I was raised, as many others are, being told to treat others the way you want to be treated. Yet, I have seen and heard many terrifying things about how Seth Hopkins treats interns, workers, and others that have come to the Sanctuary. Firsthand Experience The things I witnessed and saw firsthand are discussed (with emails) in the post “And so it begins...”. I interned with the woman who asked apparently too many questions about her stay with Alouatta Sanctuary. During her e-mail conversations she was met with more and more hostility and rude remarks from Seth Hopkins. He eventually just went off on her after she wanted to know why her cancellation policy did not reflect that of my own cancellation policy and another intern’s despite arriving just one week later than us. I can also say that during our time there, she had no intention of leaving. She just wanted everything to be updated and accurate. After spending as much money as we did to work for free at this Sanctuary, I think everyone would want everything to be updated and accurate as well. After she stands up for herself HERE Seth called and talked to the site managers, Ben and Virginia, but then decided to call Pablo (a Panamanian employee) saying that he needed to escort her out immediately or he was going to call the cops. Let me note that he KNEW we were extremely short staffed (another intern had just left), but he didn't care. After she asked up an updated policy, he freaked out, letting his fear of her leaving (and therefore requesting a refund, as stated in some of the contracts) matter more than the desperate need for staff. The most logical thing for him to do was demand she leave the Sanctuary immediately. Not only that, but she was to be watched like a hawk while packing up her belongings because she was obviously insane and likely to steal everything she touched. I thought that it was, ironically, quite an insane reaction on their parts. BUT a couple days later, we got a visitor at the Sanctuary. This is when I met Steven Walker. Steven and his wife were the actual starters of Alouatta Lodge. They fell in love with nature and the howler monkeys, and wanted to be able to give others a chance to experience the beauty of their lodge. They had to return home to finish up their children’s schooling, that’s when they rented out their place to Seth Hopkins and Jolie Colby. Steven told Ben, Virginia, and I how hard it can be to get on your feet running a place like the Alouatta Lodge... So, he was very reasonable and understanding when they weren’t able to pay rent for the first six months they resided in his home away from home. Steven also got the runaround with Seth through email. Seth would say one thing, then deny it later - despite Steven having it in writing. Steven said that it seemed as though Seth and Jolie were very interested in making a good profit from the Sanctuary. For Steven, money wasn’t the point of a place like Alouatta Lodge. Steven tried to be understandable about the costs of running a sanctuary, but he would also see posts from Seth and Jolie about their the vacations and trips they would be taking, while still not paying their rent. After racking up a lot of money owed to the Walkers, I suppose Seth and Jolie decided they had to leave. Instead of doing what normal people would do by telling the original owners that they cannot afford to stay in the area and that they would be better off finding another person to look after their property, they ransacked the place. Steven told us about the deck they took out, the broken glass, beds missing, and furniture strewn across the yard left to rot. They took his two tamarins and cut through the welding of their enclosures, and moved them to their new location (where Alouatta Sanctuary is now housed). Some would question this "Steven character", but everything he said made so much sense. Everything he said was consistent with what we had experienced in our dealings (and that told to us by others) with Seth and Jolie. And not only that, but right when he pulled up he walked to the tamarins and knew exactly who they were, and was able to show one of our managers, Ben, right where they had to cut the welding to steal the enclosures. He talked about how Amigo had been his dog and even informed us Amigo had reached the ripe age of 14. You can see the Gofundme he created to get his place back together and his short explanation of what they did HERE. This whole exchange confirmed all that I had assumed about the people I was working for and helping support, and I was NOT okay with it. Not one bit. I now was firm in my decision to leave the following day. Secondhand Accounts Our poor manager, Benjamin Gombash, had to deal with all the shortcomings at the Alouatta Sanctuary since his start in August, 2015. After a few days of getting to know each other, I began questioning the lack of protocols and research being done at the Sanctuary. He informed me that in his time at the Sanctuary, there hadn’t been any real research or extensive field work going on, and that yes, most interns were a bit disappointed. He had also gotten the short end of the stick, saying that he had been told in his interview that he would be getting twice the salary they ended up actually paying him AFTER he arrived. Ben told me a story about how a manager flew in, only to leave 5 days later due to being very misled about what her job would entail and what all the sanctuary offered. This manager asked Seth a few questions, and as expected, Seth took every question as an insult. He got very angry and she decided right then and there that she would be leaving. A few days later, Seth decided it would be a good idea to have a meeting with all the current interns to discuss this incident. To his surprise, when Seth asked the group if they felt like they had been lied to, Ben told me all 8 interns raised their hands. The discussion went on and Ben actually felt rather good about the end result of the meeting, and everyone went to bed. The next morning at 6 am, bright and early, Seth calls for an “emergency meeting.” Ben explained how this emergency meeting was perfect for Seth because everyone was caught off guard/woken up just to be yelled at for an hour and a half. Seth was calling people out, telling people that they should just quit. He told one girl that “no matter how long she grew her dreads, she would never be spiritual” or some garbage to that effect. What I’m getting at is that he is a very rude man, who sits on this high horse thinking he is above everyone and everything. He treats people as garbage and refuses to face the consequences of his actions. This is not okay. Submitted from Iowa, USA on 2/24/2016.
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