How Disaster Brings Out the Best...and Worst in People

In the aftermath of the devastation caused by last week's earthquake in Haiti, there has been an outpouring of support and aid provided to those affected by this disaster. Unfortunately, there has also been disturbing reports of violence and individuals looking to profit financially by preying on the most vulnerable -- children.

Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll was on the ground in Haiti earlier this week and reported on an unnerving encounter that he had while serving those in need of help. Driscoll said this:

"We were downtown loading up our film crew. There were no police, no medics, to be seen by a huge park with hundreds of people camping out with no where else to go. There was a little cart with a red umbrella and a man selling cell phones and cigarettes -- and a few young girls.

"You want to buy loving?" the guy asked me. I said, "What in the world are you talking about?"

But there was another guy there, who claimed to be a translator for a relief agency, who was negotiating a price for a girl. I asked him what he was trying to do. He said, "Oh, she's a friend of mine. We're just trying to connect."

That's ridiculous. A young girl. A man 20 or 30 years older. I told him this was unacceptable. MacDonald confronted him, too. But there were no police and you could argue all you wanted but the girl took his money and they walked away."

Even though we see the goodness brought out in humanity after tragedies like this, we also see greedy people who seek to profit from the misery of others. If Driscoll's report is true (and I have no reason to doubt it), there was a man that was supposedly there with an agency that was supposed to be helping the people of Haiti, but he was instead pimping young girls so he could make a buck.

Please continue to pray for all those that have been affected in Haiti. If you would like to give a financial gift to help efforts there, I encourage you to consider giving to Global Aid Network (GAiN). GAin, the humanitarian aid arm of Campus Crusade for Christ, is a multi-national network of ministries serving to demonstrate the love of God, through word and deed, to hurting and needy people around the world through relief and development projects.