Warning: This story contains details of sexual and physical abuse that may disturb some readers.
A Kiwi man who was allegedly abused at a state-run boot camp has revealed harrowing details about the terrifying ordeal.
The now-46-year-old said he was forced to dig his own grave at gunpoint and was raped by a supervisor at the Whakapakari camp on Great Barrier Island, which was operational from the late 1970s until 2004.
The vision of the camp was to help troubled teenagers by getting them into the great outdoors - but for some, Whakapakari quickly became a nightmare.
"It was like Tom Sawyer's Adventures or something, but then it turned like Friday the 13th," the victim told Newshub.
This man was 15 at the time. He told the Abuse in Care inquiry that he and other boys were told they were going to be executed, and were forced to dig their own graves while a supervisor began shooting at them.
"We all tried to get out of it. He was just kicking us back down into the grave and stomping on us to get back into the grave and face down."
Established in the late 1970s by former star wrestler John De Silva, the camp was isolated and basic.
It became a dumping ground for kids the state deemed too hard to deal with. The young people thought they were being sent somewhere safe.
"I was petrified, we all were. We were all screaming, screaming for our lives."
But the trauma didn't end there. The 46-year-old says he was raped the day before he left.
"It took me a lot of years to deal with the shame and the embarrassment from that island," he told Newshub.
Advocates say his experience is just the tip of the iceberg.
Wellington lawyer Amanda Hill has heard countless stories of alleged sexual violence and abuse at Whakapakari.
She's currently representing 150 former residents.
"It wouldn't surprise me if we were only still looking at the tip of the iceberg," she said.
Hill said the state is dragging the chain on compensating victims, 17 years after the camp was closed.
"There are a lot of people who are waiting for a response from the state and it's taking far too long, and the responses that we're getting are often inadequate."
Whakapakari means to strengthen, mature and develop. But sadly, what allegedly went on at this camp, only did damage.
