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<DIV><FONT size=2>Ted, Saundra,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>In addition to the allegations in this case, and what further
facts might emerge like was there a "consideration" paid to the parents of some
of the children abducted, etc, there is another wider issue which is quite
disturbing:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>What constitutes "good" or "best of intentions?"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The present issue arises in a quasi-religious context, so I'll
keep there.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If you look at a cross section of various Christian
denominations, sects, and cults, all of whom allege themselves to be good
Christians, and true, faithful followers of Christ, you will fine at
there is hardly a major ethical issue on which they agree. For example,
abortion, the death penalty, homosexuality, or whether in accordance with
Christ's teachings is lying, theft, murder, etc sometimes
permissible. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>On theological/quasi-ethical issues, there are unresolved,
often very acrimonious disputes over such fundamental issues such as:
Is baptism necessary for salvation? If, so when should it take
place? Is it necessary to attend church in order to be a good Christian
and attain salvation? If church attendance is necessary, what church or
churches are the only ones which really offer possible salvation? Can
any of those that died before the advent of Christ enter heaven? What
about those that lived after the advent of Christ but never got the memo?
What about those that got the memo, but found the message so preposterous and so
full of inconsistencies that, though they may have led comparably good lives,
are ineligible because they refused to accept a fantasy with an
apparent probability very close to zero of being true? Can a person
be saved even though they eschew Christ's clear message of doing good works
and the renunciation of wealth (or the performing good
works commensurate with personal wealth)? Are Jesus and God one
and the same? Can a person be a Christian simply by living by
Christ's ethical precepts (whatever they are), but not believe in Christ's
divinity?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Of course to the non-believer, all this disagreement coupled
with the claim of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent god is so replete
with absurdity that were it not a matter of the great amount of discord and
suffering these beliefs give rise to would offer a lifetime of deep belly
laughs.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>But even to the barely rational believer, the existence of
these deeply conflicting beliefs with sometimes severe behavioral
consequences ought give rise to some skepticism about the conflicting claims of
"good' or "best of intentions."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>That each of these deeply conflicting beliefs is vouched for
by some authority from the Pope to a small town, less than honest parson of
a crackpot cult ought give real pause to the honest believer of the validity of
the claims made.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Did the recently convicted murderer who killed a provider of
abortions have the "best of intentions" (to prevent more children from being
murdered in his view)?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Do those that advocate the death penalty for homosexuals have
the "best of intentions?"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Do those who rail against boycotts of businesses owned by
members of their faith, but urge their membership to patronize those same
businesses in deference to other businesses have the "best of intentions?"
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Do those that advocate the nonuse of birth control in a world
already depleted of, and further, rapidly depleting necessary resources have the
"best of intentions?"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>What is the method to use to decide the unequivocal truth
of the statement: "X is the best of intentions."?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If there is such a method, it does not appear that it has been
discovered and its validity demonstrated to the satisfaction of the majority of
humankind.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Further, it is often very difficult, if not impossible, to
discover all of a person's intentions and the relative weight of
each.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Hence, when anyone whether it be Laura Silsby, the Pope, or
Cultmaster Douglas Wilson, claims to be acting with the "best of intentions" my
crap-detector goes off at about 140 decibels.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Perhaps yours should also.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow,
ID 83843</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208
882-7975</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=starbliss@gmail.com href="mailto:starbliss@gmail.com">Ted Moffett</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=v2020@ssl.fastmail.fm
href="mailto:v2020@ssl.fastmail.fm">Saundra Lund</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 05, 2010 2:45
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] Meridian,Idaho
Baptist U.S. Missionaries Charged with Kidnapping in Haiti</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Sislby may not have had "good intentions," but others who followed
her to Haiti may have had good intentions, however naive and uninformed they
were regarding this effort to ostensibly rescue children:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/1068735.html">http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/1068735.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But attorney Edwin Coq said the group's leader, Laura Silsby of Boise,
knew what she was doing was wrong.</DIV>
<DIV>
<P>"I'm going to do everything I can to get the nine out. They were naive.
They had no idea what was going on, and they did not know that they needed
official papers to cross the border," Coq said. "But Silsby did."</P>
<P>------------------------------------------</P>
<P>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<BR></P></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 10:40 PM, Saundra Lund <SPAN
dir=ltr><<A href="mailto:v2020@ssl.fastmail.fm"
target=_blank>v2020@ssl.fastmail.fm</A>></SPAN> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex"
class=gmail_quote>
<DIV lang=EN-US link="blue" vlink="purple">
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Sorry – I’m
no longer inclined to assume “good intentions” since Silsby has a very, very
long history of disregarding the law. Thank God she was stopped,
otherwise who knows what would have become of those poor children
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">L</SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">To me, it
looks like the tragedy in Haiti simply provided Silsby an excuse to get out
of Dodge just in time!</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><A
href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/1067267.html"
target=_blank>http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/1067267.html</A></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #999999; FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt">February 04, 2010</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 18.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: #204060; FONT-SIZE: 18pt">Laura
Silsby, a local missionary to Haiti, left trail of financial woes in
Idaho</SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.5pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3.75pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The Boise
woman has a pattern of flouting laws. She's due in Ada court again this
month.</SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="COLOR: #999999; FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt">BY KATY MOELLER - <A
href="mailto:kmoeller@idahostatesman.com"
target=_blank>kmoeller@idahostatesman.com</A></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #999999; FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt">Copyright: © 2010 Idaho
Statesman</SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.5pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3.75pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The Boise
woman has a pattern of flouting laws. She's due in Ada court again this
month.</SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">The Idaho woman who led a group of 10
Baptists on a mission to help children in Haiti admits to failing to obtain
paperwork needed to move 33 children to the Dominican Republic. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">But even before Laura L. Silsby and
seven other Idahoans ended up in a Haitian jail accused of trafficking in
children, Silsby had a history of failing to pay debts, failing to pay her
employees and failing even to follow Idaho laws. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Silsby has been the subject of eight
civil lawsuits and 14 unpaid wage claims. The $358,000 Meridian house at
which she founded her nonprofit New Life Children's Refuge in November was
foreclosed upon in December. A check of Silsby's driving record revealed at
least nine traffic citations since 1997, including four for failing to
provide insurance or register annually. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Silsby is a longtime Treasure Valley
businesswoman. In 1999, she founded an Internet business. As CEO of
PersonalShopper.comnear Overland and Maple Grove roads, the mother of three
was named eWomenNetwork's international businesswoman of the year in 2006.
</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Three years later, building an
orphanage for Haitian and Dominican children became Silsby's vision, and the
40-year-old brought others on board, including her 24-year-old nanny,
Charisa Coulter. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">"The folks in the church embraced
their vision, and it became a shared vision," said Coulter's father, Mel.
"The church made it part of their missions program." </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">But Silsby's failure to work with
Haitian authorities before trying to take children from the country last
week has many questioning the woman and the cause. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Members of her church, Central Valley
Baptist in Meridian, did not return calls Wednesday. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">An e-mail circulated Wednesday at
PersonalShopper.com urged employees not to speak to the press or post any
information on Web sites. "Given the aggressive nature of the press and the
fabrications already being invented, we need to make sure nothing in writing
is published that can be misconstrued in any way," the e-mail says.
Employees also were given the option to work from home to avoid reporters.
</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">UNPAID WAGES</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Fourteen claims, including two by the
same employee, were filed against Personal Shopper Inc. for nonpayment of
wages between Feb. 21, 2008, and July 21, 2009, according to the Idaho
Department of Labor. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">The total dollar amount of the 14
claims was $38,100.09. Department of Labor compliance officers determined
that $30,620.26 was owed to the employees; the department also assessed a
$4,000 penalty against the business. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Five claims were denied, dropped, or
the department did not have jurisdiction. PersonalShopper Inc. paid the
employees their due wages and penalties. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">The business' former marketing
director, Robin Oliver of Eagle, filed a civil suit against Silsby and
Personal Shopper Inc. in October for alleged unpaid wages, wrongful
termination and fraud. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">The suit says that Oliver was
promised an annual salary of $110,000, with twice-monthly payments of
$4,583.33. The suit alleges that Personal Shopper was delinquent on five
payments, for a total unpaid wage claim of $22,016.65. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">"In multiple e-mails during 2009, Ms.
Silsby repeatedly told plaintiff that she had investors 'committed,' that
the money was being 'wired,' and that investors were going to be providing
funds," the suit says. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="COLOR: red; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Silsby is due in 4th District Court at
2:45 p.m. next Wednesday; a jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 22.
</SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="COLOR: red; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Court records show that Silsby also is
due in court in March to answer for another civil suit against her.
</SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Beer & Cain, a Boise law firm,
filed a civil suit against Silsby in January this year. The suit says Silsby
owes the firm $4,526.59 and interest for services rendered. "The demand for
payment was made on May 20, 2008, February 4, 2009, and April 3, 2009," the
suit says. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Attorney Dennis Cain declined
Wednesday to comment on the suit. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">SUITS, TRAFFIC
INFRACTIONS</SPAN></B><SPAN style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">
</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Court records also show that Silsby
has been sued by several seeking payment for services or return of goods:
</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">- On July 28, 2009, Disaster Kleenup
in the Treasure Valley sued Eric Evans, Evans Construction and Silsby,
asking for a lien in the amount of $3,225.79. A notice of voluntary
dismissal with prejudice was recorded Nov. 8. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">- On April 20, 2009, Les Schwab Tire
on South Main Street in Meridian filed a suit for nonpayment. The business
received a default judgment on July 2 in the amount of $1,058.91.
</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">- On Feb. 12, 2009, Farm Bureau
Finance Co. sued for return of a 2008 Yamaha YFM 25 RXL ATV, valued at
$2,740, from the home where the New Life Children's Refuge was based. A
default judgment was entered May 7. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">- On Aug. 28, 2007, Collection Bureau
Inc. sued for $731.33, not including attorney's fees and costs. The suit
says the money was owed to the Kuna Rural Fire District for services. Silsby
defaulted, her wages were garnisheed and the $1,077.33 judgment later was
set aside. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">- Two other small-claims cases in
2000 and 2002 were dismissed before trial or hearing. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">- Silsby logged numerous traffic
infractions. She was cited four times for failure to provide
insurance/failure to register annually (1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001; the
latter was dismissed). She was cited four times for speeding or driving too
fast for conditions (2000, 2005, 2006 and 2007). </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">DEFAULT ON HOUSE </SPAN></B><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">It's unclear where Silsby resides,
though Mel Coulter said he believes she lives in South Boise. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Her 16-year marriage to Terry L.
Silsby, a real estate agent, ended in divorce in January 2007, according to
marriage records. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Reached by phone Wednesday, Terry
Silsby declined to comment. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Laura Silsby bought a house at 2828
S. Alfani Way in Meridian on Nov. 10, 2008. On Dec. 7, 2009, MetLife Home
Loans foreclosed on the $358,500 house, according to the Ada County
Recorder's Office. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 10.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Katy Moeller: 377-6413 </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN> </P>
<DIV
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt">
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <A href="mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com"
target=_blank>vision2020-bounces@moscow.com</A> [mailto:<A
href="mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com"
target=_blank>vision2020-bounces@moscow.com</A>] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Ted
Moffett<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, February 04, 2010 4:03 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
Moscow Vision 2020<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Meridian, Idaho Baptist
U.S. Missionaries Charged with Kidnapping in Haiti</SPAN></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal> </P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>I would not be surprised if some or all of those charged
in this case had good intentions, but were led by their
religious beliefs to make some very questionable decisions:</P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><A
href="http://www.ktvb.com/home/10-American-detained-in-Haiti-being-moved-8-from-Idaho-83558322.html"
target=_blank>http://www.ktvb.com/home/10-American-detained-in-Haiti-being-moved-8-from-Idaho-83558322.html</A>#</P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt">10 U.S. Baptists held in
Haiti charged with kidnapping</SPAN> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>by Frank Bajak<BR>Associated Press writer</P>
<P>Posted on February 4, 2010 at 10:29 AM</P>
<P>Updated today at 4:17 PM </P>
<P>PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Ten members of a U.S. missionary group who said
they were trying to rescue 33 child victims of Haiti's devastating
earthquake were charged with child kidnapping and criminal association on
Thursday, their lawyer said.</P>
<P>Edwin Coq said after a court hearing that a judge found sufficient
evidence to charge the Americans, who were arrested Friday at Haiti's border
with the Dominican Republic. Coq attended Thursday's hearing and represents
the entire group in Haiti.</P>
<P>Group leader Laura Silsby has said they were trying to take orphans and
abandoned children to an orphanage in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
She acknowledged they had not sought permission from Haitian officials, but
said they just meant to help victims of the quake.</P>
<P>The children taken from the group, ranging in age from 2 to 12, were
being cared for at the Austrian-run SOS Children's Village in Port-au-Prince
on Wednesday.</P>
<P>The U.S. citizens, most of them members of an Idaho-based church group,
were whisked away from the closed court hearing to jail in Port-au-Prince,
the capital. Silsby waved and smiled faintly to reporters but declined to
answer questions.</P>
<P>Coq said that under Haiti's legal system, there won't be an open trial,
but a judge will consider the evidence and could render a verdict in about
three months.</P>
<P>Coq said a Haitian prosecutor told him the Americans were charged because
they had the children in their possession. No one from the Haitian
government could be reached immediately for comment.</P>
<P>Each kidnapping count carries a possible sentence of five to 15 years in
prison. Each criminal association count has a potential sentence of three to
nine years.</P>
<P>Coq said that nine of the 10 knew nothing about the alleged scheme, or
that paperwork for the children was not in order.</P>
<P>"I'm going to do everything I can to get the nine out," Coq said. That
would still leave mission leader Laura Silsby facing charges.</P>
<P>State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington the U.S. was
open to discuss "other legal avenues" for the defendants — an apparent
reference to the Haitian prime minister's earlier suggestion that Haiti
could consider sending the Americans back to the United States for
prosecution.</P>
<P>Several parents of the children in Callebas, a quake-wracked Haitian
village near the capital, told The Associated Press Wednesday they had
handed over their children willingly because they were unable to feed or
clothe their children and the American missionaries promised to give them a
better life.</P>
<P>Their accounts contradicted statements by Silsby, of Meridian, Idaho.</P>
<P>In a jailhouse interview Saturday, Silsby told the AP that most of the
children had been delivered to the Americans by distant relatives, while
some came from orphanages that had collapsed in the quake.</P>
<P>"They are very precious kids that have lost their homes and families and
are so deeply in need of, most of all, God's love and his compassion," she
said.</P>
<P>In Callebas, parents said a local orphanage worker, fluent in English and
acting on behalf of the Baptists, had convened nearly the entire village of
500 people on a dirt soccer field to present the Americans' offer.</P>
<P>Isaac Adrien, 20, told his neighbors the missionaries would educate their
children in the neighboring Dominican Republic, the villagers said, adding
that they were also assured they would be free to visit their children
there.</P>
<P>Many parents jumped at the offer.</P>
<P>Adrien said he met Silsby in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 26. She told him she
was looking for homeless children, he said, and he knew exactly where to
find them.</P>
<P>He rushed home to Callebas, where people scrape by growing carrots,
peppers and onions. That very day, he had a list of 20 children.</P>
<P>As they loaded children onto a bus in Callebas on Jan. 28, the Americans
took down contact information for all the families and assured them a
relative would be able to visit them in the Dominican Republic.</P>
<P>The Americans' journey began last summer after Silsby and her former
nanny, 24-year-old Charisa Coulter, resolved to establish an orphanage for
Haitian children in the Dominican Republic. Coulter is among the jailed
Americans.</P>
<P>They began buying up used clothing and collecting donations from their
Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian and in November, Silsby registered
the New Life Children's Refuge Inc., the nonprofit organization coordinating
the rescue mission. It listed the address of her now-foreclosed home in
Meridian as its headquarters.</P>
<P>Then the quake hit. Silsby and Coulter moved into high gear, gathering
donations and assembling a team to go into Haiti and urgently take out
children, the younger woman's father, Mel Coulter, told the AP from his home
in Kuna, Idaho.</P>
<P>The group packed 40 plastic bins of donated goods into a U-Haul trailer
and drove to Salt Lake City on Jan. 22, where they took a flight to the
Dominican Republic. They made their way to Haiti, where four days later,
they were introduced to Adrien.</P>
<P>Adrien, who had served as the go-between and translator for the
missionaries, said he had no knowledge of the group's larger plans;
villagers said they were told none of their children would be offered for
adoption.</P>
<P>A Haitian-born pastor who said he worked as an unpaid consultant for the
group insisted the Baptists had done nothing wrong.</P>
<P>The Rev. Jean Sainvil said some of the children were orphans and might
have been put up for adoption. Children with parents were to be kept in the
Dominican Republic, and would not lose contact with their families, Sainvil
said in Atlanta.</P>
<P>"Everybody agreed that they knew where the children were going. The
parents were told, and we confirmed they would be allowed to see the
children and even take them back if need be," he said.</P>
<P>Sainvil stressed that in Haiti it is not uncommon for parents who can't
support their children to send them to orphanages.</P>
<P>Even Prime Minister Max Bellerive has said he recognized the Americans
may simply have been well-meaning who believed their charitable Christian
intent justified trying to remove the children from quake-crippled
Haiti.</P>
<P>Only minutes before the charges, the Americans' Dominican lawyer, Jorge
Puello, had said he expected at least nine of the 10 to be released and said
he was arranging a charter flight for them from Santo Domingo, the Dominican
capital.</P>
<P>After the Haitian lawyer's announcement, Puello could not be reached by
telephone for comment.</P>
<P>"I'm at the airport (in Santo Domingo) and we're getting the plane ready.
We're just waiting for the green light," Puello said. "I spoke to a source
inside the jail — a government official — who said nine would be released
but one would be held for further investigation."</P>
<P>___</P>
<P>Associated Press writer Greg Bluestein in Atlanta and Matthew Lee in
Washington contributed to this report.</P>
<P>------------------------------------------</P>
<P>Vision2020 Post: Ted
Moffett</P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>
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