Haiti "child kidnappers"

PigsDad · #1 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 10:44 AM

I'm surprised this has not been discussed here yet. What is everyone's opinion on the group of 10 missionaries from Idaho who were charged with kidnapping 33 children?

Are they guilty of kidnapping those children?
Was anything underhanded going on?
Are they just guilty of ignorance of the law?
What will / should be the fate of those charged with the kidnapping?

Seems to me that these were over-zealous missionaries at the least, but after hearing the woman who was the leader of the group speak, I get the feeling they were trying to hide something. No one could be that dense and think they could just take 33 kids out of the country w/ no paperwork, approval, etc., right?

Kurt

bnoble · #2 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 10:51 AM

1: I don't know the relevant law, but it sounds as though removing the kids, even with their parents' permission, wasn't strictly legal in Haiti.

2: I doubt it, though the fact that they claimed all the kids were orphans suggested that they at least had an idea that someone would disapprove.

3: As I said in #2, not entirely ignorant, but probably largely so.

4: Hard to say. I'd guess they'll be barred from entering Haiti at the very least, and may well face more serious consequences.

I haven't heard any direct quotes. I suspect these folks had largely good intentions, but took things into their own hands knowing that it wasn't really by the book. One thing I wonder about is what would have happened to these kids when the missionaries moved on to some new crisis? Would anyone be looking out for them then? I suspect maybe not.

Jya-Ning · #3 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PigsDad

I'm surprised this has not been discussed here yet.

It was in political forum. Just did not get big discussion.

I am very bias. And already put them guilty and believe they will be very happy to ask to be treated by the worse possible sentence.

Jya-Ning

Keitht · #4 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 11:48 AM

I believe they knew exactly what they were doing. In fact it's reported that the leader of the group said that he/she was planning to go back later to complete the paperwork. That clearly indicates that they knew they had no right to remove the children in the way they were doing.
I see no difference between what he/she claimed they were going to do and a shoplifter claiming they were going to go back and pay once they had been caught.
I hope they have the book thrown at them to show that people from rich nations can't ride roughshod over others.

bnoble · #5 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 12:04 PM

Quote:

people from rich nations can't ride roughshod over others.

That's a fair point. "We know better" isn't always so.

Jya-Ning · #6 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 12:22 PM

The ironic is, they prob get much bigger exposure due to this, and may get a lot of donation than before.

Jya-ning

tonyg · #7 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 03:43 PM

Nice record for the leader of the pack.

1950bing · #8 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 04:34 PM

Knowing a little about how Haiti "works", if there was money involved the kids would allready be in the USA ( I am not saying that is what should have happened.) Some of the leaders think there are too many kids now. Haiti government does not have a very clean record. Remember Doc & Baby Doc ?

pittle · #9 (**permalink**) 02-05-2010, 05:41 PM

I think the gal that was leading it most likely knew what all was going on, but am not sure about the others. I really think that the majority of the group really did want to go to help people in need. I base this on what I have heard from a friend whose nephew's wife & daughter are 2 of the ones being held. The daughter just turned 18 - she is the skinny scared looking one in a blue/green shirt. Anyway, she and her mother (red shirt in photos) went with the church group just to help. I personally think they are very naive and did go with the group to try to help children. From what I understand, when they heard about the need for volunteers to go help with a new orphanage, they said they would go since others from their church would be going.

I also read about a firefighter from Topeka (where we lived for about 30 years) who is also a part-time youth minister, who somehow got in with this group too. He took vacation time to go and expected to be home by now.

chriskre · #10 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 12:27 AM

I think their intentions were good as they probably thought the end justified the means.

My hospital sent a FEMA disaster team to Haiti and in talking to my friends that have returned they were so distraught that they have been having a hard time sleeping because it was so horrible that they say you can't even imagine what it is like. Between the smoke, dust, stench, rotting bodies and death all around at every turn not to mention the constant aftershocks, I think that they really thought it couldn't get any worse for these children and were willing to take a risk, to save a few children while it was still possible.

It's so easy to judge from here what is going on there but the Americans who are there trying to help are so frustrated with the chaos that it's easy to want to take matters into your own hands because they are there to help yet are forced to stand by and watch as more and more people who if they were not in Haiti would have survived. They are doing desperate things like cutting off limbs without anesthesia to try to save people but because of no supplies, blood and basics like sutures and pain medications, the people are just left to die. It's truly worse than any of us can imagine.

We Americans are not used to just sitting there and doing nothing when we know there might be hope, so I'm sure these missionaries had the childrens best interests at heart even though they obviously didn't use wisdom.

It's a shame but this incident is only going to make it harder to help any more children there. Sadly they made a bad situation, worse and I'm sure that was not their intention at all.