“My life has stopped”: Wind Turbine Syndrome in the Netherlands
Nov 17, 2012
Print ArticleEditor’s note: The following testimony was submitted by Mrs. Elisabeth Jonkman, Netherlands, to the Australian Federal Senate this month, as the Senate considers legislation designed to address Wind Turbine Syndrome (a term the Senate does not use, by the way).
Click here to access Mrs. Jonkman’s testimony. Scroll down to Submission #29. (Bear in mind that English is not her native language. I have lightly edited her text, to make it conform more to conventional English composition.)
—Elisabeth Jonkman, The Netherlands (10/27/12)
I would like to inform you what happened to my life after I started hearing and feeling low frequency noise. . . .
My name is Elisabeth Jonkman, I am a woman of 53 years old and mother of two sons, 22 and 18 years old now. I live in the middle of Holland, in Almere. Forty years ago the land was sea. When I came to live here in 1994 there were 94,000 inhabitants; nowadays there are nearly 200,000 inhabitants in this new city. Of course there are consequences for the energy-supplies. My city is still growing.
There are more than 600 wind turbines and their number is still growing, with much larger machines. Nuon/Vattenfall is also extending their energy supplies with new pipes and installations.
On 6 November 2011 a disaster happened in my life; I became furnarable for [vulnerable to] low frequency noise.
I don’t know why it happened to me, I only can guess. Since then my house is hell on earth. I constantly hear the sound of a kind of machine in my house. It is a pumping, rhythmic and low, heavy sound such as a big transport car near your house. It is nearly almost [always] there: in my living-room, my toilet, my bathroom and the worst of all: my bedroom.
It also gives a feeling of pressure in the air and it makes my body tremble. The area around my heart is trembling when I am in my house. It is very scaring [scary] and sometimes I think I just die if it doesn’t stop. At such terrible moments I have to go outside my house, even when it is late at night. Outside the house my body picks up the vibration and I can hear the sound in the air although it is not so damaging as it is in the house.
I still have a son to attend for. He is autistic and not ready to lose his mother yet. You may ask yourself: “Why doesn’t she move and go to live elsewhere?”
The answer is that now that I am sensible for [sensitive to] LFN, I can hear it almost everywhere in Holland. It is a small and crowded country with lots of wind turbines, gas fields and pipes, and lots of other industrial plants.
My son told me he can hear the noise since he was born. His father and I, we never understood his complaints about his heart trembling and the noise in his head. We never understood why he shook his head as if he wanted to chase an insect, why he couldn’t sleep and why he was so tired. We visited doctors and they examined him but they never could find a reason for his complaints except that he was autistic. This year the pieces of the puzzle fitted in.
My life has stopped, I cannot work any longer, and I just try to survive and stay the mother that my sons need. There is hardly medical support for the victims of LFN. Doctors don`t know how to help us and they prescribe pills for depressive people. There is an unknown amount of victims in Holland right know, registration fails.
I fear we are economic collateral damage, a proof of what is going to happen to lots of citizens who now think it is a thing that is never going to happen to them.
Comment by Karen Bessey Pease on 11/17/2012 at 11:41 am
Elisabeth, my heart goes out to you. You are not alone, but your bravery in speaking out sets you apart. Thank you for your courage.
As more people such as yourself are impacted by industrial wind turbine noise emissions, I believe we will see a change in the current system. But we MUST stand together and not allow misguided, mis-led or corrupt governments and the corporate industry which controls them to torture human beings. Only by standing up and speaking out, as you have done, will we encourage other victims to do the same.
Please don’t lose faith in the goodness of mankind. Caring individuals outnumber the corporate interests which currently rule the day, but at present we lack the wealth, influence and power to confront this issue on a level playing field. But that day will come—is coming—as more citizens take courage from individuals like you.
Please know that thousands of people—whether they are victims of turbine noise emissions, or not—are in your corner. I hope you and your family will continue to speak out against those who have willingly sacrificed your health and well-being for profit’s sake. By speaking as a united citizenry, I believe we will prevail. Integrity and ethics and empathy may seem to be the exception rather than the norm in today’s world, but I have faith that these qualities will win out, in the end.
If ever you need an American friend as a sounding board, please give me a shout. I’m only a click away at roomtomove@tds.net.
All my best to you and your family,
Kaz
Editor’s note: Thank you, Kaz, for your humanity!
Comment by Andreas Marciniak on 11/18/2012 at 2:42 am
Elisabeth Jonkman, as Karen said,You are not alone,you have friends now all around the world, we know what you are feeling and how bad it can be for you, [sensitive to] LFN, I can feel it almost everywhere,just like to tell every one that you will find, that Flying after you been exposit to wind turbines is nearly unbearable, after just Flying to America and then on to Germany, I got from Adelaide south Australia to Sydney, and wanted to stop right there, my head felt like it was in a vice for about 25 minutes coming in for Landing, after landing I was very unwell in Sydney airport my ears hurt and I lost 60% of my hearing,after spending all that money my Brother in Law told me to keep on going, on Take off more pain but not as bad as Landing, after may hours up in the air and lots of gum and Tablets it did get a bit better, I could not hear when the stewardess asked if I would like a drink or to eat ,on coming into Dallas! about 20 minutes out all the problems stared over again, and in the Airport it had been bad , it was only until we got into the taxi and left the Airport between 6-10 km away from the Airport that I stared to feel better, also found that in a few big shopping complexes I had to work out because of headache and felt Nausea.
Going on to Germany, I had the same problems, I did find the slow dissent into Frankfurt because we got there early and it taken over 30 minutes to land ! was much better the all the quick landings,after getting out off the Airport I was looking for sum relieve , but no luck, because all along the Autobahn are big Wind turbines for miles and miles, the Monsters are every where,
and as you said”! ” (There is an unknown amount of victims in Holland right know,) Not just Holland , Karen, in every Country these Monster Turbines are located, in Germany I had spoken to people that have Turbines with in 5 km from there Homes , and believe me! that is just about every where you look, and talking and watching them , as I my self felt Ill found that they also showed problems from the Turbines BUT don’t put two and two together, because they are being brain washed in how wonderful these Turbines are, the same gr-app every where you go, most of the once I spoke to put it down to just answer bad day, or bad night sleep.
where is people like us to go, once there every where?
So Elisabeth stay strong and I wish you all the best, and you might find a way to get away from Time to Time .
Good luck from Australia.
Comment by gail on 11/18/2012 at 5:13 pm
When I read stories such as yours, Elisabeth, it brings back what I went through in 2006-7 before I escaped; especially the frightening sound inside the house. Sometimes the whole of the area around the house was buzzing and somehow ‘electrified’… I can only repeat what Andreas and Karen said, you are not alone in your suffering, and if at all possible—move. Don’t look back but fight from a distance, for your sons, for your family.
My thoughts are with you.
Gail
Comment by Itasca Small on 11/19/2012 at 9:45 pm
Thank you, Elisabeth, for having the courage to speak-out with the truth about the horrors your country is inflicting upon you and your family. As the others here have already stated, you are not alone. If only we could get through the indoctrination more quickly and awaken the people to the truth… The brainwashing has been quite effective and it is the biggest factor we must overcome if the Wind Invasion is to be stopped and reversed.
I have Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a condition on the autism spectrum. The ill effects of these Wind Monsters are bad enough for people who are not on the spectrum, but they are worse for those who have some form of autism spectrum disorder. I can only imagine how awful it is for children on the spectrum who do not understand the bombardment they must endure.
I know it is not easy, I still don’t know where I am going to live after having to flee my own home and move to my sister’s home. I am adversely effected here, too, as the effects from the Monsters added to my pre-existing sensitivity to low and infrasonic frequencies have made me even more sensitive to other sounds here, also. But, I will offer you the lifesaving advice I received from Dr. Calvin Martin, “Get out of there, NOW!”
It will only get worse and I am still hoping for recovery of some aspects of my health and personality after nearly a year of living mostly away from the Monsters. When I have had to go home, which is about 11.25miles/24.75km from the Monsters, the symptoms worsened like clockwork when the wind started blowing out of the NNW to the SSW and every direction in-between. Last time, it affected me when the wind was out of the NE, also. The sooner you can escape, the better it will be for you and your family. The problem is, where can you go? Where can any of us go, once we are sensitized or more-sensitized?