Inside The Haitian Adoption Scandal
(CBS) Ten Americans charged with the abduction of 33 Haitian children remain behind bars Monday morning in Haiti.
Now, CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports, the volunteers from a Baptist church in Idaho are not getting along and are speaking out against their leader, Laura Silsby.
On a tape of the arrest of the Americans 10 days ago acquired by CBS News, the nine other Americans in the group – most from two Baptist churches in Idaho – are seen holding the Haitian children, some just infants.
The group is shown being questioned in a Haitian police station after being sent back from the Dominican border, which they tried to cross, allegedly with improper documentation for the children.
Back in Port-au-Prince, Laura Silsby, the leader of the 10 Baptists from the United States, is being lectured by a Haitian official: “We understand all the good feelings you could have, all the good intentions, but there’s a way to do it,” a man tells Silsby.
While the interrogation was being conducted, outside in the hallway, many of the 33 Haitian children found in the missionaries’ custody were crying for their mothers – crying to go home.
Read more here
It is heartbreaking to see little children so shaken up! They were crying for their parents. They wanted to go home. How dare Laura Silsby exploit the parents desire to protect their kids by deceiving them into thinking their children would have a better life with a “big house” & a “swimming pool” etc. She’s deceptive and dangerous! This was all about her and how she could make money selling little children. Laura is lying to the authorities from the beginning by claiming most of the children’s parents had died during the earthquake when she had just deceived some of these children’s parents with a bald-faced lie. Laura Silsby is claiming she did not understand the rules of the Haitian government? Taking someone against their will or without proper authorization is called kidnapping! Did she think the Haitian government would not see through her lies? Laura Silsby deserves just punishment!
WeeSeeYou community—Your thoughts?
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February 9th, 2010
the entire country of Haiti wasn't destroyed in the earthquake.
The majority of the government was destroyed.
The CIC can order the military to ignore Haitian law at any time, and remove children without papers.
February 9th, 2010
Bellerive's borrowing someone else's bully pulpit has slowed the transfers.
February 9th, 2010
Our military can not just decide to take over a country as if we are God Almighty, this is just the type of dimwitted attitude that has the rest of the world finally recognizing what a bunch of dumb fuck arrogant monsters this country has been. You need to take this foolishness of “blame the darkies” back to stormfront. Stupid as crackas like you are why this situation has become what it has become.
February 9th, 2010
Your dumb azz didn't give a shit about this story until you could find a way to come in here just to criticize the Haitian government. You are completely a retard, a fucking retard. You could careless about whether or not the children die on the streets or receive decent medical care, so why don't you just stick to your little daily updates from the military and leave this conversation altogether before you aren't posting any longer? No one has time for your bullshit.
February 9th, 2010
What Miranda said…..
February 9th, 2010
That cockroach hasn't offered TWO WORDS towards the conversation regarding the charges against Silsby and her dumb minions but now can come up in here just to talk about the Haitian government all of a sudden? Who does that pest think its fooling with that dumb shit?? I cant stand a damn coward and capd is nothing but a retarded coward.
February 9th, 2010
Technically, CAPD's right. It's not the preferred option, but we could do that.
That doesn't amount to “taking over” Haiti (which would make no strategic, political, common, or any other type of sense).
February 9th, 2010
Nothing gives white folks more pleasure than taking something from black people.
They enslaved blacks, took their freedom, forced themselves upon black women etc.
What did Paul Mooney say…
February 9th, 2010
Now, some have gone into a black country to steal their children.
Is that really what our entire effort in Haiti is gonna get reduced to? Because if so, it may be time to leave…pull the military back and all the NGOs, and let it just be what it will.
February 9th, 2010
Actually capd is an asshole and I'm not even entertaining his fucking response because clearly the rodent doesn't give a fuck about the subject at hand. I'm not falling for the okie-doke D…that maggot hasn't said two words in this thread or any other regarding the actual Idaho bandits and their nefarious scheme to steal some children to house at their store, but can now run up in here to talk about how the US can “take over” while simutaneously taking digs at the Haitian government? Give me a fucking break. Dont even try that nonsense with me.
February 9th, 2010
That's mighty selfish thinking, D! It is what it is. Laura Silsby went into Haiti to steal little black children.
February 9th, 2010
The Haitian government is, at best, a barely functioning entity at this point. That's not a dig, that's just the reality of the situation. That being what it is, there are certain actions that our government can take/order for the purpose of preservation of life that we may not be able to otherwise do.
Where Laura seems to have gone wrong is that she thought those same “duties to act” extended to NGOs as well…which is what I think the real issue is. I'm not sure if it amounts to outright kidnapping (if we were talking about an earthquake in, say, Austrailia, I seriously doubt that word would be being thrown around as much as it is, but that's another issue).
February 9th, 2010
D. You clearly haven't been paying attention. Laura was in Haiti to get PRODUCTS for her business venture. Nothing more, nothing less. She was trying to get children wholesale for her store. PERIOD. Dont even attempt to make it anymore than that. It is what it is.
February 9th, 2010
True.
But if we're criticized for doing as much as we are for NOT doing, seems-at least to me-we should stop doing as much or as often.
Not the first time I've said that about this situation.
February 9th, 2010
What the hell are you talking about? “our efforts”? No, this is about the Idaho predators, plain and simple. Now if you want to equate what those idiots did as some “our efforts” that's on you, don't include rational thinking people in with that foolishness.
February 9th, 2010
I've been paying attention (though in full disclosure, disaster fatigue is setting in).
Would you prefer she had done nothing at all?
February 9th, 2010
You know as well as I do that this will be the defining narrative. When we're looking back at this in December, more will be said about Laura than about anything else that's been done.
February 9th, 2010
Moving the conversation out here so I can READ it.
D said:
I've been paying attention (though in full disclosure, disaster fatigue is setting in).
Would you prefer she had done nothing at all?
Who's the 'she' you're referring to here
February 9th, 2010
More from D:
Where Laura seems to have gone wrong is that she thought those same “duties to act” extended to NGOs as well…which is what I think the real issue is. I'm not sure if it amounts to outright kidnapping (if we were talking about an earthquake in, say, Austrailia, I seriously doubt that word would be being thrown around as much as it is, but that's another issue).
From what you wrote, you don't know what's transpired about Ms Laura, her business out here, her employees, etc., because THE SHIT has shit.
I'm following all kinds of folks from Haiti who are INCREDIBLY pissed about this because 1) the children, 2) now the focus is now, as always, on some diversion 'tactic' rather than on any kind of restoration.
February 9th, 2010
D..you are so concerned over the “narrative” as if that is a concern for anyone other than narcissists who need kudos for every good deed. Laura Silsby and her minions committed a crime, period…and yes, the story should be big, it should be huge, it should be all over the news because its a damn crime committed against children. She wasn't trying to do a good deed…she was picking up some merchandise to put in her store. She wasn't “rescuing children”…she was taking them under false pretenses. How you can possibly justify any of her actions is beyond the pale. Its so fucking ridiculous for anyone to even sugggest there was some 'good” in what she was doing. It wasn't. She lied over and over and over and it is pitch perfect CLEAR that she her intentions deserve considerable prison time.
February 9th, 2010
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story...
February 9th, 2010
“Would you prefer she had done nothing at all?”
D….are you serious? Are you serious with that shit? You think her going to Haiti and going door to door asking people for their children is some kind of moral equivalent to digging through fallen buildings and recovering children trapped underneath? Really? What the fuck?? So what, we should go up to Appalachia where there are poor children and take them from their broken down shacks without running water because that's what's best?
February 9th, 2010
Oh no,
You haven't been paying attention. What do you mean would I prefer she had done nothing at all? Listen up, D. The bitch had no other motive than to go to Haiti in order to steal little black kids for her money making project. Please don't act like that heffa had “good christian intentions”. Wee have been following this story since it broke. The bitch lied from the beginning. She's lying child stealing bitch!
February 9th, 2010
I've responded to you at the top of the thread
February 9th, 2010
I've been following it since it was a news blimp that a couple of us stumbled across a few hours after the 10 Baptists were arrested.
Today it comes out that she sold part of her business apparently to help for this and yet has gone months in not paying certain employees. She is scheduled to appear in court the last week in February out here to answer those allegations.
February 9th, 2010
“Would you prefer she had done nothing at all?”
I can't believe he allowed his brain to entertain the thought! But he acted upon it and typed it out! Astounding!
February 9th, 2010
I dont think D has actually kept up with this story. He couldn't have possibly kept up with it and made that statement. He seems to be under the delusion that Laura and crew came down and was digging frantically through the rubble and pulling out children and saving them from the brink of death. Apparently he's unaware that she was trying to start an orphanage and was going to the homes in this poor village in Haiti and handing our fliers telling parents that she could provide a better life for their children in the Dominican Republic at an orphanage that DID NOT EVEN EXIST. D evidently is unaware of the fact that these children were poor, but not homeless nor parentless. There was no “rescue” in this story. It was a devious attempt to steal children to place in her future orphanage in another country where she planned to have these children adopted out for a fee.
February 9th, 2010
Silsby knew the majority of children were not orphans. She took advantage of parents who were desperate to provide basic care for their children during a natural disaster that has devasted the country.
Silsby is suspect – her personal financial situation speaks volumes about her character and her possible motives in “rescuing children.” I'm not so sure about the other nine, but Silsby has lied constantly about her intentions and the facts surrounding the gathering of the children.
If you care for the children of Haiti you also care for their parents. Right now the parents feel there is no other recourse if they want their children fed and educated. They love their children so much that they are willing to be separated from them in the interim but they don't want them adopted out and taken away to another country. Silsby lied to the parents about her intentions – that is evil.
I don't understand why those with good intentions can't use their energy to try to keep the parents and children together – I don't know the answer but why can't we figure out what can be done to help parents be able to care for their children rather than send them away.
The only good that has come from this debacle is that it has focused attention on the how the children and parents of Haiti have been exploited – Silsby isn't the only one to have done so.
February 9th, 2010
If I may audrey –
Don't forget the plan most of have read as drawn up by Ms Laura and her compatriot, excuse me, nanny – Charisa Coulter. There's no physical orphanage – nowhere. There have apparently been arrangements made with the catholic diocese in the DR to rent some space for 6 months at a goodly sum of $7000.
From today's Idaho Statesman – again -as reported before….
And the fliers were also shown.
February 9th, 2010
From what I had read earlier this morning it seems the lawyer for the Americans has quit and they have new representation. The new lawyer seems to have gone back to the original strategy that the group had authorization and dropped the strategy that 9 of them were conned by the ringleader (which I thought was a decent strategy). Not sure what is going on behind the scenes with the change in lawyers, if I were one of the nine I would get a lawyer that was not representing Silsby.
February 9th, 2010
I get the feeling this was a money making venture for Silsby. She made comments early on about how she had given up everything for the children in Haiti which I thought was odd (actually, most of it had been taken from here due to non-payment of bills). She was going to start over in the DR. A look at her business books may give a clearer picture of what her intentions were.
There are missionaries who do give up everything to work in another country. They do so because of a love for Christ and a love for the people for which they are serving. They don't look at the people as a business and they surely don't look at them or their children as commodities that they can choose to do with as they see fit.
February 9th, 2010
This is freaking madness!
February 9th, 2010
If the 9 made an earlier attempt at taking 40 kids out of the country like the officer claimed, then they were a part of this scheme.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/08/haiti.borde...
February 9th, 2010
Politics and the Haitian Kidnapping Case
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/02/09/politi...
There are intriguing political implications to the unfolding drama in Haiti involving 10 American Baptists who were detained there and charged with child kidnapping.
Some advocates for the detainees, including two top Baptist leaders, are accusing the Obama administration of a lackluster response to the Jan. 29 arrests. Church leaders say the group was on a humanitarian mission providing relief for the Jan. 12 earthquake.
At the same time, a conservative legal foundation and lawyers with close ties to the Bush family have taken up the cause of one of the accused Americans.
Administration officials say the matter is up to the Haitian justice system but they are monitoring it closely and remaining in touch with the American detainees.
February 9th, 2010
Clinton asked to intervene in Haiti kidnap case
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALe...
WASHINGTON — The U.S.-based lawyer for one of 10 American Baptists charged with child kidnapping in Haiti appealed Tuesday for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to personally intervene in the case.
Attorneys for detainee Jim Allen said in a letter to Clinton that they are concerned their client may not have adequate legal representation and has not been able to speak with his wife, Lisa, since being arrested in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.
They said the case was complicated by the chaotic situation in Haiti and asked Clinton to speak directly to Haitian authorities about letting the families of the detainees talk with them to ensure their well-being.
“Without questioning the the integrity of the individuals involved in the Haitian judidicial system, we think it is clear that the unprecedented situation that exists in Haiti now requires a response beyond what would be expected in the ordinary course,” lawyers Reginald Brown and Jennifer O'Connor said in the letter.
“We respectfully ask that you make a personal request to the Haitian authorities to allow Lisa and her lawyers to speak directly to Jim without delay,” they wrote. “Similar access should also be provided to the families of the other Americans being held in Haiti.”
February 9th, 2010
“They said the case was complicated by the chaotic situation in Haiti “
which is why a bunch of stupids just getting all gung-ho and jumping on a plane to Haiti in the name of “rescuing the children” need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. They were not a part of any legitimate rescue efforts, they were not part of any legitimate organization associated with disaster relief, they were not Haitian-americans, they were not individuals with relatives living in Haiti, they were ignorant of the country, the border, the siutation at hand…so cry me a damn river. They were somewhere they had no place being, so with stupidness comes consequences.
February 9th, 2010
it seems the lawyer for the Americans has quit
Reports had it as 'fired' originally, but who knows. It was obvious that they need separate counsel, especially when Coq started bad-mouthing one of his apparent clients publicly. While Haiti's legal system has underpinnings that differ from that of the US, Coq's behaviour was wrong.
February 9th, 2010
Let me get this straight.
These folks are not Obama supporters. They are not Hillary supporters. Laura Silsby has a link to the Sarah Palin group on her Facebook page. My guess is that they all think pretty much along the same line politically.
We'll forego the usual listing of socialistic benefits, running water (public works), highways (paved), snow fucking plows, etc.
Now these fucktards want the benefits of gov't??? It's fucking laughable. NOW YOU WANT THE CLINTONS to intervene???
As American citizens they are receiving visits from the U.S. consulate – the wife said so last night on our TV news. There are daily calls from teh State Dept and another dept.
“They said the case was complicated by the chaotic situation in Haiti”….. Really? Seriously? These fuckwits went to Haiti simply because THE SITUATION WAS CHAOTIC to do whatever their devised as their plan. They are no more Christian than the man in the moon.
February 9th, 2010
Did you not read what CBS reporter Bill Whitaker stated about the 9 other Americans calling Laura Silsby a liar? Did you not read the note the 9 other Americans slipped to an NBC reporter?
“Laura want to control. We believe lying. We're afraid.”
These people are the ones doing the bad-mouthing and you blame Coq but offer nothing about Laura Silsby's behavior since the case broke. You just can't find fault with Silsby because she is a white woman. As I stated before, you can't decern between right & wrong.
February 9th, 2010
His behavior was not wrong. He hadn't received a dime from Laura Silsby. He had no obligation towards her whatsoever.
February 9th, 2010
His behavior was not wrong.
The press never deliniated exactly who Coq was actually representing, but seemed to phrase it in the 'attorney for the 10 Americans' mode (hence my 'apparent client'). If she was his client, publicly pronouncing her guilt is a bit of a non-no in most places.
February 9th, 2010
Did Silsby pay Coq any $$$$money for representation? If not, he was not obligated to her.
You are ignoring the fact that the 9 others were bashing Silsby and calling her a liar. Why is that?
February 9th, 2010
Silsby and Coulter visited Haiti and DR in July 2009, Silsby's father had visited Haiti as a missionary several times (not sure if she ever accompanied him on those visits).
Since her visit in July was primarily to scout out a place to set up her operation I would imagine she checked into the laws, regulations and paperwork concerning adoption/orphanages. And I would think she'd have some knowledge of the Haitian way of doing things because of her father's prior visits.
February 9th, 2010
I hope if she did pay Coq anything it didn't come from donations that were solicited for the children of Haiti.
It remains to be seen how much the other eight (or nine if you count Coulter) knew concerning Silsby's intentions but from media reports I get the feeling they are none to happy with her.
February 9th, 2010
I'm not cutting the adults any slack whatsoever. They werent on some “rescue mission” with the military, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Doctors without Borders, no legitimate organization with disaster relief experience whatsoever. They hop on a plane to go to Haiti to get orphans? When you think about it…its the most foolish bullshit I've ever heard. A bunch of people just up and at the request of this woman in their church, all go to a country that just experienced a huge natural disaster and their “mission” is to rescue children…this is not a movie. No one with half a brain cell would leap to the conclusion that its A-OK to go down to Haiti at this point unless you are a native that knows the country and BELONG THERE or someone affiliated with the various organizations that have the expertise and knowledge to HELP and not HINDER. All of them need to serve time simply for being that dumb. Like I said, its plenty of people in prisons right now that were dumb, got caught up following somebody else..well, this is no different.
February 9th, 2010
I will keep saying it. They were in Haiti to get merchandise wholesale..to put in their store to sell at retail value. This was just a shopping trip for them that went wrong.
February 10th, 2010
According to Reuters: Haiti judge to free U.S. missionaries in kidnap case
February 11th, 2010
Idaho woman faced financial woes before Haiti trip
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100210/ap_on_re_us...
It is not clear if her money problems were related in any way to the adoption effort in Haiti, but the financial aspects of the trip will clearly be scrutinized during the investigation.
The Picketts said they were immediately suspicious of Silsby. The Kentucky couple didn't need her help — the government had already given them permission to go pick up the children. But Silsby persisted, they said.
She showed up at the Compassion for All orphanage in Haiti, asking to collect the Picketts' three adopted children and claiming to be Malinda Pickett's friend, according to Richard Pickett.
When the orphanage told her the children had been moved, Silsby went on to ask for any other kids she could have, Richard Pickett said. She paid a worker to take her to other orphanages in the region and translate for her.
“She asked for kids at each of the orphanages, and at the end of the day when no one would give her any, she cried,” Richard Pickett said. “Why would you cry after you see these kids are being taken care of?”
The Picketts' adopted children are now with the couple in Bowling Green, Ky. Richard Pickett said he was recently interviewed by an agent with the Department of Homeland Security who is helping investigate the Silsby case.
The Haiti effort was not Silsby's first attempt to help children overseas. She worked with a local teacher to create a nonprofit group called Kids Changing Lives With the Gift of Smile. Through the organization, school teachers encouraged their students to raise money for Operation Smile, which performs surgery on children to correct cleft palates and other facial deformities. Operation Smile spokesman Scott Vooss said Silsby and schoolchildren have raised nearly $40,000 so far — enough to cover about 166 operations.