A gang in Haiti has kidnapped a group of 17 missionaries, which reportedly included children who were with the adults at the time. The missionaries were on their way back to the U.S. after constructing an orphanage when they were attacked, according to a message from Christian Aid Ministries.
The message claims that the mission’s field director and his family stayed at the facility while everyone else visited the facility.
The field director of the mission is working with the U.S. Embassy. Other information was not readily accessible.
The ministry’s officials in the U.S. have been made aware of the kidnapping. The U.S. State Department has also been informed about the incident. The agency is reportedly now working with the Haitian government to find a way to get the missionaries back safely.
Haiti is once again grappling with a surge in gang-related kidnappings following the murder of President Jovenel Mose back in July. The recent 7.2-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people in August also made matters worse.
A deacon was slain and his wife kidnapped in front of a church in Port-au-Prince last month, one of the hundreds of individuals kidnapped in recent months.
According to a study released last month by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, or BINUH, at least 328 abduction victims were reported to Haiti’s National Police in the first eight months of 2021, compared to 234 for the entire year of 2020.
As gangs become more active, they have been started to target children, physicians, police officers, foreigners, and travelers. Five priests and two nuns were kidnapped by a gang in April, prompting a three-day protest. Another demonstration is planned for Monday to protest the lack of security.
“Political turmoil, the surge in gang violence, deteriorating socioeconomic conditions — including food insecurity and malnutrition — all contribute to the worsening of the humanitarian situation,” BINUH said.
The missionaries’ kidnapping comes just days after high-ranking US officials visited Haiti and promised more resources for Haiti’s National Police, including an additional $15 million to help reduce gang violence, which has displaced thousands of Haitians this year and forced them to live in increasingly unsanitary temporary shelters.
