An American nurse and her child have been kidnapped in Haiti, according to a Christian humanitarian aid organization.
The group, El Roi Haiti, said in a statement that Alix Dorsainvil, a community health nurse married to its founder and director, Sandro Dorsainvil, and the pair’s child, were kidnapped Thursday morning from its location near Port-au-Prince. The organization said the two were taken “while serving in our community ministry.”
The nurse is a nurse from New Hampshire who moved to Haiti to provide nursing care for the children.
The statement said that the kidnappers were armed and masked. They took Dorsainvil and her child from the campus in a vehicle.
The State Department said Saturday it’s aware of reports of the kidnapping, is in contact with Haitian authorities, “and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners.”
“The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” the department said in a statement.
The statement also said that El Roi Haiti is working with Haitian authorities and the U.S. government to secure the release of Dorsainvil and her child.
The kidnappings took place the same day the State Department ordered nonemergency U.S. government employees and families to leave Haiti “due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure.”
“Gang attacks, extrajudicial killings, kidnappings and gender-based violence have become part of the daily lives of Haitians, forcing locals to flee their homes,” the U.N. said in June.
The kidnapping of Dorsainvil and her child is a reminder of the dangers that foreigners face in Haiti. The country is currently in a political and economic crisis, and the security situation is volatile.
El Roi Haiti, a Christian organization, said it would keep pressing for the return of Alix Dorsainvil and her child.
“We continue to work with our partners and trusted relationships to secure their safe return,” it said.
The organization described Dorsainvil as “deeply compassionate” and a “loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family.”
American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her child were kidnapped in Haiti while serving at El Roi Haiti's campus near Port-au-Prince. The US authorities are collaborating with Haitian officials to ensure their safe return. pic.twitter.com/ydAj1SxuXA
— Lounge Digest (@loungedigest) July 30, 2023
