I watched Diane Sawyer’s interview of Jaycee Lee Dugard last night. Jaycee made headlines in 2009 when she was “rescued” after being held captive for 18 years. At the age of 11 she had been abducted in 1991 waiting for the school bus in her neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe.
Her two kidnappers were husband and wife, Phillip and Nancy Garrido. They pulled up in their car and used a stun gun on Jaycee. They pulled her into the car and the woman sat on her in the floor of the back seat. Two hours later Jaycee arrived to the house that would be her prison for 18 years. Actually she never lived in the house. She was placed in a soundproof shed that was also surrounded by other storage buildings and tarps in the Garrido’s back yard.
Phillip Garrido had a criminal record which included raping a 14 year old that refused to testify so the charges were dropped. He then later kidnapped a 25-year-old woman and raped her repeatedly in a commercial storage room for 8 hours. Just by luck of someone seeing a broken lock lead to her rescue. He was sentenced to life and served 12 years. While in prison he met his future wife. Nancy would help Phillip with his sick tendencies. She would pretend to film him at parks singing, but was really covertly filming little girls playing. 
Nancy eventually went on to help Garrido in his fantasy of having a girl sex slave. Unfortunately for Jaycee she became the target. As typical of pedophiles, Garrido was a master manipulator and also talented in how to break down a captive until real handcuffs are no longer needed. Jaycee became dependant on her captors for everything.
After years of abuse, Jaycee was pregnant at the age of 14. Truly innocent she had no idea about the situation and the Garridos had her watch TV shows about giving birth and he told her he would deliver the baby.
She labored alone for hours before the Garridos came to help. She had a little girl and she told Diane Sawyer she no longer was alone, she had someone. She was still very child like which is evident in her journals she tried to keep while in captivity. She went on to have another little girl. She told Sawyer that after the births, the sexual molestation stopped.
The system clearly failed Jaycee. Parole officers visited the Garrido’s home 60 times. Not once did anyone think to look in all the storage sheds in the back yard. Even knowing his previous pattern, they still didn’t look. A neighbor even called in to 911 and told them she saw two little girls living in a tent in the back yard. The Sheriff’s Deputy went to the front door, talked to Garrido for a moment and then left. He never went further than the front porch. Of course everyone wants to point the finger to someone else. The thought of all the times that child could have been saved is almost as scary than the actual abduction. How many of our missing children are being looked over right now and opportunities for help just closely passing by.
Jaycee has written a book, “A Life Stolen”. The information above with much, much more is in the book.
The main point that compelled me to write about this today is how “I” felt after watching the interview special.
This now 31 year old mother of two is finally back with her Mother, a woman who never gave up hope. My first impression of Jaycee was how soft spoken and honest she was during the interview. She believed that the writing of the book helped her to face it “head on” and to take steps to move on with her life. She told Sawyer she would not waste another minute of her life on Phillip and Nancy Garrido and that included letting the anger go. She never stopped looking forward and now that she can live again, she knows that to truly live she must let go.
Looking into her eyes, there is no anger. There is sadness, but no anger. She loves her children just as strongly as her mother loves her. The fact of who fathered her two girls does not matter. They are her family. As she aged the two girls were used to keep her even more paralyzed and afraid to run. I don’t think any of us who have not been in that horrible situation can truly understand the dynamics of what it does to your thinking and processing.
Last night after seeing her beautiful face and her ability to smile hit home for me in a personal way. I realized that holding on to some stupid minor hurts that someone has done or said to me is so wrong and draining. Some silly every day misunderstandings and just minor hurt feelings that I was holding onto inside made me ashamed. If this woman could let go, how could I justify holding on to all things that I know I should forgive and let go. Why is it we sometimes want to hold onto hurts and nurture them, rather than throw them out and move on? I know in my heart that I must forgive in order to be forgiven, but that is not easy and the Lord never said it would be easy.
Soul searching, as my daddy always called it, can be painful. But to see yourself clearly sometimes is a true awakening that can bring living better on the inside and the outside.
Jaycee Lee Dugard made an impact on me last night, an impact that has been on my mind all day. I find that I am not focusing on the details of the horrors she lived through, but more on her today and her outlook on life, family and never giving up hope. She was so genuine and caring that it seemed to surround her and engulf those near her, including Diane Sawyer.
She is a true inspiration and one I hope to never forget. Jaycee’s mother is not done. She is currently working to seek changes in the system that deals with offenders and parolees, especially when it comes to children.
I hope you all have a good week. Take care and stay safe,
KJ
If you liked that post, then try these...
No comments:
Post a Comment