punjabi_khota Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 I recently read an article in my university newspaper about the motives of some of the charity organisations working in Haiti right now to help the victims and their families. It got me thinking because a lot of those missionary charities are probably going to take charge of hundreds of orphans and raise them in what they claim would be "christian homes". I was thinking about if this is ethical on their part, and if there should be some regulations regarding this. and today, this is what I see : ********************************************* http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/world/americas/05orphans.html?hp PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Ten Americans detained after trying to take 33 Haitian children across the border last week were charged Thursday with abduction and criminal association, according to prosecutors. The charges, which carry prison terms of up to 15 years, were announced after a closed-door court hearing in which prosecutors questioned the Americans, most of them members of a Baptist congregation from Idaho. The case has become a flashpoint for Haiti’s fears of foreign encroachment in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake. After the hearing, the Americans were led from the capital city’s white central courthouse and back to jail. They did not speak to the crush of reporters or photographers massed outside the building to cover the case. Before the hearing, Laura Silsby, who had helped organize the group’s mission to Haiti, sounded a hopeful note as she waited to be taken into court, saying, “We’re just trusting God for a positive outcome.” Edwin Coq, a lawyer for the Baptists, had said that 9 of his 10 clients were “completely innocent,” but that, in an apparent reference to Ms. Silsby, “if the judiciary were to keep one, it could be the leader of the group.” “I’m trying to get them all free but I don’t yet know what’s going to happen,” Mr. Coq said in an interview at his earthquake-damaged law offices in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The Americans were arrested on Friday as they tried to take 33 Haitian children to what they had said was an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. A Web site for the orphanage said that children there would stay in a “loving Christian home-like environment” and be eligible for adoption. The Americans, their lawyers and members of their churches have said they are innocent of any wrongdoing, and said the case was a huge misunderstanding. In an interview earlier this week, Ms. Silsby said the group had come to Haiti to rescue children orphaned by the earthquake, and that “our hearts were in the right place.” But several of the 33 children had at least one living parent, and some of those parents said that the Baptists had promised simply to educate the youngsters in the Dominican Republic and said the children would be able to return to Haiti to visit their families. Some Haitian leaders have called the Americans kidnappers, but until Thursday, Haitian judicial officials had left open the possibility that the group could be returned to the United States for possible trial, sparing Haiti’s crippled justice system a high-profile criminal prosecution fraught with diplomatic and political land mines. ********************************************* On one hand these groups are doing great job helping the victims, but on other hand, we see some thing like this. While this case may be extreme example of a charity mission gone too far, but even when the means are legal, the fact that these children will be raised under strict christian faith does make it seem like these groups have their agenda which may not be visible at first.
Ram Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Most charities do have a religious agenda/background. If they didnt, they wouldnt attract so much funding in the first place. As far as the instance of the American charity group trying to walk away with 30+ Haitian children, most of the Haitians are already Christian anyway. So, I am not sure about if they were trying 'convert' anyone. Though, I saw those characters locked up in Haitian jails. They look very shady, not the sort you'd associate with honorable charitable intent. They probably pulled this publicity stunt just to get famous.
Lurker Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 ^^ Not sure if Haitians are mostly Christians. Didnt a Christian Evangelical create a ruckus when he suggested Haiti was facing disasters as it was doing things disliked by Jesus and all?
Ram Posted February 5, 2010 Posted February 5, 2010 ^^ Not sure if Haitians are mostly Christians. Didnt a Christian Evangelical create a ruckus when he suggested Haiti was facing disasters as it was doing things disliked by Jesus and all? 96% of Haitians are Christians (80% catholic, 16% protestant)
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