After being kidnapped from a school campus with her small daughter, a U.S. nurse said the Christian hymn “See a Victory” by Elevation Worship was her rallying cry.
El Roi Haiti, the Christian relief group established by Alix Dorsainvil’s husband, said that Alix and her child were rescued on Wednesday, almost two weeks after they were abducted from a Christian-run school outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
A New Hampshire resident, Dorsainvil, thanked everyone praying for her and her daughter in a message published by El Roi Haiti.
They were released on Tuesday night, according to the nurse’s mother.
Dorsainvil and her child’s abduction drew attention to the rise in kidnappings for ransom as criminal gangs have taken over vast parts of Port-au-Prince.
Since President Jovenel Mose was killed in 2021, gang violence in Haiti has increased. It contributed to a rise in the frequency of Haitians being murdered, raped, and kidnapped for ransom.
There have been 539 kidnappings since January, a considerable increase from prior years, claims a local charity.
The same day that Ms. Dorsainvil and her child were kidnapped, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti ordered the evacuation of nonemergency federal staff.
According to a study by CARDH (the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights), at least 51 non-Haitian nationals were kidnapped between January and July. The organization’s head, Gédéon Jean, estimates that over the same period, 600 Haitians were abducted.
Human rights organizations report that victims’ families are often requested to pay ransoms of up to $1 million.
Kenya’s government has offered to lead a multinational force, including 1,000 Kenyan police officers, to the Caribbean island country of Haiti to improve security there. The Bahamian government has pledged 150 troops to the action.
The Biden administration has said they are on board with Kenya’s proposal and lobbying the UN Security Council for permission to send peacekeepers.
Whether a ransom was paid to release Dorsainvil and her daughter is unknown.
