Short Update on "Christian" Child Lifters in Haiti: "We Didn't Understand"

It's only mid-afternoon, but it's become clear I won't finish my follow-up on the New Life 10 today, though I'm working on it. There is so much material to wade through.

In the meantime, I recommend that you read Mike Doughney's latest blog, Personal Shopper.com CEO Arrested While Returning from Free Child Shopping Trip to Port au Prince. Also read his previous blog below it. This is very important stuff. I have linked them both under "Featured Blogs" on the right sidebar.

Here is an excerpt:

Looked at from the point of view of an entrepreneur, what are these things? First, establish a warehouse for the merchandise, and processing facilities to make the merchandise suitable for the customer. Second, expedite the process of governmental approval which customers must obtain, making them as comfortable as possible while they fulfill the government’s mandate of a 60-90 day stay. Third, provide financing for the customers. Fourth, provide food and refreshment to the customers, which along with the lodging provides a “bubble” in which customers need not interact with the locals.

But as a business plan, there’s nothing to it, if the people putting it forward can’t seem to grasp the basic illegality of its initial premise. The children of Haiti are not theirs to process and export, to satisfy the endless demand for adoptable children without history, a demand their mythology creates.

Also go to the Baltimore Sun site for an AP video of the baby lifters trying to explain it's all a "misunderstanding"...they need God's love." According to raid commander Laura Silsby, IRL, the CEO of Personal Shopper.com, they "did not understand that there was additional paperwork required." Quite a big different from her quote in Reuters (and other articles) last night "I was going to come back here to do the paperwork."

Yeah, Laura. Trafficking children across national borders is a bit more problematic than selling leopard print pajamas over the Internet.

Later today I will be posting another Very Important Persons entry that I had started before the New Life baby raid.

Breaking News: Do-it-yourself Evangelicals Popped for Attempting to Take "Orphans" Out of Haiti Illegally

Reuters and other news sources are reporting that a band of 10 US evangelicals with Idaho-based New Life Children's Refuge were arrested at the Malpasse border crossing (above picture in better days) trying to take 33 undocumented Haitian children into the Dominican Republic. The five women arrested were from the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, and the five men from the East Side Baptist Church in Twin Falls (new reports indicate a couple men were actually from out-of-state). The 10 are currently housed in what I assume is the extremely unpleasant Haiti Judicial Police headquarters.

I have pulled quite a bit of information on New Life and the child smugglers, and intend to write about this incident at length tomorrow. I don't want to put out wrong information so, I need to clarify some of the documents I've collected. In the meantime, I've thrown a little bit together to get the word out. Here are the relevant parts of the story as published so far (my emphasis):

Authorities said the Americans had no documents to prove they had cleared the adoption of the 33 children -- aged 2 months to 12 years -- through any embassy and no papers showing they were made orphans by the quake in the impoverished Caribbean country.

"This is totally illegal," said Yves Cristallin, Haiti's social affairs minister. "No children can leave Haiti without proper authorization and these people did not have that authorization."...

...But Laura Sillsby [sic] from the Idaho group told Reuters from a jail cell at Haiti's Judicial Police headquarters, "We had permission from the Dominican Republic government to bring the children to an orphanage that we have there."

"We have a Baptist minister here (in Port-au-Prince) whose orphanage totally collapsed and he asked us to take the children to the orphanage in the Dominican Republic," Sillsby [sic] added.

"I was going to come back here to do the paperwork," Sillsby said. "They accuse us of children trafficking. This is something I would never do. We were not trying to do something wrong."

NOTE: I wonder if Silsby (her name is incorrectly spelled in the news report) tells the judge when she's popped for driving without a license, "I was going to get it next week." And what about the part where she says she had permission from the orphan master in Port-au-Prince to traffick the kids across the border. Bastardette hereby gives her Dear Readers permission to stick up a convenience store and to use her permission as your defense.

But back to the news.

The Associated Press reports further:

Silsby said they had documents from the Dominican government, but did not seek any paperwork from the Haitian authorities before taking 33 children from 2 months to 12 years old to the border, where Haitian police stopped them Friday evening. She said the children were brought to her by distant relatives, and that the only ones to be put up for adoption would be those without close family to care for them...

Sean Lankford, the father of one of the US detainees told the AP (my emphasis)

The plan was never to go adopt all these kids. The plan was to create this orphanage where kids could live. And kids get adopted out of orphanages. People go down and they're going to fall in love with these kids, and many of these kids will end up getting adopted.

According to CVBC's latest newsletter, which includes an itinerary of their child snatch mission, New Life is:

in the process of buying land and building an orphanage, school and church in Magante on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic...He (God) has provided an interim solution in nearby Cabarete, where we will be leasing a 45 room hotel and converting it into an orphanage until the building of the NLCR is complete.

And a prayer request:

NLCR is praying and seeking people who have a heart for God and a desire to share God's love with these precious children, helping them to heal and find new life in Christ.

As we suspected, God caused the earthquake and the deaths of tens of thousands of Haitians so old and new-made "orphans" could not only be reborn as cornfed adopted Americans, but reborn in Christ through the good services of New Life Children's Refuge and others of their ilk and trade. Isn't that the same thing?

There are growing reports of children missing from orphanages and hospitals, but this is the first solid report we have of do-it-yourself baby lifters caught attempting to remove children from Haiti illegally--for the good cause of adoption and redemption, of course.

I suspect due to the chaotic circumstances in Haiti, the US Embassy, which has its hands full already, will lift the traffickers visas and kick them back to Idaho, but I'd really really really really like the Haitian authorities to prosecute them for child stealing.

I'm sure that by tomorrow morning we'll hear the bellowing of the missionaries slithering their way through Haiti: "Christians are being persecuted--for the children"

This is a significant story. These people just weren't spur-of-the-moment stupids They planned and publicized their raid. I hope the incurious press doesn't let it die.

Here is a picture of 8 of the 10 New Life child stealers with text from the AP:

American citizens pose for a photo at police headquarters in the international airport of Port-au-Prince, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010. Ten Americans were detained by Haitian police on Saturday as they tried to bus 33 children across the border into the Dominican Republic, allegedly without proper documents. In the front row from left to right are Carla Thompson, 53, of Meridien, Idaho, Laura Silsby, 40, of Boise, Idaho, Nicole Lark Ford, 18, of Middleton, Idaho, and in the back row from left to right are Steve McMullen, 56, of Twin Falls, Idaho, Jim Allen, 47, of Amarillo, Texas, Silas Thompson, 19, of Twin Falls, Idaho, Paul Thompson, 43, hometown unknown, and Drew Culborth, 34, of Topeka, Kansas. The names of the two Americans not pictured are unknown

The New Life 10 are scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

Thanks to Luanne Pruesner-Van de Velde and anon guy

"Important Blog: Adoption Kids Out of Satan's Haiti..."

Baby Love Child has published stunning blog today: Adopting Kids Out of Satan's Haiti for the Glory of His Kids & The Slowing of Child Export Flights. It is separate from her ongoing Hatian series.This is by far the best piece I have seen anywhere (and I've downloaded lots of stories and blogs) about babylifting, it's impetus and purpose. This is a long piece that will turn the stomach of anyone concerned about the ethics and purpose of adoption. This is a small excerpt:

This from the “religion” section of their page on Haiti:

“Mission work in Haiti faces enemy onslaught as this is a country that is yearly dedicated to Satan in a contractual form. There are voodoo practices and worship of the dark.”

While some may find that statement rather stunning, it is sadly a more common attitude within the evangelical and “missions” subculture than many would care to think. Pat Robertson’s comments along these lines were merely a reflection of a commonly held belief across numbers of people within his subculture.

An historic explanation of the role of Voudou symbolism, language, and drumming is beyond the scope of this post, suffice it to say, all played a role in Haiti’s revolution, a fact that was not lost on slave owners in the United States and elsewhere.

The deliberate suppression of Voudou thus became important politically and culturally to as a means of maintaining control. After centuries of “demonizing” indigenous African religious practices brought to the west, few should be surprised when people in for example, Texas begin using such as a basis for “saving” children from countries and culture they are religiously unwilling to coexist with.

The flight of For His Glory’s kids out of Haiti must be understood within this missionary context- they are not merely removing children from Haiti and placing them with American would-be-adopters, they view their adoption ministry work as removing children from a “Satanic” and “dark” land.

BLC's blog also gives sickening details on the two babylifting "orphan ministries" I've written about in my last two entries: Maison de Enfants de Dieu ala For His Glory and HIS Home for Children.

As some of you know, one of my big interests outside of adoption is theocracy and theonomy and the emergence in the US of a theocratic state doctrine. Adoption theology plays a huge role in the evangelical promotion of that ideal state. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to articulate without a lot of Biblical and cultural context, both of which BLC puts into this piece.

This information needs to go out!

Addenda: Earlier today I signed up for the Maison de Enfants de Dieu email list. I to got my first mailing this evening. Kim Harmon, president of For His Glory Outreach calling for a nationwide day of prayer and fasting on January 28, to release the orphans of Haiti from the clutches of the evil Haitian goverment and UNICEF:

Unfortunately, there now seems to be a mountain standing between the orphans who remain in Haiti and the safe and loving homes of their adoptive families. That mountain is the Haitian Government's new, and still undefined, exit process for children with foreign adoptive parents. With limited resources available to Haitian orphanages, this process has stopped the departure of orphans with humanitarian parole status and directly affects our ability to care for those children orphaned since the earthquake...

The press release is also published on the For His Glory website.

Snapshot: Disaster Evangelism in Haiti--"God Brings Something Good from a Horrible Situation"

I wasn't going to post anything today until I ran across this article from today's Toledo Blade a few minutes ago: Quake in Haiti hastens long awaited adoptions.

It's about Seth and Amber Newlove who find a silver lining (see yesterday's entry on disaster silver liningism) in the destruction of a country and its people. The earthquake, see, is an awesome example of how God works in mysterious ways. Why, without the earthquake, she and Mr. Newlove would still be waiting to bring Snyder home to Arlington, Ohio from H.I.S. Home for Children, a Lima, Ohio-based orphanage and non-denominational ministry in Port au Prince. According to Wiki, Arlington has a population of about 1350; 99.48% of which is white. We're with ya, Snyder!

It's just a good example of how God can bring something good from such a horrible situation," Mrs. Newlove said.

Then we have the Wassinks from Lima, Joe and Michele, waiting for delivery of Alin who they've been trying to adopt since 2008. Mrs. Wassink's brother, Hal Nungester and his wife Chris, just happen to run H.I.S. and his mother is secretary of the board. Other board members are "Christian leaders" from west central Ohio and northeast New York.

The H.I.S. webpage tells us that the orphanage has around 125 kids between the ages of birth to 13 and three fulltime staff. (right--pre-quake mealtime) Many are "orphans" while others have been abandoned there by "a single parent who is unable to provide for them due to extreme poverty." We have no idea if abandonees up for grabs--or if anyone at H.I.S. thought to help those mothers.

School is held in the on-sight classroom for children 5 and older. Our Christian teacher conducts the classes in both English and Creole with older students learning French. The 3 and 4 year olds began attending pre-school classes off-site at Quisqueya Chapel in September, 2005 with a volunteer Christian teacher. On Sunday mornings Sunday School classes are taught at HIS Home for our children, and children from another community orphanage as an outreach ministry to share the the gospel of Jesus with the children of the community. Following Sunday School, the children attend worship services at Quisqueya Chapel.

We are pretty sure those "Christian" teachers aren't Catholic.

The Blade reported that 56 children from H.I.S. had been released to travel to the US and the Nungesters were working on getting another 22 released. Since the quake, the whole entourage--listed as 114 kids by the Blade-- has been living in the US Embassy. Because the orphanage has substantial structural damage, Hal Nungester is looking for a rental mansion for them.

H.I.S. posted an update on their orphan movement status at 12:33 PM today:

Last night 67 children arrived in Orlando and are traveling today to Miami to be united with their families Hal remains in in Haiti with 59 other children, 12 of whom are waiting for visas. The remaining 47 will remain with him in Haiti.

There is no explanation in the discrepancy between the 114 in the Embassy and the 126 listed in the update.

Continued from the Blade:

Like the Newloves, Mrs. Wassink said she and her husband, who is associate pastor at Grace Community Church in Lima, feel the Haitian adoptions' hastening was a bright light that came from the devastation.

"One of the first things my husband brought to my attention was Isaiah 61:3: 'The Lord will bring beauty out of the ashes,'" Mrs. Wassink said. "We will never see all the purposes He has in this, but the ones we do see, we can celebrate and know He is doing wondrous deeds."

It all makes sense now. Those adoptions in Haiti were just too damned slow, so God knocked the country off its foundations so a few hundred "orphans" could slip into middle christian America where they belong. Or conversely, maybe Pat Robertson was right. God is punishing Haiti by sending its children to the US for evangelical indoctrination.

Ultimately, as I wrote yesterday, it's all about adoption. It's all about us.

Women's Health Care All About Abortion

To read my pieces on Haiti, please go to American Life League Says No to Condoms and Contraceptives for Haitians, Bastard Nation's Statement on Haitian Adoption and Babylifts, Operation Pierre Pan Postponed; Politicians Pander, Haiti Child Evacuation: A New Operation Pedro Pan (my keystone Haitian entry), Haiti: Misc. Updates on Adoption and Pat Robertson, and Pat Robertson and Adoptee Rights .

Who knew that Haiti was so ripe for crisis tourism? Everybody (that is, the crony corporatists who run the US) want a piece of the pickins. It's a wonder any relief planes get in at all what with politicians and preachers in and "orphans" out." There are already dozens of articles and blogs on the corporate evangelical takeover of Haiti. (I'll leave the secular takeover for another day). Bible pounders are practically knocking each other off the plane playing who's on first. I hope somebody is making a compendium of these stories. I have quite a few and most likely will use some for reference in the coming weeks. At the moment, though, I'm continuing to comment on the evangelical demand for International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) that I wrote about directly below this entry, to bury itself under the collapsed PROFAMIL clinic in downtown Port au Prince. (below right)

In case you didn't read what I posted earlier, (admittedly a bit facetious, but I was annoyed), just go below, and then come back here. Despite what ALL, CWA, and their home girls claim in their I'm-the-hammer-IPPF is-the-nail poundings, the IPP Haiti page and says nothing about birth control or abortion. Here (and here) is what it says about its rescue work (emphasis theirs):

PROFAMIL's two largest clinics (that two weeks ago each served 200 Haitians a day) in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel have been destroyed in the earthquake.

We are working to help PROFAMIL resume services through a temporary static clinic and Mobile Health Units to deliver services in various tent cities where displaced persons have gathered, to provide basic first aid, as well as obstetric care and family planning. We need your help!

Your donation will help Haitian families receive immediate and necessary medical attention.

Because the damaged clinics are inaccessible, we are collecting money to mobilize staff and purchase supplies, including first aid and medicines. The PROFAMIL Haitian medical staff will be working in teams within the community. These are not foreign aid workers but Haitian nurses and doctors. The demand for more medical supplies is enormous. The news of the tragedy is not hyped for television; the local health situation is dire.

Ah, THAT'S the problem! IPPF Haiti is for and about Haitians, not the white man's burden and other post colonial homages.

Furthermore, on about com. contraception Dawn Stacey writes:

For the record, PROFAMIL is a fully staffed organization that is operated by Haitian nurses, doctors and volunteers. 100% of the donations being solicited by International Planned Parenthood Western Hemisphere Region will be going directly to PROFAMIL's operations - to help restore basic medical services at their clinics as well as to allow their mobile health clinics to bring needed services to people who are totally isolated.

On their Facebook Pages, Planned Parenthood is also advocating that people donate to Americans for UNFPA. (United Nations Population Fund). According to Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA's Executive Director, "We are sending reproductive health supplies to meet the special needs of women, to prevent women from dying in pregnancy and to ensure safe deliveries."

In fact, UNFPA is prioritizing assistance to pregnant women in the impacted areas who are especially vulnerable during this crisis. Haiti has the highest rate of maternal death in the region (670 deaths per 100,000 live births); now, with limited or no access to health facilities, pregnant women are at an even greater risk for complications and death related to pregnancy and childbirth. The donations (Planned Parenthood is promoting) will help UNFPA provide emergency reproductive health kits. These kits could essentially function as OB wards as they contain essential drugs, equipment and supplies to provide life-saving services to pregnant women. During periods following a major natural disaster, women often lose access to basic health services, so UNFPA is also trying to ensure that women and girls have access to basic hygiene supplies, so that they can live with dignity (even amidst the worst circumstances).

UNPA estimates that there are about 20,000 pregnant women in their third trimester in Port au Prince alone. So providing life saving services and delivering babies in a clean and safe environment is "really about abortion." It doesn't surprise me. Here in a Ohio a few years ago, the self-named Cavemen at the Statehouse, the guys who wanted to rescind the state's ratification of the 14th Amendment (it's also "really about abortion") said that state-sponsored smoking cessation programs for women were "really about abortion," too. In fact, all health care for women according, to these male morons, is "really about abortion."

So, today, in response to IPPF's hellish mission of actually saving the lives of women and their babies, unlike the privileged neo-christers in ALL and CWA, Life Decisions International issued a wanky press release that includes the following:

"I hate to sound cynical, but I am--and my cynicism is based on experience," Scott said. "What better fund-raising tool is there than a photograph of desperate men, women and children who had been devastated by an earthquake? Planned Parenthood routinely uses natural disasters to raise money, but it addresses not one true need. When people are standing outside with a hand stretched out, they do not expect someone to put a condom or birth control pill in it. Planned Parenthood officials should be ashamed."

Unlike, of course, their brethren at Faith Comes by Hearing who along with food, water and supplies is sending (so far) 600 "Proclaimers," that is solar powered bibles that speak in Creole, to preach to the hurt, homeless, and orphaned standing in the food line. Of course, this isn't opportunistic like IPPF. It's ...well...biblical, just like that guy on the bus with those warped Chick tracts.

According to Reuters:

The Faith Comes By Hearing organisation says its Bible, called the Proclaimer, delivers "digital quality" and is designed for "poor and illiterate people"..."The Proclaimer is self-powered and can play the Bible in the jungle, desert or ... even on the moon!"

Today Faith by Hearing posted (emphasis theirs):

"We already have 600 Proclaimers on their way through our ministry partner, Convoy of Hope," said Jon Wilke, Faith Comes By Hearing's spokesperson. "These portable, solar-powered Audio Bibles will be given to local pastors so people can hear God's Word in their own language—Haitian Creole."

Convoy of Hope has people positioned on the ground to receive containers of food, clothing and supplies that are being sent to Haiti. They are partnering with churches in Haiti that are ministering to those left in the aftermath of this deadly earthquake. Pastors will receive the Proclaimer units and will use them to minister to groups of hurting and wounded people who need the Word of God in their heart language.

"There is an immediate need for another 3,000 Proclaimers. We want to equip short-term groups, disaster relief teams, church teams and other ministries with the Word of God in a format the people can use," he said.

Evangelicals have attempted to "Christianize" Haiti for years since Roman Catholicism isn't Christian, at least according to them. They aren't about to miss their big chance to kick the big dog when he's down. And let's not even get started on Voudon. It will be interesting to see what happens when the solar bible folks run into the Scientology "volunteer ministers" that John Travolta is shipping in. No word if they are bringing their E Meters with them. It's easy, though, to picture a duke out between E Meter waving Scientoloigists and the more cerebral solar Bibleists. One thing about America. No matter what the tragedy, it's always about us.