Latest news with #Jonestown
News.com.au
6 days ago
- News.com.au
Controversy as notorious Jonestown cult site where 918 died becomes tourist attraction
Warning: This story includes details and photos which may be distressing Jonestown is seared into the American psyche as one the darkest tragedies of the modern era, where 918 people 'drank the Kool Aid' and ended their lives under the command of cult leader Jim Jones. Located in the remote Guyanese jungle, the site where the army first discovered the mass of dead bodies of People's Temple members in 1978 is now opening as a somewhat morbid tourist attraction, the New York Post reports. It is designed to pay sombre tribute in the manner of Auschwitz and the Killing Fields of Cambodia. The curious can pay $US750 ($A1140) to visit the clearing where Jones' religious cult, mostly US citizens who had travelled with him to Guyana in South America, unravelled in the most gruesome way imaginable. And there were survivors — although the overall story of Jones' followers poisoning themselves with cyanide-laced fruit punch (it was actually an off-brand version of Kool-Aid called Flavor-Aid) is notorious, lesser known are how around 80 of Jones' acolytes survived. Some did it by getting lucky and being out of town when the poisonous drinks were served, including Jones' son Stephan Gandhi Jones, who was at a basketball tournament. Others slipped out unseen, running into the jungle or hiding in the camp's cupboards. About 18 of Jones' followers took Congressman Leo Ryan – whose visit to the camp sparked the mass suicide – up on his offer to leave the religious enclave with him. Jordan Vilchez, now 67, who joined the People's Church at 12 and remained there until the end, was fortunate enough to be in Guyana's capital, Georgetown, when the mass suicides went down. 'I created a job for myself, talking about Jonestown to the Guyanese community. That task was acceptable to the leadership, and it allowed me to not spend so much time in Jonestown,' she told The Post. Hearing over a CB radio the Jonestown suicides were happening, she was horrified but not entirely surprised. 'There had been discussions about a mass suicide,' said Ms Vilchez, who lost two sisters and two nephews to the forced killings. 'In some circles, there were practice drills. There was talk of 'Revolutionary Suicide'. There was a running narrative of us being persecuted. 'Unbeknown to us, the world was closing in on Jim. Because of his pathological narcissism, he was not going to go down alone. People were stuck and emotionally drained – I got caught up in it and was not going to escape. Over the years, we got more hooked in. We were told that America would become a police state and our safety was in being part of this group.' Ms Vilchez is against the new tours to the site – where little remains, apart from a commemorative stone and the entrance archway. 'It seems silly. It's something that people will make money from. It seems like an abuse.' The Guyanese tourism company behind the trips, Wanderlust Adventures GY, defend their position. 'We want to present things in a way that is responsible and educational,' Roselyn Sewcharran, founder of the company, told The Post. During the overnight trip to Jonestown 'we talk about the social and political issues, the dangers of following with blind faith and the lessons learned from the Jonestown tragedy.' The People's Temple was founded by Jim Jones, a Communist sympathiser, in Indianapolis, in 1955. He put on fake healings to generate income and promoted the idea that all races and ethnicities would be welcome. In 1961, with the cold war top of mind for most Americans, Jones claimed to have a vision that Indianapolis would be decimated by nuclear attack. The People's Temple relocated to California, with its main headquarters in San Francisco. Jones began proclaiming, 'I am come as God Socialist [sic].' Once in the heavily hippie-fied Frisco, Jones began dabbling in illicit drugs and his sense of paranoia is said to have ratcheted up. Jones, who had a particularly magnetic personality, put up a convincing argument for belonging and in 1974, the People's Temple rented more than 3800 acres in Guyana, a tropical country which borders Venezuela. Jones promised to create a 'socialist paradise,' and reminded followers how he'd read that in the event of a nuclear war, South America was the safest place to be. He sent a cadre of followers to set things up, while he led the church in San Francisco. Things went fairly smoothly at first. 'It was great,' said Thom Bogue, who moved to Guyana in 1976 at the age of 15 with his family. 'I'd work eight hours a day, helping to build cottages and overseeing my own crew in the plant nursery. Then I'd go in the jungle and play before having a nice meal.' Mike Touchette, another Jonestown survivor, agrees. 'We built a community out of nothing in four years,' he told the Chicago Tribune. 'Being in Jonestown before Jim got there was the best thing in my life.' However, in 1977 an article filled with accusations appeared in New West magazine – including that a member's teenage daughter was beaten so badly 'her butt looked like hamburger,' driving Jones to flee to Guyana. Within a year, things on the commune got harder, and weirder. Survivors say there was a feeling of victimhood, perpetrated by Jones. His rambling meetings went on for hours, workdays seemed endless and it became all about ideology rather than Utopia. 'It steadily got worse … Ninety-five per cent of the people had no idea what was going on. It was like being stuck on an island,' Mr Bogue said. However, some did escape and word got back to California, prompting that state's congressman Leo Ryan and a group of journalists to arrive in November 1978, intending to investigate complaints from escapees. Mr Bogue's father was already hatching an escape plan, but when Mr Ryan offered an opportunity to leave with him, the family said they'd join. 'It was a very high-risk opportunity,' Mr Bogue, now 63, said about his family proceeding with Mr Ryan and others to a landing strip where a plane waited to fly them out. 'But maybe it was the best opportunity.' When the group assembled at an airstrip to leave, cult members, including one named Larry Layton, opened fire on them. Mr Ryan was shot dead as were three journalists and a temple member hoping to escape. Layton was later extradited, found guilty of wounding two people and served 18 years in a California prison. Mr Bogue, then 17, was inside the plane when its tires were shot out. He got up from his seat just as one member was shot in the head. Bogue took a bullet to the leg. When the shooting seemed to have abated, he and his sister ran off into the bordering jungle. Back at camp, knowing he'd be implicated in the death of a US senator, Jones gave the command to his faithful that it was time for Revolutionary Suicide. Syringes of cyanide were squirted into juice and sandwiches and consumed by the congregation – the children first. Jones shot himself in the head. Despite his injury, Mr Bogue survived in the jungle for three days. 'I was saved by maggots. They ate the gangrene. And then, during the third morning, I became delirious. I lost all sense of direction. But I was with my sister and three others from [another] family.' They were found and he was reunited with his father. They made their way back to the US shortly after. Nearly 47 years later Bogue works as an auto mechanic and serves as vice mayor of Dixon, California. 'I think it's great to turn it into a tourist attraction and a memorial,' he said, 'I've already been back there three times and the jungle is starting to reclaim the area. I would love to be a consultant on something like that.'
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘The worst nightmare you've ever had': Jonestown man recounts saving family from flood
JONESTOWN (KXAN) – As floodwaters rapidly rose overnight across Central Texas, one man's instincts may have saved a family's life. Unable to sleep, Matthew Crowder showed up to work early at Texas Paintball, on the banks of Big Sandy Creek in Jonestown. Realizing they wouldn't be opening for the day, he walked the property, snapping photos of the rising water. As he was leaving, a gut feeling made him turn back—and that's when he saw floodwater edging dangerously close to a nearby home. 'And then all of a sudden, just within 30 seconds, the people's front yard was starting to take on water, pretty bad,' Crowder added. He decided to start shouting to get their attention. That's when he saw a child with a dog exit the home. Moments later, his mother followed. He said she appeared in shock, so he took control, telling her 'make sure everyone's awake, get your head count, and let's make a plan.' He also called 911. As he waited for first responders, the water rose to waist-high, making it tough for children to get their footing, one briefly being swept away a short distance. Crowder recounts grabbing children, four of them, all under 12 years old, helping get them to safety. Crowder said that's when the power cut out. 'To be in that water and listening to the thunder, the loud, you know, water, the trees, hearing the roots come up off the trees and buildings crashing and things flying down the creek, and, you know, everyone, kind of yelling and, you know, screaming, trying to find who's where and stuff. It was definitely like surreal,' Crowder said. He lost his footing, water carrying him 20 feet down the road. Despite that, he got back on his feet and helped the mother, her children, their grandfather, and two dogs to safety. 'It's kind of like, you know, the worst nightmare you've ever had, and and just kind of realizing that in the moment is, is something that, if you haven't gone through it, it's really kind of hard to comprehend,' Crowder said. Among the children was a 12-year-old friend staying over for a sleepover. His mother later contacted KXAN, saying Crowder saved her son's life. Chrissy Eliashar recounted the moment the good Samaritan rescued her and her family when the unthinkable happened — floodwaters was slowly rushing into their Jonestown home in the early morning on July 5. 'At 4 a.m. my son Benny comes running and tells me, 'Somebody is screaming outside and the dogs are barking,'' Eliashar said. 'And sure enough we run to the front door, open it and there's a person screaming for us to get out of the house. Our front yard was a rushing river.' But despite the rushing waters, Crowder continued to help the family of five and their dogs to safety. When they attempted to leave the house the backyard was unfortunately 'already a lake,' Eliashar described. So, with five kids and their dogs, they escaped through the front yard, which by that point was already a river, Eliashar said. 'These guys were really, really brave,' Eliashar said, referencing the kids. In that moment of fighting to get to safety, Eliashar said it felt like the time was going second-by-second. 'It felt like a minute,' said 12-year-old Daniel Polner, the friend staying over at the Eliashar family's house. Polner said the adrenaline was what kept them going. 'You're just thinking get out of there,' Polner said. As for the good Samaritan, Crowder, Eliashar said she is grateful for him. 'He was in the right place and the right time. He was being a good leader,' Eliashar said. In the moment of panic he was the voice that guided all of them to safety, she said. Having gone through this stressful and scary experience, the family would like to remind others to listen to evacuations and flash floods because it could potentially be life-threatening or dangerous. According to a fundraising effort on GoFundMe, the Eliashar family lost their home, car and belongings. They had no flood insurance and only got away with the clothes on their backs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
10-07-2025
- Climate
- CNN
This family lost their home in the Texas floods. Like most victims of storm, they didn't have flood insurance
Crissy and Avi Eliashar bought their home in Jonestown, Texas, 13 years ago. They never had a problem with flooding until water washed away their home, car and all their possessions early Saturday morning. Avi, a security guard, was at work when the water rapidly filled their mobile home. That left Crissy, a school teacher, barely any time to escape with their three children – sons Beni, age 12; Dov, age 10; and 7-year old daughter Mayaan – along with her son's friend who was spending the night. Mayaan was saved from being swept away in the flood waters by her brother Dov grabbing onto her hair. 'We nearly died. We were very lucky,' said Crissy Eliashar. But while Eliashar is grateful no one was lost or seriously injured, that doesn't remove the pain of the losses the family did suffer. Like many of the victims of last week's flooding in Texas, the Eliashars do not have flood insurance. And homeowners' insurance very rarely covers damage from flood waters. 'It was our everything,' Crissy Eliashar said about the home. 'It was our stability. We owned it outright. We raised my babies there, and it kind of gave us, you know, the kind of life we live. Now we have to reframe our entire life.' FEMA estimates that only 4% of homes nationwide have flood insurance, and even high risk areas lack wide coverage. The nation's insurance industry has essentially walked away from the business over cost and risk, ceding coverage to a government program that requires homeowners to pay extra for protection they might only need in the case of the most extreme storms. 'It was not an expense we thought of as necessary,' Crissy Eliashar said. 'The house was 50 years old. We've been here 13 years. We've experienced some floods in the area but even when that happened, we never had more than some water in a corner of the yard. It never got anywhere near the house.' Many mortgage lenders require that homeowners in a designated flood plain have flood insurance. The Eliashars, who had no mortgage, knew their home in a flood plain wasn't covered. However, many of the flood victims in Texas only discovered their lack of coverage after the disaster washed away their homes. They're not alone. Only 30% of homes in what FEMA classifies as a 'special flood hazard area' had flood insurance as of 2018, according to analysis by the Wharton Climate Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The percentage is likely lower today. Flood insurance coverage peaked in 2017, and has been declining steadily since then, said Rob Moore, director of the climate adaptation division of the National Resources Defense Council. He said that is partly because premiums for the policyholders most at risk have risen, but also because people are pulling back on spending due to overall inflation costs. 'If you haven't used your flood insurance in the past, it seems like something people can get by without,' he said. 'There's an obvious fallacy to that logic.' Only 2.2% of homes in Travis County, where the Eliashars live, have flood insurance, according to data from FEMA. And only 466 homes (also about 2.2%) in the hardest hit county – Kerr County – have policies. Statewide in Texas it's about 7%, mostly along the Gulf Coast. But even in Galveston County, the costal area which boasts the highest percentage of coverage, less than half the homes are covered. While many people may think they live in an area not prone to flooding, FEMA estimates that 99% of US counties have seen flooding during the last 30 years. And Moore said climate change is exposing people to more severe storms, more frequently, than occurred in the past. 'Precipitation is really changing a lot, not just in frequency, but also in intensity,' he said. The insurance industry told CNN it's important for people to know if they have coverage for floods, and that they are likely at risk of storm damage if not. 'Floods are the most common and costly natural disasters in the United States, yet flood insurance remains one of the most underutilized forms of protection,' said Loretta Worters, a spokesperson with the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group. 'Too often, people discover they're uninsured only after a devastating loss. The gap between what's needed and what's insured is dangerously wide.' But critics of the insurance industry say it's wrong that flood damage isn't covered by most homeowner policies. 'This is an example of the widespread problem in the home insurance market, which is that over the years, the insurance industry has peeled off every type of coverage they can in order to boost profits,' said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a public interest group that focuses on the insurance industry. 'So flood insurance, earthquake insurance, mold coverage, you name it, the insurance industry dumps its liability, which leaves consumers in a terrible position of having to seek out multiple policies to protect their home in case of loss.' As extreme weather becomes more common, Balber said she doesn't expect the situation to change. 'Realistically there is no political will in any legislature or Congress to require insurance companies to cover flood damage,' she said. 'So consumers aren't protected when they need it most.' The Eliashar family is currently staying in the home of a friend who is away for a couple of weeks, and raising money on a GoFundMe page. They have been able to salvage a few items from the remains of their home, but mostly lost everything. But while water damage to the family's car will by covered by car insurance, home insurance does not cover the wreckage from the flood to their home, a fact that frustrates Crissy Eliashar. 'I haven't even had time to get angry,' she said. 'I mean, I feel grateful for my life, but I'm starting to get angry, yeah, of course I am.' – CNN's Mike Figliola contributed to this report
CNN
10-07-2025
- Climate
- CNN
This family lost their home in the Texas floods. Like most victims of storm, they didn't have flood insurance
Crissy and Avi Eliashar bought their home in Jonestown, Texas, 13 years ago. They never had a problem with flooding until water washed away their home, car and all their possessions early Saturday morning. Avi, a security guard, was at work when the water rapidly filled their mobile home. That left Crissy, a school teacher, barely any time to escape with their three children – sons Beni, age 12; Dov, age 10; and 7-year old daughter Mayaan – along with her son's friend who was spending the night. Mayaan was saved from being swept away in the flood waters by her brother Dov grabbing onto her hair. 'We nearly died. We were very lucky,' said Crissy Eliashar. But while Eliashar is grateful no one was lost or seriously injured, that doesn't remove the pain of the losses the family did suffer. Like many of the victims of last week's flooding in Texas, the Eliashars do not have flood insurance. And homeowners' insurance very rarely covers damage from flood waters. 'It was our everything,' Crissy Eliashar said about the home. 'It was our stability. We owned it outright. We raised my babies there, and it kind of gave us, you know, the kind of life we live. Now we have to reframe our entire life.' FEMA estimates that only 4% of homes nationwide have flood insurance, and even high risk areas lack wide coverage. The nation's insurance industry has essentially walked away from the business over cost and risk, ceding coverage to a government program that requires homeowners to pay extra for protection they might only need in the case of the most extreme storms. 'It was not an expense we thought of as necessary,' Crissy Eliashar said. 'The house was 50 years old. We've been here 13 years. We've experienced some floods in the area but even when that happened, we never had more than some water in a corner of the yard. It never got anywhere near the house.' Many mortgage lenders require that homeowners in a designated flood plain have flood insurance. The Eliashars, who had no mortgage, knew their home in a flood plain wasn't covered. However, many of the flood victims in Texas only discovered their lack of coverage after the disaster washed away their homes. They're not alone. Only 30% of homes in what FEMA classifies as a 'special flood hazard area' had flood insurance as of 2018, according to analysis by the Wharton Climate Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The percentage is likely lower today. Flood insurance coverage peaked in 2017, and has been declining steadily since then, said Rob Moore, director of the climate adaptation division of the National Resources Defense Council. He said that is partly because premiums for the policyholders most at risk have risen, but also because people are pulling back on spending due to overall inflation costs. 'If you haven't used your flood insurance in the past, it seems like something people can get by without,' he said. 'There's an obvious fallacy to that logic.' Only 2.2% of homes in Travis County, where the Eliashars live, have flood insurance, according to data from FEMA. And only 466 homes (also about 2.2%) in the hardest hit county – Kerr County – have policies. Statewide in Texas it's about 7%, mostly along the Gulf Coast. But even in Galveston County, the costal area which boasts the highest percentage of coverage, less than half the homes are covered. While many people may think they live in an area not prone to flooding, FEMA estimates that 99% of US counties have seen flooding during the last 30 years. And Moore said climate change is exposing people to more severe storms, more frequently, than occurred in the past. 'Precipitation is really changing a lot, not just in frequency, but also in intensity,' he said. The insurance industry told CNN it's important for people to know if they have coverage for floods, and that they are likely at risk of storm damage if not. 'Floods are the most common and costly natural disasters in the United States, yet flood insurance remains one of the most underutilized forms of protection,' said Loretta Worters, a spokesperson with the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group. 'Too often, people discover they're uninsured only after a devastating loss. The gap between what's needed and what's insured is dangerously wide.' But critics of the insurance industry say it's wrong that flood damage isn't covered by most homeowner policies. 'This is an example of the widespread problem in the home insurance market, which is that over the years, the insurance industry has peeled off every type of coverage they can in order to boost profits,' said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a public interest group that focuses on the insurance industry. 'So flood insurance, earthquake insurance, mold coverage, you name it, the insurance industry dumps its liability, which leaves consumers in a terrible position of having to seek out multiple policies to protect their home in case of loss.' As extreme weather becomes more common, Balber said she doesn't expect the situation to change. 'Realistically there is no political will in any legislature or Congress to require insurance companies to cover flood damage,' she said. 'So consumers aren't protected when they need it most.' The Eliashar family is currently staying in the home of a friend who is away for a couple of weeks, and raising money on a GoFundMe page. They have been able to salvage a few items from the remains of their home, but mostly lost everything. But while water damage to the family's car will by covered by car insurance, home insurance does not cover the wreckage from the flood to their home, a fact that frustrates Crissy Eliashar. 'I haven't even had time to get angry,' she said. 'I mean, I feel grateful for my life, but I'm starting to get angry, yeah, of course I am.' – CNN's Mike Figliola contributed to this report
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Stranger's Yell Saved Family from Texas Flooding: 'Our Front Yard Was a Rushing River'
Matthew Crowder yelled to wake up the Eliashar family early on Saturday, July 5 and helped them escape before flood waters destroyed their home in Jonestown, Texas A GoFundMe to support the family has raised more than $80,000 The death toll reached 104 statewide on Monday, July 7Devastating flooding destroyed the Eliashar family's Jonestown, Texas, home as it swept across a central portion of the state days ago, but they escaped with their lives due to the quick thinking of a man nearby. The death toll has since reached 104 statewide since flood waters rose and ravaged Texas Hill Country over the holiday weekend. Matthew Crowder had arrived for a shift at Texas Paintball on Saturday, July 5, when he observed waters rising around the family's home in the area, he told USA Today. "In the early hours of the morning, the unthinkable happened. Without warning, floodwaters rushed into the Eliashar family's home in Jonestown, rising to over six feet in minutes," wrote Kim Polner, the organizer of a GoFundMe to support the family. Soon, "everything went south, real quick," Crowder told the newspaper. He began shouting to alert them, which eventually worked. "At 4 a.m., my son Benny comes running and tells me, 'Somebody is screaming outside and the dogs are barking,' ' Eliashar told NBC affiliate KXAN. 'And sure enough, we run to the front door, open it and there's a person screaming for us to get out of the house. Our front yard was a rushing river.' At the time, her husband was working a night shift and she was home alone with her three children, ages 7, 10, and 12, along with a 12-year-old family friend who was spending the night with them, according to Polner. Crissy needed to move quickly to save everyone. 'Make sure everyone's awake, get your head count, and let's make a plan,' Crowder told her, according to KXAN. Initially, the family tried to flee through the backyard, but "that had already become a lake," Crissy told USA Today. "So then I'm really panicking." Eventually, they had no choice but to enter the water to try to move closer to Crowder as he held tight to a fence, the outlet reported. At some point, he also managed to call 911. "My daughter actually fell and lost her shoe and nearly lost her life," Crissy said to the newspaper. "My son grabbed her arm and picked her up, and we were able to just keep walking just a few more paces." "That kid getting swept away, like genuinely, I thought that that was it," Crowder told USA Today. "That was the worst feeling I think I've ever experienced in my life." For a moment, the waters knocked him over too, but he recovered and eventually helped bring them all to safety before authorities picked them up and drove them to higher ground, the outlet reported. 'It's kind of like the worst nightmare you've ever had, and just kind of realizing that in the moment is, is something that, if you haven't gone through it, it's really kind of hard to comprehend,' Crowder told KXAN. Crissy's 75-year-old father also survived the ordeal, according to Polner. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Although everyone inside lived, including the dogs, the house itself was destroyed by the powerful flood. "The family escaped with barely the clothes on their backs," Polner wrote. "They did not have flood insurance. They are now starting over from absolutely nothing — no home, no belongings, no basic essentials." Still, Crissy is holding onto thankfulness for the man who went out of his way to rescue them all. "I'm so grateful that he screamed and was able to wake us up and be that guide to safety for us," she told USA Today of Crowder. "He really saved us." Read the original article on People
