Rescuing the Wrong Orphans: The Zoe’s Ark Scandal

By Ccandysuzie

Last October I was idly browsing the BBC news online when a bizarre headline caught my eye: “French held over Chad ‘adoptions’”. Clicking on the link I soon found myself reading a very sordid tale indeed.

Nine French citizens were arrested in Chad for attempting to kidnap 103 children from the country. They were part of an organization called Arch de Zoe (Zoe’s Ark)—a group of French 4×4 enthusiasts (yes apparently they do exist) who banned together following the Asian tsunami of December 2004.

In April 2007 the group announced it would try to evacuate 10,000 orphans from Darfur to France.

The BBC found out that approximately 300 European families hoped to adopt one of these children—perhaps paying up to $1.4million dollars to charities.

Zoe’s Ark responded by stating that they were not an adoption agency. They “just wanted to rescue [the orphans] from death”—the children were supposedly from Darfur.

It turned out, however, that nearly all of the children were from Chad with at least one living relative.

Oops.

According to the BBC, Zoe’s Ark maintained that tribal leaders assured them that the children were orphans from Darfur with no known relatives.

The six were convicted of kidnapping in Chad and sentenced to eight years hard labor and after major negotiations, relocated to French prisons. On Monday March 31, however, Chad’s President Idriss Deby pardoned all six and they were released—in February France helped Deby turn back an attempt to overthrow him so this is viewed by many as a strategic diplomatic move on his part.

I am still gravely concerned.

Let’s take Zoe’s Ark at face value— naïve do-gooders seeking to save children from the dangerous and war torn region of Darfur. Their biggest mistake was that despite their total lack of experience in geopolitical affairs, human rights, and diplomacy, they choose to carry out this mission independently.

On their website they make their case using the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. They site the right to asylum from the UDHR and the UNCRC’s affirmation that States should will a child’s attempt to flee his or her country as a refugee, as the basis for their actions.

Their zeal caused them to perceive these two documents as superhero-mission charges: Operation Rescue the Children from Danger in Accordance with the UDHR and the UNCRC!!!

Very laudable and commendable… except for the tiny detail that they ended up “rescuing” the wrong children.

They needlessly traumatized 103 Chadian children and damaged the credibility of other children’s aid organizations.

So what’s my point?

Children are the most common victims of war and violence. They need us to volunteer, donate, get politically active, etc.

They don’t need inexperienced pseudo-superheroes suddenly deciding to rescue them.

Be a real hero:

War Child International is on the ground in El Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan working with the youth within the refugee camps. Get involved in their amazing efforts.

SOS Children’s Villages have two locations within Sudan- one in Kartoum and another in Malakal. Sponsor a child living there.

Go all out and volunteer in Southern Sudan with Advance-africa.com. You will get a chance to work with children, refugees, and families from Darfur.