Arrested Baptist Missionaries May Face U.S. Trial

Baptist Missionaries Arrested

The last thing Haitian Prime Minister Max Bellerive needs is for his shattered island-nation to be involved in a controversial trial of international scope on a highly emotional subject.

But Bellerive weighed in on the planned trial of 10 U.S. Baptists missionaries who allegedly tried to sneak 33 Haitian children out of the earthquake-devastated country, saying the Americans knew they were breaking the law.

The Baptist group, known as the Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission, originated out of Idaho and says it is dedicated to saving children who have been traumatized and abandoned. The group, however, didn't inform any government sources when it attempted to take 33 children from Haiti across the border to the Dominican Republic in a "rescue mission."

The controversy has touched a raw nerve among many. Supporters of the group say members took great personal risk by attempting to help the Haitian children who find themselves without parents and without hope on the battered island.

They add that since the earthquake has brought government functions to a virtual halt, coordination with Haitian officials in moving the children was impossible.

Critics of the rescue mission say that Haiti has long been a center for child kidnapping and that further investigation needs to be done to determine whether the Baptists were working for child traffickers. They add that some of the 33 children, who range in age from 2 months to 12 years old, have surviving parents or guardians.

Though Bellerive has declared the Baptists guilty of some crime, he added that he would allow their trial to take place in the U.S. court system, because Haiti has no functioning judicial system since the earthquake.

The Baptists haven't been charged yet but are being held in a makeshift jail cell.

Even if the motives of the Baptist group were honorable, the American church group could be facing some stiff charges.

While their hearts might have been in the right place, their heads were clearly out of commission in trying to pull off such a dangerous stunt without informing government officials in the United States or Haiti about what they were doing.

No one doubts some orphans in Haiti today would be better served by moving to loving families in other countries, but that kind of effort takes time and coordination with local officials.

The last thing any Haitian parent who survived the earthquake needs is to have their child snatched away in the night.