Haiti Church Condemns Abductions of Irish Missionary, Orphanage Child, And Staff (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Worthy News) – Church leaders in Haiti expressed concern Sunday about the kidnapping of nine people, including an Irish missionary and a child with disabilities, as violence spreads throughout the Caribbean nation.
Irish missionary Gena Heraty, who runs the Sainte-Hélène Orphanage in Kenscoff, southeast of the capital Port-au-Prince, was kidnapped on August 3 along with a disabled “three-year-old child and seven of her staff,” several sources said.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince condemned the abductions, saying such crimes “reveal the failure of the State and of a society that is losing its sensitivity to life.”
The targeted orphanage cares for more than 200 children and is renowned for what observers described as “its kind, loving and dedicated work.”
Authorities said the kidnappers broke through an outer wall and then headed straight for the main building in the compound, “executing a carefully crafted plan.”
Heraty had been on mission in Haiti since 1993, helping young and often vulnerable children, the Vatican’s news service said.
DETERIORATING SITUATION
Despite being aware for years of the deteriorating situation in Haiti, including murders and kidnappings, she declined to return to Ireland. “The children are why I’m still here. I’ve no intention whatsoever of leaving, because we’re all in this together,” she reportedly stressed.
Lawlessness and gang violence plague Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country.
The United Nations says more than 80 percent of Port-au-Prince is under the “stranglehold control” of street gangs and organized crime.
Kidnapping is a commonplace crime in Haiti, often aimed at gaining large sums of cash for guns and other equipment.
Church leaders and missionaries have been among those abducted on numerous occasions, Worthy News documented.
Haitian officials say the country needs more international support to help the nation’s fragile security forces form a peacekeeping operation to end the anarchy.
Haiti says it wants to organize presidential elections but adds that “this isn’t currently possible” due to the widespread instability, including the kidnappings of the Irish missionary and eight other persons.
SELFLESS CARE
However, church officials called the latest abductions “a new act of barbarity,” a “shameful act,” and an expression of a “moral collapse” engulfing all of Haitian society.
The Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince called the kidnappings “an attack on the noblest aspects of society, selfless care for others, protection of childhood innocence, and faith embodied in works of mercy.”
It expressed “deep sadness” and “great indignation” over the incident while urging believers to raise their voices, unite in prayer, and take measures to reject this climate of dehumanization.
The “worsening climate of impunity” shows “the unimaginable becomes routine,” as even “places dedicated to care, education, refuge, and hope are becoming targets,” the Archdiocese observed.
Yet the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti noted that these are no isolated cases, as at least 185 kidnappings were recorded between April and June alone.
The report called the human rights situation “extremely concerning in this island nation,” mired in a prolonged socio-political crisis that resulted in “thousands of deaths” and millions of displaced people.
HUMAN DIGNITY
Churches in the capital view the violence as not only impacting the victims directly but also undermining the very foundations of civil coexistence and human dignity, the Archdiocese said.
Despite facing difficulties, the Archdiocese urged civil, military, and police authorities to do more and “take responsibility,” ensure public safety, and “secure the immediate release of the kidnapped individuals.”
The future of Haiti cannot be built “on bloodshed, impunity, and fear,” and “the time has come to say together: enough! And to act,” the Archdiocese stated.
It warned that Haiti was “falling into indifference and internal disputes,” and becoming “insensitive to the suffering of the victims” and thus “complicit in the slow but certain destruction of the country.”
Haiti has been plagued by violence since the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the 43rd president of Haiti, in the early hours of July 7, 2021, at his residence in Port-au-Prince.
Scores of foreign mercenaries, mainly from Colombia, carried out the assassination, which seriously injured the First Lady Martine Moïse, who was hospitalized in the United States before returning home, investigators said.
OFFICIALS CHARGED
Martine Moïse, as well as a former prime minister and a police chief, were later charged with alleged involvement in the murder, though an investigation continues.
With turmoil mounting, Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, resigned in April last year, and a transitional presidential council was sworn in.
On Thursday, a wealthy businessman became the head of the council tasked with restoring order.
Saint-Cyr started at a local insurance company, while Haiti’s current prime minister once ran an internet firm. “Our country is going through one of the greatest crises in all its history,” Saint-Cyr said as he was sworn in. It’s not the time for beautiful speeches. It’s time to act.”
He made clear that the country, the third-largest in the Caribbean and the most populous with around 11.4 million people, was at a crossroads in its search for solutions to overcome the political and security crises.
Haiti’s transitional council was set up amid months of gang violence, with the United Nations saying more than 1,500 people had been killed and 800 injured in the first three months of 2024.
INSTABILITY CONCERNS
The United Nations says the instability has triggered famine across the nation, with over 5 million people facing critical levels of food shortages, and aid groups suggesting that at least thousands are already in conditions classified as famine.
The presidential transitional council aims to restore order and democratic rule, which are backed by other Caribbean nations and the United States.
It will set the agenda of a new Cabinet, form a national security council, and appoint an electoral commission to prepare for a presidential vote.
Its mandate will expire on February 7 next year, when a new president is due to be sworn in.
However, one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders, Jimmy Chérizier, also known as Barbecue, threatened to overthrow the government.
A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police said in a statement that officers thwarted “potential attacks” by around-the-clock patrols and by boosting the number of armed forces in specific neighborhoods and around critical infrastructure.
Chérizier leads a loose alliance of gangs known as Viv Ansanm (Live Together), which controls around 80 percent of Port-au-Prince. He warned the crisis could continue if groups like his, which rail against “corrupt politicians,” were not part of a future government.
Aid groups say the deepening crisis has made getting food and water into the capital difficult. They warn that millions cannot find sustenance, leading to starvation and other hardships.
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