Andreas and Anna E. kidnap their children from previous relationships to Paraguay. Months later they turn themselves in to the police. The case is an example of the fact that the corona conspiracy myths intervene deeply in private life.
“We are the Egler family, which is now wanted around the world, like criminals, like murderers, like criminals.” That’s what Andreas E. says in a video in which he can be seen with his wife Anna and their children Lara and Clara. At the time, E. and his current wife were wanted by Interpol because they kidnapped their daughters to Paraguay without the knowledge of the other parents. They will disappear there at the end of November 2021. Under the pressure of a search, they finally turn themselves in to the authorities.
The couple shared the video on Telegram and thus also gives an insight into their constitution. It becomes clear that Anna and Andreas E. no longer include their former partners and other parents in their concept of family. In a Father’s Day video on Facebook, Lara’s father Filip B. recently recalled the times when the patchwork concept of the family made another life possible. But according to Andreas and Anna E.’s understanding, “the E family.” apparently only four people.
Already in the multi-page letter in which the couple justified their going into hiding to the families, it became clear that both are deep in the world of conspiracy myths. “We have been closely monitoring the political situation in this country for a long time now and are now certain that it will not be long before civil war-like conditions occur, as well as food shortages, blackouts, a complete economic collapse, further pandemics and other unimaginable catastrophes scenarios,” they wrote. They saw the family discussions about their criticism of the Corona measures as contempt, saw their concerns ridiculed, felt misunderstood and increasingly acted as the only ones who care about the well-being of their children.
Sect researchers know the pattern from the radicalization process of many other people. A common we is increasingly becoming a you and we, the we is charged with exaggerated moral values, which you increasingly devalue. In this way, questionable behavior is also justified, in this case child abduction. The E.s not only see Germany as a “surveillance state” in which “fear, war and disease” threaten, but also suspect a “human experiment (…) with a hitherto unknown outcome”. And they are, in their reading, unlike their former partners, the ones willing to protect the children.
Even then they emphasized that the escape had been discussed with the children. “We would never have taken either of them against their will.” The video from May 31 also gives the impression that the ten and eleven-year-old girls are in favor of fleeing to Paraguay. Clara E., whose hair was apparently dyed, says: “We already said in Germany that we wanted to live with Anna Maria E. and Andreas Rainer E., but we weren’t listened to.” The sentence seems rehearsed. Lara B. also says: “Please leave us alone”, Anna E. can be heard saying “Please don’t separate us”. Everyone looks exhausted and tense.
The adults clearly present themselves as victims. As early as 2021, the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Interior, in a special publication on conspiracy myths and corona deniers, referred to the topos of the hero “who is pulled out of an inconspicuous everyday life in order to fight against the ‘powers of darkness'”. The experts come to the conclusion that the stories charged with conspiracy myths are suitable for creating “a tolerance for actions” that can be punishable. In the case of Andreas and Anna E., this was apparently a violation of the custody agreements made with the other parents.
It is not surprising that they took the children to Paraguay. There have always been waves of German immigrants in the country. In the course of the corona pandemic, several thousand Germans chose the country as their new home because the measures there were not so strict at first. According to the Paraguayan migration authorities, 3,440 Germans settled in Paraguay last year alone. Many of them have never been to South America and have no language skills.
Many of the immigrants are therefore drawn to German-speaking colonies, where Swiss, Austrians and Germans already live relatively isolated from Paraguayan society. The E.s were also suspected to be in one of these enclaves. According to media reports, they had started building a house in La Colmena. An attempted arrest in the village failed in January. Anna and Andreas E. had already fled with the children.
According to the authorities, they had support from these emigrant groups during their escape. It quickly becomes clear that money is likely to play a role. Police arrested a man who had sold the couple a car. The allegedly unproblematic purchase of land and houses is also repeatedly discussed in many chat groups. At the same time, local authorities and now the German Foreign Office warn against buying property that you have not visited and signing contracts that you do not understand.
Even the narrative of Paraguay as the country where there are no corona measures is a myth. Although no proof of vaccination was initially required, this was mainly due to the fact that Paraguay did not have sufficient vaccine. That is why the vaccination rate is still low today, but the number of deaths is high. One in ten of the seven million inhabitants fell ill with the virus, and almost 19,000 died.
The country is now relying on quotas from the Covax initiative for the vaccine. The pandemic law that has been passed in the meantime provides for drastic fines or 30 days of social service for those who do not comply with the obligation to wear masks in public buildings. “Most of those who come are not vaccinated,” said the mayor of Hohenau, Enrique Hahn, in a recent interview about the immigrants, who didn’t suffer so well everywhere. “You have to know that there are laws here too.”
According to the “Stern”, some emigrants have already turned their backs on Paraguay. Language problems, low earning potential, the extreme climate and differences in mentality are driving them back again. Anna and Andreas E. finally decided to turn themselves in. The children are in the care of the Paraguayan authorities. After months of radio silence, it was possible to establish contact with the couple and get back into an exchange. “In many discussions, the realization matured that ending the flight is the only option – especially for the well-being of the child,” explained the lawyers who accompanied the solution. And maybe also the realization that Paraguay is not a legal vacuum either.
