Uncertainty Lingers Over Kidnapped US Nurse and Daughter in Haiti

The whereabouts of a U.S. nurse and her daughter kidnapped in Haiti the previous week remain unknown, with the U.S. State Department giving no information on possible demands made by the kidnappers.

On Monday, approximately 200 Haitians protested in the capital city, voicing their frustration over an incident that exemplifies the escalating gang violence in large parts of Port-au-Prince.

Alix Dorsainvil, a New Hampshire resident who was employed with El Roi Haiti, a Christian nonprofit organization, and her daughter were abducted last Thursday. Dorsainvil is the spouse of the organization’s founder, Sandro Dorsainvil.

Eyewitnesses informed The Big Big News that Dorsainvil was at the small brick clinic when the assailants stormed in and abducted her. A patient named Lormina Louima, who was awaiting her check-up, said a man brandished a gun and instructed her to calm down.

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“I was terrified when I saw the gun,” Louima recalled. “I told them, ‘I don’t want to see this, let me go.'”

Community members claimed that the unidentified culprits demanded a $1 million ransom, a typical tactic of the gangs terrorizing and murdering Haiti’s poverty-stricken citizens. The local nonprofit Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights reports hundreds of kidnappings in the country this year alone.

The same day Dorsainvil and her daughter were kidnapped, the U.S. State Department warned Americans against traveling to Haiti, and ordered nonemergency personnel to depart due to the prevalent kidnappings often aimed at U.S. citizens.

The escalating violence has sparked outrage among Haitians, who desire nothing more than peace.

The protest consisted mostly of people from the vicinity of El Roi Haiti’s facilities, which include a medical clinic, a school, and more. They echoed the call for peace as they paraded through the scorching streets, carrying cardboard signs with Creole inscriptions painted in red.

One sign read: “She is doing good work in the community, free her.”

Jean Ronald, a local resident, praised the impact El Roi Haiti has had on the community.

In regions where law and order are lacking, these organizations often represent the only institutions, but escalating violence has caused many to close their doors, leaving thousands of vulnerable families without access to basic services like healthcare or education.

Doctors Without Borders announced earlier this month it was suspending services at one of its hospitals after about 20 armed men invaded an operating room and kidnapped a patient.

The area around the clinic where Dorsainvil was working was eerily quiet as protesters marched through. With the clinic’s doors shut and its small brick building vacant, Ronald and others feared that the recent kidnapping might result in the clinic’s permanent closure.

“If they leave, everything (the aid group’s programs) will shut down,” Ronald expressed his fear. “We don’t have the money they are demanding.”

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to reveal if any demands had been made by the kidnappers or answer other inquiries on Monday.

“The safety and security of American citizens overseas is our utmost priority. We maintain regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our US government interagency partners. However, due to the ongoing law enforcement investigation, I can’t provide further details,” Miller stated on Monday.

On El Roi Haiti’s website, Alix Dorsainvil is seen in a video describing Haitians as “joyful, lively, and loving” individuals whom she feels blessed to know.

Dorsainvil is a graduate of Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, an institution known for supporting nursing education in Haiti. Dorsainvil’s father, Steven Comeau, was unable to comment when reached in New Hampshire.

In a blog post on Monday, El Roi Haiti mentioned that Alix Dorsainvil fell in love with the Haitian people during a visit after the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. The organization is currently working with authorities in both countries to secure her and her daughter’s release.

The post ended with: “Please continue to pray with us for the protection and freedom of Alix and her daughter. As our hearts break for this situation, we also continue to pray for the country and people of Haiti and for freedom from the suffering they endure daily.”

This report includes contributions from AP journalists Megan Janetsky in Mexico City and Pierre Richard Luxama in Port-au-Prince.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Kidnapping in Haiti

More about Kidnapping in Haiti

• State Department’s Travel Advisory for Haiti
• El Roi Haiti Organization
• Doctors Without Borders statement on suspending services in Haiti
• Report on escalating gang violence in Haiti
• Coverage of Kidnapping Issues in Haiti by The Big Big News