Kenja Communication

Kenja Communication, or simply Kenja, is an Australian organisation. It was founded by the late Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers and his partner Jan Hamilton in 1982. [cite web
title =Secrets of sect in sex case
publisher =The Daily Telegraph, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =May 25 2006
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja27.html
accessdate = 2007-02-08 ] It has gained media attention due to legal action regarding Dyer's alleged sexual assaults on young girlscite web
title =Dyers v The Queen (2002)
publisher =High Court of Australia
date =October 9 2002
url =http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/high_ct/2002/45.html
accessdate = 2006-12-12 ] , and the suicide of Dyers.

About Kenja Communication

The word Kenja was derived from the first letters of the names of the two founders, "Ken" Dyers and "Ja"n Hamilton. They later discovered it means "wise man" in Japanese. Kenja has offices in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Parramatta. They are the; Personal Evolvment Centre; Melbourne Centre for Effective Communication; Human Communication Centre; Parramatta Centre for Effective Communication.

Kenja describes its purpose as "to increase understanding of the spiritual nature of man and our relation to the human spirit, coupled with practical training in the basics of effective communication – time, space and energy." The site also says that Kenja Communication is "neither political nor religious".cite web | url = http://www.kenja.com.au| title = Kenja Communication| publisher = Kenja Communication | date = ]

A former Liberal Party parliamentarian Stephen Mutch described Kenja as "a sinister organisation designed to fill the pockets and stroke the egos"cite web | url = http://www.themonthly.com.au/excerpts/issue5_excerpt_001.html | title = The Unknown Story of Cornelia Rau | author = Robert Manne ] cite web
title =Legislative Council Hansard
publisher =Parliament of New South Wales
date = 22 April 1993
url =http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hanstrans.nsf/v3ByKey/LC19930422
accessdate = 2007-01-22 ] in the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1993, and the media attention Kenja has attracted also gives both negative and positive descriptions of them. [cite web|url=http://www.religionnewsblog.com/category/kenja-communication/|title=religionnewsblog.com archive of Kenja related media|accessdate=2007-02-08] Mr Mutch also referred to several documents, including an 'anonymous letter' (author known to Mr Mutch, not read into Hansard) which detailed significant similarities between Kenja and Scientology including vocabulary and teaching material. [http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja8.html]

About Energy Conversion

The Kenja training focuses on a form of meditation called 'Energy Conversion', which is described as a way to "permanently eliminate the suppressed emotion, thought or energy that can divert us from what we want to achieve",cite web | url = http://www.kenja.com.au/Home/BasisofTraining/EnergyConversionMeditation/tabid/227/Default.aspx| title = Energy Conversion| publisher = Kenja Communication | date = ] though neither Dyers nor Hamilton are qualified and this practice is not recognised by professionals. Energy Conversion Sessions consist of two people sitting opposite each other and looking into each others' eyes for a period of time, and costs about $130.

An "eminent academic in [the] area" who wished to be anonymous said in a letter to Stephen Mutch that the techniques Kenja uses such as Energy Conversion "appear to be designed to allow senior members to exert influence over other members of the organisation ... The use of the techniques appears to lead to a reduction in the reality testing by individuals, and a relatively uncritical acceptance of the instructions of the senior member. Moreover, the individuals appear to experience a sense of dissociation that involves an alteration in normal waking consciousness and a feeling of incapacity to respond negatively to undesired actions."

Classification as Cult or Sect

Kenja Communications has been widely reported as a Cult or a Sect in the High Court of Australia [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/high_ct/2002/45.html] , the NSW Parliment [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hanstrans.nsf/v3ByKey/LC19930422] , The Fairfax and News Limited Media, and by an eminent Proffesor of Politics at La Trobe University [http://www.themonthly.com.au/excerpts/issue5_excerpt_001.html] . The Group vigourosly denies the classification and points to the words pejorative use.

Ken Dyers

Dyers was born 14 July 1922. [From a full-page memorial tribute to Dyers on the first anniversary of his death, containing an edited version of Jan Hamilton-Dyers' eulogy, "The Age", 25 July 2008.] During World War II he served in the Australian Army as a Military Policeman with 9th Div Provost Coy from his arrival in the Middle East on 25 September 1941 until he embarked for Sydney on 27 January 1943; and again from 30 July 1943 until his return to Sydney 23 March 1944. His record details a chequered career and a large amount of time in field hospitals and Casualty Clearing Stations. Dyers served in the 32 Works Coy in Australia until he was discharged. He was court-martialled three times. In late 1943 he was in jail for five days awaiting trial on three charges, and eventually convicted of "conduct prejudice to the good order and military discipline". In June 1944 he went absent without leave for 16 days. In April 1945 he was fined for leaving his sentry post and in July fined again for misconduct. It also refers to an assessment of his "mental instability" which is rated at 10 per cent on the day he was demobbed in August 1946. [cite web
title =Kenja Communication
publisher =The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =February 12 2005
url =http://www.rickross.com/groups/kenja.html
accessdate = 2007-01-22 (full army record)] He is also a former Scientology member. In a list published from the 1950s onwards by Scientology, he is listed as an "SP" (a suppressive person). [cite web
title =Suppressive persons and suppressive groups list
publisher =Church of Scientology, whyaretheydead.net
date =
url =http://www.whyaretheydead.net/misc/Factnet/SPGROUPS.TXT
accessdate = 2007-01-22 ]

Sydney Morning Herald journalist Robert Wainright referred to Dyers' War Time biography as exposing a 'Walter Mitty Complex' in his article examining the inconsistencies between Dyers' claims and verifiable records. [cite web
title =Ken Dyers: Tributes and accusations
publisher =Sydney Morning Herald
date =August 4 2007
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/ken-dyers-tributes-and-accusations/2007/08/04/1185648160419.html?page=fullpage
accessdate = 2008-09-11]

In 1993 Dyers was charged with 11 counts of sexual offences against four girls, three of whom were sisters, who were between the ages of 8 and 15. After several trials and appeals, which lasted almost a decade, Dyers was found not guilty of 10 of the charges. He was found guilty of one charge (tried separately) and jailed at Long Bay Correctional Centre for six days before being released on bail. An appeal in 2000 failed, and in 2002 the charge was overturned in the High Court of Australia on the grounds that the trial judge had potentially misdirected the trial, though two of the five judges said that the "contention of the appellant that the evidence led at his trial should have left the jury with a reasonable doubt as to his guilt... should be rejected." The judges in concluding ordered a retrial. One argued that the appeal be dismissed, while one said a retrial should not be ordered due to several circumstances of the case, which included "the age of the appellant and his medical condition" and "the absence of any challenge by the prosecutor".cite web
title =Dyers v The Queen (2002)
publisher =High Court of Australia
date =October 9 2002
url =http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/high_ct/2002/45.html
accessdate = 2006-12-12 ]

On 28 October 2005, Dyers was charged in Sutherland Local Court with the sexual assault of two 12-year old girls, alleged to have taken place at the Kenja's Surry Hills headquarters in 2001-2002. Dyers was released on bail under the conditions that he attends Sutherland Police Station weekly and does not attend Kenja premises or events. [cite web
title =Cult leader to stand trial on sex charges
publisher =ABC News and Current Affairs, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =May 26 2006
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja29.html
accessdate = 2007-01-22 ] Dyers applied for a "permanent stay" in his current court case on the grounds of ill health. His application for a "permanent stay" was rejected. He was given a temporary stay for one year on the grounds of mental health.

Dyers denied he was guilty of the charges against him, saying that they are a result of former members trying to destroy him as part of a witch-hunt. [cite web
title =Cult leader says sex charges part of witch-hunt
publisher =AAP, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =October 28 2005
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja10.html
accessdate = 2007-02-08] His lawyer made the defence that 13 year old girls "know how to say no, they get educated in school" [cite web
title = Cult head's 'No means no' defence
publisher =The Daily Telegraph, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =October 28 2005
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja10.html
accessdate = 2007-02-21] and that "there will be contrary medical evidence indicating that Mr Dyers has had erectile dysfunction for almost 15 years". [cite web
last = Kennedy
first =Les
title =Cult boss impotent, says lawyer
publisher =The Sydney Morning Herald, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =February 12 2005
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cult-boss-impotent-says-lawyer/2005/10/28/1130400366711.html
accessdate = 2007-02-21 ]

Dyers was phoned by his solicitor on the 25th of July and informed the NSW Police would interview him again regards fresh allegations from another young girl [http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-cult-leader-found-dead/2007/07/25/1185339070077.html] .

Dyers committed suicide by gunshot to the head on 25 July 2007. [cite web
last = Kennedy
first =Les
title =Sydney cult leader found dead
publisher =The Sydney Morning Herald
date =July 25 2007
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-cult-leader-found-dead/2007/07/25/1185339070077.html
accessdate = 2007-07-26 ]

Kenja and mental illness

=Cornelia Rau= In 2005, a mentally ill former member, Cornelia Rau, gained widespread media attention in Australia due to being unlawfully detained for a period of 10 months by the Australian government. Before this, she had disappeared, and later turned up in North Queensland where Aborigines alerted the police after being concerned about her behaviour. She told them she was Anna Brotmeyer (and later Anna Schmidt) from Germany. Immigration officials assumed she was an illegal immigrant, and failed to diagnose her schizophrenia, leading to her detention.

Her family accused Kenja of contributing to her declining mental health,cite web | url = http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja2.html | title = This is the face behind a cult | work = originally published in the Daily Telegraph (Australia) | publisher = The Rick A. Ross Institute | date = February 10, 2005 | author = Lisa Davies ] although Rau had not been involved since 1998. She had developed schizophrenia while a member of the group. [cite web
title =Cult linked to Cornelia
publisher =Herald Sun, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =February 8 2005
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja5.html
accessdate = 2007-02-08 ] cite web
title =Rau angry at sister's visit
publisher =The Sunday Mail, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =February 2005
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja7.html
accessdate = 2007-02-21 ]

Hamilton denied any wrongdoing, saying: "We are not responsible for Cornelia's condition ... we are not a cult. It's a witch-hunt." The sister and family of Cornelia Rau, as well as several members of Kenja present at the time formed a different opinion while observing Rau's involvement in the group. [cite news | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/immigration/raus-sister-blames-cult/2005/02/08/1107625185186.html | title = Rau's sister blames cult | work = Immigration features | publisher = The Age | author = Daniel Ziffer | date = February 8, 2005 ] Hamilton also claimed, retrospectively, Rau was "scattered, disassociated" as a member of the group, and that she was asked to leave because she needed help and the group "couldn't help her". [cite web
last =Wainwright
first =Robert
title =Dance photos reminder of a troubled trainee
publisher =The Sydney Morning Herald, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =February 12 2005
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja6.html
accessdate = 2007-01-22 ] However, witnesses quoted in the media say she was humiliated and expelled. [cite web
title =The humiliation of Cornelia Rau
publisher =The Daily Telegraph, The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey
date =February 2005
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja7.html
accessdate = 2007-02-21 ]

Others

In a similar case to Cornelia Rau's, a man named Richard Leape who was being treated for schizophrenia disappeared while a member of Kenja and has not been seen since around 1993. His sister, Annette, says she found him in the street "totally paranoid and irrational, saying Nazis were going to get him". She was concerned that many other people had "developed very serious mental illnesses" from time in Kenja, and said she was "appalled" to know Kenja still exists.

A young man who was a Kenja member of 2 years, Michael Beaver, was also diagnosed with and hospitalised for chronic schizophrenia. He blamed Kenja, and said he had heard of four other people who had severe problems since leaving Kenja. Beaver later killed himself, writing that Kenja was "partly to blame" in his suicide note.

Popular Culture

"Beyond Our Ken" – directed by Luke Walker and Melissa Maclean.

A film exploring the Kenja group nominated for Best Documentary 2008 by the Australian Film Institute and Film Critics Circle Australia.

"Beyond Our Ken" was voted 3rd most popular documentary at Melbourne International Film Festival.

The international premiere of "Beyond Our Ken" at Toronto's Hot Docs Film Festival generated controversy when Kenja flew from Australia to protest at the screenings.

Reviews and articles

* [http://blogs.theage.com.au/schembri/archives/2008/09/beyond_our_ken.html The Age Newspaper Jim Schembri review]
* [http://www.empireonline.com.au/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=1000001034 Empire Magazine review]
* [http://www.if.com.au/2008/09/08/article/News-Feature-Beyond-Walkers-Ken/IVRRAXIPXN.html Inside Film article]
*http://miff.meccamedialight.com.au/2007/film?film_id=8703
*http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s1992310.htm
* [http://moviepie.blogspot.com/2008/04/hotdocs-2008-4-cult.html Hot Docs critique]
* [http://www.beyondourken.com.au/ "Beyond our Ken" home page]

Apprehended Violence Orders

Two Apprehended Violence Order related court cases involving senior Kenja members have come before the courts.

Senior Members of Kenja Communication were cross-examined in a court case involving a father and his daughter who was alleged to have made serious charges of sexual molestation against Dyers. [cite news| url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/kenja/kenja39.html| title=Cult strikes back - Kenja critic assault a lie: court told | publisher=The Daily Telegraph| date=2007-12-08| accessdate=2008-09-11]

Hamilton was cross-examined in a court case involving an alleged attempt to threaten a young girl who had made serious allegations against her husband, Kenneth Dyers. [cite news| url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23922828-5006009,00.html| title=Woman's fake beard was 'bogus'| publisher=The Daily Telegraph| date=2008-06-26| accessdate=2008-09-11]

On 26 August 2008 an ex-member of the Kenja group successfully secured an AVO against a co-founder of the group. Jan Hamilton was ordered not to stalk, harass or intimidate the woman as part of a two-year apprehended violence order. [cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cults-bizarre-ploy-to-initimidate-nonbeliever/2008/08/26/1219516472353.html| title=Cult founder warned off after 'bizarre' audition ploy| publisher=Sydney Morning Herald| date=2008-08-27| accessdate=2008-09-11]

Notes

References

* Jones, Cindy. "Kenja group 'destructive' and 'sinister' claims MP." Sun-Herald 13 December 1992 p. 7
* Mostyn, Suzanne. "MPs told of cult leader's sexual and mental abuse." Sydney Morning Herald 27 April 1993 p.6
* Papadopoulos, Nick. "Founder of Kenja to seek no-bill after partial acquittal on sex charges." Sydney Morning Herald 16 April 1996 p.10

See also

* Scientology and hypnosis

External links

* [http://www.kenja.com.au Kenja Communication official site]
* [http://www.religionnewsblog.com/category/kenja-communication/ Kenja Communication news archive]
* [http://www.rickross.com/groups/kenja.html Rick Ross archive of Kenja media]
* [http://www.themonthly.com.au/excerpts/issue5_excerpt_001.html "The Unknown Story of Cornelia Rau"]
* [http://www.beyondourken.com.au/ "Beyond our Ken" documentary website]