Read on Twitter
People who gave evidence to the #MotherAndBabyHomes Commission are contacting the Data Protection Commissioner & gardaí about the destruction of audio recordings of their testimony.
A number of witnesses say they would not have testified if they knew the audio would be deleted.
A number of witnesses say they would not have testified if they knew the audio would be deleted.
Mary Teresa Collins "laid my soul bare” and told the commission about the horrific abuse she endured as a child, in the hopes she would get some form of justice for her mother and sisters, who all spent time in institutions.
She says the entire process has “re-traumatised” her.
She says the entire process has “re-traumatised” her.
Mary Teresa was regularly physically and emotionally abused as a child, being told by nuns that she would become a “whore” like her mother.
She believes this abuse was exacerbated by the fact she came from a Traveller background.
She believes this abuse was exacerbated by the fact she came from a Traveller background.
Mary Teresa says a nun poured pots of urine over her head at night because she snored.
“I was asleep when this happened, it was because I was snoring. When I woke up she reminded me I was dirty and would turn out like my mother … She seemed to really hate me.”
“I was asleep when this happened, it was because I was snoring. When I woke up she reminded me I was dirty and would turn out like my mother … She seemed to really hate me.”
One one occasion, she says she was stripped naked by a nun and beaten.
“She grabbed me and laid me down naked and I was screaming. She called the big girls in to hold me down. They got pillows to put over my head so she couldn’t hear my screaming."
“She grabbed me and laid me down naked and I was screaming. She called the big girls in to hold me down. They got pillows to put over my head so she couldn’t hear my screaming."
Mary Teresa and her daughter, Laura Angela, now campaign on behalf of survivors of institutions.
"My mum feels like it’s another form of abuse, that she doesn’t have the same rights other people do within society," Laura Angela says of the audio destruction.
"My mum feels like it’s another form of abuse, that she doesn’t have the same rights other people do within society," Laura Angela says of the audio destruction.
Laura Angela believes the government views the abuse suffered in mother and baby homes, county homes and other institutions are “historical” when, in fact, the impact of it is ongoing for many families.
It doesn't understand the trauma people still face, she says.
It doesn't understand the trauma people still face, she says.
“When I look at my mum and when I speak to my aunt, this is raw and not a lot of people get to see that.
"And I don’t think the government have that understanding of the impact on our family and the impact that lingers on for them," Laura Angela told me.
"And I don’t think the government have that understanding of the impact on our family and the impact that lingers on for them," Laura Angela told me.
“I was once an 8-year-old child standing at my nana’s mass grave, thinking my mother will soon get justice. I now have an 8-year-old child of my own.”
Laura Angela believes successive governments have adopted a “deny until they die” approach but people must be “held to account”.
Laura Angela believes successive governments have adopted a “deny until they die” approach but people must be “held to account”.
Read their family's story here: https://jrnl.ie/5348528
