Although we couldn't show part 1, if you didn't to you tube and watch it, I urge you to. It, to me, was one of the best, showing Flora Jessop rescuing two girls., Fawn and Fawn.
Here's the Link: the Polygamy Underground Railway Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ssYXu3qcS8&feature=related
Dr. Phil did a follow up with the two girls, and here is the story. I'm so pleased he got involved and may provide more help for these girls. Keep in mind, one is a mother of 2. Thanks to Flora Jessop (our Hero) they got out.
He follows up with Fawn B. and Fawn H., who escaped from the sect in Colorado City. They live with Fawn H.'s brother, Carl, who escaped years ago, and his wife, Joni. Both girls' formal education stopped in elementary school where they were taught that man never landed on the moon and dinosaurs never existed.
"The two Fawns seem to be doing great," says Carl. "They're more assertive, more self-assured. They seem to have fun and joke around and they're a little giddier than they were before ... They've really learned that they're not there to serve someone else."
Joni agrees. "Just the way they carry themselves. Even the way they walk. They're not ashamed anymore," she says. "I am extremely proud of Fawn and Fawn. They both are striving really hard in school. They are actually going to finish four years of high school in two years." I'm happier," says Fawn B. "I'm making big steps in life. I feel like I can live my life the way I think is right."
They recently took a trip to Boston, where they met with a counselor and cult specialist. Fawn B. says she has learned a lot. "We watched these videos of different cults. And they have so much in common, like the women being lower than the men. There's always one person that's higher than all of them," she says. They also visited a science museum for the first time, but Fawn B. is still not sure dinosaurs ever existed.
"I feel like I'm just starting my life over," says Fawn H., who loved their trip to Boston. "That was really cool. I've never been anywhere else, besides Arizona and Utah. And to go out and see other cultures ..." Fawn wants to go to college and become a psychologist. "Now I have goals. I have things to live for," she says.
Carl and Joni are proud of the girls, but say it's still a slow process. "There's been a couple times that Fawn's brother has called and really raked her over the coals. It's really upset me," says Carl.
"He totally believes that her salvation lies in coming back and when he calls, he verbally beats her up," Joni explains.
But they are seeing progress. "Before, she'd just sit and take it and she'd feel bad for hours," says Carl. "But now she's standing up and saying, 'Well, that's not true and I don't have to listen to that.'
Fawn told her brother not to call her anymore. "I was so proud of myself," she says. "It made me feel I could conquer anything. I can stand up for what I believe in."
"You've really entered a new world," says Dr. Phil. "Has this been a fun blossoming for you, or has this been more scary and intimidating?"
"It's not as scary anymore. You learn about new things and it's a really nice experience," says Fawn B. "It was kind of scary at first," says Fawn H. "But after that, it got really fun. I wanted to learn more, I wanted to know what's going on."
Dr. Phil asks about their "lightbulb moment" when they were on the show last time. Both girls reported that it was when Dr. Phil told them that he didn't want to tell them what to do or else he'd be just like Warren Jeffs. "Why was that so important to you?"
"It was important to me because I don't want somebody to take over my life again," says Fawn B. "And I was waiting for you to say that because that's how I knew I could trust you."
Fawn H. agrees. "I didn't want anybody to tell me what to do anymore. And for you to say that, I was like, 'Holy cow, I don't have to do what they say.'"
Dr. Phil thanks Steve Hassan at the Freedom of Mind Center in Boston for working with the teens.
(Story Courtesy of the Dr. Phil Follow up blog)
