Inside Jonestown: The Chilling Guyana Tours Exploring the Site of the 1978 Cult Tragedy
Wanderlust AdventuresWhile some would rather not revisit the horrors of Jonestown, others argue that it’s important to remember what happened there in 1978.
Roselyn Sewcharran, the owner and founder of Wanderlust Adventures, disagrees. She believes that lessons can be drawn from the Jonestown tragedy, and that it’s important to acknowledge what happened.
“The thing is, Jonestown remains a tragic part of Guyana’s history, but it is also an event of global significance,” she told NBC News. “It offers critical lessons about cult psychology, manipulation and abuse of power.”
The Harrowing Story Of The Peoples Temple And Jonestown
The story of Jonestown begins with one man: Jim Jones. Born in Indiana in 1931, Jones initially trained to become a doctor, but instead became a pastor in the 1950s. He soon opened his own church, which was first called Wings of Deliverance and then the Peoples Temple.
Nancy Wong/Wikimedia CommonsPeoples Temple leader Jim Jones in 1977.
By the 1960s, Jones had moved his organization to San Francisco, where his anti-war, anti-capitalist message drew thousands of followers. By the early 1970s, the Peoples Temple had an estimated 20,000 members.
Behind the scenes, however, Jones was a master manipulator. He had affairs with women in his congregation, demanded that his followers give him their life savings, and physically punished anyone who displeased him. In 1977, as scrutiny of Jones and his organization increased, he moved his followers to Guyana and established Jonestown.
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