Christina Krusi

Christina Krusi
Krusi - speaking engagement
Born	(1968-07-15) July 15, 1968 Zurich, Switzerland
Occupation	Author, Artist
Spouse	Roland Weber (2nd marriage)
Children	2 (Raphael and Timon)
Website
http://www.christina-kruesi.com/ & (Artist website: www.ckruesi.ch/ )

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Christina Krüsi (born July 15, 1968) is a Swiss author and artist. In 1966, Krusi's parents moved the family to the Amazon rainforest of Bolivia to work for the American Christian Missionary Society, SIL/Wycliffe and translate the bible into the local Chiquitano and other Indian dialects. The base for the mission was located in Tumi Chucua in the country's northeast corner. In 1979, the family returned to Switzerland where Krusi completed her Swiss education requirements, later married and moved to the Ivory Coast of Africa (returning two years later due to civil unrest).

In 2003, Krusi and several friends with similar claims that they had been abused in Tumi Chucua approached Wycliffe/SIL International claiming they had failed in their responsibility to protect. An investigation was conducted and apologies and compensation made, and afterwards SIL installed new protective measures for children's safety. Krusi went on to complete two Master's Degrees and develop her art, music and literary work. She also became a consultant in conflict management and motivational speaker, published her memoirs, Paradise Was My Hell (Droemer Knaur, July 2013), and created the Christina Krusi Foundation for child protection from violence and abuse through public awareness.^[1] In April 2014, Swiss Television debuted an expose on Krusi's alleged abuse experiences in Bolivia. She remains in Zurich, Switzerland with her family.

Amazon Rainforest

Native woman of Bolivia

Life 1966-2002

Krusi's early years were spent in the Bolivian rainforest where the family journeyed under the guidance of Wycliffe Switzerland, (one of 105 independent Wycliffe organizations within the Wycliffe Global Alliance umbrella of SIL International) to assist with Bible translation.^[2][3]

Krusi returned to Switzerland with her family in 1979 at 11 years old. During the following four years (1980–84), Krusi finished middle school in Diessenhofen, Switzerland and then attended art school at Stuttgart/DE and St. Gallen for two years before receiving teacher training at Amriswil. The same year (1987 and now 19 years old), she married a man five years her senior who was also from the Christian community. Together they had two children (sons Raphael and Timon). In 1992, the family moved to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire for two years where Krusi worked as an art teacher and illustrator. However, with the threat of civil war in 1994, they returned to Switzerland. For the next three years (1994–97), Krusi became an adult education drawing teacher as well as head mistress for the local Marthalen Senior High School in Zurich. She also developed her art and education, taking sculpture and anatomy courses in Schaffhausen (Switzerland)and Stuttgart, Germany, and attending the Vocational School for Design in Zurich.

Zurich, Switzerland

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Book/Documentary (Abuse publicized)

In 2003, Krusi joined a number of former missionary children and approached SIL/Wycliffe alleging sexual abuses by missionaries in Bolivia. In turn, the SIL conducted an extensive investigation which was completed in 2005. Wycliffe's formal website notes that apologies were made and paid therapy sessions offered as compensation, ^[4] however no public notification was made at the time. Wycliffe also implemented numerous policy changes to protect children, including assistance from MIRA, a Swiss-based organization for sustainable prevention of sexual exploitation.^[5][6][7]

Eight years later in 2013, Krusi published her biography, Paradise Was My Hell,^[8] which detailed her alleged abuse experiences in Bolivia. In response to the book Hannes Wiesmann, Director of Wycliffe Switzerland, first stated publicly on their website, "We confirm that our partner organization in Bolivia has operated a school, and that there have been sexual assaults on minors end of the 1970s. Even Christina Krüsi was a victim of it. We are deeply saddened by what has thus happened to injustice and suffering to her and her family." ^[9] The SIL made no statement nor provided any documentation, and Wiesmann refused to comment on the "actual contents" of Krusi's book. Krusi, in her book, claims to have recorded the abuse in a diary she began at age ten and which she describes as being written in a "secret language.^[10] She also claims to remember discussing the abuse at age sixteen with her mother.^[11] However, the diary has not been made available to the public, and Krusi's parents state that they knew nothing of the abuse until the investigation began in 2003.^[12] In her book, Krusi describes physical symptoms, flashbacks and nightmares that accompanied the return of certain memories, several years of self-therapy with her friend Gudrun, journal writing, and painting.^[13][14] In two interviews Krusi reports the resurfacing of repressed and traumatizing memories, along with details of repeated abuse by missionaries to her (from 6-12 years old) and other men and women.^[15][16][17] No adults who lived at the Tumi Mission have come forward with evidence of Krusi's abuse.^[18]

In April 2014, Swiss Television produced an exposé (SF 'documentary') of Krusi's alleged abuses titled "I am no longer a victim - Abused in the name of God." In the film, Krusi narrates the claim made in her book to have witnessed a ritual child murder ^[19][20] SIL was skeptical of the film, contending that majority of alleged offenders deny the crimes or have died and expressed doubts as to the full extent of Krusi's experiences.^[21][22] Wycliffe Switzerland acknowledged Krusi's courage but does not comment on Christina's memories. They state disappointment the film failed to explain why violators were not punished, reacted strongly to its sub-title, and noted a lack of details of the alleged ritual child murder which Wycliffe Switzerland says SIL is now investigating. Commenting on Krusi's specific claims, they state, "Christina reports from her memory of what she experienced in her childhood. For this reason, we can and will not comment. The media, until now, has reported largely without consulting us."^[23][24] Currently both the book and documentary are in German. In 2014 the book was translated into Polish.^[25]

Krusi in Art Studio

Life 2003-Present

Although Krusi's marriage ended in 2002, she continued as head mistress at Marthalen High School (until 2006) and participated in art/poetry/music projects and exhibitions, using her painting as a creative outlet, and between 2007–12, she completed two Masters Degrees: Management Culture from Zurich University of Applied Sciences (AW Zurich) in 2007 and Educational Management at Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zurich - as part of the MAS) in 2012.

Krusi's home Winterthur, Switzerland

She also assumed a management position for a kindergarten-to-senior school in Winterthur, Switzerland, introduced MAP Magazine for artist professionals in conjunctions with Open Doors Winterthur, implemented an addiction and violence prevention program (QUIMS: Quality In Multicultural Schools) for the Winterthur Töss School District, and expanded both her consulting work and sculpture/painting.^[26] Also, in addition to releasing her book, in 2013 Krusi co-founded (with supporter Gudrun Ruttkowski) the Christina Krüsi Foundation for the protection of children, which supports people and projects that raise public awareness - "opens society's eyes" to the issues of child abuse (the Foundation receives a portion of Krusi's book and art sales) and completed a children's book.^[27][28][29] The same year, Krusi received a Swiss Federal Diploma in Conflict Management and Mediation (ZHAW) which broadened her consulting to include lectures and seminars in German and English on resilience, creative strategy building and motivational training.^[30][31]

Krusi currently resides in Winterthur, Switzerland, a suburb of Zurich, and lives with her second husband and two grown children. She continues to develop her art, professional and foundation works.

References