NewsHaiti: Several US missionaries kidnapped - including children

Haiti: Several US missionaries kidnapped – including children

An armed gang kidnapped 17 people, mostly US missionaries, in Haiti. Children are also reportedly among those abducted.

Port-au-Prince – According to media reports, a group led by US Misionaries has been kidnapped in the Caribbean state of Haiti. The 14 adults and three children – mostly US citizens – were picked up and abducted by members of an armed gang on Saturday (October 16, 2021) not far from the Haitian capital Port-au Prince. This was initially reported by the television station CNN, citing security forces in Haiti.

According to the Washington Post, the abductees are missionaries from the evangelical aid organization Christian Aid Ministries, who are said to have found out about the abduction via a WhatsApp message from one of the victims. When asked, the US State Department confirmed that it was aware of the reports on the kidnapping, but no further information is available at the moment.

Chaos and unrest: Haiti is the poorest country on the American continent

Haiti, the western neighbor of the Dominican Republic, is not only affected by great poverty, but also repeatedly by unrest and natural disasters. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed here in a severe earthquake in 2010, and the country has still not recovered from the tragedy. Chaos and criminal gang violence are part of everyday life here – at the beginning of July the controversial President Jovenel Moïse was shot in his residence, the background remains unclear to this day. “The breaking up of the criminal gangs is crucial for the stability of Haiti and the security of the citizens,” wrote the State Secretary at the US State Department, Uzra Zeya, on a visit to Haiti on Twitter at the beginning of last week.

According to the Washington Post, Haiti currently has the highest kidnapping rate in the world in terms of population. The number of kidnappings in 2021 alone increased six-fold compared to the same period last year. According to police reports, the region where the missionaries were abducted is being controlled by a gang called “400 Mawozo”, which had kidnapped ten priests, nuns and family members of a cleric in April. This was reported by the Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste. The abductees were later released.

Large flow of refugees from Haiti: Mounted US border guards hunted Haitans

Much of the political landscape and security apparatus in Haiti has collapsed in recent years. Around half of the area of the capital Port-au-Prince is in the hands of gangs. For years, demonstrations against political corruption have been raging across the country, which was also accused of the slain President Jovenel Moïse. The unrest brought large parts of the health system to a standstill, schools and workplaces were closed, and some parts of the country were disconnected from the electricity grid.

More and more people are trying to leave Haiti for these reasons and are making their way to the USA. It was not until the end of September that photo and video recordings made headlines from the border area with Mexico, showing how mounted US border guards chased, rounded up and threatened refugees from Haiti with whips. (Sandra Kathe / dpa)

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