If you have been following events in Haiti over the past few weeks then you might be familiar with the so-called Baptist "missionaries" that flew to Haiti in the wake of the earth quake to rescue Haiti's most vulnerable--the orphans.
10 God-fearing Americans hailing from Texas, Missouri and Idaho hopped on a plane to the stricken island nation; armed with only the love of God in their righteous hearts and a vague plan to identify needy orphans. According to their own website, the church members only planned to spend a few hours in Haiti.
When the story first broke, the members claimed they rescued the children from a destroyed orphanage. It was later revealed that the 33 children, ranging in age from 2 months to 12 years old came from Calebasse, a small community outside of Port-au-Prince. Moreover, they were not orphans but given away by their parents to the Americans. The parents came forward later saying they gave up their children in hopes the Americans could provide them a better life. So with 33 children in tow they loaded them on a bus and headed for a rented hotel with a swimming pool in the DR.
The ring leader Laura Silsby, knew they didn't have the necessary paper work, yet believed they could get away with not following the law. After all, this is Haiti-- the poorest country in the western hemisphere in case the media has allowed you to forget; they don't have laws. And the Americans had the best of intentions. The 10 missionaries came to Haiti thinking they were saviors. Carla Thompson one of the members is quoted as saying " God is the one who called us to come here and we just really believed this was His purpose."
Well here is what I say to that, hiding behind Christian values doesn't change the fact that they attempted to kidnap those children. They did not have proper authorization to transport the children to the DR. They attempted to illegally traffick the children and they should have never come up with this misadventure in the first place. They have done more harm that good in a country that is already leery of foreign interventions and international adoptions.
I am always skeptical whenever someone says that God told them to do something. That is the same authority they used to devour a whole continent and enslaved its people for hundreds of years.
ReplyDeletethey should be kept in Haiti for as long as they keep the cameras.. as a matter of fact, they should be tried to the full extent of the law..
ReplyDeleteI agree, the whole case is very fishy and I would love it if they were tried and convicted. But it seems like the judge may soon let the remaining two go. If that is the case then they should be banned from ever stepping foot in Hispanola.
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