Why we should never say ‘it will be fine’

I have saddled my hobby horse again. Not because I want to, but because the Epstein case weighs heavily on my heart. Now that ‘porn-provider’ Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested after years of moving from villa to castle to have escaped in the hope of staying out of the clutches of the FBI, the discussion is relevant again. That's good because there are still too many questions and far too few answers.

Still, I am shocked when people say that it is ‘quite bad’, but that the girls in question also understood that you don't get flown to a private island on a private jet to play a game of pimpampetten. It was said on RTL Boulevard this week that if the girls had been of legal age, ‘nothing would have been wrong’. And that stays with me.

These were all young women from vulnerable families. Girls who saw their stepfather murder his son, girls whose mothers were heavily addicted and violent. Girls who thought they would find safety. Girls who thought: if I do this, he will pay for my sister's education, only to find out that her sister was waiting for the same scenario. And then to see your sister with an eating disorder return from her study abroad.

People also say: ‘They weren't imprisoned? They could just stop?’ Then I would first delve into the manipulative ammunition of Epstein and Maxwell. They calmly sent a car towards the house of a girl who wanted to break free and then shone their headlights into her room all night.

I would just like to say: be kind, watch the documentary, see the stories, see how these years have marked their lives and at least grant them the compassion they deserve.

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