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Abductions for Christ
The news that some zealous U.S. Christians have been arrested for trying to illegally remove a group of Haitian children, many of whom still have family, is alarming but not surprising. As anyone who has navigated the murky waters of international adoption knows, the idea of "saving" children from their lives, especially when it's to "share God’s glory" with them, is fraught with danger.
The 10 Baptists, including the pastor and several congregants of an Idaho church and people from Texas and Kansas, have been charged with trafficking after allegedly trying to transport 33 children to the Dominican Republic without proper documents – though they did write the kids' names on pink tape stuck on their shirts. Haitian and international officials said most of the children have family who survived the earthquake, and some older kids gave aid workers addresses and phone numbers for their parents.
"We are trusting the truth will be revealed, and we are praying for that," said the leader of the Christian group, Laura Silsby, whose New Life Children's Refuge organized the mission through an Idaho church that sought donations and prayers for "discernment of God's will and direction throughout this trip and for Him to prepare the way before us." Silsby, who runs an online shopping assistance company, planned to provide up to 200 children with "a loving Christian homelike environment."
These people, no doubt, mean well. They want to rescue children from a horrific event and give them a better life. But international adoption, particularly with a specific religious agenda underlying it, is a complex and nuanced process that demands more than meaning well. Experts stress that international adoption involves a triumvirate: child, biological parent, adoptive parent. Each must be considered, each must be respected – emotionally, culturally, and God knows legally when there are living relatives to be found. To arrogantly snatch already traumatized kids from their families in the name of a higher power is about as low – and ungodly – as you can go.
"This is an abduction, not an adoption." – Haiti's Social Affairs Minister Yves Christallin
7 Comments so far
Show AllI would agree that they probably "meant well" but meant well for whom??? Whenever someone tells me that "God" told them to do something a red flag goes up. I mean, how exactly does that happen? What exactly do they hear?
I'm glad they were caught, but what additional damage have they done to those children? What recompense will they be asked to repay? Probably nothing. The children are victims twice. How much money did they spend getting to Haiti and tracking down these children? Why not send food and clean water and blankets to them instead?
I'm trying to have a more open and accepting mind towards Christians. Stories like this make that harder than ever.
I know what you mean, belief and reality being the same.
"These people, no doubt, mean well." If they meant well they would open shop in Haiti to feed, cloth, medicate, house the poor. I think they 'meant' indoctrination, hence the emphasis on children.
Bring the 'clean-slate' back to Idaho, mess with its mind: so much more ego-gratifying than vying for prosletyzing space on the streets of Port Au Prince.
These aren't evil people, but they aren't aware of how their religion has given a green light to stoke their ego.
So, will these kidnappers ever be sent back to Haiti for trial and imprisonment? Somehow, I doubt it.
Could you imagine the reaction if, say, Cuba sent communist missionaries to New Orleans to 'rescue' children from the flooding of Katrina? Or what the usa would say to a group of fundamentalist muslims who pulled the same stunt in NO?
oops....
"Or what the usa would say to a group of fundamentalist muslims who pulled the same stunt..."
Oh, what a wonderful comparision.
This is typical of the arrogant Fundamentalist Baptist,- to push their beliefs on others without any concern for their feelings. Unlike true Christians, who would, and have done what some suggest,- as to send food, clothes, beds, or money to help. How much did the Baptist think they would get for each child illegally adopted?