An American nurse working for a Christian humanitarian organization in Haiti and her daughter have been kidnapped outside Port-au-Prince, according to El Roi Haiti.
According to El Roi Haiti, Alix Dorsainvil and her child were kidnapped from the non-profit’s campus near Port-au-Prince on July 27th while she was serving in the group’s community ministry.
Dorsainvil is a nurse from New Hampshire who works as a community nurse for El Roi Haiti’s school. According to the aid organization, she is the wife of the non-profit’s founder, Sandro Dorsainvil.
“Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,” the organization said. “Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.”
According to a promotional video published three years ago by the organization, Dorsainvil moved to Haiti after her husband invited her to provide nursing services at a school.
“Haitians are such a resilient people,” Dorsainvil said in the video. “They’re full of joy and life and love, and I’m so blessed to be able to know so many amazing Haitians.”
In its statement on Saturday, El Roi Haiti said that it was working with “partners and trusted relationships to secure [the] safe return” of Dorsainvil and the child.
“We are aware of reports of the kidnapping of two US citizens in Haiti,” an American state department spokesperson told Reuters on Saturday. “We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our US government interagency partners.”
The state department issued a recent advisory about travel to Haiti, warning Americans not to travel to Haiti “due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure.”
The advisory says: “Kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include US citizens. Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked. Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations, and US citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings.”
It also ordered the departure of family members of US government employees as well non-emergency American government employees. In addition, the advisory urged American citizens in Haiti to depart “as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options, in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges.”
According to a UN report released last month, gang violence in Haiti has caused the displacement of more than 165,000 people. According to the report, the nation was under additional pressure as a result of the floods, which had displaced approximately 13,000 people and affected more than 46,000 people.