LilMtnCbn
10-18-2004, 07:41 AM
Oh dear.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/1108666.html
School speaker's stories may be too good to be true
Lawndale school officials are embarrassed after an origami artist told students
a story about 9-11 that is unlikely to be true and inappropriate even if it is.
Speaker Julie Fahrer has been linked to several elaborate hoaxes.
By Ian Hanigan
Daily Breeze
With dozens of kindergarten students watching, guest speaker Julie Fahrer
described with sober reverence her trip to New York City immediately after
Sept. 11.
There, she said, she met a man by the name of Zedadiah Neemah, who passed out
hundreds of paper towels so grieving New Yorkers could dab their brows and dry
their eyes.
Scores began writing notes on the paper towels to tell loved ones they were OK,
Fahrer said. And the man known as Zed, through a network of friends, managed to
get the crumpled squares of paper to other states, where they were mailed off
to anxious families.
Zed was a hero, Fahrer said, and she urged students at an Oct. 7 assembly at
Lawndale's Anderson Elementary School to write thank-you notes to him. Hundreds
did.
But those letters -- some of which are on paper towels -- aren't likely to
reach their intended do-gooder. That's because Zed probably doesn't exist.
Fahrer's claims to have flown to New York immediately after the disaster don't
check out because the skies were closed to air travel. Furthermore, there don't
seem to be any records of Zedadiah Neemah's life, and a deputy press secretary
from the New York mayor's office said she's never heard such a tale.
Fahrer, who said she frequently speaks and showcases her origami to schools and
churches, stands by her story.
However, a search of her name on the Internet shows she is no stranger to
hoaxes, the most recent of which came two years ago when the woman with the
pleasant voice and round face drew the attention of federal investigators by
claiming hundreds of Afghan women and children in need of assistance were
headed for the United States.
As a so-called adoption facilitator in the early 1990s, she also allegedly
misled several prospective parents into believing she had located children for
them.
In an article that appeared April 16, 2002, in the Los Angeles Times, her
husband admitted there were no Afghan orphans and claimed Fahrer had a history
of psychological problems.
"She created the orphans because of her emotional and mental illness," Neal
Fahrer told the newspaper. "She believed they existed, but they did not. My
conclusion is that she has relapsed into a stressed emotional state of mind
allowing these fantasies to exist for her."
Is Zed also a fantasy? Officials with the Lawndale School District aren't sure.
But when details of Fahrer's past were relayed by a reporter to Superintendent
Joe Condon, he said the guest speaker, who led assemblies on Oct. 7, would not
be invited to return to Anderson Elementary or any other campus until he could
learn more about her. She had been scheduled to appear Tuesday at an Anderson
assembly.
Isn't considered a danger
Condon and others interviewed said they do not believe Fahrer is a danger to
students. In fact, some maintain there is an abundance of value in lessons
about a man who changed the world with nothing more than paper towels,
regardless of whether he is fact or fiction.
But in light of her history, her supervised visits raise questions about who
should be allowed to speak to impressionable minds during school hours.
"By law and by practice, we never leave children alone with an adult that we
don't know and that has not been (finger)printed," the superintendent said.
"If there are issues in her past and her work is effective and she is
supervised with children, that's one thing," he added. "If her past influences
children, then I have a problem with that."
Condon, who did not see Fahrer's performances, also objected to some of her
subject matter. While she talked about character, art and different cultures to
kindergarten students during two 40-minute presentations, she opened with a
story about Sept. 11.
"For children that age, 9-11 is distant history," he said, "so it's not an
appropriate conversation to have."
One thing that's certain is that Fahrer, a 57-year-old resident of Culver City,
wasn't paid for her visit by the district. While she indicated to some that she
secured a grant to perform, she told the Daily Breeze that she took the job in
exchange for a favor. Specifically, she said, she wanted to use the school's
cavernous cafeteria to repair a massive American flag that she claims was made
out of papers and other refuse scattered in the wake of the World Trade Center
collapse.
On her business card, Fahrer claims to be a speaker, a dramatist and a
storyteller who practices "storygami," which combines the Japanese art of
paper-folding with public speaking.
She boasts connections with such groups as The Church on the Way, the Network
of Biblical Storytellers, Toastmasters International and UCLA's theater
program.
In an interview, she said she often seeks grant funding to perform for kids at
schools. And though she frequently works out of state, she said she has made
appearances at campuses in Westchester and the Culver City district. (The
Culver City superintendent challenged the latter claim.) Her appearances,
Fahrer said, can generate anywhere from $25 to as much as $1,000 for multiple
performances.
Over the summer, Fahrer got in touch with the school in Lawndale through a
county teacher who works with the deaf and hard of hearing at Anderson.
The two met at an awards ceremony for an after-school program.
According to administrators, she told the school's staff that she could secure
grant funding to put on presentations centered on art, different cultures and
"wonder."
Lofty promises
In the early 1990s, Fahrer made even loftier promises. According to a Santa
Monica adoption attorney and published reports, she purported to be an
"adoption facilitator" and pledged to put couples in touch with mothers who
needed to find homes for their children.
"But it turned out that none of the birth mothers existed," said attorney Randi
G. Barrow. "There was never any proof."
Two of Barrow's eventual clients, George and Holly Foster, reportedly paid
hundreds of dollars to Fahrer over a six-month period. But Barrow said the
money didn't match the emotional toll taken on the couple.
In one instance, the Fosters were told that the girl they were expecting to
adopt had died, and Fahrer sent them a plastic, pink box full of ashes, Barrow
said. Another time, Fahrer told them a boy was available for adoption. But she
later said the process had been halted by the boy's birth father, who had ties
to the Japanese mafia.
"She presents herself as a very quiet, gentle, middle-aged Asian lady who
wouldn't hurt a fly," Barrow said. "But as you press her for the facts, it all
disappears."
In 2002, Fahrer gained notoriety after she claimed that hundreds of Afghan
women and orphans were coming to America, triggering federal investigations as
U.S. families with Afghan ties rushed to obtain foster care licenses.
One report published in the Los Angeles Times claimed she held a meeting at a
Van Nuys church and announced that 529 women and children were either in the
country or on the way. Fahrer went so far as to hand out detailed descriptions
of several kids.
Though her husband later exposed the hoax, Julie Fahrer told the Daily Breeze
last week that she did not make up the story but a gag order prevented her from
elaborating. She also said she was involved with the Red Cross and the United
Nations, which could prove her assertions true.
And though she offered to give telephone numbers for the U.N. and Zedadiah
Neemah, she said she did not have the numbers with her.
No phone numbers provided
On Tuesday, she left a message saying she had been advised by her attorney not
to give out any phone numbers. When asked for her attorney's number, she left
another message the following day saying she wouldn't be able to talk for a few
days as she was undergoing minor surgery that involved having stitches in her
mouth.
But in an earlier interview, Fahrer said the stories written about her in the
newspaper were false.
"I can verify I am who I say I am, and that the person who found those stories
apparently did not do her research properly," said the woman with the gentle
voice.
As for Neemah, she insisted he's out there somewhere, cherishing thank-you
notes penned by children.
"I'm telling you for a fact," she said, "that this was true."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/1108666.html
School speaker's stories may be too good to be true
Lawndale school officials are embarrassed after an origami artist told students
a story about 9-11 that is unlikely to be true and inappropriate even if it is.
Speaker Julie Fahrer has been linked to several elaborate hoaxes.
By Ian Hanigan
Daily Breeze
With dozens of kindergarten students watching, guest speaker Julie Fahrer
described with sober reverence her trip to New York City immediately after
Sept. 11.
There, she said, she met a man by the name of Zedadiah Neemah, who passed out
hundreds of paper towels so grieving New Yorkers could dab their brows and dry
their eyes.
Scores began writing notes on the paper towels to tell loved ones they were OK,
Fahrer said. And the man known as Zed, through a network of friends, managed to
get the crumpled squares of paper to other states, where they were mailed off
to anxious families.
Zed was a hero, Fahrer said, and she urged students at an Oct. 7 assembly at
Lawndale's Anderson Elementary School to write thank-you notes to him. Hundreds
did.
But those letters -- some of which are on paper towels -- aren't likely to
reach their intended do-gooder. That's because Zed probably doesn't exist.
Fahrer's claims to have flown to New York immediately after the disaster don't
check out because the skies were closed to air travel. Furthermore, there don't
seem to be any records of Zedadiah Neemah's life, and a deputy press secretary
from the New York mayor's office said she's never heard such a tale.
Fahrer, who said she frequently speaks and showcases her origami to schools and
churches, stands by her story.
However, a search of her name on the Internet shows she is no stranger to
hoaxes, the most recent of which came two years ago when the woman with the
pleasant voice and round face drew the attention of federal investigators by
claiming hundreds of Afghan women and children in need of assistance were
headed for the United States.
As a so-called adoption facilitator in the early 1990s, she also allegedly
misled several prospective parents into believing she had located children for
them.
In an article that appeared April 16, 2002, in the Los Angeles Times, her
husband admitted there were no Afghan orphans and claimed Fahrer had a history
of psychological problems.
"She created the orphans because of her emotional and mental illness," Neal
Fahrer told the newspaper. "She believed they existed, but they did not. My
conclusion is that she has relapsed into a stressed emotional state of mind
allowing these fantasies to exist for her."
Is Zed also a fantasy? Officials with the Lawndale School District aren't sure.
But when details of Fahrer's past were relayed by a reporter to Superintendent
Joe Condon, he said the guest speaker, who led assemblies on Oct. 7, would not
be invited to return to Anderson Elementary or any other campus until he could
learn more about her. She had been scheduled to appear Tuesday at an Anderson
assembly.
Isn't considered a danger
Condon and others interviewed said they do not believe Fahrer is a danger to
students. In fact, some maintain there is an abundance of value in lessons
about a man who changed the world with nothing more than paper towels,
regardless of whether he is fact or fiction.
But in light of her history, her supervised visits raise questions about who
should be allowed to speak to impressionable minds during school hours.
"By law and by practice, we never leave children alone with an adult that we
don't know and that has not been (finger)printed," the superintendent said.
"If there are issues in her past and her work is effective and she is
supervised with children, that's one thing," he added. "If her past influences
children, then I have a problem with that."
Condon, who did not see Fahrer's performances, also objected to some of her
subject matter. While she talked about character, art and different cultures to
kindergarten students during two 40-minute presentations, she opened with a
story about Sept. 11.
"For children that age, 9-11 is distant history," he said, "so it's not an
appropriate conversation to have."
One thing that's certain is that Fahrer, a 57-year-old resident of Culver City,
wasn't paid for her visit by the district. While she indicated to some that she
secured a grant to perform, she told the Daily Breeze that she took the job in
exchange for a favor. Specifically, she said, she wanted to use the school's
cavernous cafeteria to repair a massive American flag that she claims was made
out of papers and other refuse scattered in the wake of the World Trade Center
collapse.
On her business card, Fahrer claims to be a speaker, a dramatist and a
storyteller who practices "storygami," which combines the Japanese art of
paper-folding with public speaking.
She boasts connections with such groups as The Church on the Way, the Network
of Biblical Storytellers, Toastmasters International and UCLA's theater
program.
In an interview, she said she often seeks grant funding to perform for kids at
schools. And though she frequently works out of state, she said she has made
appearances at campuses in Westchester and the Culver City district. (The
Culver City superintendent challenged the latter claim.) Her appearances,
Fahrer said, can generate anywhere from $25 to as much as $1,000 for multiple
performances.
Over the summer, Fahrer got in touch with the school in Lawndale through a
county teacher who works with the deaf and hard of hearing at Anderson.
The two met at an awards ceremony for an after-school program.
According to administrators, she told the school's staff that she could secure
grant funding to put on presentations centered on art, different cultures and
"wonder."
Lofty promises
In the early 1990s, Fahrer made even loftier promises. According to a Santa
Monica adoption attorney and published reports, she purported to be an
"adoption facilitator" and pledged to put couples in touch with mothers who
needed to find homes for their children.
"But it turned out that none of the birth mothers existed," said attorney Randi
G. Barrow. "There was never any proof."
Two of Barrow's eventual clients, George and Holly Foster, reportedly paid
hundreds of dollars to Fahrer over a six-month period. But Barrow said the
money didn't match the emotional toll taken on the couple.
In one instance, the Fosters were told that the girl they were expecting to
adopt had died, and Fahrer sent them a plastic, pink box full of ashes, Barrow
said. Another time, Fahrer told them a boy was available for adoption. But she
later said the process had been halted by the boy's birth father, who had ties
to the Japanese mafia.
"She presents herself as a very quiet, gentle, middle-aged Asian lady who
wouldn't hurt a fly," Barrow said. "But as you press her for the facts, it all
disappears."
In 2002, Fahrer gained notoriety after she claimed that hundreds of Afghan
women and orphans were coming to America, triggering federal investigations as
U.S. families with Afghan ties rushed to obtain foster care licenses.
One report published in the Los Angeles Times claimed she held a meeting at a
Van Nuys church and announced that 529 women and children were either in the
country or on the way. Fahrer went so far as to hand out detailed descriptions
of several kids.
Though her husband later exposed the hoax, Julie Fahrer told the Daily Breeze
last week that she did not make up the story but a gag order prevented her from
elaborating. She also said she was involved with the Red Cross and the United
Nations, which could prove her assertions true.
And though she offered to give telephone numbers for the U.N. and Zedadiah
Neemah, she said she did not have the numbers with her.
No phone numbers provided
On Tuesday, she left a message saying she had been advised by her attorney not
to give out any phone numbers. When asked for her attorney's number, she left
another message the following day saying she wouldn't be able to talk for a few
days as she was undergoing minor surgery that involved having stitches in her
mouth.
But in an earlier interview, Fahrer said the stories written about her in the
newspaper were false.
"I can verify I am who I say I am, and that the person who found those stories
apparently did not do her research properly," said the woman with the gentle
voice.
As for Neemah, she insisted he's out there somewhere, cherishing thank-you
notes penned by children.
"I'm telling you for a fact," she said, "that this was true."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
