Ten US charity workers from Idaho based charity were apprehended and detained by Haitian police after they made efforts to cross the border into the Dominican Republic taking along 33 children without any proper documents. They were children aging 2 months to 12 years.
The Haiti Minister in Social Affairs Yves Christallin used the term abduction on this case because there was no authorization from the ministry for them to leave Haiti. They said they were trying to transfer the children to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. The incident was argued by the sponsor church as a false arrest and they were making arrangements with the Haitians authorities for the release of the workers of the New Life Children’s Refuge.
Orphaned children in Haiti became easy subjects for human trafficking. It is sad to learn that there are people who have the stomach to take advantage of children trapped in situations like the chaos in Haiti.
The UNICEF and the Haitian authorities are making it sure that children with relatives alive are reunited with them. Laura Silsby, the leader of the arrested group said that it was her dream to build an orphanage for the welfare of Haiti’s children but now things turned around as if they were the perpetrators of the crime they wanted to prevent from happening to displaced children.
But isn’t it that charity workers are the ones who should know the proper channels of adoption and the legal ways of taking people out of a country? How could Laura Silsby say that? We will follow up on this event if there will be information available regarding this matter.
On the lighter side, orphaned children of Haiti have found a new haven in Canada. OPERATION STORK is Canada’s expedited adoption of Haitian children. Two hundred seventeen (217) children were cleared by the Haitian government to leave for Canada. Late January, sixty two (62) children 3 months to 17 years old were flown in to Canada to join others who were already with their adoptive families. Following flights are on February 3 and 6.
It was disclosed that all these children were undergoing the adoption process before the January 12 earthquake crumpled the country. They were the products of destructive hurricanes, social unrest and political violence in Haiti.
The Haitian government has become more concerned about child trafficking since the earthquake, because children were injured, separated from relatives, orphaned and unaccompanied which make them more vulnerable. They are at risks of being taken out of the country without knowing if they have their parents looking for them. They do not want these children to become domestic slaves of any kind. They want families to belong and care for them. They need to move on and outgrow the desperate life they went through.
It’s only a matter of concern….. a heart-felt concern and you can reach out to them. They need a place to go home and live a normal life and be safe. They need to get over the trauma; they need food, water, shelter and medical supplies.
Most of all they need not be subjected to human trafficking.
Would you care donate for them? “Children of the Planet Charity Trust” is your partner in this endeavor.
Donate now and thank you.