An American mother and her child have reportedly been taken hostage in Haiti, according to a neighborhood outreach organization. claims that the U.S. State Department is currently advising against visiting the nation.
El Roi Haiti reports that Dorsainvil was working at a community ministry close to the capital city of Port-au-Prince on Thursday (July 27) when she was abducted. It is believed that Dorsainvil is the spouse of Sandro Dorsainvil, the organization’s director and founder. “We can confirm that Alix Dorsainvil, our director’s wife, and their child were kidnapped on the morning of Thursday, July 27th from our campus near Port au Prince while serving in our community ministry,” the organization stated in a statement.
Although the child’s age and gender are unknown, the organization asked that no rumors about the kidnapping be posted on social media. In order to protect Alix and her child at this time, please don’t speculate about the situation on social media. “Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,” the statement from El Roi Haiti continued.
US keeping tabs on the situation in Haiti
The US State Department is reportedly aware of the kidnapping and is still in “regular contact” with Haitian officials, according to a BBC report. The spokeswoman stated, “The safety and security of US citizens abroad has no higher priority than that of the US Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad.”
According to a video on the organization’s website, Dorsainvil, who originally from New Hampshire, relocated to the Caribbean nation when her husband invited her to a Haitian school to provide nursing for the students. As violent gang violence keeps the economy in the dumps, Haiti has been dealing with a serious humanitarian crisis. The World Food Programme (WFP), a UN body in charge of providing emergency food relief to the nation in need, announced earlier this month that a funding reduction would prevent it from performing at full capacity.
In July, WFP stated it will have to reduce the number of people getting relief by 25%, leaving at least 100,000 vulnerable Haitians without assistance. Days prior to the kidnapping, the US had issued a level-four “do not travel” recommendation due to the unrest in the nation. Additionally, all non-emergency government employees and their families have been told to leave Haiti.