Crisis in Haiti: Dignity Must Prevail
Last month’s devastating earthquake brought new incredible challenges to Haiti, a country already suffering in significant ways prior to the devastation. Nonetheless, as the world continues to respond to the ongoing crisis with much needed aid, we must uphold the dignity of the people of Haiti at all stages of the recovery.
The arrest of 10 Americans who were trying to bus 33 Haitian children into the Dominican Republic without passports or the needed paperwork last week has raised many issues. According to media reports, the Christian group from Idaho, Kansas and Texas had “good intentions.”
Their Idaho church website currently states that the group’s aim was, “to help rescue children from one or more orphanages that had been devastated in the earthquake on January 12. The children were being taken to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic where they could be cared for and have their medical and emotional needs attended to.” [i]
It is essential to realize, however, that while good intentions may propel many to assist the most vulnerable in Haiti, primarily orphans, proper procedures must be followed, especially now that the possibility for the illegal trafficking of Haitian children greatly increased in the aftermath of the earthquake.While we do not know all the details of this incident, any attempt to “rescue” children from the dire situation in Haiti right now without following proper protocal only contributes to the chaos rather than the orderliness that is needed at such a time as this. While Haiti has had its challenges, any person or organization desiring to assist must operate within the parameters of Haitian law and in the best interest of those in need of help.
Children in America cannot participate in a school fieldtrip across the street without the proper forms being obtained. How much more should this apply when taking the most vulnerable across the border into another country? Bypassing proper procedures only serves to support lawlessness even when we have the best attentions.
In this specific case, media reports have revealed that at least 20 of the 33 children had living parents or relatives, much of which was known to the group. It appears that the group completely failed to acknowledge that separating a child from a parent can be a very traumatic experience for the child and is further intensified when the separation is abrupt and completed without preparing the child beforehand.
While some parents willingly allowed their children to be taken by the group, whose members they had only met only hours before, this was out of desperation. Wanting their children to have a better life, the group appears to have capitalized on the parent’s vulnerability in the aftermath of such a catastrophe.
A better approach would have been to work to preserve the parent-child bond and family unit by providing resources on site rather than attempting to transport the children to a foreign country to be cared for by complete strangers. Furthermore, the haste and manner at which the group executed its plan would have made reunification between parent and child in the future nearly impossible due to the lack of proper documentation.The group’s ability to provide the care it alleged it would provide has also been questioned. According to reports, the group has no experience running an orphanage and is not registered as a nonprofit or as an international adoption agency. Furthermore, the orphanage depicted to the parents in a photograph has not been built. The group planned to use 45 rooms in a motel to house the children in the interim.
Is this a case of child trafficking? A full investigation will probably show that it is not. Nonetheless, this case reveals that the group was at best greatly naïve and ill-equipped to assist victims of the quake in the chosen manner. Their intentions were clearly misguided. Furthermore, the manner by which they executed their plan, including how they gathered the children, would have opened the door to child traffickers if they had been successful in crossing the border.
The known details about this case raise the question of whether or not racial or cultural biases about Haiti and the people of Haiti played a role in how the group chose to carryout its efforts. Would similar actions be attempted or such a plan even be conceived in other countries in the aftermath of a natural disaster of similar magnitude?
Haiti is indeed in great need of help right now to overcome the affects of the catastrophic earthquake. The outpouring of compassion from all over the world to aid those who survived the quake has been quite evident. These ongoing efforts, added to the resilience and contributions of the people of Haiti themselves, give Haiti a fighting chance to rise from the current despair unto a better tomorrow.
The zeal to help, however, must not skirt the Haitian government’s effort to maintain order and the people’s role in rebuilding their lives and country. Moreover, at every stage of the recovery, individuals and organizations must affirm the people’s dignity and resilience, not to forget the beauty that can be found in midst of a challenging context. Anything less can serve to perpetuate the notion that Haiti is just simply an impoverished, lawless and “cursed” nation in need of rescue. Haiti, however, is much more.
Because life matters, what we would not tolerate in the United States or elsewhere should not be attempted in Haiti, even when responding to a crisis of this magnitude.Dr. Keny Felix is a licensed professional counselor and on the faculty of Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, Georgia. Information provided in this blog is presented to a general audience and is not a substitute for a direct clinical evaluation or treatment by Dr. Keny Felix or other mental health practitioner when warranted. For more information, please visit http://kenyfelix.com/home.
[i] Source: http://www.centralvalleybaptist.net/cvbc09/splash/haiti_statement.cfm?CFID=36590988&CFTOKEN=76047688
Comments
preach it, Kenny. That's why, at some level, we are taught to obey authority in scripture - in best light, for the collective good.
Posted by: judi coyle | February 3, 2010 09:20 PM