How do you fly on broken
wings? Wings so broken there are times
when it’s impossible to get off the ground.
wings? Wings so broken there are times
when it’s impossible to get off the ground.
Flying on Broken Wings is Carrie Bailee’s
extraordinary story of survival in the face of horrendous and unspeakable
childhood abuse. Unspeakable because it
takes readers places where no one wants to go.
extraordinary story of survival in the face of horrendous and unspeakable
childhood abuse. Unspeakable because it
takes readers places where no one wants to go.
We enter a world of horror so great
we’re left gasping. And for anyone who
has been touched by the trauma of childhood abuse it becomes a shared journey
with someone who’s seen and experienced the worst of it.
we’re left gasping. And for anyone who
has been touched by the trauma of childhood abuse it becomes a shared journey
with someone who’s seen and experienced the worst of it.
Bailee was not only abused by her
drunken father who took delight in tormenting the nine year old girl, but she
was also sold to the highest bidder in a paedophile ring where a group of men
took delight in photographing children in sexual poses and of doing all manner
of perverse things onto their innocent bodies.
drunken father who took delight in tormenting the nine year old girl, but she
was also sold to the highest bidder in a paedophile ring where a group of men
took delight in photographing children in sexual poses and of doing all manner
of perverse things onto their innocent bodies.
These children are most likely dead
by now, the degree of depravity visited upon them can only suggest as
much. But Bailee managed to escape from
her adoptive maternal home and from then on she no longer needed to visit her
father on the dreaded access visits, although she thereafter encountered other
horrific experiences, including a rape shortly after her arrival in Australia
as a twenty year old.
by now, the degree of depravity visited upon them can only suggest as
much. But Bailee managed to escape from
her adoptive maternal home and from then on she no longer needed to visit her
father on the dreaded access visits, although she thereafter encountered other
horrific experiences, including a rape shortly after her arrival in Australia
as a twenty year old.
Later in Australia with the help of a group
of brave and determined women, counsellors, friends, psychiatrists, and refugee
advocates Bailee managed to begin to heal from these unspeakable traumas, but
not before going through long periods of intense re-traumatisation when the
flashbacks of her childhood brought her back through dissociation
into being that little girl again, a girl who could not protect herself from her father’s extreme cruelty.
of brave and determined women, counsellors, friends, psychiatrists, and refugee
advocates Bailee managed to begin to heal from these unspeakable traumas, but
not before going through long periods of intense re-traumatisation when the
flashbacks of her childhood brought her back through dissociation
into being that little girl again, a girl who could not protect herself from her father’s extreme cruelty.
The book is well paced. These flashbacks come to us in spurts,
sometimes long spurts, but they are always interspersed with parts of the
journey wherein Bailee is able to see something of the life she had led and to
reach out for help.
sometimes long spurts, but they are always interspersed with parts of the
journey wherein Bailee is able to see something of the life she had led and to
reach out for help.
It is her capacity to reach out for
help, despite her occasional attempts to run away that is most striking.
help, despite her occasional attempts to run away that is most striking.
Bailee has a website and on it you
can see her performance of her slam poem, ‘Sold’, and there you see a most
attractive and passionate young woman, today the mother of two small girls, who has
managed to survive to tell her story, especially since both her adoptive
parents have died.
can see her performance of her slam poem, ‘Sold’, and there you see a most
attractive and passionate young woman, today the mother of two small girls, who has
managed to survive to tell her story, especially since both her adoptive
parents have died.
I mentioned I was reading this book to a number
of people while I followed Bailee’s journey and several said they did not want
to read about that level of horror. I can
understand this.
of people while I followed Bailee’s journey and several said they did not want
to read about that level of horror. I can
understand this.
‘To tell of the trauma is to be re-traumatised’.
Bailee’s book is not an easy read, not for
its inaccessibility but for the extent to which unlike watching the six o’clock
news on the television or online where horrific images of torture and brutality
play out often, this book takes us into the heart and mind of one of the tortured
and she is ‘one of us’, a white western woman with pale skin and
Caucasian features.
its inaccessibility but for the extent to which unlike watching the six o’clock
news on the television or online where horrific images of torture and brutality
play out often, this book takes us into the heart and mind of one of the tortured
and she is ‘one of us’, a white western woman with pale skin and
Caucasian features.
I worried when reading of her good
fortune under Phillip Ruddoch’s reign that Bailee is one of the lucky
ones. Senator Brian Harradine had spoken
up on her behalf. But it seems to me it
would have been harder and continues to be harder today to evoke compassion for all
refugees who seek asylum in this country, in part because they are not regarded
as one of us.
fortune under Phillip Ruddoch’s reign that Bailee is one of the lucky
ones. Senator Brian Harradine had spoken
up on her behalf. But it seems to me it
would have been harder and continues to be harder today to evoke compassion for all
refugees who seek asylum in this country, in part because they are not regarded
as one of us.
Coming from Canada, Bailee is only
half-foreign, with her different accent but that’s about the end of it.
half-foreign, with her different accent but that’s about the end of it.
The book also alerts us to the need
for greater intervention in situations of domestic violence and childhood
abuse, and the degree to which traumatised and tormented victims become
voiceless.
for greater intervention in situations of domestic violence and childhood
abuse, and the degree to which traumatised and tormented victims become
voiceless.
As Bailee writes: ‘Children are
made to feel responsible for what is being done to them. This is the abuser’s most powerful
weapon. It prevents them from telling.’
made to feel responsible for what is being done to them. This is the abuser’s most powerful
weapon. It prevents them from telling.’
Baillee’s experience is not
isolated. For this reason, I urge people
to read Flying on Broken Wings. There
are paedophile rings throughout the world and proliferating. They consist of men who are hell bent on the
exploitation of small children, for complicated reasons often including there own experiences of abuse.
isolated. For this reason, I urge people
to read Flying on Broken Wings. There
are paedophile rings throughout the world and proliferating. They consist of men who are hell bent on the
exploitation of small children, for complicated reasons often including there own experiences of abuse.
Paedophiles breed in societies where brutality
is sometimes condoned, and where disenfranchised men grow up hating those who
are most vulnerable, including their own vulnerable selves.
is sometimes condoned, and where disenfranchised men grow up hating those who
are most vulnerable, including their own vulnerable selves.
To read Bailee’s book is to want
to stomp this out – now.
to stomp this out – now.