15594: (Arthur) Missionary with local ties held by police in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Missionary with local ties held by police in Haiti

By Jeremy Hines
STAFF REPORTER - The Courier Times - 15 May 2003
jhines@thecouriertimes.com


A local missionary who receives financial support from two Henry County
churches and several area individuals, has been arrested in Haiti for
allegedly smuggling weapons into the country to aid in a coup to overthrow
Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

  James (Jim) Glenn White, a 57-year old former New Castle resident, and
native of Fortville has not been formally charged by the Haitian police, but
is in police custody in Port-au-Prince for allegedly having possession of
army uniforms, assault weapons, munitions and grenade launchers.

  According to family and friends, White is being falsely accused of these
crimes.

  "This is crazy," said Jim's wife Teresa, a former school bus driver for the
Charles A. Beard Memorial School Corp. "This has been absolutely blown out of
proportion. Jim didn't do anything wrong."

  According to Teresa, Jim, who is president of Sharing The Vision Ministries
in Haiti, had talked with another missionary, Jeremy Benenati about how
Benenati should ship his belongings to Haiti from Bradenton, Fla. Benenati
told White that he had a registered handgun, and also a collector's gun that
he was going to ship to Haiti with the rest of his belongings.

  White, who does not own a gun, contacted the Haitian authorities and asked
what had to be done to bring a weapon into the country.

  Allegedly, Haitian authorities told White that the gun could not be given a
permit until it was on Haitian soil. White was told that once the gun
arrived, bring it to law enforcement and a permit would be issued.

  "I sent an AR15 assault rifle, some one outfit of camo clothing, and a
Beretta pistol," Benanati said. "I sent all of my receipts to Jim on the
weapons, and the ammunition and he had a copy of my permit."

  However, when White picked up the shipment in the city of Gonaives, he was
immediately arrested. Benenati's belongings contained a camouflage outfit, a
camouflage T-shirt that read "God's Army," the assault rifle and the handgun.
Also in the shipment was a video by Christian artist Carmen titled "The
Champion," the movie "Left Behind," and a remote-control helicopter.

  "The police had Jim for several hours, then they brought out a huge amount
of weapons that Jim had nothing to do with, and they said that he had tried
to bring those weapons into the country," Teresa said. "Some of the items
were things Jim had received in the shipment, but most of it he had nothing
to do with."

  Political uprisings have taken place in Haiti over the past few weeks, and
authorities are trying to link White to these uprisings.

  Former Haitian police chief Guy Phillipe has been accused of plotting to
overthrow Aristide's government, according to a national news report. Last
week two police guards were killed at a power plant just outside
Port-au-Prince and all power was cut to the capital city.

  "They are trying to act like Jim had something to do with all these
political uprisings," Teresa said. "They're saying that the remote-control
helicopter was going to carry a bomb. It's absurd how they're linking him to
this."

  In Haiti there are no set standards for how long an individual can be held
in custody before he is formally charged, according to Teresa.

  "According to the U.S. Embassy here, there are about 12 or 13 American
prisoners in the Haitian prisons," Teresa said. "One lady has been held for
over three years and still hasn't been charged. That's what we're trying to
stop.

  "Several missionaries here, and local businessmen have told us who to get
as our lawyer. The U.S. Embassy is not allowed to recommend a lawyer, but the
guy we have is supposed to be the No. 1 attorney in Haiti. What we need
people to do is contact their congressmen in America and let them know that
there is an American being unjustly held in custody over here."

  Jim and Teresa have two teen-age children, Ben and Carrie. The family has
been in Haiti for nearly eight years.

  "I don't even want to think of the worst-case scenario if he is charged,"
Teresa said. "Right now things are just so crazy. I've only been able to talk
to him for about ten minutes, and I helped as a translator during a police
investigation of him. During that investigation the Haitian police wouldn't
even allow our lawyer to be present.

  "It's hard to find any positives right now, but one good thing is that the
prisoners are treating Jim very well. He has even led some of the prisoners
to Christ."