Amarillo church member among 10 detained
AMARILLO?With a church member sitting in a Haitian prison accused of kidnapping and child trafficking, Paramount Baptist Church Pastor Gil Lain turned to prayer as he sought to minister in a desperate situation. Lain said in a Feb. 5 interview with the Southern Baptist TEXAN he has confidence that the resources God offers are the only answer to the difficulties Jim Allen faces after he joined with a team of Idaho Baptists to aid children affected by the Haiti earthquake.
Allen was part of a group of 10 Baptists from the United States who independently traveled to Haiti following the earthquake to assist with what was dubbed "Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission." The effort was organized by Laura Silsby with support of two Idaho churches.
Initially, they were trying to move children away from a damaged orphanage in Haiti to a makeshift facility in the Dominican Republic. Along the way they also encountered children whose parents asked them to take them to safety temporarily. By the time they reached the border, the group was caring for 33 children and was detained due to the lack of an additional required document.
According to a statement posted on the church website at paramount.org/news-events, Lain disputed what he described as inaccurate media reports questioning the motives of these Baptists. "Be assured that their motive was to take care of 'the least of these' just as Jesus said," he said, citing Matthew 25:40.
"You may have read the statement from the Associated Press that these missionaries knew what they were doing was wrong," Lain added, citing their defense that they were moving children from one damaged orphanage to another safe place in the nearby Dominican Republic. "They spent three days getting the proper paperwork in order. The problems arose when they got to the border and still lacked something due to a change in the laws."
The group met with an investigating Haitian judge on Feb. 2 and 3, then were charged on Feb. 4 with child kidnapping and criminal association for allegedly trying to take children illegally out of the earthquake-ravaged country. The Amarillo church posted a link to an MSNBC report that Lain described as fairly accurate. The report, which was shared by many media outlets, quoted Haitian Deputy Prosecutor Jean Ferge Joseph as telling the five men and five women during the hearing that the investigative judge "can free you but he can also continue to hold you for further proceedings."
Lain told the TEXAN that all cell phones were taken away from the group, making it impossible for them to contact their families or seek U.S. legal assistance. Like everyone else, the church and family members are dependent upon media reports for updates. However, Lain said the Amarillo congregation is checking into the possibility of obtaining U.S. legal counsel to assist with Allen's release.
"We're saddened and disappointed in the charge. Of course it is a charge, not a conviction. It's not a sentence," Lain reminded, "but they're talking three months before a trial and a potential sentence of 15 years in prison."
"I cannot imagine them not eventually releasing him," Lain said, making clear that he was sharing his own personal opinion. Referring to the Haitian prime minister's remark aired live on Larry King's broadcast, Lain noted, "He said he will be cooperative with governments who try people in their own country, but apparently no one has even asked for that."
Lain said "it is impossible to know the inner workings" of U.S. officials seeking to resolve the situation. Praising the local media coverage as representative of the interest the Amarillo community has shown in Allen's release, Lain said one member of his church had contacted U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry and U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn.
Interviewed while in detention, the group's leader told the AP that they were "just trying to do the right thing" amid the chaos.
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