‘Nobody Came’ by Robbie Garner tears at your heart strings. He tells of his first-hand experiences living in a hell hole while the world continues oblivious to his reality.
How come I read this book
I didn’t ask for it… in fact, nothing was further from my mind. But a friend, someone I rub shoulders with, so to speak, began telling me how his father spent time in the Haut de la Garenne.
When he first mentioned it , it didn’t mean anything to me. I didn’t know what it was, or where it was.
Then he brought out this book ‘Nobody Came‘ and placed in my hands. Go home and read, he suggested. I did.
Idyllic Jersey, Channel Islands
Flowers blooming, jade seas luring, beaches and small islands calling.
Our family of small boys grew up in this freedom and thought it would never come to an end…
(Image SIME 4 Corners Images)
Removed from the only home they knew
Robbie Garner was reefed from his family home at the age of five years, along with an elder brother, eight years and a younger brother, three years. They also had a baby sister who was carried out by the police as she screamed her lungs out!
The children were immediately separated. The younger three were taken to a Catholic Orphanage, while the elder one went to Haut de la Garenne.
The baby sister was never seen or heard of again from that first day. It wasn’t until they were adults that they finally learned that the mother had gone and taken her home again. This fact destroyed the brothers. They couldn’t comprehend why she would do that. Why were they left there to rot?
So they never bothered with their sister or their mother again after that one time knocking on her door.
Sacre Coeut Orphanage – Hell hole #1
The Catholic Orphanage was a horror hole all of its own. The children didn’t experience any free time at all for themselves… it was constant work, school, mass, and religious instructions. The harsh treatment they received at the hands of those ‘loving’ nuns brings tears to your eyes.
The despicable ‘food’ they were expected to eat, the unimaginable state of there lavatories makes you cringe… but they had no choice.
They lived in a state of stupor waiting for one or both parents to come and save them from their predicament but… ‘Nobody Came’!
Haut de la Gareene – Hell hole #2
Eventually all the boys ended up in the Haut de la Gareene which has been nicknamed, the House of Horrors! There they stayed until their 15th birthday when they were free to leave.
Each of their experiences there sum up the total of chi/ld ab/use to the upmost. At first appearances, it looked like they had left hell and entered heaven. Gone were all the strict and harsh work rules. No religious instructions together with long, long masses given in Latin. The constant drone of an unfamiliar language caused eyes to close and heads to drop… until they received their ‘what-for’ slammed down across their shoulders.
In replacement of all this, everything about this new place was beautiful. No high wall holding them in. Well manicured lawns and gardens. Beautiful dining room with proper dining chairs. A TV room, library, pool table… such luxuries these boys had never experienced.
Free time! The luxury of experiencing a little free time curled up reading a book under the shade of a tree.
Yes, it appeared that life was good… but there was a dark side.
The Punishment Room, and even worse below…
This place also contained a Punishment Room. Oh dear, what could that possibly mean?
It meant punishments that we’d relate to prisoner of war camps! For the least misdemeanor!
Further to that, deep down in a cellar beneath the building, they took the children, choosing them at will, to be their little play toys. Boys. Girls. The prettier they were, or the younger they were, the harsher their treatment and the more they enjoyed them.
By the end of day one, or maybe day two, the realisation they had come to a worse place dawned upon these precious little boys. Fear was their constant companion.
My friend’s father spent years in this place
So back to my friend… he told us that his father had spent time in this dreadful place. He didn’t really know what his father’s experiences were, but upon reading the book published in 2008, he realised what his father had lived through.
Massive investigations finally took place
I’m sure many of my readers will remember this taking place. I could not have named names, but I certainly do remember hearing news of this type.
Bring up Haut de le Gerenne online, you soon learn it has been the object of much investigation. Some bones were found in the cellar under the building. It was supposed many murders had taken place there. With it being headline news, whether or not that actually took place, it soon brought to light the hundreds of people who came forth and related their stories to the police.
‘Nobody Came’
It breaks my heart that ‘Nobody Came’ for these little children, or all the rest of them. That in itself would be bad enough without the harshest of treatment they were all subjected to.
What state were they in when they left the ‘care’ of these places? Did they ever recover?
The book only covers just two of these orphanages. Think how many of them are around the world. We like to think they are a safe haven for children coming from broken family situations, but were any of them?
In recent times, we have learnt about the vastness of underground tunnels and huge underground cities. Potentially much worse has been carried out on the millions of children birthed there, or abducted from above.
In this great war we are currently in, the bottom line is the children. So much going on while ‘we the people’ were unaware of the happenings.
Praise God our brave worldwide military went deep into these places and rescued all they could. Not all of them made it unfortunately. Imagine seeing light for the first time! We are also thankful that the current use of the medbeds is in the healing of these poor souls… and for those who rescued them. We can’t imagine what they saw.
But now we know, now we have this knowledge, we will continue to put out truth bombs everywhere we possibly can until the day we can finally say… they, the perpetrators, have finally been dealt with.
‘Nobody Came’ is recommended reading, though I do not promise it to be an uplifting story. Do not read if you are already struggling, as I know many are. Available from Amazon.
I just finished reading, Nobody Came. The true story is not an easy read – especially for me, a mother of boys. It sickens me the way so many children are treated like trash. And Davie, sweet little boy that he was, I wanted to somehow climb through the book, scoop him up in my arms hold him to my heart, and keep him safe. All children deserve to feel loved and protected. Every single one.
Oh Andi, I know exactly what you felt. If only, you and me both could crawl into that book and comfort him when he needed it so much!