In the Netherlands, in the "reclusive farm"

The green mailbox on the side of the road still bears the trace of a number that we wanted to erase. The 118 A. No name on it, it would be too simple. Just left, a bridge spans the river Wold Aa and gives access to a dirt road. At the end, a plant screen of large alders and hazelnuts conceals this old farm, abandoned and renovated. From the road where the curious, as well as the Dutch, English, German and Austrian journalists, who have come en masse all week long, can be seen, only the tiled roof of the main house and the ballet of the scientific police officers can be seen.

Each square meter of the "farm of the recluse" is the subject of a meticulous excavation and analysis. No document or human trace should be ignored. Because how many inhabitants this house and its dependencies really shelters, since 2010, in the most absolute secrecy?

At first, there were seven: a father and his six children, aged between 18 and 25, according to the rare information provided by the Dutch authorities. They lived there in Ruinerwold, a village of 3,000 attached to the municipality of De Wolden in the north of the Netherlands. Away from the outside world, while waiting, it seems, "the end of time," according to the confidences made by the main stakeholders to the first police officers who came to meet them Monday, October 14.

The Van Dorsten family shared a small common room and occupied a few adjoining rooms, feeding on the produce of the kitchen garden, the milk of a goat and poultry at one time. Only window on the world, an Internet connection used by at least one of the recluse, active on social networks since June. Did they all adhere in the same way to this style of life, or were some of them held against their will?

"I have never seen a light on"

In any case, the neighbors, the villagers and the administrations knew nothing of their existence. Vincent, the neighbor opposite who had lived there for about fifteen years, was only witness to the comings and goings of the "official" tenant of the house, a certain Josef Brunner. "Every day, summer and winter, I saw him arrive at the wheel of his Volvo, sometimes with a trailer full of equipment, Vincent tells us. Long hair, thick beard, very sociable. Barely Hello good night… He came into the house, did maintenance work, inside or in the field. And left before dark. So that I have never seen a light lit in this house. "

A situation that has aroused the neighborhood, necessarily. Police even went there four or five years ago, but they stayed at the front door for lack of a valid reason to break in. Apart from his rather rustic manners, what could be blamed at this time for Josef Brunner? A talented carpenter, according to colleagues we met, this Austrian has been living in the Netherlands since the early 2000s. He makes canoes and interior furniture. And lives alone in a spartan dwelling next to his Meppel workshop, 5 km from Ruinerwold.

"He spoke like a 15-year-old teenager"

The story of the cloisters of the farm rock Sunday 13 October in the evening thanks to Jan-Zon, 25 years according to the police, the eldest elder of the siblings. For the third time in eight days, the young man ventured at night, far beyond the confines of the property. He even joined the lights of the village, more than three kilometers from his home. During his first two outings, Jan-Zon put on several pints of beer at Cafe de Kastelein, the first bistro at the entrance of the town.

Chris Westerbeek, barkeeper, looks like a big-hearted model, tells the story. "He was sitting alone on the terrace, away from other guests. He seemed uncomfortable. The first Sunday evening (Editor's note: October 6th), he even stayed until 4 o'clock in the morning. The following Sunday, he simply ordered a Coke. He intrigued me so much that I went to him. "

Long hair and blonde beard, slender silhouette, this client like no other has things to say, in his own way. "He spoke like a 15-year-old," says Chris. His words were not really coherent. But he ended up telling me he needed help. Without explaining why. I decided to call the police. It was last Sunday around 22 hours. "

"They have never been to the doctor or the dentist"

Events are rushing. On site Monday, Josef Brunner, the "official" tenant of the house, is very uncooperative with the police. He is placed in pre-trial detention the next day. Two days later, it is the family's turn, 67-year-old Geritt-Jan, to be arrested. The two men are suspected of violating the freedom and health of others and money laundering.

"Children have been deprived of medical care in recent years," says a spokeswoman for the Dutch police. They have never been to the doctor or the dentist. But there is no question of designating them at this stage as "victims". On the basis of the evidence gathered over the past few days, the Dutch court believes that "the people involved" did not necessarily stay there all these years against their will.

But then how to explain this life away from the world? The most probable hypothesis studied by the investigators is that of a sectarian drift, with the logistical support of Brunner and the initiative of the father of the family. The latter has been identified as a former member of the Moon Movement, also known as the Association for the Unification of World Christianity.

"He wanted to create his own movement"

"The name of Josef Brunner is foreign to us, but that of Gerritt-Jan van Dorsten is included in our records, confirms Peter Zoehrer, a spokesman for the movement. He was a member only for a few years until 1987. His positions were too extreme and his mental health was questionable. He wanted to create his own movement.

At this time, Gerritt-Jan van Dorsten cuts the bridges with his relatives, including with his brother, also a follower of the Moonist movement. Failing to attract the faithful, he founded with his wife a very large family. Between the early 1990s and 2000, they have nine children. "The lady was constantly pregnant and the family lived on her own," says Sandra, their ex-neighbor in Hasselt, 15 km from Ruinerwold. Seniors go to school, dressed in clothes of another age, but not the youngest ones, deprived apparently of the least administrative existence.

The mother dies in 2004 as a result of cancer and the family unit splits in two. The three older children, still adolescents, find themselves willingly or forcibly delivered to themselves. The others, younger, weld around the father figure, for the better … and for the worse. It was also at that time, from 2005 in Hasselt, that Gerritt-Jan van Dorsten got in touch with his closest neighbor, the famous Josef Brunner.

"It's a long work that begins"

Is it the love of wood that seals their complicity? Josef is a carpenter. Gerritt, very gifted with his hands, makes wooden toys that can still be admired in the window of his old shop in Zwartsluis. For as incredible as it may seem, he was still the tenant these last days. With what money did he pay his rent? A large sum, in cash, was found on the Ruinerwold farm without it being possible to determine its origin.

As for the six brothers and sisters van Dorsten, they live again hidden in a secret place since Monday. Now under the control of the authorities and in the hands of caregivers. "The people involved are subject to various care, develops a police source. You have to create a connection with them first and it takes time. We used specialized psychologists and experts in behavioral sciences. They gave us their names and their age, but it needs to be verified. It is a long work that begins. Ruinerwold, trees, a house … And a forest of questions around.