American Christian Missionaries, Including Children, Kidnapped in Haiti

[IceWizard]

Police patrol the streets in Port-au-Prince on July 8, 2021.
(Valerie Baeriswyl/AFP via Getty Images)



American Christian Missionaries,
Including Children,
Kidnapped in Haiti: Officials


BY JACK PHILLIPS
October 17, 2021
Updated: October 17, 2021


As many as 17 American missionaries, including women and children,
were reportedly kidnapped in Haiti over the weekend, according to a
message sent to several religious missions.

The missionaries were on their way home from building an orphanage
when the incident occurred, the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries
said in a message.

“This is a special prayer alert,” said a message on WhatsApp, a screenshot
of which was seen by The Epoch Times. “Pray that the gang members
would come to repentance.” The message also said that women and
children were among those kidnapped.

The 400 Mawozo gang kidnapped the group—which also included some
elderly people—in Ganthier, a commune that lies east of the capital of
Port-au-Prince, Haitian police inspector Frantz Champagne told
The Associated Press. The gang, whose name roughly translates to 400
“inexperienced men,” controls the Croix-des-Bouquets area that includes
Ganthier, where they carry out kidnappings and carjackings and extort
business owners, according to authorities.

The Christian group’s message stated that the mission’s field director is
now working with the U.S. Embassy in Haiti. No other details were
immediately available.

The U.S. State Department, in a statement to media outlets, confirmed
it was aware of reports about the kidnapping.

“The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities
of the Department of State,” the spokesperson said in a statement, without
offering additional comment. Department officials didn’t immediately respond
to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

The Washington Post and CNN first reported on the kidnapping.

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti hasn’t responded to a request for comment.
Christian Aid Ministries also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti said that
kidnappings have sharply risen in Haiti in recent months after the assassination
of Haitian President Jovenel Moise and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

Helen La Lime, special representative and head of the United Nations Integrated
Office in Haiti, said elections have been postponed again as “insecurity has become
rampant in Port-au-Prince, as kidnappings are once again on the rise and gangs
have extended their control over large swaths of the city.”

“Political turmoil, the surge in gang violence, deteriorating socioeconomic
conditions—including food insecurity and malnutrition—all contribute to the
worsening of the humanitarian situation,” the mission said in a recent report
on the poverty-stricken Caribbean country. “An overstretched and under-resourced
police force alone cannot address the security ills of Haiti.”

At least 328 kidnapping victims have been reported to Haiti’s National Police
this year, an increase from 234 in all of 2020, according to the report.

The Department of State currently lists Haiti as a “do not travel” country,
noting high crime, kidnappings, civil unrest, and COVID-19.

“Kidnapping is widespread and victims regularly include U.S. citizens,” the
agency warns on its website. “Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or
take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked.

“Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims
have been physically harmed during kidnappings. Victim’s families have paid
thousands of dollars to rescue their family members.”



The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Jack Phillips
BREAKING NEWS REPORTER

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter at
The Epoch Times based in New York.