Following Up on Amazon Story

Ok, I had to cool down a bit after watching Nightline last night. You would not have wanted me to post what I wrote at 1 a.m.  So, now that I have had some sleep and time to think . . . I'm still quite frustrated with the report. What a lost opportunity to make a difference in the shaping of a nation and the personal lives of young Amazonian children. ABC News was less than professional in the way they handled the story . . . it was amazing how they edited things together, took camera shots etc. that in reality made up their own story. I wish we could have access to their footage and interviews and show them how journalism can be a tool of change rather than a tool of criticism- and ignorant criticism at that! Many things they said were just not true. I heard an interview with Hakani's mother tonight and she shared that one of the Indians had walked out of the jungle so that he could  speak with Dan Harris, the journalist from ABC. The Indian man came to tell Mr. Harris that the Indians NEED the help of the missionaries. This man's comments were then taken out of context to support Mr. Harris' thoughts that the missionaries are proselytizing. By the way, speaking of the whole proselytizing point - Mr. Harris' obvious slant on this issue by going to a camera shot of a little girl wearing a Jesus t-shirt was just ridiculous. I SO wanted to ask him if he had done an interview with Mother Theresa, would he make her take down all the crucifixes she had in her home for AIDS babies. Furthermore, would he refuse to address Rev. Martin Luther King as Reverend because his religious affiliation was construed as proselytizing - I doubt it.  Ok, maybe I haven't really cooled down  - I just hate seeing people who have given  their life to serve others be criticized and misrepresented like my fellow co-workers in Brazil.     

If you want to hear 2 podcast interviews with Enock Friere (helped produce the Hakani documentary) and Marcia Suzuki (Hakani's mother) go to the following link and listen to my brother's radio show as done here in New Jersey. 

http://jeffwhitaker.podcastpeople.com - if this link does not work go to jeffwhitaker.com then click on radio show and then click on podcasts. 

Thanks for letting me rant and rave - I'm going to get a cold glass of ice tea and calm down! 

In the News

Well - it has taken a gross act of injustice to inspire me out of my blogging slump to start writing again. Tonight, Wed Sept. 24th, Nightline on ABC is doing a special about the Amazon. Their focus tonight is to be on Youth With A Mission's initiative to stop infanticide that is taking place among the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. There is a worldview among the tribes that children born with deformities, perceived deformities, as twins, triplets, or born to unwed mothers all carry evil spirits with them and curse the tribe. The traditional way to resoond to that is to bury the child/children alive. One little girl survived by having her brother rescue her and take her to some YWAM missionaries. This little girl, whom the tribe rejected, in reality had a thyroid problem and with simple medicine she is now doing fine and was adopted by a YWAM family.
According to an article in USA Today by the reporter of Nightline, there are some who believe that if the culture believes it is acceptable to take the lives of these children than that is their worldview and we should not step in and do anything. My thought in response to that is I am glad at some point people did not accept Hitler's worldview . . I would venture to say that they are many people with disabilities, or those who were born a twin, or those who were born to unwed mothers, who would be quick to step in and help these indigenous people see the error of their worldview. One thing the article in USA Today forgot to point out is that the indigenous people themselves approached the missionaries and aked them to help in addressing this issue. Several of those who have been rescued have been so by "healthy" brothers and sisters who knew that the burying alinve of their sibling was wrong. There is lots more to say about this - I will wait until I watch Nightline in a few minutes to comment further! Stay tuned !