“Undercover in the Netherlands Exposes Horrific Abuses at Care Farm Aurora Borealis in Wedde”

Disabled residents were harassed, humiliated and mentally and physically abused. Six people were arrested. From the episode of Undercover in the Netherlands shows that two suspects are particularly responsible for the abuses in the care farm. These are employers Michel K. and his father-in-law Paul W.

Anonymous former employees sketch unprecedented atrocities

Michel K. was in charge of the care farm on a daily basis, his father-in-law Paul W. assisted him. “According to former employees, Michel and Paul are two sadists who rule the care institution with an iron fist,” says Stegeman about the two main suspects of the abuses. “They, and also other employees, would make life hell for the frightened defenseless clients.”

Stegeman’s colleague, who goes undercover on the care farm under the alias ‘Linda’, sees that the tone is quickly set in the job interview with Michel K.. “The clients see you as a servant, and nine times out of ten you are trying to make it clear to them that things don’t work that way,” Michel K. says to her on the hidden camera.

‘He told about it in scents and colors’

“The way care boss Michel is already talking about the residents is shocking and does not bode well,” says Stegeman.

A former employee tells how suspect Michel K. gave her a tour on her first day at work. ,, Then he said that if they were annoying or did not want to sleep at night, they were put outside to sleep there, even in winter. He told that in scents and colors. As if he was convinced that that was the way to deal with clients.”

Michel K. would also have hit clients in the face with his fist if he did not like something. ,,I was in terrible shock when I heard all that.” After one day she stopped her work on the care farm.

Another former employee, who worked there for three months, paints a similar picture. ,,As soon as Michel or Paul come in, the screaming starts and the clients become very restless. That says enough.”

Evil geniuses behind the reign of terror

Michel K. and his father-in-law Paul W. appear to be responsible for the reign of terror on the care farm in the episode. Because Paul W. is also characterized by cruelty. He manipulates a walker belonging to one of the clients and removes the saddle. As a result, the client cannot support himself, because he then hurts his crotch on the sharp bar.

“Let a multi-handicapped resident suffer pain because of the sounds he makes and also have fun doing it. This is not a concern, this is pure sadism,” says Stegeman.

The episode shows that the employees of the care farm adopt the sadistic behavior of their employers. The hidden camera shows how an employee locks a client in a dark room when he screams and does not listen. “Just cool down. If you give him space now, they’ve already won.”

“He always shit in his pants, I unlearned that”

But it doesn’t stop with bullying. Physical abuse is also not shunned. About a client with spasms who can’t talk, Michel K. says: ,,If you just slap him on the face, he knows where the limit is. Just a slap on the head if he doesn’t listen. Just push a dirty diaper on his head. He always shit in his pants, I taught him that.”

He also threatens a client on the video footage. ,,To hold up. Otherwise I will teach her how to rinse you out,” says Michel K. to the resident. “Think about that, yes. And you know, you can do that through any hole you have.”

Father-in-law Paul W. adds: ,,And then I give you a pair of underpants with a lock and I swallow the key. Bastard.” Then Michel K. grabs the client by the ear, who moans and visibly experiences pain.

Cold shower spray

Another client is locked in the bathroom and screams incessantly. “If you react to it, he is the boss. Sometimes we do react to it, but in a different way,” says Paul W., referring to the abuses.

A female employee then makes a shocking revelation. “Last week at a quarter to eight he was also screaming so idiotically. Then I thought: I don’t feel like doing this, do I? I pulled him out of the wheelchair and put him in the bath. Then he thought he was going to screech, so I put the cold jet on it.”

It seems to be a punishment that is used more often. “If someone screams for 5 minutes, it’s 5 minutes. If he screams for fifteen minutes, then he has to take a cold shower for fifteen minutes,” says one of the anonymous former employees.

The same client was sometimes placed in a standing table for hours, when he can actually only stand for 10 minutes. “Sometimes it was so bad, you took him out and he couldn’t even stand on his feet. You could see from his attitude that he was really in pain,” says the former employee.

As always in Undercover in the Netherlands, Stegeman confronts the suspects of the assaults on camera at the end of the episode. “You bully them, you bully them. Is that laughing? That is what you do. Disabled people are people too. Treat them like that,” he said. He is visibly angry.