Americans arrested in Haiti

10 Americans were arrested in Haiti on Friday for trying to take children out of the country without proper documentation. The incident raised alarms about the rise in child trafficking seen in the earthquake-ravaged country since the disaster struck.

The Americans, part of a Baptist group from Idaho, are currently waiting to hear if their attempt to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic will be classified as child trafficking. Child welfare groups were outraged at the attempt and Haitian Prime Minister said the group is guilty of “illegal trafficking of children.”

The group, who describes themselves as the “Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission” says their goal was to save abandoned, traumatized children and planned to take up to 100 children by bus to the Dominican Republic. After the group was stopped at the border, the children were taken to a temporary children’s home.

The experience has also led to many questions about international and cross-cultural adoption; what do you think, are cross-cultural adoptions problematic?

Learn more about what you can do for Haiti and how you can combat child trafficking.