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Newsroom Chapter Blog
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Feb
26
2/26/2010 9:44 AM
 By now, you’ve probably heard of the 10 American missionaries in Haiti who were arrested on charges of child kidnapping. They allegedly tried to cross the Haitian/Dominican border with 33 Haitian children. According to the group from Idaho, they didn’t know they needed documentation on the children. It was a simple case of people with a heart to help making a mistake. The Haitian government didn’t see it that way. The story got me thinking about the many people who have contacted our local American Red Cross chapter, with a heart to help, ready to hop on a plane for Haiti.
The Red Cross doesn’t accept spontaneous volunteers for international disasters. The organization already has a pool of prescreened and pretrained volunteers specifically for international relief work. When well meaning people call, I have to tell them that we are unable to accept their heartfelt offer.
I know that not everyone is pleased with that answer. One person got upset with me saying that by not getting him on a plane, I was slowing down relief work. I understand the feeling of wanting to help immediately. I remember being on a college study abroad trip in London when Hurricane Katrina struck. I wanted to do something, but I felt powerless to help. That bothered me, so I rushed to the nearest internet café, went to the Red Cross website and gave $10. I knew it wasn’t much money, but at least I felt like I was doing something.
One of the Baptist missionaries, now freed, expressed a similar reason why he went to Haiti.
"We're four guys — well, we're a group of 10 people — that are convinced that it's better to get up off the couch and go and help people than just sit on a couch and do nothing," said missionary Paul Thompson.
It is a wonderful and noble sentiment. That said, the problem the case of the 10 missionaries highlights is that it takes more than a passion to make a difference to get the job done. That’s especially true when working in another country. Here at home, the Red Cross trains volunteers before they respond to house fires, or work in shelters or help feed disaster victims. There are things you just need to know.
Think how much more you need to know when going to a foreign country. Among other things, the laws and the language are different, creating a situation where you can unknowingly get yourself into serious trouble.
For example, inexperience and lack of training can lead to poor decision making. Red Cross international volunteers go through extensive training, and many working in Haiti have worked other international disasters before. It appears that none of the missionaries had prior experience helping children in international disaster situations, and may have made decisions based on assumptions.
Spontaneous volunteers can easily overlook political or cultural issues. Again, training, experience, and being part of a well-seasoned team can help keep volunteers from making serious political and cultural errors. Before the missionaries were arrested, reports had surfaced that the Haitian government was concerned about child trafficking and thus could have been more sensitive than usual to any appearance of such. A well established children’s aid group would have been more aware of such a fact.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse for not following the law. People with no training in international disaster response, or whatever field they want to work in, run the serious risk of breaking the laws of the country they go to. The missionaries were adamant that they simply didn’t know about the paperwork the children needed, but they were still arrested.
My hope is that people who have a heart to help out with international disasters like Haiti will consider starting now to prepare themselves for the next disaster. I recently met a Red Cross volunteer who goes on international disaster deployments. He said he joined the Red Cross 16 years ago specifically because he wanted to do international work. He volunteered locally, then nationally and three years ago he became an international disaster volunteer.
If you have that kind of passion for international relief work, make it a long-term commitment. Join your favorite international relief organization and dedicate yourself to learning what you need to be ready to hop on a plane for other disasters, because there will always be one.
If your passion is more short-term, figure out what you can do locally that will impact the international disaster. Some organizations are collecting specific supplies, and every organization needs money. So find out what your favorite organization needs, and make a difference that way. Above all, don’t allow your passion to put you in a dangerous situation because you lack the necessary knowledge or training to make your passion a reality.
Almitra Buzan is the Public Relations Manager for the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Red Cross.
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