TonyF

I was locked up against my will for the past 6 months in a "rehabilitation center" in ******, India. I never consented to the stay, nor did I break the law or get sentenced to stay there. My mother paid them to keep me locked up which is what they did. I was 22 years old at the time of admission (legal adult). Most other inmates were also adults and everyone was staying against their will.

I am Indian myself & having grown up in ****** I had seen a lot of shocking things but everything pales in comparison to my stay in this hell hole.

The place that I was in bills itself as a "premium VIP 5 star rehab". The truth is that air conditioning for 8 hours at night and eggs + a glass of milk were the only luxuries provided.

At any given time there were at least 30 of us packed into a ~500sqft dormitory without windows. We did not get to go out of this dormitory ever. I didn't see any sunlight for 6 months. The chairs in the dormitory were fold out beds, which is what we slept on. Meals were eaten sitting cross legged on the floor. No cutlery was provided. Asking for a spoon was the reason that I was first beaten up.

Everyone is beaten regularly. Punches and slaps are common for minor infractions. At least once a week, one inmate is selected for a ceremonial flogging. The flogging is carried out after tying the inmate upside down on a grill. After the beating is completed the person is left to hang upside down on the grill for hours, resulting in the legs turning blue due to lack of blood circulation. Tying an inmate to an iron cot is also a common punishment. They tie us so tightly (with rope) that it causes excruciating pain within 10 minutes followed by flesh turning purple as there is no longer blood flow. It's routine to keep people tied up for several days at a stretch, untying them only for meals and at night. They do not untie us if we want to go to the bathroom. We lay there in our own excreta until night. Many other cruel punishments are handed out for the most minor infractions like being forced to walk around while kneeled down all day or hold up a chair- lowering our arms would result in a beating.

What constituted an infraction was often arbitrarily decided by the staff. The rehab, like most rehabs in India, used the therapeutic community model along with 12 step principles. Inmates were encouraged to "confront" each other for mistakes like leaving locker unopened, leaving shirt unbuttoned, crease on the sheets etc. When confronted one had to state the applicable attitude (there was a list of 72) such as laziness, irresponsibility etc. in the mistake. Failure to state the right attitude lead to punishment. This created an atmosphere of fear and hatred of each other in the inmates. A minimum of 10 confrontations per inmate are required daily, and 50 for newcomers.

Other punishments that I personally endured include cleaning the toilets with my bare hands, i.e wiping urinals and dipping hand inside WC and scrubbing with bare fingers. Often they wouldn't be flushed, there was excreta still in there- they forbade us to flush before cleaning. We "cleaned" it with poop still in there. The stated objective of this exercise was to "break ego".

When I spilled some gravy on my shirt once they made me wash (beat on the floor and rub together with hands) everyone's clothes for a week. Everyday I'd wash nearly 200 articles of clothing. My fingers were chapped by the end of the week and skin was peeling off.

A few days before my birthday (in my 3rd month there) they made me "training staff". My mother came to meet me on my birthday. She didn't know about what really happened in there and I didn't tell her because I was afraid. I had seen what happened to people who, if after complaining to visiting relatives were not signed out by their relatives- they were brutalized for days with beatings. In my time as training staff I was also forced to beat other inmates.

There were several foreigners as well, most were of Indian origin but the Caucasians were made fun of and tormented the most. Any non Hindi speaker was a soft target including the Indian origin foreigners. Anyone who did not have a PIO card (person of Indian origin card which allows them visa free stay in India) was pressurized everyday into signing a power of attorney document which would give their parents, spouse or whoever put them in there full control over their lives and also renew the visa, thereby continue to keep them locked up.

Many inmates have had obvious mental breakdowns. The non Hindi speakers find it most difficult, they don't even know why they're being beaten or yelled at.

There were A.A & N.A step working group sessions. One of the inmates told me that step working is to be done 1 on 1 with a sponsor not in a group. It was a powder keg in these sessions, everyone was afraid to answer the questions truthfully because of the punishments.

The way they tried to drill into our heads step 1 was to constantly demean and demoralize us, calling us failures, losers & so forth.

To reiterate, stay away from rehabs in lawless countries. Once you're in, they will do everything within their power to keep you there as long as possible, including lying to your family, manipulating your loved ones and torturing you.

The place that I was in is considered one of the best in India and all of these things still happened in there. They just had air conditioning and gave us food. Most other places are worse. I'm trying to post links to news stories but I'm getting an error that says I need to have at least 15 posts before I can do so. Google "Alibaug deaddiction center" to read about a place that was only just recently shut down.

Skye2

Speechless, to be honest - are you ok?

TonyF

I'm living in my old apartment with my mother who has moved in to "take care" of me. I am not "allowed" to leave the flat on my own. I have no money. In the 6 months that I was in there my business has been ruined, old customers have tried to contact me & get their money back.

Seiceps

Wow. Perspective. Holy **** are you ok ?

kate1724

That sounds horrific. Hope you're ok

dizzychainsaw

Wow, that is just horrendous. I hope you can stay sober and heal. Prayers for you.

brazilian

Have you considered finding a lawyer and sue for big money?

Police could help, too?

Mountainmanbob

yes that may be the only bright side to this story

if you can stay sober -- for good

I (we) know that you never wish to return to the hell hole rehab

guess things are done much differently in different countries

sometimes all we can do is cling and be grateful for what we have today

sobriety -- thank God -- we never wish to return to the pit of addiction

best of luck to you Tony with your continued sobriety

Mountainman

KateL

If I were you, I'd get back on your feet, stay off the drink and move abroad. It's utterly disgraceful. I am shocked. Do the powers that be know about this?

BadCompany

I'm sorry that happened to you Tony. This kind of thing is still going on in much of the world in the name of "helping" us alcoholics and addicts. It was just as crazy here in the US until about the 40's or 50's. We live a charmed life with all that is available to us here is the states.

Mountainmanbob

yes - that's true

we shouldn't forget that here in the US and England not long ago

family members or the law could have ones locked up for an indefinite time

many husbands used to get rid of their wives this way

MM

KateL

I am disgusted, and AA were involved. Heinus!!

choublak

In Mexico they have "farms" where alcoholics and addicts are sent to be "rehabilitated"...and are tortured.

KateL

****ing hell!! Glad I live where I do, that's for sure.

TonyF

I definitely am going to look up the legality of this practice, though I don't plan on doing anything about it.

TonyF

I don't want to. It would mean having to disclose my identity. And it isn't a straightforward process here in India as there is no real equality or rule of law. Right now I have nothing, and the rehab has money & connections.

And, it never was my style of doing things to go to the police or sue someone.

Thanks. Yes, I want to stay sober. I've suffered too much because of alcohol. And it wasn't all bad in there. There are many things that I learned from the experience. Living with 30+ people in the same room for 6 months taught me a few things about how humans think & how they respond to various stimuli, it's useful knowledge for me as I'm in the Sales and Advertising business. The interaction with other inmates helped me learn a lot about what was in store if I continued drinking. I saw inmates die in there. One of them who had advanced cirrhosis was still in denial that he had a problem, he insisted on a liver transplant till the end. I also realized how incredibly lucky I am to still be alive as I wrote about my life & various incidents within it. Writing (part biography, part diary) helped me stay sane in there. Also I read a lot of spiritual material in there. That was very helpful. There is a radical change in my mindset on that angle. I'm no longer atheist. I doubt if I'd have fallen as low if I'd given spirituality a chance earlier. The books that helped me the most were a logical interpretation of The Bhagavad Geeta (endorsed by Aldous Huxley on the preface which is why I even started reading it) and The Fakir. I also read the Bible & an English translation of the Koran. I found that most of the central themes and philosophy in these books were essentially the very same ideas. But reading that particular interpretation of the Geeta changed my perspective completely about nearly everything- mainly the reasons for why most people are dissatisfied and how to evolve & attain lasting satisfaction. To cherish the present moment & take action are the suggested guidelines, and discovering the self is the stated goal of life. The way it describes God is as the essence of the soul that is within everyone. Morality/ the instinct to do the right thing is presented as proof of a soul. And all souls are one as all the pearls on a necklace are and the necklace's string is God- it's really fascinating stuff, and a lot like the movie Avatar.

That's exactly what I intend to do. Most of the powers that be simply do not care. Law enforcement and government are entrepreneurial activities in India, and I daresay most other countries with a large uneducated population.

TonyF

This is the link to the right book, not the other one that I posted^^ The Fakir - Buy The Fakir by Ruzbeh N. Bharucha Online at Best Prices in India - Flipkart.com

TonyF

Every morning they'd write the "Just for Today" thought from an AA booklet on a whiteboard and each of us had to say how we'll implement that thought in the course of the day. On one day it was a thought about step 11, "improve conscious contact with God" and everyone said they were going to pray to God and talk to him about their problems, ask for forgiveness and so forth. I tried hard to give a vague and evasive answer because I didn't even have a clear concept of what God was. But they kept pressing me so I finally said something like "well you can't talk to the walls and expect a reply, prayer is fine but talking means expecting a reply & I'm not going to start talking to the walls".

They punished me severely for that.

Also I read the AA literature and while most of it was good (the stories in "Came to Believe" were very powerful) there was 1 part in (if I recall correctly) the Big Book which infuriated me especially as it is what they kept referring to whenever newcomers complained about being there against their will. It says that AA believes that those who are down & out and don't acknowledge that they have a problem ought to be locked up/committed/institutionalized. It's this part that the staff kept referring to, to sort of put themselves on a moral high ground, as if they had the sanction of the AA program.

And the AA literature uses phrases like "intellectual arrogance" to describe lack of surrender to a higher power. The most irksome thing about the program is their our way or the highway approach. Surrender to win, spiritual program, keep it simple, blah blah- a culture of dumbing down things and not asking questions.

TonyF

...And the links to the news stories that I tried to post in the OP (this is not where I was. It's just another rehab in India that got shut down recently and is now back up and running, thanks to corrupt authorities):

Boys were tied to beds for weeks, they were thrashed, underfed - ****** Mirror

Alibaug deaddiction centre that tortured inmates shuts down - ****** Mirror

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Renarde

I'm so sorry.