Monday, February 1, 2010

Americans at it again and they weren't Celebrities this time

America is usually first on the scene to help out any country in need, especially after disaster strikes. I've been involved in a few large scale aid projects over the past 20 years and we had very successful results. However, I always obey the laws of my host nation and respect their cultural beliefs, even if it goes against what I'm trying to accomplish.

If you've been following the news, you've seen the Americans from Idaho, Kansas, and Texas that are being detained in Haiti for attempting to illegally transport orphaned children into the Dominican Republic. When I first heard this story, I was really embarrassed. I tried to figure out what was going on in their heads to think that they could do something like this without repercussion. I was all for them receiving full punishment for being so stupid.

Surely they didn't think they would get leniency for committing such crimes in a foreign land. They have to realize that they are not Angelina or Oprah and they can't just waltz into another country and do whatever they feel like doing. This is exactly the thing that makes the citizens of other countries dislike Americans. The all balls and no brains approach to everything.

If, in fact, they were trying to help the children and not lure them away into an occult or slavery, I commend them for doing good in this world and for risking so much. However, they didn't respect the law of their host nation and they must be held accountable. I've seen other embarrassing things such as idiotic celebrities swimming between Japanese fishing boats and marine life but I take into consideration that celebrities don't reside in the real world and most have a distorted view of who they are and where they fit in life. These were honest to goodness real people with real lives going abroad and willfully committing crimes against the laws of their host nation.

Hopefully, this will be a valuable lesson learned for any American that goes abroad and shows little respect for their host nation. Hopefully the children affected by this tragedy will get the help and care they need and everything will be done legally.

5 Smart Readers SAID::

Queen-Size funny bone said...

too many times americans feel the rules don't apply to them. hope all ends well.

lolit said...

HI JOhn, i totally agree with you, in every aspect of life we must respect all the rights of an individuals,regardless of their races, status in life etc. i commend your post John, thanks for sharing your valuable insights on the matter.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

I would not be so speedy in condemning them for I do not know their real motives. Maybe they are just trying to be helpful to these orphaned kids without realizing that what they were doing was illegal. Probably they thought that since Haiti is in turmoil, the authorities may not have the time to sort out their request for adoption for these children. At any rate, the Haitian authorities will know for certain their real motives and will surely throw the book at them if they indeed violated Haiti's laws. Thanks for the post. God bless you all always.

EJ said...

Thanks for the comments. I was reluctant to post this because it is such a negative point of view, but I simply couldn't help it this time. You're absolutely right Mel. I've tried to keep their good intentions in mind and I hope that they are cleared of all charges (provided nothing shady was going down). I'm just tired of Americans always getting this type of "Bad Press". Hopefully, they were working the legal aspects before taking action and these things simply failed to catch up. They could have avoided all of this by just staying home and helping the needy in their own communities, however,this wouldn't have provided the "20 minutes" that they are all after.
Again, thanks for the great comments guys.

Lorie Shewbridge said...

John,
My husband and I had this same conversation and I agree completely with you. While they may have had good intentions, NO ONE can go into a foreign land and totally disregard the laws of that land and kidnap children. If it had happened in this country, can you imagine the outrage - even if the children in question had been taken from homes where they were being abused. Americans are NOT above the laws in foreign lands. Some of those arrested where the teen children of adults arrested, can you imagine the affect that will have on THEIR futures? It will follow them for the rest of their lives... when they go to college, try to get a job, everything they do will be marred by this event. People need to think about the consequenses of what they are doing BEFORE they do something.
Sorry to babble on, but, just like John, things like this are what make other countries hate Americans, and I love our country and don't want ANYONE to ruing it!

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