Not that hard to explain: Haiti is one of the most corrupt governments on earth. These people are hostages being held for ransom. No surprises there, extortion is commonplace in third-world hell-holes like this. How else do you explain the poverty?
What I can't believe is how the media assumes takes the side of the tin-hats against Americans who risked their lives and spent their own money to try to help those people. Yes, the first reply is correct. I just want to reinforce the point that the evil shown there by taking these missionaries hostage is magnified here by our own media.
So you think it’s worse than like in Mexico where when you go there you have to take extra cash to bribe the Federales?
I wasn’t thinking about that and it makes sense that if the group didn’t pay a premium just to operate that they’d be punished. I had a friend who’s dad was imprisoned in Mexico for years and the family didn’t have any money to get him out. He didn’t even get a trial.
Coworkers yesterday started siding with the Haitians against this American Missionary!!!
(as some here on FR have done)
Not even worth trying to convince them of the truth.
God is in control! He will deliver these Christians! All praise, glory, and honor to His name!
There are another couple threads on this case that are just plin sad.
It’s discouraging to read the posts from so many who are so gullible and easily persuaded by smear tactics. The original Haitian claim was that this group was trying to abduct these kids for sex slave trafficking. Because Silsby’s had financial problems, she’s therefore guilty of sex-trafficking, according to the logic of way too many FReepers who consider themselves so well-informed about all other political and media issues. They bought right into the Haitian spin in a New York second. The country doesn’t even have a real government, for pete’s sake. They’ve got our people in jail after letting all their own criminals out of the jail after the earthquake, criminals who are now out pillaging and raping. Haiti is a pathetic toilet run by greedy, corrupt scammers, yet we have people taking Haiti’s word about what happened and the group’s intentions and efforts, combining it with a story about a woman not being able to pay all her bills and business obligations, and thus concluding the suspects were up to some diabolical plot to steal a bunch of kids for sex trafficking and/or an illegal adoption scam. GMAFB.
Scary. It makes me wonder if I’m on the right side after all. It just shows you how impressionable and unable to think critically so many Americans are, and these are people who consider themselves well-informed about the tactics of the media and corrupt, banana republic tinpot despots. They’re thinking skills are no better than graduates of our public school system from the last 25 years, for all the smarts they show - not.
We should pull all government support out of that cesspool now. I never agreed with sending taxpayer-funded aid there in the first place. If people want to contribute privately, fine.
I just found this article from the Kansas Star where it says that they were asked for $300/head to cross but refused to pay and were arrested not long afterwards.
From the article:
In fact, said the Rev. James Keller, pastor of Topeka’s Bethel Baptist Church, the group had tried to get the correct paperwork.
In an e-mail from the Idaho church that organized the mission, Keller read that the group tried three times to acquire the paperwork before they were asked to pay $300 a head for the children to cross the border. Culberth’s group refused, Keller said, and before long they were arrested.
Read more: Kansan jailed in Haiti has ‘tender heart’ - KansasCity.com