More Haiti: Case Studies in How Not to Help, How to Help

I have been following the case of the mission trip from the Boise (Idaho) Central Baptist Church which ended up with a group being arrested and charged with kidnapping. I feel for the people involved. I do not find any evidence that they intended to do anything wrong. I believe them when they say that they only wanted to help. It is a classic case study of how difficult it is to "help" and why Evangelicals seem to have a hard time relating to the world beyond their own cultural envelope.

This is a Southern Baptist church in Idaho. That is a particular cultural location. One of the factors that is typical of this particular cultural location is a contempt for "multiculturalism" and jokes about "politically correct" behavior or language. These attitudes are related to the problems of the group in Haiti. When Christians go to "help" in another culture they should follow the admonitions of Christ to be "harmless as doves and wise as serpents" (Matthew 10:16). The same as true of subcultures next door. To feel that being "politically correct" is somehow less than honest and true is to disrespect other cultures. It only makes more difficult the feeling that others have that Christians think "we have the truth and you are wrong." Respect for the other culture, its values and laws (formal or informal) is fundamental to a truly Christlike witness. It is also practical and prevents the kind of hot water these Idaho Baptist church people are now in.

Frankly, going off to Haiti to take "orphans" out of the country is simply not helpful. (Those children already adopted by parents in the U.S. who were waiting for red tape when the earthquake represent a different category all together; I am not referring to that.) There are limited resources (money, food, fuel, personnel) and it takes many more resources per child to take them out of the country than it does to help a larger number of children in country. It is totally infeasible (frankly silly) to think of evacuating all children or even all children detached from relatives. How do you decide justly which (few) children get an opportunity to go to the U.S. and which (many more) children do not get that opportunity? If a group does not get these issues, then, frankly, they are not qualified to provide effective Christian service in Haiti right now.

I happened to find out this morning about another church group that was scheduled (before the earthquake) to leave on a mission trip to Haiti a couple of days after the earthquake. This is an excellent example of responsible, compassionate helping. New Hope Church near Baltimore has a humanitarian organization, Share Our Strength, which has worked to support New Garden Orphanage in Haiti for at least a couple of years prior to the earthquake. (Similar to the situation at Central Baptist Church in Idaho and the relationship it has had with schools and orphanages in Haiti.) They have sent mission trips to operate clinics, do construction, etc. They have supplied necessities, medical supplies and funding over the years.

The trip that had been scheduled before the earthquake was canceled. Instead of trying to get into Haiti, New Hope Church set up a meeting on Monday (Feb. 1) with the Haitian Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Raymond Joseph, for Gigi LeMorzellec, the Haitian cofounder of Eden Garden Orphanage and Glenn Gibb, a member of the orphanage's board and New Hope Church, along with representatives from Reaching Hearts for Kids and Frontline Community Services, two other faith-based nonprofits who have been partners in Haiti. During the meeting, the ambassador was able to learn of the work being performed by the orphanage in Haiti. He requested that Eden Garden Orphanage keep up the good work. This kind of careful relationship-building helps civic leaders in Haiti feel good about the work being done and demonstrates a willingness to honor the culture and the authorities (as taught in Romans 13).

A novel entitled The Ugly American long ago pointed out the problem with American "cowboy" attitudes that clash with the way other cultures operate. We instinctively jump in and do something even before we understand the context, the larger dynamics or even (sometimes) the actual need. This also communicates our disrespect for the people in the group, community or nation that needs help. Truly Christlike helping is always rooted in taking time to hear and understand the needs and integrity of the people in need.

Comments

[Judi Hewes]

Excellent comparison. Thanks for being fair to the "good intentions" of the Idaho group, while also being fair in showing that there are much better ways to turn your desire to help into an effective, supportive, meaningful, help and team-building encouragement for those in leadership.

[Jason Wood]

I'm concerned with how we gloss over the actions of the arrested church group as good intentions. They claim to have been involved in adoptions and child protection in the past. Why would they think for a second they could round up a bunch of kids like shells on the beach without the typical beaurocracy that they've known in the past?

[Monte Sahlin]

Jason, what leads me to guess that they had only the best of intentions is precisely what I stated: the typical negative attitude toward government and large, beauracratic institutions leads to a belief that because the Red Tape is seen as unnecessary in an emergency it will be ignored. Millions of Americans have been educated for decades (through propaganda) to believe that the normal processes of adoption or child welfare or any other social function is really unnecessary. They have been manipulated away from seeing any value in these processes, told that the professionals involved are just creating work in order to justify their salaries. This kind of anti-government, anti-institutional propaganda has been widespread and church people have been particularly vulnerable to it. I could be wrong and you may be right. We don't have conclusive, detailed evidence as yet. But that is how I read the situation from my experience.

[peter caran]

In the fluidity of our cultural values and traditions, we have even more reason to rely on the basic Biblical values impressed upon us by the Holy Spirit through prayer and "wrestling with the issues" and the sound Christian advise we get from our friends. All of this takes place before any such large actions of adoption and help for the people in crisis. Humbly speaking, I am aware that this easier said than done.