life, love & laundry
Baptists & Child Trafficking in Haiti (updated)
(I added another excerpt, below, this time from a baptist ETHICIST! This just gets better and better).
I guess the news that 10 Americans were arrested for trying to smuggle 33 children out of Haiti should be no surprise. I read about and talk about this stuff all the time through my work with VVAI and Ethica. But for some reason, maybe the very blatant and public nature of this specific case of child trafficking or maybe because I saw it coming a mile away and truly knew it was a matter of “when” and not “if”, this mess with the Baptists in Haiti is really getting to me. I have wanted to write about this for days now. But the more time goes by, the more there is to say and the more overwhelming it feels to blog about.
So, for some good reading, let me point you to some other blogs who have done a better job at covering this stuff:
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Traffickers or Clueless Do-Gooders?
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Haiti – Part One: If There Was an Earthquake in Indiana
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You Shall Know Them By Their Fruit
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Haiti – Part Two: I’d Like to Punch Those Idaho Idiots
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Kidnapping (Even for Christ) Is A Crime, Pt. 1
Ok so hopefully you’ve read their great posts. They have said what I have been thinking in a much better way than I could articulate.
But I also want to add this:
I’ve read more press recently from Baptists (not to be confused with The Ten Baptist Americans) who are concerned about how the actions of these Ten make them look. Apparently, not among them is the home church who wrote on their website yesterday:
5 Feb 2010
As we all know, the world’s attention is focused on the situation in Haiti…and as you would expect, our attention is focused there as well. We want to apologize for not allowing media into our building both yesterday and today. There came a time when we needed to be alone with our emotions…a time for complete strangers to get acquainted, as family and friends came here from out of town…a time for us to begin to work together to secure the release of our friends and family.
We believe the best thing that could happen, not only for our loved ones, whom we miss dearly… but also for the people of Haiti… is for their government to release them as quickly as possible, allowing the world’s attention be focused where it should be…on helping a nation that experienced a devastating earthquake.
One thing I would like to correct, as reported in some media coverage, is that the 10 Americans are not full-time missionaries. They are members of local churches from 3 different states who joined together to participate in this trip. They are friends and neighbors who have big hearts and lots of love to share. They come from churches much like ours here at Central Valley Baptist Church. Churches that take short term volunteer trips both here and abroad to carry out the work our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded.
Please know that we will continue our efforts to secure the release of our loved ones. We would especially like to thank Senators Risch and Crapo and their office staff for the time and energy they have given to us and we believe that all of these efforts help.
This week, a fund was set up at USBank called the “10 Americans Support Fund”. Those who care about our friends and family can give at any USBank location. It will help us as we carry on and will bless those that we serve from home.
Thank you for your prayers. Through them God will give strength, as we struggle through issues we could have never imagined. Let’s bring them home as soon as possible.
The emphasis is obviously mine. If these folks had killed someone or broke another one of the taboo laws we hold so dear in our country, under the name of God, would they be working so hard to secure their release? Would they still be supporting that this was God’s commandment? Ok let’s be fair and recognize that they have not yet been found guilty (even though the writing is on the wall here – they were caught in the act, after all, with several witnesses to attest to their full understanding that they were committing crimes). Shouldn’t, as good Christians, the home church and other churches be encouraging an *investigation* instead of a *release*? Or do (Southern) Baptists get a free ride because their devout faith in God makes them immune to the People’s Laws?? Baptists have a real reason to worry about how this makes them look. Statements like this make them appear to be above the law, making a mockery of human rights violations and the lives of the innocent children who fell prey to their “mission”. I hope, for justice sake, that stuff like this will work against their release. The last thing Haiti needs is to send a message that child traffickers – even the most stupid and ill-prepared while simultaneously brazen and cocky – will not be held accountable. By the law and by God. Because I am certain of one thing – God does not believe in child-trafficking. Period.
And speaking of stupid and ill-prepared…
I also found this article from the president of the Central Baptist Theology Seminary:
It is at least possible that these Baptist missionaries may have simply failed to grease a sufficient number of palms.
Take-away message: if you are going to break laws in the name of God, make sure you have enough money to break ALL the laws and don’t come up short. Then you won’t be caught illegally performing “God’s Will”.
Americans have no business rambling around countries about which we are ignorant. If we don’t know the laws, and if we don’t understand the ethos, we are simply asking for trouble.
Newsflash, Kevin, child trafficking is ALSO a very serious crime right here in the US of A! Don’t believe me? Next time you see a child mistreated or dirty, try grabbing that child and smuggling them into Canada. See how that works out for you. Ignorantia juris non excusat.
In spite of the press reports, these Baptists aren’t really missionaries.
…..
Here’s an application for real missionaries. You need two things. First, you really must learn the language and culture of the people to whom you plan to minister. Second, you really need a good mission agency behind you. A good agency is worth more than its weight in gold if it can keep you out of trouble or get you out of trouble. If you want to be a missionary, you need to look for an agency that has experience dealing with that sort of thing. The people who are under arrest in Haiti appear not to have had any agency advising them.
This one made me laugh out loud. Take away message: Clearly what they really needed was to commune with other child traffickers who have experience in successfully smuggling children across the boarder of other countries. There are plenty of them, sadly. Take a trip to Vietnam, China, Guatemala, Cambodia, Nepal, The Marshall Islands, or even Haiti with it’s long history of child trafficking. You’ll find them there if you take the time to look. Yes, I agree. Clearly these Ten were in over their head. I even said it myself a few times in the last few weeks. If they wanted to get away with their crime, they needed to have aligned themselves with more experienced criminals. I said it tongue-in-cheek. To see it in print, as a serious suggestion, was jaw-dropping.
We cannot judge it, but we can learn lessons from it.
Indeed. What is frightening here is the lessons he suggests should be learned.
Then there is this gem, written to our President by the Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land:
The Haitian government is receiving massive assistance from the United States, from both public and private sources,” Land the president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, wrote to Obama. “Our nation’s churches are giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to relief efforts for the people of Haiti. These fine Christian men and women sought to do even more to help alleviate the suffering of some Haitian children. For the Haitian government to respond in this way to the obvious good intentions of these honorable Christians is outrageous.
Wow – there is some real Christian charity at its finest. Take away message: If we give charity to your country, we expect paybacks. And if the form of paybacks might need to be turning a blind eye to human rights violations? Well, I guess that’s God’s Will! Don’t even get me started. Actually you don’t have to. I have a whole post already worked up, sitting in drafts, about this very topic (not offering help unless paybacks are expected, not offering help when we have people in need in our own country). But turning a blind eye to CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR because churches helped out Haitians in the last few weeks? OUTRAGEOUS! How is this ethical in the LEAST? This is the epitome of UNETHICAL!
So what I’m saying here is that it is unfortunate that the headlines scream “BAPTISTS ARRESTED” or “BAPTIST MISSIONARIES IN JAIL” because these people no more represent Christianity than Adolf Hitler. I know this. I have very thinking, very devout Christian friends who understand that God’s Will never comes in the form of child trafficking or any other human rights violation. Although a large percentage of my circle of friends are devout Christians and also very wise to these issues, sometimes it feels like they are the minority out there. I also have at least one friend who literally thought she was the only Christian who felt this way. That is awful. I know there are groups doing wonderful things in Haiti who are absolutely torn up about these human rights violations. I know some of these groups have spoken to the press against actions of The Ten and against rushing adoptions in Haiti, in general. Some are working tirelessly to reunite children with their relatives. Many of my Christian friends have blogged to spread the word.
What I’d like to see in the headlines is this:
“BAPTISTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN HAITI”
or
“BAPTISTS CONDEMN ILLEGAL ACTIVITY AGAINST CHILDREN BY MISSIONARIES”
or
“BAPTIST MISSIONS WORK TIRELESSLY TO SET UP DATABASE CONNECTING CHILDREN WITH THEIR RELATIVES”
If this country’s Baptists are worried about how they are perceived, they can start there. You can’t just complain about how you look. You have to put action behind it. Speaking out against the actions of The Ten is the first place to begin.
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So…I have to say that it bugs the crap out of me, every time I see any sort of headline that categorizes these people as a certain demographic. Like, “Baptists are…” These people no more represent Baptists than they represent me as an American. They are dangerous morons with absolutely no respect for the law (any law) or the world’s intellect to discern what they were doing.
So…I don’t think this is about religion. I think this is about moronic people who consciously made a very, very, very misguided choice, and the only prayers I make on their behalf are praises that they were caught.
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February 6th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
I agree people do stupid and illegal and unconscionable things all the time. It really should not be about religion. I think the problem with that is that the idiots, themselves, are making it about religion at every breath when they make it about God’s Will and claim they are working under God’s command. Hard to see the forest for the trees, kwim?
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My husband and I were discussing this some just this morning. People can be ignorant, but how ignorant would you have to be to read and study the Bible and come away with the conclusion that you should remove children from their home country without following laws and procedures that are in place….sigh. Just do not get it.
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Not to make light…but dude the Catholics are the ones that get the bad rep meanwhile CRS is doing incredible work down their with the people/kids on a local and parish level. (Haiti is 80% catholic, so I imagine missions/aries are there to convert them to other versions of Christianity but that is another fish to fry)
I fully believe that “leader” lady knew exactly what she was doing..the others, I am not sure. Some seem too young to even realize what they were doing was wrong. I will be interested in seeing how this plays out. It does make me hopeful that they were caught and it brings the horrific child trafficking to the forefront of this crisis. Something that most Americans would not have any idea about.
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You know, I totally agree. I’d prefer the “Baptist” thing was left out altogether, but when other Baptists write stuff online like what you quoted above? Well, that really doesn’t help matters one bit. And since I’d like to see Islamic groups speaking out against radical islamic terrorists, I think it’s only fair to also expect Baptist groups/churches to speak out against The Ten.
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Exactly, Nicki. That’s all I have to say, b/c if I get going, I can’t stop.
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I COMPLETELY agree that there is no justification for the actions of The Ten and that they should be held accountable.
From the standpoint of my interest in human trafficking, though, I find the Haitian response to this very interesting. I’m currently reading a trafficking book called “A Crime So Monstrous.” The entire first section of the book is about Haiti and the horrible problems they have with child trafficking. And frankly? The Haitians don’t give a crap about their children. Slavery permeates that entire culture. So does bribery, for that matter. I have a great deal of skepticism as to whether they would have seen any issue with this at all if not for the fact that the people moving the children were Americans. Sadly, I suspect that there is an expectation of money for these people to be “exonerated” of the charges.
This entire situation is just wrong. The Ten were wrong. But I suspect the motives behind arresting them are wrong, too. Just my 2 cents.
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It’s hard to believe their actions are being so defended. This has been an incredibly painful story.
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I am SOO glad you wrote about this! It has been weighing heavy on me that even in the news it seems to be getting glossed over the fact that these people were STEALING these children. I dont give a crap what color/race/sex/church they are a part of! They KNOWINGLY took those children.. whom could have parents looking for them or other family and were going to do what with them?? I am sickened at the thought that if they would have gotten away with it these poor frightened kids would have been severely messed up because of these “do gooders” YUCK makes me SICK!
I agree.. the church needs to speak out and not be defending their actions!
AND how is it possible that so many families are all of a sudden getting kids home and “adopting” when they werent even in the process at all? GEESH!
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yeah! What Nicki said! Doubled!
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