoons, I would
see my mom when I went in to Flag to work (I still had to work every day.)
She would tell me she could get me word clearing at the FH, but this happened
only three or four times.  At this rate, I knew it was going to take years for
me to route out and I started getting feelings of dread and hopelessness.


102.    After three months of trying to route out, I sort of gave up and just
started working for my mom full time, not going to school at all.  I returned
to the QI to sleep at night.  One day some cadets arrived at mom's office
while I was working, carrying many of my belongings in a cardboard box and my
laundry basket.  I asked what was going on and they said they didn't know, Jim
had just told them to bring me my stuff.  Now, I really flipped out because
the one place I had always lived was the QI and now I had been removed from
there.  I had no idea where I was supposed to go.


103.    When I met my mom on break I told her what had happened.  She said,
oh, I thought you wanted to come live with me.  This had never been discussed
before and it was really upsetting to me.  I did not want to live with her
because I knew she was very controlling and trying to get me to stay in the
Sea Org and this would only aid her.  Nonetheless, I moved in with her, as I
had no place else to go.


104.    In my mom's small bedroom at the Hacienda Gardens, which she shared
with an 80-year-old lady, I slept on the floor squeezed between a table and my
mom's bed with no mattress, just a pillow and a blanket.


105.    Now, I worked all day from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.  At this time, I
started sneaking to the Clearwater library in the mornings just to read, as I
had been forbidden to read so much for so long.  I started reading magazines,
newspapers, and books -- whatever I could.  My mom was angry with this and
told me not to do this but I continued.


106.    My mom now got me back into school again at the cadet org but only on
Sunday for 10 hours a day.  However, all I studied was Scientology and I quit
after three weeks.  My schedule then became work all day seven days a week, no
schooling except for my visits to the library, sleeping on my mom's floor,
eating my meals in the Clearwater Building.  I was no longer even working on
my routing out program.  I was very depressed; it was one of the worst periods
of my life, because people no longer like me because I wanted to leave, I was
not in uniform anymore, my friends talked to me only to convince me to stay,
and all the people who had known me through the years shunned me.


107.    As Christmas time approached, I started pushing again to finish my
leaving staff program so I could be with my dad at Christmas.  My mom would
not agree or help me so I went to the Chaplain.  The Chaplain talked to mom,
who convinced him not to help me as I am just out-ethics.  So, I spent
Christmas with my mother.


108.    This Christmas, my mother and my grandmother (also in the Sea Org)
bought me lesser gifts and gave them seemingly begrudgingly and my mom only
took the morning off to be with me. 


109.    Soon after Christmas, I began calling my father and sister more
frequently; several times a week.  I called from public phones, often from the
Library, either collect or using my dad's calling card number so my mother
wouldn't know.  I really started complaining about not going to school and not
being allowed to leave.  I was becoming more and more angry.


110.    In late January during one of these calls, my sister said to me, "How
about you just leave?  We'll come get you or buy you a ticket."  At this point
I was sick of feeling ashamed of myself for wanting to leave and certain they
would never let me finish my leaving program.  Also, I had recently been
subject to re-recruitment efforts to re-start the EPF and this frightened me.
Some time before, the Commanding Officer of the Commodores Messenger
Organization (CMO, a specialized organization comprised mostly of young girls)
had become very angry with me when I had refused to rejoin.  She had ordered
me to go start the EPF at once.  I ran crying to my mom for help but she said
she could not help and started asking, "Why don't you go on the EPF again?"  I
had then just gone home and refused to go to work at all for the next week.


111.    So this time when Astra said just leave, I felt sudden relief.  This
is what I wanted to do.  So we started planning.  We decided I would leave at
the end of February 2000.  I was afraid to call a cab; I had rarely even rode
in a car, so my dad agreed to fly out and rent a car and pick me up near Flag.


112.    I started to sneakily pack my stuff in a cardboard box and two
backpacks.  The night before I was leaving I kissed my grandmother good night,
feeling very sad because I wondered if I would ever see her again.  Then I
went to bed.  The next morning was my escape day.


113.    I woke up late!  Nervously, I grabbed my stuff and for one of the
first times in my life caught a ride with a staff member who drove a vehicle
(he had a vehicle because he worked for renovations and needed it.  Most staff
are not allowed cars.)  My cardboard box was stashed in a hidden closet in the
Coachman building.  I had been bringing my stuff in my backpacks every day and
secretly filling the box.  I was so nervous every time I spoke to anyone,
thinking they would know I was going to blow. 


114.    When I got to work, I made up an excuse to see my mother, who was on
study.  Normally, it is not permitted to interrupt staff study.  I gave her a
kiss and said I would see her later.  She was a bit annoyed by my visit.  I
felt so bad because I was leaving her, but on the other hand I didn't want her
to know and stop me.  She was like my mother and the enemy.


115.    Now, I took my two tightly packed backpacks and headed for the
Clearwater Library.  A sea org member saw me walking and approached me.  I
freaked out inside, but he just made small talk and I smiled and answered,
then walked on.  When I got to the library, I saw my dad sitting there in a
car.  Now, I knew I was really leaving.  I was so excited and emotional I
wanted to cry but knew we really had to rush to catch our flight out.


116.    I talked with him briefly then told him I had to get my cardboard box.
My dad waited in the parking lot and I ran back to the coachman building to
get the box from the closet.  I grabbed the box, but it started falling apart
and I couldn't let others see my clothes falling out.  I left the box in an
alley nearby, ran back to my dad and jumped in the car.  We then drove over to
the coachman to get the box in the alley, ducking as we passed the known
surveillance cameras all over the streets of Clearwater.


117.    We got to the alley and I dashed out to grab the box.  Dad came to
assist.  My knees were shaking and I was constantly looking around to see if
any Sea Org members were noticing.  We managed to get the box and all the
contents into the car, jump in and head for the airport.


118.    I was in emotional turmoil at this time.  When we got on the airplane,
I began to really question what I was doing and started to cry.  I was afraid
I was ruining my life.  However, I went through with it.


119.    When we got to LA, I called Flag and left a message for my mom,
telling her I had arrived in LA safely.  Then, I went home with my dad.  By
the time we got to his apartment, there were messages from mom telling me to
call her.  I didn't call her even though I was an emotional mess, shaking and
crying.  Soon, she called back and the first thing she said to me was "Well,
that wasn't very smart, was it?"  Her attitude and mean spiritedness convinced
me that I had done the right thing in leaving.


120.    Additional incidents, which were not recounted in the above narrative,
include the heavy labor children did at the QI.  For example I used a
jackhammer to break up concrete block and frequently used a circular saw to
cut wood for bunk beds.  All the children made their own, wood bunk beds.


121.    When I used a jackhammer I was happy to do so as normally we were made
to break up concrete with a large pick axe.


122.    The QI has two floors and there are iron railings running all around.
We children were made to sand the rust from them and paint them and try to
make them stable with screws and nails.  They were often so loose you could
not lean on them and they would be tied to the roof with rope to secure them.


123.    Children also painted the doors to the rooms and walls, fix holes in
drywall, layed tile, cut scrap carpet and fit the pieces together to make a
whole and lay on the floor.  They would also use acid to wash bathroom floors
that were caked with mineral deposits. 


124.    These are all samples of the labor done by children in keeping the
building in satisfactory condition.


125.    Regarding medical treatment while I was in the Sea Org, I once
fractured my foot when I was about 13.  My bone was fractured from my pinky
bone to my ankle and I was in terrible pain.  I couldn't walk at all and
stayed in bed late, but still had to get up and work.  The cadet coordinator
checked me and told me I just had a sprain.  After about a week it was not
better so I went to the MLO.  I waited all day and no one helped me.  They
finally helped me toward the end of the day.  One of the MLOs took me to a
nearby scientology chiropractor.


126.    I was told this chiropractor would take cheap x-rays.  She took them,
saw the fracture and pointed it out to me and advised me to see a doctor.  I
was never taken to a doctor.  To this day, my foot still hurts and aches when
I run.


127.    While I was on the EPF, I was working a lot with acid.  I had no
protective gloves and my skin became very dry and chapped and started peeling
off.  Something also happened to my feet as they became sore and red, then
crusty even on top.  They would crack and bleed and the bottoms were so sore I
could hardly touch them.  I had to continue working until I begged to go to
the MLO.  By this time, I could barely walk or move my fingers.


128.    The MLO, who is not even a medically trained person, said it looked
like some sort of fungus and would go away.  I was given no treatment and sent
immediately back to work.  I bought my own lotion at the store and was
constantly using it to take away the pain.


129.    I suffered this condition up to the time I went with my father to
Hawaii.  When he saw my hands and feet he immediately got me some medicine and
applied it frequently.  By the time I returned to the Sea Org it had cleared
up. 


130.    I want to state that the church promises you that all your medical
cares will be attended to.  This is not true.  Medical cares are ignored
unless they are extreme.  You are considered to be doing something wrong if
you are sick or injured. 


131.    Any care that costs money has to go through a long process of approval
that can take months.  I know my grandmother paid for some of her friends
surgery or medical treatment because they could not get the funds approved
through the church system and were in dire need of treatment.


132.    I also once cut my arm badly, where I could see white flesh, and this
received no treatment other than wrapping.  I have a very bad scar on my arm
from this injury.


133.    Another thing that happened was we children were hauled around in old,
broken down school buses.  These would often break down and on three occasions
I and other children were directed to get out of the bus when it broke down
and push it to the side of the road while the driver steered.


134.    At times, the cadets received no pay at all because the base was not
making enough money.  One of the things we had to spend our money on was doing
our laundry and buying our own hygiene items.  This included laundry
detergent, shampoo, tampons, soap and toothpaste.  We also were responsible
for certain items of clothing like underwear, socks, bras and our own hair
brushes etc.  This was all to come from our $8.00 to $12.00 per week pay.


135.    We had to wash our clothes in the coin-operated machines provided at
the QI.  This would take up to half the pay I received as a cadet.


136.    The other part of my pay I often spent on food because I couldn't
stand what we were served at the QI.  Our meals were leftovers brought from
the Clearwater Bank building.  One of our dinner meals was bread with cheese
melted on top of it.  This was served once a week.  When I left in 2000 there
were no desserts served ever as the base was not making enough money for these
treats.


137.    We also did marching drills at the QI and on the EPF.  We marched
together and learned formations like the number eight.  We also had to run and
do double and triple time and what we called the "dead run" where we had to
run all-out as a group keeping in marching formation, up stairs and all over.


138.    Another drill we had to do on the EPF was to run up all ten flights of
stairs.  In fact, no EPFers were allowed to use the elevators in the Fort
Harrison hotel.  When we did maid work or any work in the FH (like painting on
the tenth floor) we had to run up and down the stairs all day long.


139.    On the EPF we would get so hungry that we would take food from the
trays left over by the "public" staying in the hotel room.   When we were
working, if we passed these trays in the hall or near the kitchen we would
always steal any left over food.  This was a regular occurrence while I was
there in 1998 and 1999.


I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of
America and the state of Florida that the foregoing is true and correct.


Executed in Clearwater, Florida this 24th day of January 2001.


Zoe Woodcraft


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