Tense Times for Christians in Haiti, Burma

CIVIL UNREST

Every time another military leader takes charge in Haiti, there is hope that citizens in this country, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, will have a freer, more prosperous life. This hope was born again last month as military General Prosper Avril seized power from fellow General Henri Namphy. It was Namphy who took over in 1986 after decades of dictatorship under the Duvalier family.

In January of this year, Namphy gave up power to a civilian-elected president. But he reclaimed control of the country in June, with the help of the general by whom he was ousted last month.

Following the most recent coup, Elliot Abrams, U.S. assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, implied there was little cause to hope for improvement. “You have one military group replacing another,” he told the New York Times. “There is no reason to believe that such a move is either harmful or beneficial to Haiti.”

However, Elmore Clyde, director of world missions for the Free Methodist Church, which has over 90 local church ministries representing some 11,000 Christians, said the church’s representative there reports a “general sense of relief” now that Namphy is gone. It is widely believed that attacks on churches precipitated the move against Namphy. In one incident, 9 were killed and more than 70 injured in a raid of a Catholic church at which dissident priests were celebrating Mass. Two additional Catholic churches were burned to the ground.

According to U.S. State Department officials, a violent band of vigilantes known as Tonton Macoutes was at least partly responsible for the violence against churches. According to various reports, there is reason to believe the attacks were carried out with Namphy’s approval.

Clyde said Catholic churches, because they are more active politically, are more likely to be attacked than Protestant churches, which rarely issue public proclamations. He said some Free Methodist pastors have taken strong stands against participation with any political or military faction.

People’S Revolt

In contrast to Haiti, most observers regard the revolt of recent months in Burma as a people’s revolution, free from ideological or military influence. For years, rebel forces, coming mainly from tribal minorities, have fought government troops in Burma’s remote areas. But the current protests have emerged from within the ranks of the 85 percent ethnic Burmese majority.

“It was a matter of people having had it up to their teeth with the gruelingly cruel economic situation,” said Alice Findlay, director of overseas missions for the American Baptist Church. She said Burma’s socialist government has forced farmers to sell a fixed amount of what they produce at a low cost to the government, making farming so unprofitable that many have quit trying.

“Burma has the capability of producing a great many things the rest of the world wants,” said Findlay. But she added that the government’s isolationist posture and strict economic control policies have destroyed prospects for economic growth.

College students have been at the forefront of the revolt. “They see no hope for the future,” Findlay observed. “People with college degrees are selling toothbrushes on the sidewalks to make a living. They feel at the end of their rope.”

The civil unrest has led the leaders of the country’s 180,000-member military to assume control. But it is widely believed that General U Ne Win, who stepped down in July, is still controlling the country from behind the scenes.

The military takeover was followed by widespread violence, including an incident in which several teenage schoolgirls were gunned down by soldiers. If the unrest continues, some expect widespread desertions from the government army.

According to Findlay, Christians in Burma, like everyone else, are suffering from lack of food, due to the breakdown in distribution and transportation systems. Churches have also been hurt by widespread demonetization of bank notes. “Some churches had been saving up for a new building or to host a convention that’s coming,” she said. “And suddenly, what they were saving is no longer money. It’s pretty sad.”

The church in Burma consists largely of congregations planted as a result of American Baptist missionary work. Baptists make up about 60 percent of the Christian community. Findlay said she had no way of knowing how many Christians have participated as individuals in the populist revolt. But she said that, officially, the church has been quiet, explaining it must walk gingerly because a high percentage of Christians come from the same tribal groups that have been engaging the government in military conflict.

Findlay said the church has received virtually total freedom in exchange for its silence on political matters, and that it has been carrying on an active ministry, especially in the area of evangelism. “The church views its role in the conflict as peacemaker,” said Findlay. “But Christians also have a deep desire for freedom.”

By Randy Frame.

North American Scene

TRENDS

Black And White Gap Grows

Median family income for white families in America grew last year, while black family income dropped, the Census Bureau recently reported. “The economic recovery is leaving many poor Americans behind,” said Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a private research group.

According to Census Bureau statistics, median family income for whites increased from $31,935 to $32,274. For blacks, median family income dipped from $18,247 to $18,098.

The poverty rate for blacks jumped from 31.1 percent to 33.1 percent last year, while dropping from 11 to 10.5 percent for whites. The government defines the poverty-level income as $11,611 for a family of four.

Of the overall increase in American family income, President Reagan’s spokesman, Marlin Fitzwater, said the report shows “further evidence that the most effective means of improving the life of Americans is a strong, productive economy.”

MEDICAL ETHICS

Judge Bans Surrogacy

A Michigan judge upheld the constitutionality of a law banning women from serving as surrogate mothers for infertile couples. But the ruling leaves the door open for the practice to continue under certain conditions.

When the Michigan law first went into effect on September 1, it was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). However, the group agreed to drop its challenge when the state said it would only enforce the law if the contract required the surrogate mother to give up the baby. Thus, surrogacy contracts are still permissible as long as the mother does not have to decide on giving up the baby until after giving birth.

Both opponents and supporters of surrogacy claimed victory. Jeremy Rifkin, chairman of the National Coalition Against Surrogacy, said the decision would end commercial surrogacy operations, noting that few infertile couples would want to enter a contract that could not guarantee their receiving a child.

But an ACLU spokesman correctly noted that surrogacy contracts are still permissible in Michigan. Noel Keane, a Detroit-area attorney who runs a surrogacy service, said the ruling will not restrict his operations. He said contracts will provide for payments to be made to the mother after she has agreed to turn the baby over to the father and his wife.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Small Group At High Risk

As many as 700,000 young American men (ages 18–29) might have at least 10 sex partners a year, according to a survey released by the national Centers for Disease Control.

Their level of sexual activity puts them at a high risk of sexually transmitted disease, including aids. And according to William Darrow, an aids specialist at the centers, “millions of people” may be affected by this small group of men.

AIDS is spread chiefly through sexual contact or the sharing of hypodermic needles. Homosexual men make up the largest group of aids patients in the United States, and heterosexuals with multiple sex partners are considered at increased risk for the disease.

On the positive side, however, the survey found that 60 percent of the respondents reported having only one sex partner in the previous year, and 22 reported no sex partners for the same time period.

TELEVANGELISM

Fewer Viewers

In the aftermath of scandal, Americans have switched television channels, according to the two leading viewer rating services, Arbitron and A.C. Nielsen, Inc.

Hardest hit are the scandalized television preachers themselves. In February, just before his admission of paying a prostitute to perform “pornographic acts,” Jimmy Swaggart was the top-ranked televangelist by both ratings services. Today, a 50 percent drop in viewers places him in the number-three spot. And from February 1986 to February 1988, the PTL broadcast, without Jim and Tammy Bakker, lost 51 percent of its audience.

During that same period, Oral Roberts posted a 39 percent loss in viewers, while Jerry Falwell lost 38 percent of Jones of “Feed the Children” his audience.

In fact, among the major television ministries, all but one have lost viewers over the past year. The lone exception was Larry Jones, of the Oklahoma City-based “Feed the Children” program, who moved into the top ten this year for the first time.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Briefly Noted

Sold: To Nebraska-based Selection Research, Inc., the Gallup Organization, the public-opinion research firm founded by Presbyterian layman George Gallup. Gallup’s sons, George, Jr., and Alec, will remain as cochairmen and directors of the company, which is based in Princeton, N.J.

Inaugurated: As the fourth president of Northeastern Bible College, James Bjornstad. Bjornstad has written extensively on cults and contemporary religious movements and has served as executive director of the Institute of Contemporary Christianity in Oakland, New Jersey.

Upheld: A decision to remove the Christian Aid Mission (CAM) from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA); cam had requested reinstatement. Last month, ECFA expelled CAM for violations relating to board makeup and fund raising (ct, Oct. 7, 1988, p. 44).

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