US church faces neglect allegations after Haitian children deaths

KENSCOFF, Haiti (AP) — For a limestone mantel from the Waldorf Astoria, the church that owns the Olde Good Things antique stores asks for $8,500.

But for the death of each child in a fire at a home it ran in Haiti, parents said the same church offered to pay just $50 to $100 in family compensation — along with $150 for funeral-related costs such as new clothes and transportation.

The wealth of the Church of Bible Understanding in the United States has long stood in contrast with the shoddiness of its two children’s homes in Haiti, which have faced years of infractions and failed two state inspections.

But the gap came into even sharper focus on February 13 when the fire killed 13 children and two adult caretakers described by the church’s lawyer as disabled.

Authorities suspect the fire started because the home used candles instead of a functioning generator or battery in a country where power failures are frequent.

The deaths have devastated parents like Eustache Arismé, 33, who put his two daughters in the home shortly after they were born because he has a withered left arm and cannot find work. His daughters Nedjie, 4, and Vanise, 3, died in the fire at the home, which is known as an orphanage in Haiti although many children have at least one living parent.

Like Arismé’s daughters, the children in such “orphanages” are usually handed over, often as babies, by parents who struggle to support them and want them to at least get food and shelter. Parents generally keep custody and are allowed to visit.

’’At first, I was happy to see the children growing up in the orphanage. But now I profoundly regret my decision,” Arismé said. ‘’When we put our children in the orphanage, the owners welcomed us.

Now, after this tragedy, they send a lawyer to deal with us.’’

The lawyer for the church, Osner Fevry, said it is being unfairly singled out by critics in Haiti and overseas. The church may send less money to Haiti than some people would like, he said.

But many other US groups solicit donations in the name of needy Haitians and only send a fraction to the country after staff salaries and overhead, he added.

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