A Look Back at the Infamous Jonestown Massacre

Whenever people hear about “Jonestown”, they always question, "Was the Jonestown incident a murder or suicide"? The Mass suicide at Jonestown shook the entire world in the 1970s. In the 1950s, Jim Jones founded the People's temple and was known as a firm believer in racial equality, which made him more prevalent in the African-American community. However, his cult began gaining a bad reputation over the years as the media accused his church of financial fraud, physical abuse of its followers, and ill-treatment of kids. In the 1970s, to avoid media scrutiny, he moved to Guyana and founded a "socialist utopia" community in the Latin American nation Guyana called Jonestown. However, the Jonestown people's temple and Jim Jones remained a debated topic in the American media.

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Congressman Leo Ryan Visits Guyana

In the 1970s, many former members of the People's Temple came forward and requested Congressman Leo Ryan to rescue the trapped members of the cult. As a result, Leo Ryan traveled to Jonestown with four members to inspect the ground reality. Jim Jones managed to hide the reality of Jonestown until a few members requested Ryan to get them out. Ryan tried to escape the members. However, the plan failed, and Jones' gunmen killed Ryan and his delegation.

 Mass Suicide-Murder at Jonestown

On November 18, 1978, Jones called an emergency meeting as he was aware of the consequence of murdering Leo Ryan. He ordered everyone to drink a cyanide-laced drink, leading the final death toll to 909. In the past, mock drill of such mass suicide has been performed on several occasions. The kids of the Peoples Temple were the first to perform this act as parents and nurses fed them a potent mix of cyanide, medicines, and powdered fruit juice through syringes. Adults were made to drink poison-laced juice while surrounded by armed guards. Eventually, more than 900 men, women, and children had lost their lives, making it one of the biggest mass-murder in the world.

 The Aftermath of Mass Suicide-Murder

When the Guyanese authorities reached the site the next day, they found hundreds of dead bodies lying on the ground. However, roughly 90 people survived the mass-murder suicide. Few members even managed to escape to the nearby jungle when the suicidal act was performed. Besides, many other Peoples Temple members, including Jim Jones's sons, survived because they were not present in Jonestown at the time. Later, the US authorities arrived only to find thousands of rotting bodies and a handful of survivors in Jonestown.

Inauguration of Jonestown Memorial

 In 2011, a permanent memorial called Jonestown memorial was provided to those who perished in the Jonestown tragedy. If you are thinking, where is Jonestown Memorial located? Jonestown Memorial is located in the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, California, and contains the 412 unclaimed bodies from the Jonestown Massacre. The Jonestown massacre is still considered one of the biggest man-made tragedies in United States history, surpassed by the 9/11 attacks on the world trade center.