According to the Associated Press, a group of Christians from Idaho have been arrested by the Haitian government for possible child-trafficking.
The group, consisting of 10 members from Central Valley Baptist Church, maintain that they were only trying to help orphans in need.
The problem, however, is that some of the children may not, in fact, be orphans:
"Officials said they lacked the proper documents for the children, whose names were written on pink tape on their shirts.
The children, ages 2 months to 12 years old, were taken to an orphanage run by Austrian-based SOS Children's Villages, where spokesman George Willeit said they arrived "very hungry, very thirsty, some dehydrated."
"One (8-year-old) girl was crying, and saying, 'I am not an orphan. I still have my parents.' And she thought she was going on a summer camp or a boarding school or something like that," Willeit said.
The orphanage was working Sunday to reunite the children with their families, joining a concerted effort by the Haitian government, the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other NGOs.
In Idaho, the Rev. Clint Henry denied that his Central Valley Baptist Church had anything to do with child trafficking."
This situation is likely to inflame passionate debate about the role of Christian aid similar to that which surrounded efforts by some Christian groups to find homes for orphans of the 2004 tsunami on the island of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. During relief efforts there some Christian groups were denied access to victims due to fear of proselytizing by some in the Muslim-governed country.
It's unfortunate that relief efforts have resulted in such situations. It is most likely that the accused group members are truly acting out of pure motives and a desire to see the most vulnerable victims cared for in loving adopted families.
However, situations like this illustrate that when it comes to actually helping those in need in a foreign land, Christians should seek to provide aid to local Christians and organizations on the ground rather than risking inadvertent harm despite having the best of intentions.
The Churches in Haiti are the one whose homeland is the one in need and who are better able and equipped to minister to those within their own culture effectively and in a culturally sensitive, responsible manner. The desire to help is powerful. But Jesus calls His followers to be "wise as serpents" in addition to being "innocent as doves."
Comments
This is just conjecture, but it sounds to me like the Haitian government is doing what it does best – trying to extort money from people. The report on tonight's news made it look like the group had done everything that was required, but the government is playing games with them. We need to keep them in our prayers. I'm sure a Haitian jail is not the most pleasant place to spend the might.
I've been watching this story and the problem seems not to be one of just carelessness over checking to see if the children were all orphans or filling out paperwork. My impression is one of complete arrogance; of people so convinced they were doing God's work that they couldn't even conceive of the idea that they might be doing anything wrong or that not everyone would see it their way.
As Laura Silsby, the group's leader, said after her arrest, "I was going to come back and do the paperwork."
I used to work in the Dominican Republic, and the ministry I used to work for is taking in some Haitian orphans (temporarily, the hope is to someday return them to Haiti) into the orphanages. But my ministry there is going through the proper channels. They were approached by the Dominican and Haitian governments who asked for them to house these orphans, and they are going through all the proper steps. People just need to realize that, despite the situation possibly feeling like mayhem, there are procedures and policies, and it is NOT just a free for all. For willing hearts, there are ways to help. But you need to find out what the proper channels are, and go through them.
According to our papers, child traffickers have already moved in to start stealing children and selling them; I'm glad the Haitian government IS keeping watch on people's activities! Who were these bods to come in and not go through the proper channels? I agree with Hugh Kramer, it sounds like arrogance as much as naivete. If the tag "Christian" wasn't attached to them, would they have apologists jumping up for them?
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!