Religious vultures in Haiti: Worse than even I’d thought

I complained in an earlier post about religious groups in Haiti jockeying for position so as to mix aid with proselyting (and in some cases, victim blaming).

I didn’t expect them to be carrying off children.

Ten American Baptists sit in a Haitian jail on Monday, accused of child trafficking for what they say was a hastily conceived attempt to rescue orphans by quickly removing them from Haiti — before getting official permission or even checking to determine that the children really were orphans. In Haiti and on the Web, the arrests have led to fresh accusations that some religious groups may be guilty of a kind of spiritual trafficking, by mixing the help they offer to victims of last month’s earthquake with proselytizing.

The Baptists were open about the fact that they felt driven by their Christian faith. Speaking to reporters after the group’s arrest, Laura Silsby, who led the Baptist team to Haiti, described the children as “deeply in need most of all of God’s love and his compassion.” In a description of the mission posted online, the group wrote, “God has laid upon our hearts the need to go now.”

Meanwhile in Idaho, where several of the Baptists are from, Rev. Clint Henry, a pastor involved in the effort, denounced what he called “the accusations of Satan,” made against “our team,” The Associated Press reported.

In other words, anything they do is right, and any efforts to oppose them are from the devil.

Even I wouldn’t have suspected religiously-motivated aid workers of something so self-righteous, misguided, and wrong. But when you’re high on faith, and think a god is directing you, it means there’s no possibility of accountability or negotiation.

But only 33 children? Amateurs!