Hana’s Story
In 2008, a 10-year-old little girl named Hana left Ethiopia with hopes of a bright future in America. She may have had dreams of being part of a happy family; of being able to go to school and of making friends; and of finally not having to worry about being poor or not having enough to eat.
Hana in Ethiopia waiting for a brighter future in America. Photo Credit:www.slate.com/
She certainly didn’t dream that 3 years later, she would not be alive. Upon arriving in America she was adopted into a family whose fundamentalist beliefs in Christianity and extreme discipline ruled the home. Hana’s adoptive parents Larry and Carri Williams lived secluded lives on a 5.6 acre land in Sedro-Woolley, Washington – a small town just 40 miles south of the Canadian border.
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The years following Hana’s adoption were filled will turmoil. She was physically and mentally abused, forced into isolation and deprived of food.
The day she died
On the day Hana died, she had been sent outside in the afternoon as part of a punishment. It was a damp day with the temperature being a chilly 4 degrees celsius. According to her 10-year-old brother – who is deaf and was also adopted from Ethiopia – her siblings and mother had been watching her from inside the house and seemed to have been laughing at her.
Hana in happier times. Picture taken in Ethiopia. Photo credit: www.slate.com/
Hana dressed only in cropped sweat pants and a t-shirt was asked by her mother to do jumping jacks to keep warm. As Carri had walked her daughter outside, Hana had been disoriented and thrashed about, falling down several times which Carri thought was attention- seeking behaviour and went back inside to avoid Hana.
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More on the next page…
Hours later when Carri called Hana in and she refused to come in, Carri sent two of her biological sons out to hit Hana with a plastic switch for disobeying. By that time Hana who was experiencing a condition called ‘hypothermic paradoxical undressing’ due to the extremely cold weather, had started removing her clothing and fell repeatedly, hitting her head.
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Carri who believes in strict modesty, called the boys in. After a while Carri’s biological daughter reported that Hana was lying face-down outside. After going outside and covering Hana with a bed sheet (not because she feared her daughter was cold but because she was naked and immodest), Carri called her husband and then called 911 and said “I think my daughter just killed herself… She’s really rebellious.”
Carri and Larry Willam at their trail for the murder of their daughter Hana. Photo Credit: www.slate.com/
At the hospital Hana was pronounced dead due to hypothermia compounded by malnutrition and gastritis. Child protective services and the police were called and after investigations, the Williamses were taken into custody. All 8 remaining children were taken into protective care and after a trial, Larry and Carri Willams were found guilty of the murder of Hana.
Bad advice in the guise of religion
During the investigation, police uncovered the parenting book ‘To Train Up a Child’ written by Michael and Debi Pearl in the Williams home.
It was reported in The New York Times regarding Hana’s death that “According to the sheriff’s report, the parents had deprived her of food for days at a time and had made her sleep in a cold barn or a closet and shower outside with a hose. And they often whipped her, leaving marks on her legs. The mother had praised the Pearls’ book and given a copy to a friend, the sheriff’s report said. Hana had been beaten the day of her death, the report said, with the 15-inch plastic tube recommended by Mr Pearl.”
The deaths of Lydia Schatz, 7 and Sean Paddok just 4 years old have also been linked to ‘to train up a child’. Photo Credit: hsinvisiblechildren.org/ and www.elizabethesther.com
This controversial ‘Christian’ book has been linked to the murders of 2 other adoptees: in 2010 Lydia Schatz, 7, who was adopted at age 4 from Liberia, and in 2006 Sean Paddock who was just 4-years-old. In both cases there was evidence that the parents had used disciplinary methods advocated by the Pearls.
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The forms of discipline recommended by the Pearls are on the next page…
The controversial book ‘To train up a child’ is still being sold on Amazon. Photo Credit: www.Amazon.com
The Pearls’ twisted advice
All children need to be disciplined at some point. But the kind of discipline advocated by the Pearls is shocking. Here are examples of some of the methods they recommend.
- Wearing plastic tubing around the parent’s neck as a constant reminder to obey;
- Using plastic plumbing tubing to beat children;
- “Swatting” babies as young as six months old with instruments such as “a 12-inch willowy branch,” thinner plastic tubing or a wooden spoon;
- “Blanket training” babies by hitting them with an instrument if they try to crawl off a blanket on the floor;
- Beating older children with rulers, paddles, belts and larger tree branches;
- “Training” children with pain before they even disobey, in order to teach total obedience;
- Giving cold water baths, putting children outside in cold weather and withholding meals as discipline;
- Hosing off children who have potty training accidents;
- Inflicting punishment until a child is “without breath to complain”.
(Source: https://www.examiner.com)
As a Christian and a mother of 2 little children, this tragic and outright shocking story of Hana Williams left me feeling enraged. No religion advocates child abuse with the motive of disciplining kids. It also makes you wonder how many innocent kids out there are maybe suffering as a result of such terrible advice.
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Micheal Pearl who coincidentally is a champion knife and tomahawk thrower, has his own fundamentalist Christian ministry together with his wife Debbie. In an interview in relation to these murders, Mr Pearl said blaming their book for extreme abuse by a few unstable parents is preposterous and that they explicitly counsel against acting in anger or causing a bruise. They say that their methods, properly used, yield peaceful and happy teenagers.
Michael and Debbie Pearl. The authors of ‘to train up a child’ head a ministry called ‘No greater joy’ Photo credit: nogreaterjoy.org/
Since these murders came to light, there has been a public outcry on Amazon.com which still sells the Pearls’ books. There is also a page that has been created to petition against Amazon selling books that advocate the physical abuse of children.
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So take a minute to sign this petition and also share this story so your friends could sign the petition as well. This may not fix the damage that this book has done but will definitely stop any more books getting into the wrong hands.
How do you feel about this story? Please tell us by leaving a comment below.
Sources: https://www.examiner.com, https://www.slate.com, https://www.nytimes.com
