In July 2003 "The London Observer" asks:
Is this institution (WWASP/Tranquility Bay) an infringement of basic human rights?
Yes
83%
No
12%
Other
4%
Votes: 423
The Institution
The place is run by Jay Kay, an American without any childcare qualifications, but most of the staff are Jamaican. The institution is affiliated to World Wide Association Of Speciality Programs which is based in Utah and follows their daily program which consists of Education Guidance videos which are about not smoking, chastity and other moral topics, the US high school curriculum which is not taught but merely done via books and video, plain meals which must be finished (to prevent anorexics skipping them) and group therapy.
Emotional Abuse
The kids are 'reformed' by a combination of physical restraint, brainwashing, bribery through gaining privileges and basically not being allowed to leave the place until they submit. The most drastic punishment is lying on your face on the floor for up to 12 hours a day. This can be for periods of over a year. Group therapy is used as a way of gaining power over the kids by making them reveal secrets about themselves which the group leaders can use to emotionally blackmail their charges.
The Legal Situation
This all sounds like a major abuse of human rights yet the Jamaican government seems not bothered about the place so long as it obeys local sanitary regulations. The . . . US authorities won't intervene either.
Source: "The London Observer" July 2003
