FILE - This November 1978 file photo shows the bodies of Peoples Temple mass suicide victims led by Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana. Dozens of Peoples Temple members in Guyana survived the mass suicides and murders of more than 900 because they had slipped out of Jonestown or happened to be away Nov. 18, 1978. Those raised in the temple or who joined as teens lost the only life they knew. They have journeyed over the past 40 years through grief over lost loved ones, feeling like pariahs, building new lives and, finally, acknowledging that many had a role in enabling the Rev. Jim Jones to seize control over his followers. (AP Photo/File)
OAKLAND, Calif. – The mass murders and suicides of more than 900 people at Jonestown in Guyana, South America, took place 40 years ago this week.
Dozens of Peoples Temple members survived because they had slipped out of the settlement or happened to be away on Nov. 18, 1978.
Those raised in the temple or who joined as teens lost the only life they knew: church, jobs, housing — and most of all, family and friends.
Plunged into a new world, they have journeyed through grief over lost loved ones, feeling like pariahs and building new lives.
Some have come to acknowledge that many had a role in enabling the Rev. Jim Jones to seize control over his followers and orchestrate the horrible mass murders and suicides that remain nearly unimaginable even today.
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