Haiti's Kidnapping

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Feb. 6, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                    

              When a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti Jan. 12, around 20% of its estimated 9.8 million residents were affected, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless around the capital Port-au-Prince.  Rescuing 33 children, a group of 10 Baptists from Meridian, Idaho tried to remove the displaced children without official papers to the neighboring Dominican Republic. Caught at the Dominican border by Haitian authorities, the children, raging in age from 2-16, were taken by bus to neighboring Dominican Republic to a new orphanage for relocation.  Haitian authorities charged the church group with child kidnapping at a brief court hearing, whisking them off to a local jail.  Haitian attorney Edwin Coq said the judge found enough evidence to charge U.S. citizens with child kidnapping.  Group leader Laura Silsby admitted she had no legal papers to take the children.

            Caught by Haitian authorities at the Dominican border, the 10 U.S. citizens were arrested and taken into custody.  Haitian’s lead prosecutor told Coq that they were prosecuted because the 10 missionaries were found in possession of the 33 Haitian children without legal papers.  While the charges are serious carrying between five-and-15 years in prison, Coq appeared confident that he could get at least nine of the U.S. citizens released.  Group leader Silsby appeared to have orchestrated the alleged “rescue” that could have resulted in unlawful relocation of all 33 children to the United States.  “I’m going to do everything I can to get the nine out,” said Coq, unsure whether Haitian authorities would release Silsby to U.S. custody.  State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said he had discussed with the Haitian government removing all 10 U.S. citizens for prosecution.

            From the quake-ravaged village of Callebas just outside the capital Port-au-Prince, several parents admitted that they turned over the children to the Baptist missionaries because they couldn’t provide adequate care.  From her jailhouse location, Silsby indicated that distant relatives delivered the children from orphanages inside the devastated quake zone.  “They are very precious kids that have lost their homes and families and are so deeply in need of, most of all, God’s love and compassion,” said Silsby, apparently contradicting reports that the children were picked up by the group in Callebas.  Issac Adrien, 20, told reporters he met Silsby in Port-au-Prince and that the group met with villager at a soccer field to offer taking their children to an orphanage in neighboring Dominican Republic.  He said Silsby reassured parents they could visit their children in the Dominican Republic.

            Corroborating her story, Silsby and her 24-year-old nanny Charisa Coulter, decided last summer to establish an orphanage in the Domincan Republic for Haitian refugees.  She began collecting donations of food, clothing and money from Meridian’s Central Valley Baptist Church, registering a nonprofit called New Life Children’s Refuge Inc. to her now foreclosed Meridian home, naming it as the charity’s headquarters.  Once the quake hit Jan. 18, Silsby and Coulter gathered her team, packed 40 plastic bins of donated goods into a U-Haul and traveled to Salt Lake City where they boarded a plane Jan. 22 bound for the Dominican Republic.  Despite knowing Silsby’s story, the Haitian judge still charged the Baptist group with child kidnapping.  Apparently only Silsby knew the group possessed no legal papers to relocate the children from Haiti to the Dominican Republic for extended care.

            Haitian pastor Rev. Jean Sainvil, who served as an unpaid consultant, confirmed Silsby’s story that the Baptist Group intended to rescue Haitian orphans or children of parents incapable to caring for their needs.  Sainvil confirmed that the children would be potentially adopted by Dominican families, maintaining contact with Haitian parents.  “Everybody agreed that they knew where the children were going.  The parents were told, and we confirmed that they would be allowed to see the children and even take them back if need be,” said Sainvil.  Sainvil’s testimony at least satisfies Silsby’s motive but doesn’t change the fact that she had no legal papers to relocate the children to the Dominican Republic.  Before charging the Baptist group with kidnapping, the court should take into account the extenuating circumstances of the extreme peril posed by Haiti’s cataclysmic earthquake.

            Given the extenuating circumstances with Haiti’s earthquake, authorities should work with the U.S. State Dept. to resolve the situation amicably.  Given the massive rescue and relief effort by the U.S., Haiti should show leniency to the 10 Baptist missionaries attempting a humanitarian rescue mission.  Haitian Prime Minister Max Bellerive expressed his support for the Baptist missionaries, who he believes engaged in a humanitarian rescue mission.  Dominican lawyer Jorge Peullo expressed confidence that at least nine of the missionaries would be released soon, confirming Haitian authorities were readying a charter flight for their return to the U.S.  Because of Silsby’s documented intent to rescue endangered children, Haitian authorities should resolve the matter and allow her to leave with the rest of the group.  Anything less would insult U.S. rescue and relief efforts.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.