Missionaries in Haiti Skeptical of Newcomers’ Motives and Methods (New York Times)15 February 2010, 12:43 pmBy MARC LACEY and IAN URBINA
Published: February 15, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Their holy books vary widely and so does their disaster apparel. Devotees of Supreme Master Ching Hai, a Vietnamese spiritual leader, wore fluorescent yellow vests on their way into quake-damaged Haiti. Mormons wore their trademark white shirts and ties. And an array of others — Scientologists, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Muslims — each printed T-shirts of a different hue declaring which faith had inspired them to help save Haiti.
Moved by awful images of the Jan. 12 earthquake, a broad band of religious groups has swept down here in recent weeks. But rather than fostering a universal spirit of interfaith cooperation, the hasty assemblage of religious organizations has sometimes created tensions between them.
Theology aside, what seems to divide the missionaries most is how long they have been working here. Some of the missions have operated here for decades, converting generations of Haitians and helping to develop the country, and that has made for some skepticism of the newcomers’ motives and methods.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/world/americas/16missionaries.html
