To Watch the video with English subtitles please CLICK HERE

Guillermo Altzate, who left the Twelve Tribes communities in the Basque country, leaving behind his wife who decided to stay, leaving him and their 3 children “for the love of Yahshua” recounts some of his experiences. Guillermo was interviewed in 2015 (to see the video click here) and here is the translated transcript:

Guillermo Altzate=G.A

Reporter=R

R: Hi, good morning!. How long were you there for?.

G.A: For 7 years.

R: Do you mind if I ask you some questions?

G.A: Yes, for sure. I have nothing to win or to lose.

R: But you lost your wife, did you?

G.A: Yes, I did. I lost her because of the cult.

It all started there (pointing at the hill)

R: How did you get to know “Twelve tribes”?.

G.A: My wife and I were married and we also had a young daughter. And we were both keen on leading an eco-friendly lifestyle and healthy eating. And we were told about a community settled in Ulía (in San Sebastian). When we got to know them, this place seemed idyllic. That´s the way a cult likes to portray itself, doesn´t it?. To us it seemed like paradise on Earth, and we agreed that it would be a nice environment for us.

[Two of his three children were born inside the community]

R: Were your children allowed to have toys?.

G.A: No, they weren´t. We were told they lead to dissipation.

R: Were your children circumcised?.

G.A: Yes, in fact I did it myself. We could only hope for the best, we only had rudimentary tools.

R: And how was it done?.

G.A: It is very simple. We used a wooden ruler with a groove in the middle. The foreskin of the penis was put through there and it was cut with a sharp knife.

R: Did you children go to the doctor? Were they vaccinated?.

G.A: No, vaccines weren´t allowed at all. It was shunned by the cult. As soon as we came out they were vaccinated.

R: What is the ultimate goal of “Twelve Tribes”?.

G.A: If you´ve read the Apocalipse in the Bible, you would know about it. They want 12.000 pure children and free from worldly influences.

R: This is the video that prompted the German State to rescue the children from the cult.

[Video shows a little child being whipped]

G.A : I did that so many times…

[Only now, years after leaving the community, does he admit using corporal punishment with rods in order to discipline his own children].

G.A: We had to use a rod and hit them in the hand, so there were no marks left behind. The idea behind that was that there was no evidence of practices of corporal punishment, so it was done in a clandestine way. They always insisted on that.

R: That no evidence remained?-

G.A: Exactly. We were also commanded to use the rod diligently, and never to turn a blind eye even to minor offences. We had to be disciplinarian. In Germany that is a clear case of child abuse, and the same abuse is happening here. Aren´t the laws against child mistreatment the same in Europe?.

There is also a very serious case involving a family that happened in the French branch of the cult. There was once an epidemy of something in France. A girl called Melea, which happened to be the same age as my daughter, became ill and died in the community. However that wasn´t made public and members were forbidden to tell anyone.

R: And where is she buried?

G.A: I don´t have a clue.

[He is referring to the most prominent community in Europe]

Transcripted and translated by RC

Original interview video is to be found: here

BR: You stayed in the sect in Sus from 1995 till 2006. How did you integrate this group when you were just 2 years old?

Bob: My whole family went in and never left until 2006.

BR: What is it that stroke you the most among this community when you were a child?

Bob: For sure the correction

BR: But there was a school?

Bob: Yes, a school at home, run by the people there and mainly based on the Bible.

BR: And a lot of work in the fields and in the workshops?

Bob: Certainly, no matter what our age was, we worked wherever the need was.

BR: What type of work did you do while still a child?

Bob: I worked in the fields, I worked with goats, with chickens, in the shoe-shop, I worked also preparing the mate products and other things they sell at the markets, a bit everywhere.

BR: You were not only in Sus but also travelled to other “tribes”, where were you?

Bob: Yes, I was in Spain, in Germany, in other households in France, for example back then we had a house in Heimsbrunn, Alsace.

BR: And you say you were beaten sometime with…

Bob: …with palm branches, I was savagely beaten which resulted in me not being able to dress myself nor lay on by back for more than 2 weeks. And the marks are not only physical but in my spirit also.

BR: With your brother, when you were only 13 years old, you decide to leave and part of the family follows. How did all happen?

Bob: It was very hard. We had to have a lot of courage, and overcome the fear of the outside. Everything external to the community is seen as  the devil, so it is a fear you have to surmount.

BR: And you got help?

Bob: Yes I had a wonderful  female friend who help me and taught me everything, because I knew nothing. I didn’t know how to speak…nothing. I didn’t understand anything of how things work around me. And little by little she showed me everything.

BR: And today, you have rebuilt your life, you are happy?

BR: Yes, I have been deprived of so much that today, everyday I live fully my freedom, my happiness. I have built everything, I have a great  occupation which I enjoy, and I am happy. I have many friends, I do enduro, I travel and I am fully happy.

BR: And today you speak out also to warn the public?

Bob: Yes , absolutely. No matter where and how you meet them, be very careful with these people. They might be very kind, they might be very warm, they might be very friendly, they might welcome you with open arms and big smiles. They might be attractive because they are different. But at the end of the day, if you end up there it is as the rule says: For one day or forever. And if you go there and stay, one day it could be too late for you, they would have fooled you without you realizing. And they are skilled, very skilled at it, they have been practising for over 40 years and so they are masters at it.