I have flown on more flights than I care to count to Port au Prince, Haiti. As we all know, Haiti does not, at least at this time, have a large tourist market; therefore, many of the people on the flight are going home to see family in Haiti. My point to all of this is, I can't count the number of times that I have seen people taking blankets, pillows, those little ceral containers from flight attendants carts, etc, to bring to family in that poverty stricken nation. I am not condoning it, but in certain circumstances some people may actually see a need to take the blanket and/or pillow.
http://www.towncomputer.com/relief/haiti-poverty.jpg