The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Child abuse survivor seeks festive cheer
Asurvivor of brutal child abuse at a notorious Fife residential school has bought the first Christmas tree of his life, despite the festive season leaving him feeling “terrified”.
Dave Sharp, who is now 62, suffered repeated attacks by priests at the former St Ninian’s School in Falkland during the 1970s.
He is hoping his decision to celebrate this year will be a message of hope to others living with the legacy of abuse.
Before being moved to St Ninian’s, Mr Sharp was looked after by nuns at the Nazareth House orphanages in Kilmarnock and Lasswade, as a result of his mother dying just after he was born.
“We had it beaten into us that we were not deserving of Christmas,” he said.
“I spent my first 16 years in care and many people know what happened to the children of Scotland in these homes. The truth is, I don’t remember one single Christmas during this time.
“Since then, I have always been terrified of Christmas and I have always spent this time on my own, avoiding anything to do with it.”
This year, Mr Sharp – who now l ives in Northamptonshire – said he is determined to enjoy himself, even if Covid-19 restrictions me a n not seeing family.
“I am isolating in England, I have not seen my family for months and things are not looking too good for the near future, so I made the decision I was going to make a real effort to enjoy Christmas and to buy a Christmas tree and make every effort to enjoy it, even though I am on my own.
“It is a challenging time because I am dealing with suppressed emotions but my message is that we can overcome.”
Mr Sharp on Twitter shared a video of his living room, which is tastefully decked out in festive decorations.
He said amid all the bad news around coronavirus, there are positive stories to be told.
“This year during lockdown I have been in contact with dozens of survivors who have had different reactions to this pandemic,” he said.
“Sadly, some have taken their own lives because it has been too much for them. In the sur vivor community we are losing children and adults all the time but there are also a lot of positive stories coming out where survivors are actually thriving through this period.
“We are in a safe, secure environment and this has a lso a l lowed many survivors to spend more time than usual on their own and actually start to deal with their own issues at their own pace and with no one telling them what to do, and in the safety of their own home.”