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Kenja Communication

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Kenja Communication, or simply Kenja, is an Australian organisation. It was founded by the late Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers and his partner Jan Hamilton in 1982.[1] It has gained media attention due to legal action regarding Dyer's alleged sexual assaults on young girls[citation needed], the role it played in the mental decline of ex-members[citation needed], and the suicide of Dyers.

About Kenja Communication

The word Kenja was derived from the first letters of the names of the two founders, Ken Dyers and Jan Hamilton. They later discovered it means "wise man" in Japanese. Kenja has offices in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Parramatta.

Kenja describes its purpose as "to increase understanding of the spiritual nature of man and our relation to the human spirit, coupled with practical training in the basics of effective communication – time, space and energy." The site also says that Kenja Communication is "neither political nor religious".[2]

A former Liberal Party parliamentarian Stephen Mutch described Kenja as "a sinister organisation designed to fill the pockets and stroke the egos"[3][4] in the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1993, and the media attention Kenja has attracted also gives both negative and positive descriptions of them.[5] Mr Mutch also referred to several documents, including an 'anonymous letter' (author known to Mr Mutch, not read into Hansard) which detailed significant similarities between Kenja and Scientology including vocabulary and teaching material. [1]

About Energy Conversion

The Kenja training focuses on a form of meditation called 'Energy Conversion', which is described as a way to "permanently eliminate the suppressed emotion, thought or energy that can divert us from what we want to achieve",[2] though neither Dyers nor Hamilton are qualified and this practice is not recognised by professionals. Energy Conversion Sessions consist of two people sitting opposite each other and looking into each others' eyes for a period of time, and costs about $130.[3]

An "eminent academic in [the] area" who wished to be anonymous said in a letter to Stephen Mutch that the techniques Kenja uses such as Energy Conversion "appear to be designed to allow senior members to exert influence over other members of the organisation ... The use of the techniques appears to lead to a reduction in the reality testing by individuals, and a relatively uncritical acceptance of the instructions of the senior member. Moreover, the individuals appear to experience a sense of dissociation that involves an alteration in normal waking consciousness and a feeling of incapacity to respond negatively to undesired actions."[4]

As Mr Dyers had been a Scientologist, and the group were trained using the Scientology manuals, a plausible basis for the origin of the 'energy conversion' could well be expected to be within Scientology. One of the TR's in Scientology is indeed a direct replica of that stated above. [2]

Ken Dyers

Dyers was born 14 July 1922[6]. During World War II he served in the Australian Army as a Military Policeman with 9th Div Provost Coy from his arrival in the Middle East on 25 September 1941 until he embarked for Sydney on 27 January 1943; and again from 30 July 1943 until his return to Sydney 23 March 1944. His record details a chequered career and a large amount of time in field hospitals and Casualty Clearing Stations. Dyers served in the 32 Works Coy in Australia until he was discharged. He was court-martialled three times. In late 1943 he was in jail for five days awaiting trial on three charges, and eventually convicted of "conduct prejudice to the good order and military discipline". In June 1944 he went absent without leave for 16 days. In April 1945 he was fined for leaving his sentry post and in July fined again for misconduct. It also refers to an assessment of his "mental instability" which is rated at 10 per cent on the day he was demobbed in August 1946.[7] He is also a former Scientology member. In a list published from the 1950s onwards by Scientology, he is listed as an "SP" (a suppressive person).[8]

In 1993 Dyers was charged with 11 counts of sexual offences against four girls, three of whom were sisters, who were between the ages of 8 and 15. After several trials and appeals, which lasted almost a decade, Dyers was found not guilty of 10 of the charges. He was found guilty of one charge (tried separately) and jailed at Long Bay Correctional Centre for six days before being released on bail. An appeal in 2000 failed, and in 2002 the charge was overturned in the High Court of Australia on the grounds that the trial judge had potentially misdirected the trial, though two of the five judges said that the "contention of the appellant that the evidence led at his trial should have left the jury with a reasonable doubt as to his guilt... should be rejected." The judges in concluding ordered a retrial. One argued that the appeal be dismissed, while one said a retrial should not be ordered due to several circumstances of the case, which included "the age of the appellant and his medical condition" and "the absence of any challenge by the prosecutor".[9]

On 28 October 2005, Dyers was charged in Sutherland Local Court with the sexual assault of two 12-year old girls, alleged to have taken place at the Kenja's Surry Hills headquarters in 2001-2002. Dyers was released on bail under the conditions that he attends Sutherland Police Station weekly and does not attend Kenja premises or events.[10] Dyers applied for a "permanent stay" in his current court case on the grounds of ill health.

Dyers denied he was guilty of the charges against him, saying that they are a result of former members trying to destroy him as part of a witch-hunt.[11] His lawyer, Harland Koops of Henry Davis York Lawyers, makes the defence that 13 year old girls "know how to say no, they get educated in school"[12] and that "there will be contrary medical evidence indicating that Mr Dyers has had erectile dysfunction for almost 15 years".[13]

Dyers committed suicide by gunshot to the head on 25 July 2007. [14]

Kenja and mental illness

Cornelia Rau

In 2005, a mentally ill former member, Cornelia Rau, gained widespread media attention in Australia due to being unlawfully detained for a period of 10 months by the Australian government. Before this, she had disappeared, and later turned up in North Queensland where Aborigines alerted the police after being concerned about her behaviour. She told them she was Anna Brotmeyer (and later Anna Schmidt) from Germany. Immigration officials assumed she was an illegal immigrant, and failed to diagnose her schizophrenia, leading to her detention.

Her family accused Kenja of contributing to her declining mental health,[15] although Rau had not been involved since 1998. She had developed schizophrenia while a member of the group.[16][17]

Hamilton denied any wrongdoing, saying: "We are not responsible for Cornelia's condition ... we are not a cult. It's a witch-hunt." The sister and family of Cornelia Rau, as well as several members of Kenja present at the time formed a different opinion while observing Rau's involvement in the group.[15][18] Hamilton also claimed, retrospectively, Rau was "scattered, disassociated" as a member of the group, and that she was asked to leave because she needed help and the group "couldn't help her".[19] However, witnesses quoted in the media say she was humiliated and expelled.[17][20]

Others

In a similar case to Cornelia Rau's, a man named Richard Leape who was being treated for schizophrenia disappeared while a member of Kenja and has not been seen since around 1993. His sister, Annette, says she found him in the street "totally paranoid and irrational, saying Nazis were going to get him". She was concerned that many other people had "developed very serious mental illnesses" from time in Kenja, and said she was "appalled" to know Kenja still exists.[15]

A young man who was a Kenja member of 2 years, Michael Beaver, was also diagnosed with and hospitalised for chronic schizophrenia. He blamed Kenja, and said he had heard of four other people who had severe problems since leaving Kenja. Beaver later killed himself, writing that Kenja was "partly to blame" in his suicide note.[4]


Beyond Our Ken – directed by Luke Walker and Melissa Maclean.

A film exploring the Kenja group nominated for Best Documentary 2008 by the Australian Film Institute and Film Critics Circle Australia.
"Beyond Our Ken" was voted 3rd most popular documentary at Melbourne International Film Festival.
The international premiere of "Beyond Our Ken" at Toronto's Hot Docs Film Festival generated controversy when Kenja flew from Australia to protest at the screenings.

AVOs

An Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is a legal instrument used in the Australian legal system to prevent antagonists from coming within a certain distance of claimants. Two court cases involving senior Kenja members have come before the courts.

Senior Members of Kenja Communication have been cross-examined in a recent court case involving a father and his daughter who are alleged to have made serious charges of sexual molestation against Mr Dyers.[[5]]

The leader of Kenja Communications, Jan Hamilton, has been cross-examined in a court case involving the alleged abduction of a former member. [[6]]

On 26 August 2008 an ex-member of the Kenja group was successful in securing an AVO against a co-founder of the group. Jan Hamilton was ordered not to stalk, harass or intimidate the woman as part of a two-year apprehended violence order [[7]].

Notes

  1. ^ "Secrets of sect in sex case". The Daily Telegraph, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. May 25 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Kenja Communication". Kenja Communication. Cite error: The named reference "kenja" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Robert Manne. "The Unknown Story of Cornelia Rau".
  4. ^ a b c "Legislative Council Hansard". Parliament of New South Wales. 22 April 1993. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "religionnewsblog.com archive of Kenja related media". Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  6. ^ From a full-page memorial tribute to Dyers on the first anniversary of his death, containing an edited version of Jan Hamilton-Dyers' eulogy, The Age, 25 July 2008.
  7. ^ "Kenja Communication". The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. February 12 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) (full army record)
  8. ^ "Suppressive persons and suppressive groups list". Church of Scientology, whyaretheydead.net. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  9. ^ "Dyers v The Queen (2002)". High Court of Australia. October 9 2002. Retrieved 2006-12-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Cult leader to stand trial on sex charges". ABC News and Current Affairs, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. May 26 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Cult leader says sex charges part of witch-hunt". AAP, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. October 28 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Cult head's 'No means no' defence". The Daily Telegraph, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. October 28 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Kennedy, Les (February 12 2005). "Cult boss impotent, says lawyer". The Sydney Morning Herald, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Kennedy, Les (July 25 2007). "Sydney cult leader found dead". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-07-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ a b c Lisa Davies (February 10, 2005). "This is the face behind a cult". originally published in the Daily Telegraph (Australia). The Rick A. Ross Institute.
  16. ^ "Cult linked to Cornelia". Herald Sun, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. February 8 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ a b "Rau angry at sister's visit". The Sunday Mail, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. February 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Daniel Ziffer (February 8, 2005). "Rau's sister blames cult". Immigration features. The Age. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ Wainwright, Robert (February 12 2005). "Dance photos reminder of a troubled trainee". The Sydney Morning Herald, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "The humiliation of Cornelia Rau". The Daily Telegraph, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey. February 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  1. 20 "Cult strikes back Daily Telegraph 6th Dec 2007" http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja39.html
  2. 21 "Womans fake beard was bogus"http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23922828-5006009,00.html
  3. 22 "Hot Docs" http://moviepie.blogspot.com/2008/04/hotdocs-2008-4-cult.html

References

  • Jones, Cindy. "Kenja group 'destructive' and 'sinister' claims MP." Sun-Herald 13 December 1992 p. 7
  • Mostyn, Suzanne. "MPs told of cult leader's sexual and mental abuse." Sydney Morning Herald 27 April 1993 p.6
  • Papadopoulos, Nick. "Founder of Kenja to seek no-bill after partial acquittal on sex charges." Sydney Morning Herald 16 April 1996 p.10

See also

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