The situation surrounding the arrest of the Idaho missions group in Haiti is highly significant–both for those involved, and symbolically.  As I expressed in a recent Christianity Today article, all who care about orphans should take strong lessons from what occurred.

At the same time, this situation has also taken far more media attention than it should.  One would almost imagine that the other several hundred thousand orphans and vulnerable children in Haiti are all doing well…and will be just fine as long as they can be protected from misguided American philanthropy.

Of course, this is not the case.  The need remains crushing.   As I’ve heard through people on the ground in Haiti,even those children that have been rounded up into the large U.N. camps designed to keep unaccompanied minors safe and begin the reunification process remain highly vulnerable–perhaps especially so, since, according to local observers, the sites teeming with hundreds and even thousands of children often have no guards at night.

That said, the Idaho group remains a matter of serious discussion.  So, it’s worth at least contemplating the thoughtful argument put forward in the following blog post.  It highlights especially the complexity of human need and the tangled familial relations many orphans experience.