Photos:
Photos Inside Tranquility Bay, Courtesy of the BBC
Description of life at Tranquility Bay court transcripts:
http://www.isaccorp.org/tranquility/farmercase.pdf (rather tl;dr but very informative)
I'll sum this place up in as little words as I can think:
Basically, there's this company called WWASP which runs "specialty boarding schools" and "therapeutic boarding schools". In these "schools", "students" are signed involuntarily and may not leave until graduation, they turn 18, or the parents pulls them (if parents are divorced, then both parents must agree to pulling the child, I beleive). Common characteristics of these places include isolation from the outside world, restricted and often-monitored contact with parents, segregation by gender (you are not even allowed to look at them; you must turn your head away) and lots of other stuff I'm too lazy to type, but back to the point:
Tranquility Bay is considered the toughest and harshest of all WWASP facilities. It is located in Jamaica, and with the exception of Pillars of Hope, it is the only WWASP facility outside of the United States that was not closed down for things such as human rights violations or child abuse.
Students in other programs may get transferred to Tranquility Bay if they do not comply with the program, there is little progress, or they go on "zero tolerance" (usually resulting from runaway attempts or violence). This is done without the parents being informed and there is a contract signed which permits them to send them to Tranquility Bay.
Tranquility Bay recieves 48% of child custody over its students.
Reasons for being sent these places can vary and treatment for students is generally the same regardless of the problems/reasons.
Tranquility Bay and other WWASP programs require the graduation of seminars (Based off of cultish Lifespring trainings) and the completion of the six-level system which is done by earning points and support from your peers and staff in order to leave.
Parents are encouraged to not pull their children, and may be told that without the program the child may end up dead or in jail.
Students must denounce their former selves, confess and/or detail shameful/traumatizing secrets or experiences, and be compliant in order to gain levels.
Breaking minor rules can result in point loss and/or a 5,000 word essay on why you did what you did. Minor infractions include talking without permission or to someone on the wrong level, not saying "Yes" or "Yes, sir" instead of "yeah" for example, looking at the opposite sex, nonverbal communication (for example: smiling in some cases), not getting permission to stand up, dragging your feet, crossing your legs, turning head in line, swearing etc.
Breaking major rules can result in loss of all levels and points and a stay in OP, short for Observation Placement. In OP, the student must lie on their stomachs and not speak or move for the duration of the stay (which could be as long as the staff decide, the record is a girl who stayed eighteen months, I believe), there is also no sleeping outside of bedtime or schoolwork permitted during OP. If the student gets up, moves or talks, they usually get restrained. Although Tranquility Bay claims to not use corporal punishment, restraint is commonly used as a deterrence and as a punishment, often on students who are not harming themselves or others. Restraint consists of staff digging their knees into the students' back, grinding their ankles to the ground, and pulling their arm behind their back and pulling it upwards until their hand reaches their ear or forehead. Major rules consist of refusal, not eating 50% of all your meals, looking through windows, looking outside the gates, run attempts, self-injury, suicide attempts, drug use, communication with students of opposite sex, nail biting, scab picking, leaving your sandals (all students wear sandals to make running harder) in your room etc.
Food is often very small in portions and pretty gross.
I wrote all this from memory and unsourced, so please excuse if I'm wrong on anything. You can look it up yourselves.
Another link on the place:
The last resort (part one) | Education | The Observer
So I'm just curious what you guys think of it.
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